MATTHEW PASSION – Poignant stories about the suffering and death of ChristOnline Merker
Innsbruck: “MATTHEW PASSION” – April 14th, 2022 – moving about the suffering and death of Christ
Philippe Herreweghe © Victor Malyshev
There are music lovers who travel hundreds of kilometers to share a Bach passion Philippe Herreweghe and his Choir and Orchestra of “Collegium Vocale Ghent” listen. We are on April 14th. went to Innsbruck to the “Osterfestival Tirol” at the St. Barbara Gallery (Hall), to Johann Sebastian Bach Experiencing the “St. Matthew Passion” (Leipzig 1727) will never experience this journey because of the high quality of the performance and the gripping emotionality of the musical experience. It should be said that Herreweghe and his “Collegium Vocale Gent” are currently on a tour of Central Europe with the “St. Nevertheless, one never had the feeling that a program was routinely unwound here. Of course – as Herreweghe presented to the audience at the Congress Innsbruck – a certain tension among the musicians was also due to the fact that staff had been absent due to the corona pandemic, which could only be compensated for by “tricks in the instrumentation” (Herreweghe) and rapid subsequent nominations . Anyway, apart from the fact that a flutist had to change positions to reinforce the second orchestra, there was nothing to be noticed, because both choir and orchestra are consistently staffed with top people and great individualists*, who, however, with Herreweghe as a compact, well-established community.
Tobias Berndt as Jesus © Victor Malyshev
The pivotal points of Herreweghe’s interpretation are the dramatic culminations in Bach’s musical “Report on the Suffering and Death of Jesus Christ”: the seizure of Jesus, the tortures he was subjected to and his crucifixion. With Reinoud van Mechelen (Tenor) there is an “Evangelist” available who tirelessly, almost relentlessly drives the story forward with an elastic, flexible voice that is expressive in all phases, always focused on the heartbeat of the story. The flow of episodes and song numbers – recitative, artful da capo arias wallowing in empathy and selected emotions, excited turba choirs of fanatical groups, always contemplative chorales of folksy simplicity – follows Herreweghe’s great, dramatic style, and the result is probably in the composer’s spirit one part out of the other.
However, Herreweghe is not a radicalist of opposites, and of course just as little an aesthete of euphony. Its orientation towards historical performance practice requires the choice of Baroque instruments in addition to conventional stringed instruments. The transverse flute, baroque oboe, oboa da caccia, viola da gamba, baroque bassoon and two organ positives for the basso continuo require the participating singers to increase the volume, the two-part orchestra to show maximum consideration and the audience to listen to quieter, more subtle, more nuanced sounds Sounds, especially since the entire sound apparatus is not always used, but it always fans out like chamber music. And so, in Herreweghe’s interpretation, Bach’s music exhibits a variety of timbre combinations and acoustic scents. Strings mingle with wind instruments like pastel colors, arias can also be accompanied by two “oboe da caccia” or only by the solo, sweeping viola da gamba and a subtle organ, the concertmaster is allowed to engage in lively dialogue with the alto. Herreweghe creates Bach’s “St. Matthew Passion” sensitively, despite dramatic sharpening and clear accents – as music for big ears. What benefits him here is the tonal accuracy of the strings, the sovereignty of the wind instruments and also the homogeneity of the two-part choir. Fugues and fugati in the choruses are conveyed just as convincingly as the contemplation in the chorales, especially in the modifications of the “O head full of blood and wounds” that run like a red thread through the work.
Reinoud van Mechelen as Evangelist © Victor Malyshev
It goes without saying that Herreweghe has plenty to choose from when it comes to the choice of solo parts. Tobias Berndt sings the role of Jesus with a warm, flowing sound and also shines here and there in bass arias. Dorothee Mields, the outstanding force among the sopranos, sings nuanced, sensual and scored enormously in well-known arias such as “I will give you my heart” or “He has done us all good”. Among the countertenors, it was above all enthusiastic Tim Mead with radiant height, dynamics and differentiating design – characteristics that are also reflected in the performance of the tenors Samuel Boden and Guy cutting come to light. JulianMilan (bass) convincing as Judas, Raimund Nolte as Peter and Philip Kaeven as Pilate. Grace Davidson (Soprano), Jacob Hall (altos), Chiyuki Okamura (1st maid, wife of Pilate) and Magdalena Podkościelna (2nd maid) complements the ensemble perfectly.
Thomas Nussbaumer