Continue from Part 4

Ton Koopman at (or nearby) Carnegie Hall

Steve Schwartz wrote (September 27, 2005):
Last Monday, finding myself in New York, I picked through the New Yorker's "Goings On About the Town" section and found a listing for that evening of a Carnegie Hall concert by Dutch keyboardist and conductor Ton Koopman featuring three Bach cantatas. Since New York has so many classical-music mavens and I didn't want to be left out, I immediately phoned the box office and scored two tickets. Programs of Bach cantatas - let alone by first-rank performers - are rare in any case. I felt very lucky, especially since the tickets cost me only $20 apiece - a bargain on the scale of Manhattan prices.

As I went to the box office, I noticed a huge line of people waiting for cancellations. I had expected the concert to be well-attended but not sold out. The concert actually took place not in the main hall itself, but in the smaller, relatively new Zanker Hall - part of the Carnegie complex. Sources tell me it used to be a movie theater, but one sees no trace of that now. It's a beautifully furbished hall, with great sight lines and decent (though not blow-your-mind) acoustics, just the thing for chamber concerts.

The program consisted of the Cantatas BWV 6, BWV 147, and BWV 198 ("Trauer-Ode"). Some of you may know that Erato tapped Koopman to record all the Bach cantatas. Unfortunately, Time-Warner, the parent company, fileted its classical-music division, and the project dried up. Koopman went on to found his own label to complete the cycle. I don't know whether he has actually done so.

Generally, Koopman has done at least as well as Harnoncourt for Telefunken. Bach's music can take - and often demands - many different approaches. Indeed, the cantatas are so varied in expressive means and values that one doubts a single interpreter would do them all successfully. Koopman, like Harnoncourt, has his triumphs and failures. His advantages include rhythms that spring like young gazelles, preternaturally clear textures, and performers that play both "historically" and beautifully. On the other hand, he often failed to capture the drama and intensity of the more monumental cantatas, like No. 21, "Ich hatte viel Bekuemmernis," for example.

Koopman did not lead his usual ensemble of Amsterdam pros. The concert was part of a Carnegie Hall Foundation program that affords young performers from all over the world the chance to work with a great musician. The instrumental group, which included two small organs, lute, theorbo, traverse flutes, oboes, oboe di caccia, two gambas, as well as the usual strings, and a 22-voice choir were all in their twenties - conservatory seniors, MFAs, postgrads, and the like.

Consequently, I didn't expect what in fact I got: tremendous instrumental ensemble and tonal beauty. From the opening bars of the first cantata, it became clear immediately that these kids can play. Musical lines bounded and bounced. In Koopman's hands, with gestures that seemed to pluck the music from the air like a magician conjures cards, the cantata danced. Furthermore, I couldn't discern any difference between the kid choir at Zanker and Koopman's usual Amsterdam Baroque Choir. There was the same textural clarity, the same tonal and textural unanimity that made for exciting unisons, and diction so sharp that you really didn't need the texts the concert hall provided. Like the instrumentalists, the singers made beautiful phrases, connecting them into long arcs with only the slightest expressive gasps between cadences, and they shaded their lines by delicate yet proper word stress. However, the performance didn't have the perfect mechanics of a studio recording. Here and there, one met with rough spots, momentary cloudiness, an oboist fumbling through a quick melismatic passage. On the other hand, Koopman could make instantaneous and microscopic adjustments: a single cello suddenly intensified, the oboe di caccia gracefully retiring into the texture. His players always stayed with him.

On the other hand, Cantata BWV 147, somewhat of a "penitential cantata," seemed to baffle him. Not that anything was badly done, but the music didn't unfold in a convincing way. Sometimes, indeed, it didn't unfold at all - a kind of wad o' Bach. One missed the dramatic surges, the dynamic builds from low to high, and the "pointings" of musical and expressive meaning, although the performance contained a stunning duet between tenor and bass soloists. The two, avoiding identity of vocal color, nevertheless made an elegant rapprochement, the phrasing and melismas created as if by one mind, or like two different manuals on an organ. This was a highlight of an already fine concert.

By the Trauer-Ode BWV 198, things got back on track. Bach wrote the work on the death of some countess or other, and he exploits the duality found in other of his funeral cantatas: though we grieve for our loss of such a good soul, yet she is happy in heaven. The music makes a monument of sorrow, but it also rejoices in paradise. Koopman caught the tone of the work right away. Indeed, this cantata came off the best of the three. It had none of the occasional cloudinesses or dips of BWV 6, and Koopman sculpted a near-palpable musical shape. I became less aware of playing as such and (excepting a couple of movements) began to notice the work itself - not musicians, but Bach - an illusion that usually occurs only when the performance is unusually good. The thing starts with a sinfonia featuring a virtuoso organ part (perhaps Bach played it himself), performed with nervous verve by a young keyboardist named Avi Stein - yet another highlight of the concert. You will probaby hear of him in days to come.

The set of soloists varied in quality. Unfortunately, I lost my program and can't remember any names, although I wouldn't mention the names of students who didn't exceed expectations anyway. An alto had almost no lower register. A soprano stumbled over her runs. Almost every soprano had a thin, glassy top. Without exception, the men did better than the women, thoroughly professional at least. A record producer or concert promoter would do well to hire them right now. The standout of the set was the Trauer-Ode bass soloist. He struck me as very much in the mold of Koopman favorite Klaus Mertens, a favorite of mine as well. The voice lacks weight - he will probably never sing Boris - but he makes up for it in spades with breathtaking intonation and a complete mastery of text and phrase. He is already a wonderful baritone, and I hope great things for him.

The concert ended with enthusiastic applause, but I was one of the few to give a standing O. It was easily one of the best concerts I've ever heard, but, then again, I'm a rube. Ah, these jaded (and so lucky) New Yorkers!

More Koopman Cantata Volumes

Paul T. McCain wrote (October 19, 2005):
I just received the happy news from a distributor of the Challenge Classics reissue of Koopman's cantata series that Volume 13 is now available again, and news of more volumes soon to come. Here is the e-mail I received from them:

Hello Paul,
Volume 13 is available and has now been added to our website. It can be found at: http://www.prestoclassical.co.uk/r/Challenge%2BClassics/CC72213
Volumes 10 and 11 are due for release in November and volume 12 is due for release in early 2006.
Hope this helps.
Regards,

Ben.
Presto Classical
11 Park Street
Leamington Spa
Warwickshire
CV32 4QN
www.prestoclassical.co.uk
info@prestoclassical.co.uk

Aryeh Oron wrote (October 19, 2005):
[To Paul T. McCain] Vol. 13 was the 1st volume issued by Koopman's label Antoine Marchand iApril 2003, and AFAIK it has never been out of print.
Vols. 10 and 11, released originally by Erato, have already been re-released by Antoine Marchand and are available from various sources including Amazon and Antoine Marchand website. See the following pages of the BCW:
Vol. 1-12: http://www.bach-cantatas.com/Performers/Koopman.htm
Vols. 13-19: http://www.bach-cantatas.com/Performers/Koopman-Rec2.htm
Koopman Newsletters: http://www.bach-cantatas.com/Performers/Koopman-News.htm
Only 3 volumes remained to complete this important Cantata series.

Paul T. McCain wrote (October 19, 2005):
[To Aryeh Oron] These volumes are the new releases in the Challenge Classics reprints. Volume 10 and 11 are not available from Amazon. If you have a link howing otherwise, please post it. I would appreciate that.

Umberto Quattrocci wrote (October 19, 2005):
vol 19 Koopman Cantata

Read this morning on Fnac.com

Jean-Sébastien Bach, Ton Koopman
Cantates
Intégrale, volume 19
intégrale (CD album)
Nombre de volumes : 3.
Nouveauté à paraître, indisponible à ce jour. Date de sortie : 28 octobre 2005.
Prix indicatif prévu : 53,90 ?

Riccardo Nughes wrote (October 20, 2005):
vol.20 Koopman Cantata

Vol.20 is coming out in November according to amazon.de -> Amazon.de

Aryeh Oron wrote (October 20, 2005):
[To Paul T. McCain] You can find them at the following stores:

Amazon.de:
Volume 10: Amazon.de
Volume 11: Amazon.de

JPC:
Volume 10: http://www.jpc.de/jpcng/classic/detail/-/hnum/2301596/
Volume 11: http://www.jpc.de/jpcng/classic/detail/-/hnum/8289296

Antoine Marchand: http://www.antoinemarchand.nl/eng/indexeng.htm

Paul T. McCain wrote (October 19, 2005):
Thanks

[To Aryeh Oron] Thanks Aryeh. I'll check them out. Perhaps the Bach Cantata we site can be updated to reflect where these can be purchased. I'm sure many would find that helpful.

Fait accompli - Koopman does it!!

Ehud Shiloni wrote (August 17, 2006):
Today, in my mailbox, volume 22 - the last and final one - of the now COMPLETE cantata recording cycle by Ton Koopman.

This promethean effort commenced back in 1993, went through a crue discontinuance by Erato, resurrected by the courage and financial commitment of Koopman himself starting his own Antoine Marchand label, and now brought to the finish line. Yes, a real, complete cantata recorded cycle!

I consider myself lucky to have been given the opportunity of following this series in parallel with my own long discovery process of Bach Cantatas. It gave me numerous listening hours of pure joy.

Sure, the purist will say, not each and every track ranks first among performances, but there is rarely a movement which scores less then "Very Good", at least in my book.

Thanks, maestro Koopman, and thanks to all the first class artists who participated in this amazing project.

Eric Bergerud wrote (August 18, 2006):
That's great news. I have seven volumes with an eight inbound. When it dawned on me a few months back that I, by and large, preferred mezzos to countertenors, I began listening to Koopman a lot more and Leusink less. (H&L is its own planet and I visit it almost daily.) I've really learned to appreciate the polish and wonderful playing Koopman gets from his ensemble. And you can't really knock the soloists either. The engineering isn't up to BIS standards but it's fine nevertheless. He reminds me more of Herreweghe than anyone else - without falsettos. That's not bad. Anyway, with new volumes going for $30 plus shipping on Amazon it's very tempting to complete the sacred cycle at least. (For reasons that I don't really understand, BWV 208 is on a different volume than the other secular cantatas. That's ok with me. Some of Bach's secular works are very nice indeed to my ear (I'm very fond of the "Wedding Cantata" and BWV 208 of course) but some seem to lack something: can't really put my finger on it.

Anyway, Koopman doesn't seem to get that much attention on the list and perhaps he deserves a little more as he plays lovely Bach.

Julian Mincham wrote (August 18, 2006):
Eric Bergerud wrote:
< Anyway, Koopman doesn't seem to get that much attention on the list and perhaps he deserves a little more as he plays lovely Bach. >
Yep, I support this view. I have heard all the Koopman recordings and find them largely scholarly and consistent. I have a few quarrels with some of the soprano arias, but the high quality of the choral and instrumental ensembles make up for this. And what about Klaus Mertens, his bass soloist? I have yet to hear an aria of his that disappoints. Also his flute player is fantastic in several of the works coming up on list at this time--I particularly like his subtle and unotrusive, though very effective ornamentation.

I have a question someone may be able to answer. Koopman has produced 20 boxes of CDs and I have been told by various distributors that he has completed his recordings. However, he originally planned 66 CDs, of which only 61 have been released. More importantly, he hasn't recorded some of the later works, BWV 30, BWV 34, BWV 97 etc.

Neither my British or USA contacts can give me any info on this. So does anyone know if he has produced or is planning to record a 21^st and 22^nd volume? And if so where are they available?

Incidently I think I found an answer to the enigmatic last movement of 68--I'll try to remember to post it when it comes up next year. (Thanks to Thomas for some interesting info on both this and, latterly, the issue of male singers)

Lex Schelvis wrote (August 18, 2006):
< I have a question someone may be able to answer. Koopman has produced 20 boxes of CDs and I have been told by various distributors that he has completed his recordings. However, he originally planned 66 CDs, of which only 61 have been released. More importantly, he hasn't recorded soem of the later works, BWV 30, BWV 34, BWV 97 etc.
Neither my British or USA contacts can give me any info on this. So does anyone know if he has produced or is planning to record a 21^st and 22^nd volume? And if so where are they available? >
I just heard that volume 22 has been released, haven't seen it yet. So it is complete now. Information on: www.tonkoopman.nl
You can order there.

Aryeh Oron wrote (August 18, 2006):
Julian Mincham asked:
"I have a question someone may be able to answer. Koopman has produced 20 boxes of CDs and I have been told by various distributors that he has completed
his recordings. However, he originally planned 66 CDs, of which only 61 have been released. More importantly, he hasn't recorded some of the later works, BWV 30, BWV 34, BWV 97 etc.
Neither my British or USA contacts can give me any info on this. So does anyone know if he has produced or is planning to record a 21^st and 22^nd volume?
And if so where are they available?"
The complete Cantata series conducted by Koopman has 22 Vols. - 67 CD's.
Vol. 22 includes also the 4 Lutheran Masses BWV 233-236, which were recorded after he had finishrecording all the cantatas in October 2003.

The content of each volume in Koopman series is presented at:
Vols. 1-12: Antoine Marchand (Previously Erato):
http://www.bach-cantatas.com/Performers/Koopman.htm
Vol. 13-22: Antoine Marchand :
http://www.bach-cantatas.com/Performers/Koopman-Rec2.htm

If you want to find out in which Vol. a certain cantata is located please take a look at:
http://www.bach-cantatas.com/Performers/Recordings-Table.htm
You can see that Cantata BWV 30 is on Vol. 22, BWV 34 on Vol. 21, BWV 97 on Vol. 21, etc.
This info can also be found at the relevant cantata pages (now updated).

Vols. 21 & 22 should be available next month from the usual internet stores.
See: http://www.bach-cantatas.com/Rec/Rec-2006-09.htm

Julian Mincham wrote (August 18, 2006):
Fait accompli - Koopman info

Many thanks to Lex and Aryeh for the infor mation on the Koopman last sets.

(Distribution problems meant that ealier in this year vols 19 and 20 were very difficult to get in the UK--I eventually got then from the USA.)

Ed Myskowski wrote (August 18, 2006):
Ehud Shiloni wrote:
< Today, in my mailbox, volume 22 - the last and final one - of the now COMPLETE cantata recording cycle by Ton Koopman. >
In response to Julian: 3 CDs by 22 is 66, exactly what you were expecting?

It seems that the people who have the Koopman CDs are the one's complaining about no commentary on-list. Need I say more?

Aryeh Oron wrote (August 18, 2006):
Ed Myskowski wrote:
"In response to Julian: 3 CDs by 22 is 66, exactly what you were expecting?"
(21 X 3) + (1 X 4) = 67.
Vol. 5 includes 4 CD's.

Harry W. Crosby wrote (August 19, 2006):
Several of you have written in to congratulate Ton Koopman and his people on their accomplishment of another complete set of Bach cantata recordings, indeed a rare and noteworthy feat. The writers usually also expressed their pleasure and satisfaction with the artistic results thus available.

I would like to bring in a minority report from one who usually does not prefer Koopman's results to those of selected others. And who, despite that position, is also very grateful to this conductor.

Why then, if he is not as a rule a favorite of mine?

Because I have found it a very important part of my education to be able to make comparisons. During my first thirty or more years of devotion to this composer and to this form such comparisons were possible with only limited numbers of cantatas. I was unable to find recordings of over one hundred, so more than half the total were completely unknown to me. And even when the (modest) Bach vogue set in, for me in the late '60s, I was lucky to find one performance of those newly available to add to my collection and my consciousness.

What these complete, or to-be-complete series have brought into my life has been the opportunity to hear different interpretations of many, many more of these works. And here I will admit that I have somewhat limited myself by being prejudiced in favor of the more modern recordings, period instruments, and smaller ensembles. As a result, I have been most affected by the work of Herreweghe (never to be complete, I know, but always a contender with whatever he does), Gardiner, Koopman, and Suzuki.

In this company, Koopman is my least favorite, overall, but he has provided, and still does, my only recording of six cantatas, and in the cases of four others he is my first choice over at least one other contender in paired comparisons. So, I will never regret investing in the Koopman series, even if most of those disks now reside in a nearby music library for the pleasure of others. Through them, I enriched my collection two ways, and probably the more important was the opportunity to understand better what it is that I prefer, something I at least learn far better and more easily from direct comparisons.

Thank you, Ton Koopman, and I continue to particularly enjoy your renditions of BWV 117, BWV 145, BWV 151, and BWV 159.

Review: Koopman volume 22

Peter Bright wrote (November 6, 2006):
If anyone is interested (or even if they are not!), my review of Koopman's 22nd (and final) volume of Bach cantatas has been added to the Bach Cantatas site. Many thanks to Aryeh for doing this. You can find it at: http://www.bach-cantatas.com/Performers/Koopman-Vol22.htm

Eric Bergerud wrote (November 6, 2006):
[To Peter Bright] I'm interested and thankee. Of course I'm collecting Koopman now: I think I have eleven volumes. (I also bought the Teldec volume covering secular cantatas: Harnoncourt did BWV 208; Koopman did the remainder. Very nice indeed.) I still can't make my ears believe that Bach's real forces had anything like the extraordinary polish Koopman's produce, but it's certainly lovely music. And I can't say that I miss the falsetto.

It sure doesn't look as though buying cantatas is such a bad investment. Some of Koopman's early volumes are out of print and not easy to find. They are going for considerably more than list price on Amazon. Who knows, we may make our heirs unexpectedly happy some day when they get the assessments on whopper collections of good Bach. Trouble is, we can't cash in without losing the Bach. Life isn't fair.

Off-topic: Regarding Koopman

Jean Laaninen wrote (November 1, 2007):
This morning I had the nice surprise upon visiting a library that I go to only occasionally, and discovered that they have some of the Koopman cantata recordings. So I brought one of them home, and I will listen to it on Friday most likely as I will have a clear space then in which I can concentrate on the more detailed aspects of the performance. Since I only have some Rilling and some American Bach Soloists, and have listened to Leusink on the web, I am writing to ask for comments about Koopman's general style, and maybe some comments on his ensemble. I know there are some long-time listeners on the list who can give a good introduction.

Thanks in advance.

Ton Koopman: Short Biography | Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir
Recordings: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4
General Discussions: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Koopman’s Petition | Newsletters
Vocal Works: Koopman on TV | Cantatas Vol. 1 | Cantatas Vol. 6 | Cantatas Vol. 9 | Cantatas Vol. 10 | Cantatas Vol. 13 | Cantatas Vol. 14 | Cantatas Vol. 17 | BWV 244 - Koopman | BWV 247 - Koopman
Non-Vocal Works: Ton Koopman’s Well Tempered Clavier Book 1 | Bach Sonatas for Gamba and Harpsichord | Review: Bach Orchestral Suites DVD | Discussions: Die Kunst der Fuge BWV 1080 - played by Ton Koopman
Article: Bach’s Choir and Orchestra [by Ton Koopman]
Table of recordings by BWV Number

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