J.S. BACH: Sonatas for Viola da Gamba: G Major, BWV, 1027; D Major, BWV 1028;
G Minor, BWV 1029; Jesu mein Freude; Von Himmel hoch da komm’ich her; Gottes Sohn ist kommen; In dir ist Freude; Der Tag, der ist so freudenreich; Herr Christ, der ein’ge Gottes Sohn; Von Himmel kam der Engel Schar; Herr Gott, nun schleuss den Himmel auf – Jan Vogler, cello/Martin Stadtfeld, piano – Sony 88697575192, 54:27 ****:
“A happy borealis of sound” seems the perfect epithet to describe the marvelous collaboration between cellist Jan Vogler and pianist Martin Stadfelt (rec. 30 July-1 August 2009) in the trio of viola da gamba sonatas written by Bach for the young Prince Leopold of Anhalt-Coethen. Having recently reviewed Jan Vogler and his Skride Trio in San Francisco, I can attest to the immediately alluring power of this man’s cello sound, a clear, clean call from a tradition well established by Emanuel Feuermann and extended through the likes of Janos Starker and Yo-Yo Ma. Pianist Stadtfeld fills out the continuo and flute or other string part with equal éclat, the major-key sonatas di chiesa lithe and elegant, while the G Minor Sonata points to a concerto or concertante development in Bach well ahead of the Italian concerto tradition that would evolve into Haydn and Mozart. The cello sound proves alternately virtuosic, both instrumentally and vocally, with lovely ariosi sprinkled liberally through the polyphonic textures. Listeners will certainly gravitate frequently to the third movement of the BWV 1028, a piquant siciliana that gains in expressiveness as the music develops.
To round out an effulgent fifty-five minutes of joyful ensemble, Vogler and Stadtfeld play an assortment of eight chorale-preludes arranged from The Little Organ Book, settings of devotion appropriate for Advent, Christmas, and New Year’s Day. During his Weimar period, Bach set some forty-six chorales of a projected 164 for the ecclesiastical year. Festive, intimate, meditative, a deeply illumined from within, the pieces sally forth, a set of “Christian soldiers” marching to the fore. Vogler plays the 1721 Montagnana “ex-Hekking” instrument, whose ringing tone simply luxuriates in the Bach doxologies, and works like Der Tag, der ist so freudenreich quite glow with rapt spiritual ardor. The keyboard, too, plays not “ivory” notes but the clarion peal of celebratory carillons. Balance engineer Julian Schwenkner deserves no small credit for a masterful sense of collaborative ambiance that makes this disc consistently compelling listening.
–Gary Lemco
