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44 of 44 found the following review helpful:
 Gardiner does it again with a fine "Christmas Oratorio"Dec 11, 1999
This worthy performance of Bach's "Christmas Oratorio," recorded in 1987, further enhances John Eliot Gardiner's substantial discography of performances of Baroque, Classical, and Romantic masterworks. Very rarely does Gardiner turn in a lackluster performance, and this reading of the six-part Bach work sparkles. I cannot reconcile the criticism I read from another reviewer--that Gardiner turns the opening chorus of Part 1 into a "military march"--with what I hear on the recording; perhaps this reviewer was unaware that the chorus derives from the cantata "Toenet, ihr Pauken!", BWV 214 (where its opening words are "Sound, drums! Ring out, trumpets!"), so that any "military" quality he hears is what Bach wrote into the music. The soloists are uniformly good, especially mezzo-soprano Anne Sofie von Otter and bass Olaf Bar, and the disk timings (73:01, 67:03) show that the buyer certainly gets his or her money's worth of music. As far as the music itself, although, as indicated above, Bach did a fair amount of recycling (from BWV 213, 214, 215, and from the lost "St. Mark Passion" BWV 247 and a presumed lost cantata BWV 248a), the reused music is of the highest quality, and in certain cases Bach even seems to have had second thoughts and decided to write new movements for the "Oratorio" rather than add new texts to old movements. The result, of course, is up to Sebastian's usual magnificently-high standard. If you are considering buying a recording of Bach's oratorio, I don't see how you can go wrong with Gardiner's rendition. Highly recommended.
27 of 28 found the following review helpful:
Gardiner does it againJan 07, 2000
By far the best performance on record, outstanding on all fronts (solo, choral, instrumental). To me, the old warhorse compared in the two-star review below doesn't even come close. It indicates that the reviewer is a traditionalist with a very fixed view, not at all in keeping with modern knowledge of period performance. These works weren't played in the overly reverent 19th century inflated grandiose manner (a manner from which Handel's "Messaih" has been finally rescued), but in a lively fashion. Gardiner might indeed push at the limits a bit (given the technical ability of the Monteverdi Choir in particular, who can blame him?), but in this version, to me he gets it dead right - a nicely-balanced performance which brings back the joy and exhilaration in a great piece of music.
19 of 19 found the following review helpful:
You can lead a warhorse to water...Mar 18, 2001
...but you can't make it think? No, that's unkind and unmerited. Mr.Nielsen the warhorse man (neigh sayer?) clearly likes his Bach old-fashioned and warhorseish and that is his right. I have had the privilege of hearing Richter do this "live" with an equally stellar cast in the Kongressaal, Munich too many years ago. It was good, but more than ever I'm convinced that this is yesterday's Bach. I agree, Wunderlich et al have great voices - for opera. Bach did not have such voices, and his music is best served by lighter vibrato-free voices rather than ponderous bel canto styles. And I'm sorry, I cannot agree that the excellent young singers in the Gardiner version lack feeling in what they sing. And why shouldn't Bach be impressive? The city fathers at Leipzig would have wanted that. So, although there are other excellent performances (e.g., Pickett and Herreweghe - and I commend to Mr. Nielsen Eugen Jochum's verion as the best of the "Warhorse" versions), Gardiner still comes out tops.
13 of 13 found the following review helpful:
an essential part of my yearly Christmas experienceDec 04, 2005
By Steven Eldredge
It surprises me that a number of people here have given this splendid recording negative reviews, but that is , I guess, proof that people's tastes and expectations are different.
What I expect from any Bach performance by (Sir) John Eliot are forward-moving tempi when they need to move forward. Natural tempi in the slower music, always allowing the singers to breathe and phrase easily. I expect crisp, energetic articulation and immaculate intonation from the chorus, and snappy, alive playing from the orchestra. I also expect from Sir John a deep experience of what makes Bach's choral music "tick", what makes it sound best. I get all this in spades from this recording of this most delightful music. Additionally, I get an excellent group of soloists, one of whom, von Otter, is completely splendid.
Add to this an ideal sound balance in Archiv's terrific engineering, a most beautiful cover and a good price, what more can one ask for? Merry Christmas!
12 of 12 found the following review helpful:
Success of Recording Owes More to Performers than GardinerDec 09, 2004
By A. T. Canniere
John Elliot Gardiner's work is usually impressive, but relies heavily on the quality of the musicians performing with him. The English Baroque Soloists with the Monteverdi Choir could arguably be the finest baroque ensemble anywhere. That doesn't go without mentioning Collegium Vocale Gent and Pilippe Herreweghe, who are equally impressive. Given the date of the recording (1987) and the development of early music performance practice at that time, Gardiner's interpretation is well within the historical context of Bach's music.
The balance between the choir and the orchestra and individualy within themselves is quite remarkable. The modest size of the choir blended with the authentic period instruments played by the orchestra create a crisp ensemble sound resulting in a refreshing contrast from other heavily orchestrated and muddier versions. Additional highlights include the accurate and inspiring interpretations by the soloists, especially by the young soprano Anne Sophie von Otter and bass Olaf Bar.
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