Eugen Jochum - Eugen Jochum: Choral Recordings On Philips [CD]

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Eugen Jochum\u2019s complete recordings of choral / sacred music for Philips collected together for the first time, including the rare Rudolf Mengelberg Magnificat.\r
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Even as the period-instrument movement gathered momentum during the 1960s, Jochum refused to relinquish Bach to historical specialists. He wrote an extensive essay on the interpretation of Bach\u2019s St. Matthew Passion in the 1960s. \u2018Even nearer to my heart,\u2019 he said, \u2018is the B minor Mass, the most spiritual work in the repertory.\u2019 For Philips he recorded the four great pillars of Bach\u2019s sacred music between 1958 (B minor Mass) and 1973 (Christmas Oratorio). His interpretations tread a scrupulous, devotional middle way between stylistic traditions: \u2018I don't think it matters too much if you use a large or a small choir, old or new instruments; what they must be is lively and dramatic. Expression is the heart of the matter\u2019.\r
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The understanding of dance rhythm and momentum which distinguish Jochum\u2019s Bruckner performances also inflect his Bach recordings, notably enhanced by his ability to get singers to engage with the meaning of the text. Jochum established his Wagnerian credentials early in his career with a superb Tannhauser, and his passions extended far beyond music for the church and concert-hall. He had a huge musical personality, but what continues to impress across his discography is his ability to know when and how to apply the components of that personality to the repertoire at hand. This master of rubato could stick with a lively and steady tempo to great effect in the great choral fugues of Haydn\u2019s Creation and Beethoven\u2019s Missa solemnis, and this master of forward motion also knew when to stop and let the music breathe, in the Beethoven\u2019s \u2018Sanctus-Benedictus\u2019 above all.\r
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This Eloquence box is offered as a companion to Jochum\u2019s complete orchestral recordings for Philips. It is enhanced by some of the finest Bach singers of their day \u2013 Ernst Haefliger, Walter Berry and Agnes Giebel notable among them \u2013 and the superb principals of the Concertgebouw such as Han de Vries (oboe), Hubert Barwahser (flute) and Anner Bijlsma (cello), all of whom went on to pursue careers as solo-musicians. The Christmas Oratorio and The Creation feature the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra and local choirs, with whom Jochum had enjoyed a fruitful relationship since becoming their principal conductor in 1949. \r
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Niek Nelissen provides the insightful notes, including fascinating observations surrounding the recording sessions, and the booklet is enhanced with several rare photographs.\r
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\u201cThis performance is shaped by a first-class musician. The choral lines, as for example in the great fugue of the Kyrie, are moulded with loving care \u2026 The orchestra is unfailingly eloquent, and special praise is due to the various instrumental soloists.\u201d High Fidelity, October 1958 (Bach: Mass in B minor)\r
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\u201cA soft gently and dignified approach to the score that stresses its contemplative aspects.\u201d Choral Music on Record, 1991 (Bach: Mass in B minor)\r
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\u201cJochum has apparently chosen the \u2018big\u2019 approach. And yet, despite the size of his performing bodies, he has avoided the pitfall of having them get lost in a mass of sound, by the expedient of keeping them moving.\u201d Stereo Review, December 1958 (Bach: Mass in B minor)\r
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\u201cThe best St. Matthew Passion I have ever heard! The best choro-orchestral album of 1967!\u201d Cincinnati Enquirer (Bach: St. Matthew Passion)\r
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\u201cA performance of considerable mass and scope \u2026 Haefliger is a very good Evangelist, skilled and understanding. Berry is in excellent form, rich-voiced and steady; he introduces more colour into his role than other performers of the part on records, stressing the human side of Jesus \u2026 Very good sound throughout.\u201d High Fidelity, January 1968 (Bach: St. Matthew Passion)\r
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\u201cThe vocalists, it must be said, are among the best one could hear in any Bach Passion today; particularly admirable is Ernst Haefliger, who as the Evangelist provides drama, rhetoric, and sensitivity.\u201d Stereo Review, March 1968 (Bach: St. Matthew Passion)\r
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\u201cA loving, supple, dramatic and colourful reading, with much ebb and flow.\u201d Choral Music on Record, 1991 (Bach: St. Matthew Passion)\r
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\u201cA superbly convincing performance of the closing pages \u2026 Thrilling singing \u2026 A profound experience fully worthy of the music.\u201d Gramophone, April 1968 (Bach: St. John Passion)\r
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\u201cSincere and deeply felt \u2026 The soloists are an experienced set vocally and always good to hear.\u201d Gramophone, April 1985 (Bach: St. John Passion)

CDs 1\u20132: JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH (1685\u20131750) Mass In B Minor, BWV 232

CDs 3\u20135 JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH: Matthaus-Passion, BWV 244

CDs 6-7: JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH: Johannes-Passion, BWV 245

CDs 8\u201310 JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH: Weihnachts-Oratorium, BWV 248

CDs 11\u201312 JOSEPH HAYDN: Die Schopfung, Hob. XXI:2

LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN: Missa Solemnis, Op. 123

RUDOLF MENGELBERG: Magnificat