Bach: Cantata No. 10 "Meine Seel' erhebt den Herren", Michael Gielen, Baden-Baden 1991

Описание: Johann Sebastian Bach
Cantata BWV 10 "Meine Seel' erhebt den Herren"

Christiane Oelze, soprano
Cornelia Kallisch, contralto
Christoph Prégardien, tenor
Anton Scharinger, bass
Anton Webern Choir Freiburg
SWF Symphony Orchestra Baden-Baden
conductor: Michael Gielen
recorded in 1991

Copied from CD Intercord INT 860.919 (1992). Out of print.

While the general purpose of my channel is the documentation of historical vinyl records which are copyright-free in most countries of the world, in this case I make an exception by presenting a more recent CD recording which is out of print and has never been reissued, neither on disc nor as downloadable file. Of course, this is copyrighted material, but since it is no longer commercially available (i.e. no one is actually earning money with it), I hope that my upload will be tolerated as fair use.

In 1991, Michael Gielen, who was then chief conductor of the South West German Broadcasting Corporation's symphony orchestra, went on tour with a concert programme combining works by Bach and Webern, with cantata BWV 10 and the Magnificat serving as a frame to orchestral and choral works by Webern and his orchestration of Bach's Ricercare a 6 from the Musical Offering. This was the most exciting Bach performance I ever heard. BWV 10 and BWV 243 were recorded in the minster of Schwarzach near Baden-Baden and issued on CD in the "Gielen Edition" series by Intercord, which was later taken over by EMI and finally discontinued.

Obviously this CD did not sell well enough. This is quite clear: Nowadays no one will buy a Bach recording made by a modern symphony orchestra and a symphonic conductor who is mainly known as an avant-garde pioneer and as a Mahler and Schönberg expert. The contemporary prejudice says that Bach must be played by "historically informed" baroque specialists on period instruments. Of course, the relatively large forces employed by Gielen do not sound as transparent as a small period ensemble. But the liveliness and verve of his rendition proves the said prejudice wrong. A modern approach to Bach is possible and valid.