|
René Jacobs’ XO |
|
Sw Anandgyan wrote (December 6, 2003):
I'm listening to the Christmas Oratorio available on Harmonia Mundi and the word that comes up to me is vivid, as in not timid or subdued, and the sound is so gorgeous. There is a crispness to this recording, or is the playing, that allows me to say it is currently top in my top three, read with Gardiner and Herreweghe.
Once more I apologize for the lack of details, but for the pleasure of sharing I'm allowed ! |
|
Donald Satz wrote (December 6, 2003):
[To S.W. Anandgyan] I enjoy each of the versions mentioned below. I favor the Gardiner for its quick pacing and fantastic brass and winds contributions - also, the Evangelist Anthony Rolfe Johnson is superb. |
|
Cmgas wrote (December 6, 2003):
[To S.W. Anandgyan] Listening to a great new Bach recording makes the world right, doesn't it? People found me smiling through the Christmas Oratorio, which I heard in total for the first time just a few weeks ago.
How did you like the echo compared to Gardiner's? I was really thrilled that Bach could pull that off in church; it sounded so playful. Maybe I'm being naive.
So, I'm trying to find a recording of the Herreweghe Christmas Cantatas from Leipzig. I'll get hold of the Herreweghe and Rene Jacobs Oratorio when the time is right. I've never heard any of Jacobs, but I see that W. Gura is the tenor. I just loved his singing in the S. Matthew's Passion under Herreweghe. What about you?
Happy for your new find. |
|
Yoël L. Arbeitman wrote (December 7, 2003):
[To Donald Satz] ARJ does the same magic as the recitant in Gardiner's L'Enfance du Christ (of Berlioz). He is extraordinary. |
| |
|
Jacobs' Christmas Oratorio - Tenor Aria in Part 6 |
|
Drew (BWV 846-894) wrote (January 7, 2006):
For the first time, during this holiday season, I have been trying to listen to the various parts of the Christmas Oratorio on the days they were originally performed.
Yesterday I was enjoying Part 6 (for Jan. 6, Epiphany), "Herr, wenn die stolzen Feinde schnauben" (Lord, when the proud Fiend -- complete with "scharfen Klauen," or sharp claws -- PROWLS), the most defiant of the six cantatas and a resounding conclusion to the Oratorium. The spirit of the libretto is about thumbing one's nose at the devil: since he couldn't destroy the baby Jesus (through Herod), he can't touch the believer.
The opening chorus and closing chorale are among the best of this genre in Bach (the brass is glorious). What I noticed particularly yesterday in Jacobs' recording, though, is the prominence of the bassoon in the bass continuo of the tenor aria, "Nun moegt ihr stolzen Feinde schrecken" (Now, may you proud Fiends tremble).
I don't think I have heard a deeper, more defiant bassoon in a recording of a Bach cantata. It scorns, mocks and laughs at the "Feinde," along with the oboes. If you have the recording, the following spots are especially remarkable -- 1:09 and 2:32. Brilliant stuff -- that bassoon rocks! |
| |
|
René Jacobs : Short Biography | RIAS-Kammerchor | Academie für Alte Musik Berlin | Recordings of Vocal Works | General Discussions
Individual Recordings: BWV 232 - R. Jacobs | BWV 248 - R. Jacobs |
