Bach: Christmas Oratorio

 
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J. S. BACH
Bach: Christmas Oratorio
Mary Bevan (sop) Joanne Lunn (sop) Clare Wilkinson (mezzo) Nicholas Mulro (ten), etc / Dunedin Consort and Players, John Butt

[ Linn / 2 CD ]

Release Date: Friday 14 October 2016

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Anticipation is high since the Magnificat was named 'Choice' by Gramophone, topped the critics' Christmas recommendation lists and received multiple five stars reviews. Fans will once again be thrilled, as John Butt delivers another revelatory performance.

Dunedin's acclaimed soloists are Mary Bevan, Clare Wilkinson, Nicholas Mulroy and Matthew Brook (Cantatas 1, 3, 6), Joanne Lunn, Ciara Hendrick, Thomas Hobbs and Konstantin Wolff (Cantatas 2, 4, 5).

Butt applies his extensive knowledge of Bach's performing practices to present the range of choral scoring that Bach seems to have used, realizing something of the implications of the composer's performing conditions and decisions.

Ideally positioned to become the must-have Christmas recording of 2016, this seasonal favourite is a welcome addition to the Dunedin Consort's already enviable catalogue.

"Way-too-early seasonal content (sorry), but this latest release from the Dunedin Consort is too good to wait. It's surely one of the finest accounts now available of Bach's Christmas Oratorio. The approach of scholar/conductor John Butt is never authenticity-or-die, but full of historical investigation without purporting to recreate what Bach might have done. (Which would be tough, given that the original 1734 vocal soloists probably doubled on instruments.) The singers here are Dunedin regulars including Joanne Lunn, Clare Wilkinson, Nicholas Mulroy, all excellent, with Mary Bevan as a standout newcomer. The choral sound is pert, sinewy, unforced; the instrumental playing is punchy, broad and charismatic. Butt's navigation of the sprawling six cantatas is tremendously enjoyable - it's not just how he handles tempo and gait to make us feel the character of individual movements, but how he turns corners and paces the big picture." Five Stars The Guardian