Search - Johann Sebastian Bach, Rainer Kussmaul, Berliner Barock Solisten :: Bach: Cantatas/Thomas Quasthoff

Technically and vocally secure

Larry VanDeSande | Mason, Michigan United States | 12/02/2004

(3 out of 5 stars)

"In this CD baritone Thomas Quastoff takes on the three great bass cantatas and puts himself into direct competition with the best Bach soloists of the recording era.



The program he undertakes -- BWV 56 "Ich will den Kreuzstab gerne tragen", BWV 158 "Der friede sei mit dir", and BWV 82 "Ich habe genug" -- is the same that Matthias Goerne produced on CD with Roger Norrington a couple years ago. Most notable baritones and basses have recorded these cantatas while some famous tenors and female soloists have recorded BWV 82.



When recording the vocal music of J.S. Bach there are several qualities to consider: vocal style, performance style and emotional involvement with the message of the music. In Quastoff's case, his technical acumen is second to none. The quarter-scale and half-scale runs in the opening movement of BWV 58 are outstanding and performed to a level rarely matched by other soloists.



In addition, Quastoff's German elocution of the score is outstanding. This may seem a nonsequiter to a native German like Quastoff but it is surprising how many Germans record this music and pronounce the words like they have a mouth full of salt. Quastoff's work in this area is outstanding and carries over to the other two cantatas. He is also adept at interpreting phrases differently when they are repeated so not to offer merely a rerun of the music. All told, these qualities indicate sensitivity to Bach and his style.



The orchestral support by the Berlin Baroque Soloists and vocal support by the Berlin Bach Soloists is equally outstanding. Rainer Kussmaul conducts the period band and plays violin solos that are sometimes a bit wiry and thin. Albrecht Mayer's oboe solos are very nicely done. Finally, the recording itself is faultless and everything is delivered in a crystal clear and realistic recording made in January 2004.



So we've established that the technical details are all in place, so why only three stars? For me, this CD does not transmit the pain, suffering, redemption and elation of these works as well as other performances I own and have heard.



Quastoff has a unique style with the language of these cantatas. He seems intent on sing-speak through certain passages. Instead of a rich dark blend of passion and music as delivered by Goerne in BWV 82, Quastoff seems to be singing part of the time and speaking part of the time, as if he is reading the score. He is technically secure but does not match the religious message of death, resignation and personal satisfaction that I've heard from singers since Hans Hotter.



Perhaps this is because Quastoff approaches the music differently. "Thomas Quastoff feels (a) powerful need to remind listeners of the life-affirming sensuality of these three cantatas," the notes say. "For him, Bach is one of the most sensual of all composers and is it very much in the 'redemptive' moments of these works that the performer is required to communicate this sensuality." The notes go on to say sensuality is the same thing as emotionality.



This may all be true but I don't see it. Perhaps I just don't get it. I don't hear the religious message coming through in this music -- which is about life, death, resignation and the joy of Christian afterlife. "It is enough," is the translation to BWV 82. "I have received the Savior, hope of the pious, in my yearning arms. It is enough! I have seen him; my faith has embraced Jesus and today I would gladly leave this world."



This message of redemption is even more clearly delivered in BWV 56: "Gladly I bear the cross which God's loving hand has assigned me; after my troubles it leads me to God, to the promised land, where I shall bury my sorrows, where my Saviour himself shall wipe away my tears."



My response to this CD is that a gap exists between the delivery style and the emotional message of the music. Quastoff et al have done a fine job capturing the style and technique of modern Bach performance but I believe they have not done equally well interpreting and communicating the religious message. For me, that chasm results in an emptiness, a dissatisfaction with the proceedings.



In my experience, the relationship between musical style, technique and messaging is most fully realized in recordings by Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau (all three of them), Hotter and Goerne, whose recording of "Ich habe genug" is for me still the best among recent recordings. Max van Egmond also did a nice job on the two longer cantatas in a recording from the 1970s that may no longer be available.



While Quastoff's new CD will satisfy audiophiles and listeners most attentive to musical and performance style, the above recordings will give more lasting pleasure to listeners that thirst for fully realized interpretations of the text."

Consummate Artistry Perfectly Captured on this Recording

Grady Harp | Los Angeles, CA United States | 03/19/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Thomas Quasthoff is one of the more musically intelligent singers before the public today. His repertoire is fascinatingly large: he sings Mahler and Schubert and Bach and yes, love songs! with equal success. For those fortunate enough to have been in Los Angeles this past season during his Artist in Residency with the Los Angeles Philharmonic and chamber ensembles this will come as no surprise. But with this release of Bach Cantatas, Quasthoff enters that realm of singers who command respect and engender compassion for the power of vocal communication.



This recording includes all three of the cantatas Bach wrote for Bass/Baritone and ensemble. Here Quasthoff collaborates with the Berlin Baroque Soloists, which seems to be the perfect pairing: Quasthoff sings with contemporary technical production of sound and the ensemble plays on contemporary instruments (albeit with the influence of technique revered by Baroque scholars). The result is a full-bodied sound that goes past 'authenticity' to the more important level of communication of the words as Bach intended. These three works are heart-wrenchingly beautiful and at least for these ears, I have never heard them more simply and honestly sung. The impact is one of wonder.



These three works are about man's longing for death and accompanying redemption: this reading offers the underlying faith that rests in the soul of Bach's music. This is music very right for the Easter season upon us, but it is also right for anytime that clarity and consummate artistry as contained in this perfect CD is heard. Highly recommended. Grady Harp, March 05"

Maybe it's the songwriting, maybe the delivery,

o dubhthaigh | north rustico, pei, canada | 01/17/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"but in either case, this is one of the most satisfying and philosophical CDs of classical music you will ever listen to. Quasthof's voices pours down like silver, the accompaniement is spot on and the entire feel of the Cd is as soulful and melancholic as anything you'll ever hear. "Ich habe genug" is delivered with such compelling pathos that it comes off as less of a song about joyful abandonnement to God, and more of a resignation to all that is more powerful in the universe.

In fact, the whole Cd comes off as less of a devotional disc than an existential re-evaluation of where one stands. Words of praise are sung and yet, the spirit recedes. Perhaps it is to my middle age ears a sign of my own ambivalence in this descent of the arc of garvity's rainbow. Whatever, this comes from deep in Quasthof's soul and is thoroughly haunting. Bach was a reluctant believer, so maybe Q got him right. It's a terrific CD, especially if you would otherwise shy away from devotional types of things. This is devoted to the cause of reflection."