Bach: Motets, BWV 225 - 230 / John Eliot Gardiner - Monteverdi Choir

Bach: Motets, 225 - 230 / John Eliot Gardiner - Monteverdi Choir - Soli Deo Glo

Label: Soli Deo Gloria
Catalog No: SDG 716
Format: CD
Release Date: 2012-06-26
Number of Discs: 1
Running time: 1 hr. 12 min.
Mono/Stereo: Stereo
UPC Code: 843183071623

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Notes & Reviews:

Thirty years on from their acclaimed recording for Erato, Sir John Eliot Gardiner and the Monteverdi Choir return to the Bach Motets in a new SDG recording, taken from a concert in London last year. The Motets can be seen as some of Bach's most perfect and hypnotic compositions. Through their extraordinary complexity and density, they require exceptional virtuosity and sensitivity of all the performers. The album is packaged in a hard back book containing a 44 page booklet with original notes by John Eliot Gardiner and texts in German, English and French.

The Times *****
If all the world's depressed people had somehow been squeezed into St John's to hear this concert, the pharmaceutical companies would be out of business. Who needs pills to lift the spirits when we have the six Bach motets, and John Eliot Gardiner's Monteverdi Choir to sing them?

Sunday Times, May 2012
Performances of surpassing beauty and irresistible dancing energy.

The Independent, May 2012
Utterly sublime.

BBC Music Magazine, August 2012
The Monteverdi Choir can turn from Rottweiler into lamb in the blink of an eye... Some might fine Gardiner's approach theatrical; he could persuasively counter that the motets engage unflinchingly with matters of life and death... Gardiner trusts Bach's simplicity and inwardness as much as he relishes his complexity and drama.

American Record Guide, November/December 2012
These, then, would seem to be the perfect performances of the motets. And yet, while have the deepest admiration for Gardiner (since I have conducted all but one of the motets and know their problems intimately!), these are not performances that make me love the pieces. I think the problem is that to a certain extent I do want the motets to be "just sung", so my attention can be on Bach and his music, not the prowess of Gardiner and his unbelievably fine singers. So, if I need the motets in a hurry, I think I'll reach for RenT Jacobs and the RIAS Chamber Chorus first, but Gardiner will be close by, and I encourage you to ignore my grousing and hear it for yourself.

Notes & Reviews:

Recording information: St John's, Smith Square, London (10/03/2011-10/05/2011); St. John's, Smith Square, London (10/03/2011-10/05/2011).



Reviews

Bach in brief
The great BWV catalog of Bach's music groups six shorter vocal pieces together as "the motets," though scholars debate whether there may have been more of them, now lost. Unlike his major choral works and cantatas, there is no accompaniment provided for most of these, so there's no consensus about the use of instruments in their performance, either. All agree, however, that these brief pieces--apparently written for funeral or memorial services--display Bach's art in miniature. I always enjoy listening to the Monteverdi Choir, but I had to marvel at the lightness of some of the singing in this recording. (They make it sound so easy!) Although the music often seems to fly by, and there's a very dance-like feel to it, tempi are actually slower than Harnoncourt employs with a larger chorus. In addition to the canonical Six, Gardiner also includes "Ich lasse dich nicht," a less intricate work. This comes in the usual SDG hardcover album with texts and essays.
Submitted on 07/11/12 by Jim D. 
Gardiner, Monteverdi Choir set standard for Bach Motets
The motet format, considered basic and compulsory achievement for the Baroque era, reaches a pinnacle of excellence consistent with tradition through the work of the Monteverdi Choir under the direction of John Eliot Gardiner. This performance of Six Motets by J. S. Bach, recorded at St. John’s at Smith Square in London during October 2011, will stand as example and standard for choirs reaching for performance excellence. And it seems to be within easy reach for all in the choir. No section dominates, but when one states a motif, another answers equally; balance and expression are precise and perfectly timed. The familiar chorales with repetition, counterpoint, and embellishments bring fresh appreciation for the motet for four-part or six-part minimally accompanied choir.


The clever cover illustration, inner cover, and unique booklet/case remind the audience that this group fully grasps the intricacies of this music. Parts share equally the clarity of line and lilt, elocution, and emotion in this stellar presentation of church music. The accompanying booklet notes by Sir Gardiner further explain the individual motets to enrich the enjoyment of the listener.


This collection will be a valuable addition to the collection of a scholar, choir director, library, or general listener for the further appreciation of the genius of J.S. Bach.

Submitted on 09/19/12 by howsweetthesound 
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Works Details

>Bach, Johann Sebastian : Lobet den Herrn, alle Heiden, BWV 230
  • Performers: Györgyi Farkas (Bassoon); Olaf Reimers (Cello); James Johnstone (Organ); Valerie Botwright (Double Bass)
  • Conductor: John Gardiner
  • Ensemble: Monteverdi Choir
  • Notes: St. John's, Smith Square, London (10/03/2011-10/05/2011)
  • Running Time: 6 min. 18 sec.
  • Period Time: Baroque
  • Form: Choral
  • Written: by 1751
  • Studio/Live: Live

>Bach, Johann Sebastian : Komm, Jesu, komm!, BWV 229
  • Performers: James Johnstone (Organ); Valerie Botwright (Double Bass); Györgyi Farkas (Bassoon); Olaf Reimers (Cello)
  • Conductor: John Gardiner
  • Ensemble: Monteverdi Choir
  • Notes: St. John's, Smith Square, London (10/03/2011-10/05/2011)
  • Running Time: 8 min. 58 sec.
  • Period Time: Baroque
  • Form: Choral
  • Written: 1731-1732
  • Studio/Live: Live

>Bach, Johann Sebastian : Der Geist hilft unser Schwachheit auf, BWV 226
  • Performers: Olaf Reimers (Cello); James Johnstone (Organ); Valerie Botwright (Double Bass); Györgyi Farkas (Bassoon)
  • Conductor: John Gardiner
  • Ensemble: Monteverdi Choir
  • Notes: St. John's, Smith Square, London (10/03/2011-10/05/2011)
  • Running Time: 7 min. 19 sec.
  • Period Time: Baroque
  • Form: Choral
  • Written: 10/20/1729
  • Studio/Live: Live

>Bach, Johann Sebastian : Jesu, meine Freude, BWV 227
  • Performers: James Johnstone (Organ); Olaf Reimers (Cello); Györgyi Farkas (Bassoon); Valerie Botwright (Double Bass)
  • Conductor: John Gardiner
  • Ensemble: Monteverdi Choir
  • Notes: St. John's, Smith Square, London (10/03/2011-10/05/2011)
  • Running Time: 18 min. 44 sec.
  • Period Time: Baroque
  • Form: Choral
  • Written: 1735
  • Studio/Live: Live

>Bach, Johann Sebastian : Fürchte dich nicht, ich bin bei dir, BWV 228
  • Performers: Valerie Botwright (Double Bass); James Johnstone (Organ); Olaf Reimers (Cello); Györgyi Farkas (Bassoon)
  • Conductor: John Gardiner
  • Ensemble: Monteverdi Choir
  • Notes: St. John's, Smith Square, London (10/03/2011-10/05/2011)
  • Running Time: 8 min. 40 sec.
  • Period Time: Baroque
  • Form: Choral
  • Written: after 1724
  • Studio/Live: Live

>Bach, Johann Sebastian : Singet dem Herrn ein neues Lied, motet for chorus, BWV 225 (BC C1)
  • Performers: James Johnstone (Organ); Olaf Reimers (Cello); Györgyi Farkas (Bassoon); Valerie Botwright (Double Bass)
  • Conductor: John Gardiner
  • Ensemble: Monteverdi Choir
  • Notes: St. John's, Smith Square, London (10/03/2011-10/05/2011)
  • Running Time: 7 min. 31 sec.
  • Period Time: Baroque
  • Form: Choral
  • Written: 1726-1727
  • Studio/Live: Live

>Bach, Johann Sebastian : Ich lasse dich nicht, motet for double chorus (after Johann Christoph Bach), BWV Anh. 159 (BC C9)
  • Performers: Olaf Reimers (Cello); Valerie Botwright (Double Bass); James Johnstone (Organ); Györgyi Farkas (Bassoon)
  • Conductor: John Gardiner
  • Ensemble: Monteverdi Choir
  • Notes: St. John's, Smith Square, London (10/03/2011-10/05/2011)
  • Running Time: 4 min. 21 sec.
  • Period Time: Baroque
  • Form: Choral
  • Written: 08/1713
  • Studio/Live: Live