Matthäus-Passion - BWV 244 by La Petite Bande

La Petite Bande

Matthäus-Passion - BWV 244

Format: SACD
Label: Challenge Classics
UPC: 0608917235722
Catnr: CC 72357
Release date: 01 February 2010

Hi-res download at Spirit of Turtle

SACD (3 items)
		Hi-res download at Spirit of Turtle

Label
Challenge Classics

UPC
0608917235722

Catalogue number
CC 72357

Release date
01 February 2010

"Conductor Sigiswald Kuijken: "The only side that counts is the inside!""

NRC Handelsblad, 03-4-2019

Album

Artist(s)

Composer(s)

Press

About the album

Magnificent and transparent, a recording of the famous masterpiece by J.S. Bach by La Petite Bande and Sigiswald Kuijken. The ensemble has a worldwide reputation of aiming for the most authentic sound possible. Again Kuijken and his group of musicians and vocalists have achieved this the most sublime way!

Sigiswald Kuijken knows the St. Matthew Passion through and through. With La Petite Bande he gave performances of the work all over the world. Twenty years ago La Petite Bande (at that time with conductor Gustav Leonhardt and Kuijken as concertmaster) made their first recording of the Passion. It was a recording with soloists, a chamberchoir and an orchestral composition which was adjusted to that. Since then Kuijken's vision on this masterpiece has changed very much. Ground-breaking musicological work of the last decades has brought him to a serious thin-out of his ensemble without the use of a conductor. There is not a real choir anymore, because the soloists perform also the choirparts. The boyschoir that is usually used in most performances of this Passion is replaced here by a single soprano voice!

Additionally, by using authentic instruments and the original way of playing them, both in interpretation and sound quality, La Petite Bande strives to revive baroque music as faithfully as possible without lapsing into rigid academics.

Een controversiële uitvoering van de Matthäuspassion
Een sublieme uitvoering, deze interpretatie van Sigiswald Kuijken van de Matthäuspassion van Johann Sebastian Bach. Gespeeld door zijn ensemble La Petite Bande. "Het werk klinkt helder, erg helder. De transparantie is dusdanig aanwezig dat ieder woord en zelfs de plaatsing van iedere solist of musicus met gemak te volgen of te plaatsen is. De minimalistische setting van La Petite Bande maakt van Bach’s werk een controversiële uitvoering, die echter wel prettig `aanvoelt` en de luisteraar bij de tekst betrekt." Hifi.nl

Kuijken kent de Matthäuspassion door en door. Samen met La Petite Bande geeft hij over de hele wereld uitvoeringen van dit werk. Tijdens de 1e opname van La Petite Bande, toen nog onder leiding van Gustav Leonhardt, werd er gebruikgemaakt van solisten, een kamerkoor en een aangepaste orkestrale compositie. Sinds die tijd is Kuijkens visie op dit meesterwerk flink veranderd. Baanbrekend musicologisch onderzoek bracht hem ertoe om zijn ensemble grondig uit te dunnen en de dirigent af te schaffen. Er is geen koor meer, omdat de solisten de koordelen uitvoeren. Het jongenskoor is vervangen door een enkele sopraan. De opname is door deze uitdunning puur, helder en direct.

La Petite Bande is één van de meest vooraanstaande barokorkesten. Het werd in 1972 opgericht door de Belgische violist en dirigent Sigiswald Kuijken en de Nederlandse klavecinist en dirigent Gustav Leonhardt. Het orkest streeft ernaar oude muziek zo getrouw mogelijk te laten herleven. Dat doet het gezelschap door authentieke instrumenten te gebruiken en de oude speelwijze te hanteren. Ook een wisselende bezetting, met telkens de meest 'geschikte' musicus voor een bepaald repertoire, draagt bij tot de speciale interpretatie van Kuijken. La Petite Bande was oorspronkelijk een tijdelijk gezelschap, dat zich hoofdzakelijk richtte op Franse muziek. Vanwege hun succes geeft het orkest tegenwoordig wereldwijd concerten en bestaat het repertoire inmiddels ook uit muziek van Italiaanse componisten en componisten als Bach, Händel, Gluck, Haydn en Mozart.

In dieser Aufnahme übernimmt der solistisch besetzte Chor ebenfalls die großen und kleinen Solisten-Partien, wie meist bei La Petite Bande unter Sigiswald Kuijken. Dadurch entsteht ein faszinierend transparenter, direkter und purer Klang und extrem schlichter aber intensiver Ausdruck, der seinesgleichen sucht. Pressezitate zu CC72316 Bach: H-Moll-Messe - La Petite Bande: 'Eine Einspielung, die Geschichte machen wird' (Michael Wersin, RONDO 12.06.2009) / 'Kuijken gelingt eine in sich geschlossene, stellenweise betont geschmeidige und organische Lesart...Diese Musik fließt in ihrem natürlichen Bett, angenehm federnd, ohne unnötige dramaturgische Aufrauungen und ohne künstliche Affekte' (Christoph Vratz, SWR 2 27.06.2009)

Artist(s)

La Petite Bande

La Petite Bande (Belgium) was founded in 1972 by Sigiswald Kuijken at the request of the record company Harmonia Mundi (Germany) in order to record Lully's Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme, under the direction of Gustav Leonhardt. The orchestra takes its name and constitution from Lully's own orchestra at the court of Louis XIV. All its members are internationally renowned specialists in the early music field. Although originally La Petite Bande was not meant to become a permanent orchestra, the success of the recordings was such that they began to give concerts regularly. Having initially concentrated mainly on French music, the orchestra's repertoire has expanded over the years to include music by the Italian masters and that of Bach, Handel, Gluck, Haydn, Mozart...

Although originally La Petite Bande was not meant to become a permanent orchestra, the success of the recordings was such that they began to give concerts regularly. Having initially concentrated mainly on French music, the orchestra's repertoire has expanded over the years to include music by the Italian masters and that of Bach, Handel, Gluck, Haydn, Mozart and others.

The 18-part CD series 'Cantatas of J.S. Bach' (ACCENT) is complete since February 2014. Sigiswald Kuijken

applies the latest findings in Bach research: no choir, but rather a vocal quartet together with a minimal instrumental scoring. In this way, the fine musical texture of these cantatas can be much better (and more naturally) revealed.

La Petite Bande has recorded instrumental as well as vocal music, including operas and oratorios from the Baroque and Classical periods. La Petite Bande currently makes recordings for Accent, Challenge, Deutsche Harmonia Mundi, Denon, Seon/Virgin and Hyperion.

La Petite Bande has performed in a multitude of international festivals and concert series, in Europe, Japan, Australia, South America and China.

From 1997 to 2018, La Petite Bande was resident in the city of Leuven.

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Sigiswald Kuijken (conductor)

Sigiswald Kuijken was born in 1944 close to Brussels. He studied violin at the conservatories of Bruges and Brussels, completing his studies at the latter institution with Maurice Raskin in 1964. He came into contact with early music at a very young age, together with his brother Wieland. Studying on his own, he gained a thorough knowledge of specific 17th- and 18th-century performance techniques and conventions of interpretation on violin and viola da gamba. This led to the introduction, in 1969, of a more authentic way of playing the violin, whereby the instrument was no longer held under the chin, but lay freely on the shoulder; this was to have a crucial influence on the approach to the violin repertoire and was consequently adopted by many players starting in the early 1970s.
From 1964 to 1972, Sigiswald Kuijken was a member of the Brussels-based Alarius Ensemble (with Wieland Kuijken, Robert Kohnen and Janine Rubinlicht), which performed throughout Europe and in the United States. He subsequently undertook individual chamber music projects with a number of Baroque music specialists, chief among which were his brothers Wieland and Barthold and Robert Kohnen, as well as Gustav Leonhardt, Frans Brüggen, Anner Bylsma and René Jacobs.
In 1972, with the encouragement of Deutsche Harmonia Mundi and Gustav Leonhardt, he founded the Baroque orchestra La Petite Bande, which since then has given innumerable concerts throughout Europe, Australia, South America, China and Japan, and has made many recordings for a number of labels (including Deutsche Harmonia Mundi, Seon, Virgin, Accent, Denon, Hyperion and Challenge.
In 1986 he founded the Kuijken String Quartet (with François Fernandez, Marleen Thiers and Wieland Kuijken), which specialises in the quartets and quintets of the Classical period. Recordings of quartets and quintets by Mozart and Haydn have appeared on Denon and Challenge.
Since 1998 Sigiswald Kuijken occasionally brings together two generations Kuijken (his daughters Veronica and Sara and his brother Wieland) to perform string quartets of later periods (Debussy, Schumann, Beethoven, Schubert) often combined with Lieder by Marie Kuijken, soprano and also daughter of Sigiswald, and Veronica Kuijken, piano. Recordings of the two generations have been made for Arcana and Challenge Records.
In 2004 Sigiswald Kuijken reintroduced in practical performance the violoncello da spalla (shoulder cello) very probably the instrument Bach had in mind when writing his six suites for violoncello solo.
From 1971 to 1996, Sigiswald Kuijken taught Baroque violin at the Koninklijk Conservatorium in The Hague and from 1993 to 2009 at the Koninklijk Muziekconservatorium in Brussels.
For many years he was a guest teacher at institutions such as the Royal College of Music in London, Salamanca University, the Accademia Chigiana in Siena, the Conservatoire of Geneva and the Musikhochschule of Leipzig. Since 1998, Sigiswald Kuijken occasionally conducts “modern” symphonic orchestras in romantic programs ( Beethoven, Schumann, Brahms, Mendelssohn).

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Marie Kuijken (soprano)

Marie Kuijken studied Piano, Chamber Music and Keyboard Accompaniment at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Brussels. In this same period she studied voice with Louis Devos, Margreet Honig (Amsterdam) and with Lena Lootens. As a soprano, Marie Kuijken works often together with La Petite Bande, in productions such as the Passions of J.S.Bach, Vesperi della beata Vergine Maria of Monteverdi and some intermezzi buffi in which she sings de female part. As pianist she specializes in the Mozart repertoire on pianoforte (copy of Stein). In the Lied repertoire she is accompanied by her sister Veronica; recently they performed Schumanns 'Frauenliebe und Leben'. In Italy, where she lives, Marie Kuijken is part of the baroque ensemble Il Fabbro Armonioso. She...

Marie Kuijken studied Piano, Chamber Music and Keyboard Accompaniment at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Brussels. In this same period she studied voice with Louis Devos, Margreet Honig (Amsterdam) and with Lena Lootens. As a soprano, Marie Kuijken works often together with La Petite Bande, in productions such as the Passions of J.S.Bach, Vesperi della beata Vergine Maria of Monteverdi and some intermezzi buffi in which she sings de female part. As pianist she specializes in the Mozart repertoire on pianoforte (copy of Stein). In the Lied repertoire she is accompanied by her sister Veronica; recently they performed Schumanns "Frauenliebe und Leben". In Italy, where she lives, Marie Kuijken is part of the baroque ensemble Il Fabbro Armonioso. She also continues the vocal study with L.Napoli. She was a guest of the Festival Barocco di Viterbo and the Festival 900 in Pescara. With cembalo player G.Catalucci she frequently performs in Amelia. She has been assigned to the Conservatory of Salerno as teacher in diction of foreign languages.

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Christoph Genz (tenor)

Petra Noskaiová (alto)

The Slovak mezzo-soprano, Petra Noskaiová, studied Music at the Bratislava Conservatory from 1988 to 1994 and vocal music with Ruena Illenbergova. Since her main fields of interest were the Baroque and the Renaissance liturgical music, she further studied with Marius van Altena, Harry van der Kamp and Sigiswald Kuijken. Later, she participated in master-classes under the baton of Sigiswald Kuijken. Petra Noskaiová has worked regularly with numerous musical ensembles such as Musica Aeterna Bratislava, Capella Regia Musicalis, Musica Florea, Ensemble Inegal, Teatro Lirico, La Petite Bande, and acompanied also Andrew Parrott, Stephen Stubbs, Sigiswald Kuijken, Harry van der Kamp, Suzie LeBlanc, Howard Crook, Barbara Schlick and Paul Elliott. Her recent projects are J.M. Leclair's Scylla and Glaucus with the Collegium Marianum under the baton of Simon Standage in Prague, and W.A. Mozart's Requiem and Haydn's Sieben letzte Worte with the La Petite Bande under the baton of Sigiswald Kuijken. Petra Noskaiová regularly performs...

The Slovak mezzo-soprano, Petra Noskaiová, studied Music at the Bratislava Conservatory from 1988 to 1994 and vocal music with Ruena Illenbergova. Since her main fields of interest were the Baroque and the Renaissance liturgical music, she further studied with Marius van Altena, Harry van der Kamp and Sigiswald Kuijken. Later, she participated in master-classes under the baton of Sigiswald Kuijken.
Petra Noskaiová has worked regularly with numerous musical ensembles such as Musica Aeterna Bratislava, Capella Regia Musicalis, Musica Florea, Ensemble Inegal, Teatro Lirico, La Petite Bande, and acompanied also Andrew Parrott, Stephen Stubbs, Sigiswald Kuijken, Harry van der Kamp, Suzie LeBlanc, Howard Crook, Barbara Schlick and Paul Elliott. Her recent projects are J.M. Leclair's Scylla and Glaucus with the Collegium Marianum under the baton of Simon Standage in Prague, and W.A. Mozart's Requiem and Haydn's Sieben letzte Worte with the La Petite Bande under the baton of Sigiswald Kuijken.
Petra Noskaiová regularly performs for the Slovak Radio and produces recordings for Slovart, Dynamic and Matou. In addirion, she paricipates oftenly at prestigious international festivals such as the Festival Oude Muziek in Utrecht, Days of Early Music in Bratislava and the Festival of Ambronay.

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Jan Van der Crabben (bass)

The Belgian baritone, Jan van der Crabben, studied first piano with Aquiles delle Vigne at the Etterbeek Academy, and then transferred to the Royal Conservatory of Music in Brussels, where his teachers included Louis Devos. He completed his studies there in 1989, graduating with a first prize and the highest distinction. In 1990 he continued his studies privately with Vera Rosza in London. Also that year he won prizes for the best Interpretation of a French Song and for Contemporary Music at the Concours International d'Oratorio et de Lied in Clermont-Ferrand.
Jan van der Crabben is active as a soloist both in Belgium and abroad and among the conductors with whom he has worked are Andrew Lawrence-King, Patrick Peire, Alexander Rahbari and Pierre Bartholomée. He has also appeared at numerous festivals, including the Festival de Chambord and the Flanders Festival, and has taken part in master-classes with Elio Battaglia, Bernhard Kruysen and Margaret Honig. In 1991 he created the title role in the world première of Lucien Posman’s opera Hercules Hoché. But his chief interests remain the oratorio and the German Lied. He has made several recordings of works by W.A. Mozart, J.S. Bach, George Frideric Handel, Fiocco, De Fesch, Schubert and Heinrich von Herzogenberg. In 1996 he was a semi-finalist in the Queen Elisabeth Competition in Brussels.

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Gerlinde Sämann (soprano)

Olivier Berten

After studying communication and multimedia, Olivier Berten enters the Royal Conservatoire in Brussels where he gets a diploma in opera-singing with Marcel Vanaud. He is going to advanced studies in the conservatories of Amsterdam, Metz and Brussels with Udo Reinemann and other masters of Lied. He was in 2004-2005 part ofOperastudio Vlaanderen in Ghent. He makes his debut in the Monnaie opera house as Brühlmann ('Werther' van Massenet) under the baton of Kazushi Ono. In 2008, he was on the stage of the Flemish Opera in the leading role of Villa Vivaldi by Wouter van Looy en Jan Van Outryve. Upcoming projects include 'L'enfant et les sortilèges' with the Orchestre Philharmonique de Liège and 'Ne criez pas au loup' in the Opéra Royal de Wallonie.

After studying communication and multimedia, Olivier Berten enters the Royal Conservatoire in Brussels where he gets a diploma in opera-singing with Marcel Vanaud. He is going to advanced studies in the conservatories of Amsterdam, Metz and Brussels with Udo Reinemann and other masters of Lied. He was in 2004-2005 part ofOperastudio Vlaanderen in Ghent. He makes his debut in the Monnaie opera house as Brühlmann ("Werther" van Massenet) under the baton of Kazushi Ono. In 2008, he was on the stage of the Flemish Opera in the leading role of Villa Vivaldi by Wouter van Looy en Jan Van Outryve. Upcoming projects include "L'enfant et les sortilèges" with the Orchestre Philharmonique de Liège and "Ne criez pas au loup" in the Opéra Royal de Wallonie.

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Patrizia Hardt

Bernhard Hunziker

Marcus Niedermeyr

Emilie De Voght

Nicolas Achten

Composer(s)

Johann Sebastian Bach

Johann Sebastian Bach was a German composer and musician of the Baroque period. He enriched established German styles through his skill in counterpoint, harmonic and motivic organisation, and the adaptation of rhythms, forms, and textures from abroad, particularly from Italy and France. Bach's compositions include the Brandenburg Concertos, the Goldberg Variations, the Mass in B minor, two Passions, and hundreds of cantatas. His music is revered for its technical command, artistic beauty, and intellectual depth. Bach's abilities as an organist were highly respected during his lifetime, although he was not widely recognised as a great composer until a revival of interest in and performances of his music in the first half of the 19th century. He is now generally regarded as one of the greatest composers of all time.

Bach's abilities as an organist were highly respected during his lifetime, although he was not widely recognised as a great composer until a revival of interest in and performances of his music in the first half of the 19th century. He is now generally regarded as one of the greatest composers of all time.

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Press

Conductor Sigiswald Kuijken: "The only side that counts is the inside!"
NRC Handelsblad, 03-4-2019

An interview with Sigiswald Kuijken about his past recordings. To begin with the St. Matthew Passion..
BBC Music Magazine, 01-2-2014

Performance: 4**** Recording: 4**** ["].. Recording balance is ocasionally suspect: the gloriously climactic ripieno chorale in the opening movement is almost inaudible - one distant soprano above double choir and orchestra."
BBC Music Magazine, 01-7-2010

With Kuijken no major drama, but modesty, intimacy and transparency. In his interpretation we hear his awe for the text.
Reformatorisch Dagblad, 24-6-2010

Mendelssohn was impressed by Bach's masterpiece and decided for a reenactment, but then adapted to the musical fashion of his time: with a romantic symphony orchestra and a large choir. It took almost two centuries, before the Matthew Passion slowly was stripped to the small cast of Kuijken and La Petite Bande.
AVROTROS website, 23-6-2010

One of the pioneers of Bach solo occupation is Sigiswald Kuijken. Kuijken opts radically for solo occupation. The soloists that interpret arias, also sing the choral parts what leads to one voice per vocal group in the two choirs that Bach provided in the Matthew Passion.
Artsenkrant, 23-6-2010

Sigiswald Kuijken is familiar with the St. Matthew Passion. It is a homogeneous group of experienced soloists.The esembles sounds more transparent and more virtuosic.
Tertio, 15-4-2010

Passion of the passions, La Petite Bande. It was inspiringly performed for a wide circle of music lovers.-
De Bond, 15-4-2010

The discussion about the ensemble size will always remain, but it is clear that Kuijken is very convincing with this Matthäus and his barefooted version of it.
Klassieke Zaken, 14-4-2010

From the first notes, it becomes clear that a strong sense of musical style is coupled with a weathered, sober interpretation of Bach's masterpiece, and that impression stays with you throughout the three SACDs
Nederlands Dagblad, 08-4-2010

Recently released by Challenge Classics SuperAudio on three CDs. A beautiful, balanced, and transparent performance.
HVT, 07-4-2010

Sigiwald Kuijken has been experimenting for ten years with this small ensemble. He has convinced many listeners of the historical accuracy and the high artistic level of La Petite Bande
CV Koers, 07-4-2010

Ad in magazine of Fnac: Contact
Contact, 07-4-2010

Because everyone was present and concentrated from the first to the last note, it has become a unique recording, that could be very succesful.The intensity and atmosphere can be felt in the recording.
Klassieke Zaken, 07-4-2010

The persuasiveness of this approach (created by thorough research), makes the passion accessible and attractive, both for an interested layman, as the religious musician.
Mania Klassiek, 06-4-2010

The advantage is the sleek sound and great text comprehension.
Alte Musik, 31-3-2010

With this new recording Sigiswald Kuijken and La Petite Bande show us that convincingly this approach works. Everything seems to fall beautifuly and naturally into place. The choirs and chorals are gaining expressiveness and harmonic richness.
Klara, 31-3-2010

The on three SACDs divided work sounds bright, very bright. The transparency is so present that every word and even the placement of every musician or soloist is easy to follow and to place. The minimalist setting of La Petite Bande makes the performance of Bach's work controversial. However, the performance feels comfortable and engages the listener with the lyrics.
Hifi.nl, 30-3-2010

Bach has such tremendous depth, that as a listener your are immediately affected. That is the spiritual quality of the music.
Luister, 18-3-2010

The album Matthaus Passion is not mystical. She is careful.
Elsevier, 18-3-2010

How does it sound? Crystal clear and sonorous.
De Gelderlander, 17-3-2010

For those who cannot go to a concert or who simply cannot get enough, this wonderful album of the Baroque orchestra La Petite Bande is their solution.
50plussers, 03-3-2010

Who is looking for a beautiful solistic Matthäus has the best deal with Kuijken for now, also looked at from an recording technique point of view.
Opus-Klassiek, 22-2-2010