![\"Peter](\"http:\/\/www.musicalamerica.com\/mablogs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/03\/bluePeterDijkstra.jpg\")
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By ANDREW POWELL MUNICH \u2014 Bayerischer Rundfunk chose to film Bach\u2019s St Matthew Passion<\/i> last month in the Herkulessaal, in blue light. Drafted for the mood-enhanced venture were Karina Gauvin<\/a>, Gerhild Romberger<\/a>, Maximilian Schmitt<\/a> and Michael Nagy<\/a>, the vocal quartet; Julian Pr\u00e9gardien<\/a> and Karl-Magnus Fredriksson<\/a> as the Evangelist and Jesus; the Cathedral Sparrows<\/a> (actually boys) from Regensburg; and the authentically inclined orchestra Concerto K\u00f6ln<\/a> from K\u00f6ln. The broadcaster\u2019s own estimable BR Chor<\/a> anchored the proceedings under its Dutch artistic leader Peter Dijkstra<\/a>. Instantly (Feb. 16) their efforts poured out over the Internet and to watchers of the Franco-German TV network Arte<\/a>. No doubt a DVD will follow to match the BR Klassik<\/a> label\u2019s equally azure Christmas Oratorio<\/a><\/i> of 2010.<\/p>\n The next afternoon (Feb. 17), by dint of planning the first Sunday in Lent, all was repeated, happily without color effects or cameras, and wonders ensued anyway. Jarringly at first, Dijkstra favored leisurely speeds for the choruses yet brisk dispatch of the arias, as if he could not settle between traditional and authentic ways with the score. But this hybrid approach soon proved enlightening: choral ideas gained transparency, also grandeur, while the music for solo voice advanced in resolute dramatic units.<\/p>\n Romberger\u2019s graceful legato and neatly placed ornaments found the logic of her musical lines, with text emphases shifting in modest degrees; this is an imaginative, rich, true alto whose absorbing Bu\u00df und Reu<\/i> and Erbarme dich<\/i> alone justified attendance. Gauvin brought an agile, creamy soprano, although her phrasing did not always explain her renown as a Baroque stylist. Schmitt\u2019s high, sometimes meager-toned tenor projected well. Nagy\u2019s keen musicianship largely masked missing gravitas in the voice. A member of the Royal Opera in Stockholm<\/a>, Fredriksson declaimed the protagonist\u2019s varied part in bright hues, his voice fully supported even in sudden outbursts; though listed as a baritone, he had all the low notes. Pr\u00e9gardien offered an equally vivid storyteller but strained in abrupt ascents.<\/p>\n The bisected BR Chor sang with customary discipline and impeccable text enunciation, while the sparrows opulently held aloft Bach\u2019s cantus firmus<\/i> girders in framing Part I. Instrumentally the performance had great eloquence \u2014 in the extensive viola da gamba<\/i> work (from Jan Freiheit for both groupings), in a nimble violin solo (from Mayumi Hirasaki in Orchestra II), and in the robust, confident sound of the divided Cologne ensemble.<\/p>\n Photo \u00a9 Klaus Fleckenstein for BR<\/p>\n Related posts:
\nPublished: March 28, 2013<\/span><\/p>\n
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