Matthaus-Passion BWV 244 - conducted by Fritz Werner

Recording

V-3	Matthäus-Passion BWV 244
Matthäus-Passion BWV 244
Fritz Werner
Heinrich-Schütz-Chor Heilbronn / Boys Choir of Robert-Mayer-School of Heilbronn / Pforzheim Chamber Orchestra
Soprano: Agnes Giebel; Alto: Renate Günther; Tenor: Helmut Krebs; Basses: Franz Kelch [Jesus], Hermann Werdermann
Erato		Oct 1958	4 LPs / TT: 186:45

Werner SMP

John Pike wrote (March 31, 2005):
I'm afraid I found this a disappointment. The tempi seemed incredibly slow, even though I am used to Richter, which I greatly enjoy. At this speed, I found it all too ponderous and, far from coming over as reverential and profound, I found it just a drag. To be honest, I was pleased when it was over. The singing and orchestral playing were pleasant enough, but there was little in the phrasing to sustain my interest. Recording quality was surprisingly good, given the age of the recording, but the recording quality of BWV 147 which follows is technically poor and, once again, I found the slow tempi a big turn-off. I will probably not bother to buy the other cantatas unless someone can convince me that they are really good. I am too busy with enhancing my Herreweghe and Gardiner collections at present, and I haven't even started Koopman or Suzuki!

Peter Bright wrote (March 31, 2005):
John Pike wrote: < I'm afraid I found this a disappointment. The tempi seemed incredibly slow, even though I am used to Richter, which I greatly enjoy. At this speed, I found it all too ponderous and, far from coming over as reverential and profound, I found it just a drag. To be honest, I was pleased when it was over. The singing and orchestral playing were pleasant enough, but there was little in the phrasing to sustain my interest. Recording quality was surprisingly good, given the age of the recording, but the recording quality of BWV 147 which follows is technically poor and, once again, I found the slow tempi a big turn-off. I will probably not bother to buy the other cantatas unless someone can convince me that they are really good. >
What about some comments from Aryeh (from April '04, reprinted below from the Bach Cantatas web site) - which I took to heart (and never looked back). Incidentally, I also agree wholeheartedly with Aryeh's taste in jazz!

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Aryeh Oron wrote (April 29, 2004):
[To Dale Gedcke] Werner was a thoughtful Bach interpreter, whose renditions are usually interesting, almost always compelling, and many times excellent. Ehud has already mentioned his opening chorus of Cantata BWV 6, and I tend to concur with him. In these days, where many contemporary recordings are aiming at the same direction and as a consequence might sound similar to each other, Werner's interpretation are like a fresh water. Strange to speak of recordings from 3-4 decades ago as refreshing, but if you have open ears you can derive from them lot of enjoyment. Comparing him to Karl Richter, for example, reveals that usually Werner uses smaller forces (instrumental ensemble, choir), and as a result his renditions are more transparent, less ponderous, in other words more 'modern'. The main assets of these recordings are the roster of soloists. In the female department you can find first rate Bach singers as sopranos Agnes Giebel and Ingeborg Reichelt, and contraltos Claudia Hellmann and Barbara Scherler. In the men's department there are singers who are among my favourite of all time. Tenors Helmut Krebs and Georg Jelden, basses Barry McDaniel and Jakob Stämpfli are second to none. No contemporary bass-baritone is close to Stämpfli regarding the richness of voice, sensitivity to the context and expressive abilities. I have only part of these recordings, some on CD reissues, others are home-made transfers from the original LP's. I can hardly wait for this reissue.

Technical matters have never been an important issue for me. As a one who love Jazz recordings from the 1910's and the 1920's (Bix Beiderbecke, Jelly Roll Morton, etc.), I have learnt to listen to the players through the technical obstacles and limitations. For me expression, originality and sincerity are always more important factors than technical fineness. You can realise that recordings from the 1960's are relatively modern for me. After all the 1950's and the 1960's were the best years for Jazz: Coltrane, Dolphy, Mingus, Miles, Ayler, Pepper, Nichols... I should better stop at this point.
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Yoël L. Arbeitman wrote (March 31, 2005):
Krebs (was: Werner SMP)

Peter Bright wrote (quoting Aryeh): < In the men's department there are singers who are among my favourite of all time. Tenors Helmut Krebs and Georg Jelden, basses Barry McDaniel and Jakob Stämpfli are second to none. >
I never enjoyed these cantatas in the selection I had on LPs and Krebs was one reason.

More recently I have become very fond of his singing (not in Bach where I only have the Lehmann MP) but both in a very cut German edition of Gluck's Iphigénie en Aulide on the GALA label and in his aircheck performance of Berlioz's Sommernächte (Nuits d'été) where he is one of three tenor recordings I have of this work and the only recording I have of this cycle in German. It is amazing how the language ceases to matter when the singing is that lovely. In the Iphigénie his singing of Achille is one of the finest I have heard.

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Last update: �April 1, 2005 �16:43:59