Christ Church, St Leonards, Saturday 23 February 2019
It is not quite Lent but the four Bach Cantatas presented on Saturday work remarkably well as a sequence which both prepares us for the meditative approach to Easter and involves us in the emotional and spiritual conflicts of the journey.
The joy of these Cantatas is the subtlety of the writing and the constantly changing combinations of voices and instruments. Here Hastings Philharmonic is blessed with admirable Baroque soloists in addition to the solo voices. Gavin Kibble moves effortlessly from solo cello to the richer tones of the solo gamba, often accompanied on the solo lute by Cedric Meyer. When the second half Cantatas call for woodwind, Richard Earle doubled on oboe and recorder, with Martin Clark’s bassoon providing the bass line. Petra Hajduchova moved between harpsichord and organ keyboard – a pity Christ Church does not have a small chamber organ for occasions like this. These together with a small body of string players created a splendid range of emotional involvement, quite in keeping with the intimacy of the settings.
Vocally, the four Cantatas became more complex as they proceeded. Soprano Lin Westcott was the lone soloist in Nach dir, Herr BWV150, joined by counter-tenor Eric Schlossberg, tenor Kieran White and bass Alexander McMillan in various combinations in the later three. As often happens, Marcio da Silva allowed himself a solo line in the final cantata, Gottes Zeit BWV106, giving us a warmly moving reading of the baritone solo. However this was not an evening for self-indulgence, and the quiet but telling intensity of singing from all soloists was very moving. The Chamber Choir was again seated in a wide horse-shoe, allowing voices to carry with ease and to allow the different musical structures to flow smoothly. That the soloists were a normal part of the choir reflects not only historic praxis but a sense of communal commitment to the presentation. There are no stars here.
Bach’s settings show a very close attention to the texts and it is these that are the primary drivers of the scores. There is never anything extraneous simply for the sake of it. There are occasional developed Hallelujas and a fine double-fugue Amen, but they are kept firmly under control – there is no Handelian, or rather Georgian, indulgence here. The most extrovert moments come in the recognition and delight in the life of the world to come. This may not be very fashionable today but it came across with an emotional truth which was both moving and poignant.
The next concert – a complete contrast – brings us Tchaikovsky, Glass, Grieg and Sibelius at St Mary in the Castle on Friday 15th March.