Ulvi Yurtsever wrote:

>>The combination Bach+Herreweghe+Scholl seems to be magical. I would
>>get everything featuring it (on Harmonia Mundi); most of which are now
>>available as mid-price re-releases (don't miss the B minor mass, where
>>Scholl's Agnus Dei will put a lump in your throat from start to finish).

Andrys Basten wrote:

>I love Michael Chance's rendition on Gardiner's set.  How does Scholl's
>compare in what he does and how he does it?

I just spent several hours comparing three versions of the B Minor Mass.
I promise to answer Andry's question as fully as possible for me (a non-
vocalist), but first I must mention a few other things about the B Minor
Mass.  If you just want a Scholl/Chance comparison, skip down a few more
paragraphs.  I could go on and on about this work that means so much to me,
so please forgive my long-windedness and superlatives.

First of all, a little aside: I recently acquired the B Minor Mass on
the Haenssler Label conducted by Beringer from Berkshire Record Outlet.
It is a very "traditional" cd (meaning not "baroque HIP style, and do not
annoy me by quibbling with my terminology here), and I especially wanted
it because the Bass arias are sung by Thomas Quasthoff.  He does not
disappoint!  If you have never heard this bass-baritone, run, do not walk,
to the Berkshire website, and snap up all the Bach on the Haenssler label
that you can: Quasthoff and some other very fine musicians are featured on
many of them.  They are all being remaindered.  The label is stingy with
timings, but generous with fine performances.

Please do not expect the nuances of a HIP performance in any of the
Haenssler cds.  There are none.  But they are very worthwhile, nonetheless.

Now I'll discuss the Gardiner and Herreweghe versions paying particular
attention to the two alto arias sung on each set as requested by Andrys.
The Gardiner B Minor Mass is on Archiv (415-514-2).  The Herreweghe is on
Harmonia Mundi (HMC901614.15).  The two alto areas are <Qui sedes ad
dexteram> and <Agnus Dei>.

The alto arias on the Gardiner set are sung by countertenor Michael Chance,
and frankly, till I heard Herreweghe's version last week during the WHRB
Bach orgy, I was perfectly satisfied with the ENTIRE Gardiner set.  It was
my favorite performance for the last several years.  Chance, however, in
close comparison with Scholl, the countertenor on the Herreweghe set, falls
a bit short in several areas.  I would never quibble this way if I hadn't
been asked to do this kind of comparison, because both artists bring great
musicianship to the work.

1.  Breath control or phrase shaping: Chance seems to be directed not by
the musical line of the Bach melody lines, but by his own breath control
and range.  This means that when he holds a note on "ah" or "eh" midrange,
it stands out even if it shouldn't especially.  At the ends of phrases he
seems to tire, so we as audience lose interest in the individual phrases,
and it lacks a forward movement.  An example of this can be heard in his
first entrance in <Qui sedes ad dextram Patris>.  I wish he had followed
the very excellent example of the oboe d'amore immediately preceding his
entrance.

After letter B (two minutes, twenty-nine seconds) the "miserere nobis"
section, his voice drops down a seventh and becomes nearly inaudible.  I am
aware that at some of the phrase endings Chance might have been wanting to
make a diminuendo, but in no case could I detect a supported one.

2.  Diction: flabby.  The words of <Qui sedes ad dextram> are swallowed by
the third measure, breaking up the smooth flow of the phrase.

3.  Balance: Perhaps not his fault but he does get swallowed up by the
accompaniment when it ought to be a more equal partnership.  It is not
always possible to follow all melody lines simultaneously as it is on the
Herreweghe recording.  Engineering? More modern equipment? Different
conducting concept? Got me.

Listen to the "ad dextram Patris" following the melisma at the end of the
aria.  <Qui sedes> "Pa" stands out in an unlovely way.  Certain syllables
like "Ah" also stand out.

Moving over to the aria <Agnus Dei> and still discussing Chance...

Gardiner's mood is a tad lighter than Herreweghe's.  As a result, there
is a much more emotional feel to the Herreweghe, more tonal impact, more
nuances within the phrases.  Even from the first moment of the instrumental
introduction we are prepared more by Herreweghe for something that will
capture our entire attention.

I am not talking about loudness here. Intensity is more what I mean.

Chance still lets my attention wander because his support drops out of
his phrases.  He holds the long notes with high intensity like a person
clinging to a life preserver, and then swallows up the moving lines.  This
makes for a bit of mush.

Allow this metaphor: Chance's voice reminds me of a person of great talent
playing on a very fine viola.  But Andreas Scholl has a Stradivarius of a
voice, and he is in perfect control of it.  The difference is IMMEDIATELY
apparent to me.  The colors of Scholl's voice are much more vivid than any
I have heard in a countertenor.  It's like watching the sun light up an
otherwise gray winter world.

Many people are turned off by the countertenor sound.  I admit that I was
also, till I learned to love the cantata singing of Paul Esswood.  Nothing
prepared me for Scholl, however.  It is a sound quality that haunts me.
Since my own copy of the Mass arrived, I've been listening again and again
to the whole thing, and I have found NOTHING AT ALL to quibble about on the
Herregweghe cd.  From beginning to end, I am thrilled over and over.

Aria <Qui sedes ad dextram>: Scholl sings with a strong, clear entrance,
diction impeccable, intonation is right on the button, strength in entire
range of the piece.  He makes it all seem effortless.  The little silence
of a breath at four measures after C (Three minutes and fifty-six seconds
into the piece) is a perfect Herreweghe pregnant pause, capturing
attention.  The vocal melisma at Tempo One (4'02) blends perfectly with
the instrumental countermelody.

(compare the same moments on the Gardiner at (3'42) ... less dramatic.
Chance still sounds good at the melisma, and does blend well, but to my
ears, the timbe of Scholl's voice, and the great variety of tone qualities
he can produce makes him sound like one of the instruments in passages like
this.

This beautiful blending is a trait of Scholl's that can be heard in many of
his other works (and you can bet that I have already acquired a good
representation!  Soon I'll have to mention his Pergolesi Stabat Mater.)

The aria <Agnus Dei> sung by Scholl is shocking after Chance's.  Right
from the first entrance it glows with high emotional intensity, but in what
I consider appropriate proportion.  There are internal crescendi that are
entirely in service to the melody line.  The phrases are arched, the breath
control is perfect, the balance between instrumental line and vocal line is
pure chamber music, with all the appropriate give and take, blending, and
LISTENING!  The sheer beauty of Scholl's voice gives me goosebumps.

Whew.  Too tired to talk about the other fine artists on this Herreweghe
disc.  And I haven't even listened to and compared my new Herreweghe St.
Matthew Passion with my previous favorites.

Mimi Ezust <[log in to unmask]>