Quite bold titles here—don’t for one minute assume that what you are going to hear will match Papa Bach’s efforts in either the Magnificat or the Christmas Oratorio. But neither should such expectations be allowed; CPE is in every way his own man and in his own peculiarly wonderful style. It is not our fault that we may not be as familiar with this style as we would wish; until 1999, when a huge archive of the Berlin Singakademie was discovered in Kiev, most of CPE’s choral works were not known to us. Now the situation is changing, though the Magnificat has hardly been ignored, as there are currently about six recordings available. My favorite has been the one with Hartmut Haenchen on a mid-1990s Berlin Classics edition, big-boned and very fine. This one is supposedly the first recording of the “original” version, and also his first large scale choral work. It is melodic, brilliantly virtuosic and ornamental, and tuneful to an extreme. I cannot tell the differences between it and the “later” version aside from the size of the forces and the use of period instruments here (the Hartmut Haenchen is modern). But this is definitely a piece you want to be acquainted with.
This is the first recording of CPE Bach’s Christmas Cantata, whose origin stems from around 1773-74. The words and music come form a work that Bach had composed for the installation of a new pastor, but like dad, he did not hesitate to recycle when necessary. And like dad, he uses flutes also. I actually find the cantata more attractive than the first piece – very colorful and deliciously exploitative in its narrative abilities. The forces here for the most part perform well, though I am also a little vexed by the weakness of the male alto, not necessarily a condemnation of Mr. Rexroth as much as his ilk in general. It is a rather large orchestra, period instrument-wise, with 27 players joining with 21 singers. There is a tiny degree of ensemble disunity in spots, but by and large they are right on target. The sound is primarily in the front three speakers with slight ambiance in the rear, hardly a novel concept these days in surround recording, and the acoustics are excellent. Rilling and Ledger have also done excellent recordings of the Magnificat, and I would urge one of the others on you for that work, but if you want the cantata this is the only game in town—and a worthy one.
— Steven Ritter
