Texte paru dans: / Appeared in: Early Music Today (06-08/2015)
Harmonia Mundi
HMC902211
Code-barres / Barcode: 3149020221129 (ID466)
Reviewer: Brian
Robins
The funeral obsequies of Bachs
Cöthen employer Prince Leopold took place in March 1729. For them Bach
apparently provided 'mourning music' for the evening of the corteges arrival
and a large‑scale cantata in four parts for the funeral service itself. The
music for both is now lost. It has long been conjectured (though not
entirely without controversy) thaf the music for the ca ntata was largely
drawn from the St Matthew Passion and the Trauer‑Ode, BWV198.
That leaves the setting of the 'dictum' (Old Testament text) that frame Part
Two, the reconstruction of which here takes a fresh path in employing the
music of the opening Kyrie of the B‑minor Mass. Incidentally, Raphaël
Pichon's description of the 'dictum' as ‘enigmatic' is curious; it would
surely have formed the text of the sermon?
This is not
the first reconstruction of the work on CD; Andrew Parrott produced a disc
in 2011 that predictably follows his now well established principle of
one‑per‑part performance practice. Pichon uses a responsive,
youthful‑sounding chorus of 21, which along with some excellent orchestral
playing is the best feature of a performance that has its moments - one of
the best is alto Damien Guillon's exquisitely lovely 'Erhalte mich' (a
parody of 'Erbarme dich') ‑ but overall for me lacks particular distinction
or gravitas. I suspect the Parrott (Avie) is the one to go for.
