Bach: St. Matthew Passion
Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra
At Trinity-St. Paul's Centre
in Toronto on Thursday
If British conductor Andrew Parrott is right, the St. Matthew Passion he conducted with the Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra on Thursday night in Toronto was the one Bach intended us to hear. But it certainly wasn't the St. Matthew Passion we're used to hearing.
Citing historical records, Parrott presented the piece without the usual massed choirs (the score calls for two), but instead with two vocal quartets singing the choir parts, the chorales and most of the arias Bach wrote. Instead of 50, 60 or 100 singers, we had eight on stage, and the results allowed us to hear Bach's masterpiece in a fascinating new light.
As with any other cultural icon, breathing freshness into St. Matthew Passion is a real accomplishment. Bach's extraordinary retelling of the last days of Christ according to the Gospel of St. Matthew has been at the heart of the Western repertoire since Felix Mendelssohn revived it in 1836. But Parrott's version was a marvel. For the first time, because of his modest forces, we could hear the choral sections opened up, revealing their extraordinary harmonies and complex counterpoint, and appreciate the genius of Bach in a musical setting very close to his original conception of the work.
The two quartets might have been something of a novelty, if Parrott had not received such strong performances from so many of his vocal and instrumental colleagues. Amongst the singers, countertenor Matthew White shone consistently, both in his ensemble work and in his gorgeous, powerful solos. Bach gave the countertenor some of the most affecting arias in St. Matthew Passion, and White came through brilliantly in arias such as Erbarme dich, and the recitative Ah, Golgotha.
Tamara Mathews provided a fine account of Blute, nur and Christian Hilz sang a powerful Mache, dich as well as the part of Jesus with real understanding. Wilfried Jochen's Evangelist was clear and impassioned.
And the members of Tafelmusik shone as well. The reduced forces in this performance allowed us to register the fact that Bach used his wind section so effectively, and Tafelmusik's flutes, recorders and oboists were superb all night. Jeanne Lamon and Sergei Istomin both provided fine string solos, and the continuo of Christina Mahler, Alison Mackay and Charlotte Nediger provided a rock-solid foundation, playing for virtually the entire three-hour performance. Mahler may have been the single most impassioned performer on stage.
Parrott's slimmed-down St. Matthew Passion was a masterpiece of clarity, but, inevitably, lacked some of the power we have come to associate with the piece. Parrott tried to make up for his lack of musical heft by emphasizing the drama inherent in the work, even with tempi consistently on the quick side and a precise articulation throughout. The tensions in the work, and the pure beauty of the story (St. Matthew was a fair librettist) were evident at every turn.
There should be a special place in the musical pantheon for performers that help us regain the sense of freshness and awe which attended our original meeting with a masterpiece. Parrott clearly fit into that category with St. Matthew Passion, a performance that allowed us to hear, and rehear, the work as though for the first time, and permitted us to enter the very individual sonic world that surrounded its creator. For a moment, we could feel part of Bach's original audience, and be closer to him for it.
Tafelmusik's St. Matthew Passion repeats tonight at 7:30, tomorrow at 3:30 p.m., and Tuesday night at 7:30. For information: 416-964-6337.