J.S. Bach: Cantatas, Andreas Scholl, countertenor

Andreas Scholl has come a long way since 1995, when his recording of Vivaldi’s Stabat Mater won a Gramophone Award and brought him to the attention of the wider music-loving public. Hopping back and forth between the Harmonia Mundi and Decca labels, he has traversed repertoire from the traditional counter-tenor territory of Bach and Handel to the more esoteric realms of Wolkenstein and (to the dismay of many) orchestrated folk-songs. His last disc, of Purcell songs, was very good but suffered from his slightly quaint pronunciation of English.

On his new disc he returns to the music of Bach with one of the greatest cantatas, no. 82 Ich habe genug. It’s a masterful performance, restrained yet devastatingly affecting. The first few lines are delivered with what might best be described as controlled ecstasy, with a beautifully judged bloom towards the end of notes and, throughout, a calm command of phrasing. In the restful aria Schlummert ein, so reminiscent of the closing chorus of the St John Passion, the first section’s poised intimacy is contrasted with the second’s forward-looking view towards heaven. An exquisitely hushed reprise of the opening follows, where Scholl veils his tone to wondrous effect. The joy of the final aria comes almost as a shock, as does Scholl’s use of chest-voice for the low-voiced repetitions of the word “Tod” (death).

The Kammerorchester Basel matches him in mood and expression throughout, its playing a delight, even more so in cantata 169, Gott soll allein mein Herze haben, an altogether more joyful work that boasts an exuberant and lengthy opening sinfonia. This cantata lies higher in Scholl’s range; his voice at times assumes an oboe-like quality, pure and straight and acting as an excellent foil for the flutey organ obbligato in the third movement. An animated recitative from Cantata no. 61 and two single-aria cantatas round off the disc, the last of these scored somewhat unusually for strings with two bells and probably composed by Georg Melchior Hoffmann.

The recording was made in January 2011 in the warm acoustic of Les Dominicains de Haute-Alsace, near perfect as far as clarity and balance of sound are concerned, although a somewhat chilly venue, judging by the booklet photograph!