John Eliot Gardiner's Ascension Day disc (Archiv 463583) contains three
cantatas and an oratorio:  BWV 37, 43, 128, and 11).  BWV 11 is the
Oratorio for Ascension day and easily the most well known of the four
works.  Of course, the connection among the works is that each revolves
around the rising of Christ.  Gardiner's vocal soloists are Nancy Argenta,
Michael Chance, Robin Blaze, Anthony Rolfe Johnson, Christoph Genz, Stephen
Varcoe, and Reinhard Hagen.  My recollections from other recordings are
that Argenta, Chance, and Varcoe can be problematic.  Blaze has a beautiful
voice, but emotion tends to be rather neutral.  Johnson has been an
outstanding Bach performer.

When Bach wrote BWV 11, he was trying to absorb the deaths of a few of
his children.  It must have been very difficult to compose glorious,
triumphant, and optimistic music under those conditions.  One of the
interesting aspects of BWV 11 is to try to notice if the tragedies in
Bach's life did take hold in the work.

For comparison, I'm using Andrew Parrott on EMI 49959 and Philippe
Herreweghe on Harmonia Mundi 901479.  I believe that both versions are now
available at reduced price under different catalog numbers.  Herreweghe
uses a full chorus; Parrott is solidly in the one voice per part camp.

BWV 11 opens with a rousing chorus of great joy and ceremony.  Parrott's
version is excellent with crisp sound, great pacing, super trumpets,
and four vocal soloists who blend very well together.  After Parrott,
Herreweghe sounds bloated with trumpets not crisp and the chorus not highly
distinct; joy is also at a minimum.  Gardiner offers everything Parrott
provides with an additional sharpness from the trumpets and the best choral
work of the three.

A tenor recitative, bass recitative, and alto aria follow.  Their common
theme is one that I rarely have thought of - how dismayed and abandoned
Christ's followers must have felt when he left them.  This is not a good
series for Parrott.  His tenor and bass, Wilfried Jochens and Stephen
Charlesworth, are not particularly effective or of fine voice.  Also,
Parrott is quick in the aria and doesn't convey the gravity of the text;
this is not the time for Bach "Lite".  The vocalist, Margaret Cable, is an
improvement on her two compatriots but not excellent.  Both Herreweghe and
Gardiner are outstanding.  They know the environment is hard and sorrowful.
Their vocal soloists are very good.  Although I was a little surprised,
Varcoe and Chance, for Gardiner, are in top form.  Herreweghe's Christoph
Pregardien and Peter Kooy are formidable singers, and Catherine Patriasz,
whom I am not familiar with, delivers a strong and lovely performance.

With the next tenor recitative and a choral, the mood changes from
abandonment to a deep recognition that Christ and the world has triumphed
through his ascension.  I feel the choral needs to display a very strong
sense of triumph, and Herreweghe does just that; it's a superb performance.
Gardiner has his chorus in nearly hushed tones at the beginning, then has
them really belt it out at the end.  I'm not enamored of the approach.
Parrott is not competitive at all as he is again quick and too light; also,
his vocal quartet sounds undernourished.

A tenor/bass recitative, a very short alto recitative, another tenor
recitative, and an aria for soprano are next.  The tenor and bass, in white
apparel, comment that although Christ is now gone, he will return as he
departed.  The alto, somewhat desperately, implores Christ to return soon;
while he is gone, life will be loathsome.  Then the tenor returns to erase
the alto's mood and revel in the joy of ascension and eventual return.  The
sporano aria is one of great hope and comfort in the belief that Christ
will return.

The Parrott and Herreweghe recitatives are highly effective.  However,
Gardiner's tneor/bass recitative is too quick and rather combative; there
is little affinity toward the text.  Herreweghe's soprano aria sung by
Barbara Schlick is excellent.  His pacing and sense of hope and comfort are
superb; Schlick, although not of outstanding vocal beauty, effectively
displays the music's theme.  Parrott's Emma Kirby is excellent and
Gardiner's Nancy Argenta is fine, but neither conductor digs deeply into
the music; each is more playful than hopeful.

BWV 11 concludes with an energetic and rousing chorale where the prevalent
theme surrounds just when Jesus will return and the great desire for him to
return.  Herreweghe and Parrott certainly are rousing; Parrott uses five
vocal soloists (two sopranos), and their weight is sufficient.  Gardiner is
not really rousing; his tempo is a little slower than advantageous and the
chorale tends to drag some.

Summary of BWV 11:

Gardiner's version is just a little less enjoyable than Herreweghe's.
His vocal soloists do very well, and the opening chorus and alto aria are
superb.  However, Gardiner does make some interpretive decisions which are
less than appealing; his concluding chorale is too slow, and he is not
serious enough in the soprano aria.

Herreweghe's version is the best of the three.  Except for the opening
chorus, the performance is very strong with excellent vocal support,
particularly from the male soloists.  It's a shame that the opening chorus
is not at the same high level.

Parrott has significant problems.  Sometimes, his interpretations are not
sufficiently deep and the one voice per part approach not sufficiently
weighty and powerful.  Also, his alto, tenor, and bass soloists do not
stack up well with the other two versions.  Parrott has done much better
work in other Bach choral compositions where the weight is full and there
are no signs of undernourishment.  Nobody's perfect.

So, Herreweghe and Gardiner are the versions to look for.  Parrott is
superfluous in this company.

Don Satz
[log in to unmask]