Bach: Redemption
Anna Prohaska with Lautten Compagney, dir. Wolfgang Katschner on Alpha Disques (rel. 12 June 2020), accessed in 96kHz/24 bit via Qobuz
I had the weirdest dream. It’s the best way to describe the experience of the last track on this album, which mirrors the first, sung by Austrian-English soprano Anna Prohaska, whom I have admired since her collaboration with Il Giardino Armonico visiting Cleopatra roles in baroque opera.
The dream is a treat; some scat in the vocals combined with the sounds of a baroque recorder and a far more modern saxophone. If crossover isn’t your thing, there’s no worries, but when this kind of thing is done well, it feels so good. It brings a fabulous recital of Bach's music to a conclusion, squarely in the present.
The concept of this album is a presentation of Bach arias plucked from his oeuvre of cantatas. I see multiple potential audiences for such an album: it works to present Bach’s music in a condensed, single disc format—and it of course isn’t first disc to work this way. But even for those that own one or more complete sets of Bach’s Kantaten, taken out of context, these pieces work well to highlight the extraordinary gifts of these musicians and the the recording engineers.
The location of the Christuskirche Berlin Oberschöneweide has made for a remarkable sound. Pictures inside the booklet picture the musicians performing for one another, in circle, rather than outward toward an audience. I will say this provides the potential for very connected music making, but however it was done, the sound of this album is extraordinarily wide and helps elevate the music of Johann Sebastian Bach.
Lautten Compagney didn’t spare expense in providing color. The instrumental performance of the chorale from BWV 135 includes cornetto and trombones. Vivacious solo violin playing appears with ample enthusiasm. Bassoon, oboes, flutes, and additional soloists round out the company of musicians.
Sheeps may safely graze (BWV 208), is realized in full pastoral splendor with recorders, a luxurious bass with lute, and surprisingly, the solo is realized here by violin. One of Bach’s early cantatas, and one of my personal favorites (BWV 150) is represented in the performance of its sinfonia and two choruses. While I already perhaps have favorite performances of this work, LC add yet another strong performance (am I wanting for more? Yes!) to the catalog, notable both for the singing as for the instrumental playing.
Prohaska has a properly operatic voice, but the full (modern) power of her voice isn’t often exploited in these works, which is in line with my understanding of vocal style from Bach’s time. Her voice in the upper range takes on a telltale signature sound, which I admire. There are times where the vibrato does reveal itself in her singing—a style for which I don’t often admire, it’s nevertheless beautiful. In one of Bach’s more popular arias, Ich habe genug from BWV 82, I find her style tamer, quite appropriate for the baroque voice type, as is the case in flavorful aria from BWV 202, Weichet nur betübte Schatten.
I think Anna Prohaska is one of the most interesting and beguiling vocalists to emerge in early music over the past ten years. I was pleased to see an album dedicated to Bach. The collaboration with Lautten Compagney has only impressed me more with their versatility. They are marketing this album as one appropriate for the age of COVID-19, and it’s the first album I’ve seen with musicians wearing masks. I think the music of Bach can do all wonders; this full album with twenty tracks and over seventy-seven minutes of music may well be an excellent prescription for dealing with all that’s wrong in the world today.
