Thursday, April 21, 2011

Böhm, Georg - Cantatas - Papken, Musica Alta Ripa

 


 

 

 

 

Review:

Georg Böhm is a household name among organists, who frequently play his chorale partitas. There is also a growing interest in his harpsichord suites. He is often mentioned because of his influence on the young Johann Sebastian Bach. But his vocal output has been overlooked. The interpretation by the soloists, the choir and the instrumental ensemble on this disc can hardly be surpassed. All soloists are specialists in baroque music, and have wide experience in performing German vocal music of theMusica Alta Ripa 17th and 18th centuries. As they are all native speakers of German, their pronunciation is impeccable, and they also excel in articulation and diction, and give the text full attention. The ensemble Musica Alta Ripa is one of Germany's finest instrumental ensembles, and has made many splendid recordings. The choir, which I hadn't heard before, realises the tutti passages in a most convincing way. The question is, though, whether in this repertoire a choir is needed. I think that the character of these cantatas and the historical data available, strongly suggest a performance with one voice per part. These cantatas are splendid works, which deserve to be widely known, and this interpretation does them full justice.

 

flac, scans

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