Donald Satz wrote:

>Deryk's preferences and mine are impacted in part by our religious views.
>If Deryk shares my views, forget the whole thing.

Although I very much believe that the listener's religious views have
something to do with the understanding of Bach's music, I wonder whether
in this case it makes a difference.  I haven't heard Gardiner's recording
of the b minor Mass, but I know some of his other Bach recordings, and
they are totally unsatisfying for me.  I have almost always problems with
British performances of German baroque music.  Even if the British
understand the German language, very few can speak it fluently and very few
seem to truely understand the differentiations of the language.  I very
much believe that the way the native language is spoken influences the way
of composing, not only of vocal but also of instrumental works.  Therefore
English orchestras (like The English Concert) are often wrong in things
like phrasing, articulation, accents etc.  That is a general problem, but
tells more in German music.  They seem not to understand that German is
basically a non-legato language, characterised by sharp sounds and a very
sharp articulation.  That should influence the interpretation of German
baroque music.  (We shouldn't forget that baroque music has a very strong
rhetorical character, and is based on speaking.) Furthermore, I think that
the quality of the Monteverdi Choir is highly exaggerated.  I believe that
there are far better choirs, especially for Bach.

Johan van Veen
Utrecht (Netherlands)
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