Karl Richter - J.S.Bach: Johannes-Passion (1964) [2016 SACD]

Karl Richter was regarded as one of the great Bach conductors of the twentieth century, noted for solid regularity in rhythms and a serious approach to the music, though he was not given to following the changing pronouncements of musicologists concerning historical accuracy in performance.

He was brought up in the tradition of German Protestant religious music; his father was a minister in the central German regions near where Johann Sebastian Bach had lived. Richter learned piano and organ, and as he approached his 12th birthday entered the Kreuzschule school in Dresden. After World War II, he entered the Leipzig Conservatory, where he studied with Rudolf Mauersberger, and also studied at the Leipzig Institute for Sacred Music, where he learned Bach interpretation from Karl Straube and Gunther Ramin. Very soon he was appointed choirmaster of the Christuskirche in Leipzig at the age of 20, and in 1947 became the organist of the Thomanerkirche, both institutions with strong Bach traditions.

He left East Germany in 1950 to live in West Germany and settled in Munich, where he was organist of the Markuskirche and started teaching that same year at the Hochschule fur Musik of Munich. He organized the Munich Bach Choir in 1951, and in 1953 added to it the Munich Bach Orchestra. His performances naturally centered on Bach and under Richter his musicians and singers became one of the most renowned organizations specializing in the music of the great German master and his era.

The formation of the Munich Bach Chorus and Orchestra reflected a growing international interest in music of the Baroque and, sparked by the advent of the LP record, the notion of integral series of composers' works. Deutsche Grammophon's Archiv label was the first of such historic specialty sub-labels. Richter and his Bach Choir and Orchestra became a major pillar of that label and recorded numerous Bach choral works, gaining international recognition.

They toured frequently, and Richter also played and recorded often as an organist and harpsichordist. In 1968, Richter made one of his most dramatic guest conducting tours when he conducted the St. John Passion and the B minor Mass in both Moscow and Leningrad at a time when religious music of any sort was rarely heard in the Soviet Union.

Although his regularity of tempo (some called it inflexibility) placed him apart from the Romantic manner of performing Bach, Richter's performances otherwise retained the Romantic era's approach, stressing the solemnity of Bach's music and including dramatic large-scale dynamic contrasts. Newer research and the growing popularity of "original" or "period" instrument performances did not affect his interpretations, which used modern instruments. In some respects, younger interpreters who emerged in the 1970s considered him the representative of an approach against which they were reacting.

Later in his career, Richter enlarged his repertory to conduct Classical, and even Romantic, era works, but tended to remain known primarily as a Baroque specialist. He is best remembered for his mastery of Baroque choral/orchestral works of the largest scale, where his architectural approach to the music is most effective. His recordings of the Bach Passions, oratorios, B minor Mass, and Magnificat, as well as Handel oratorios such as the Messiah, are considered his most important contribution to the Baroque discography. -- Joseph Stevenson


Tracks:

Part One
Betrayal And Capture
1.1 1. Chorus: Herr, Unser Herrscher 11:10
1.2 2-6. Recitative (Evangelist, Jesus): Ging Mit Seinen Jüngern / Chorus: Jesum Von Nazareth! 3:26
1.3 7. Chorale: O Große Lieb' 1:18
1.4 8. Recitative (Evangelist, Jesus): Auf Daß Das Wort Erfüllet Würde 1:29
1.5 9. Chorale: Dein Will' Gescheh 1:04
1.6 10. Recitative (Evangelist): Die Schar Aber 0:53
1.7 11. Aria (Contralto): Von Den Stricken Meiner Sünden 4:56
Denial
1.8 12. Recitative (Evangelist): Simon Petrus Aber Folgete Jesu Nach 0:20
1.9 13. Aria (Soprano): Ich Folge Dir Gleichfalls 3:51
1.10 14. Recitative (Evangerlist, Maid, Peter, Jesus, Servant): Derselbige Jünger 4:11
1.11 15. Chorale: Wer Hat Dich So Geschlagen 2:05
1.12 16-18. Recitative (Evangelist, Peter, Servant): Und Hannas Sandte Ihn Gebunden / Chorus: Bist Du Nicht Seiner Jünger Einer? / Bist Du Nicht Seiner Jünger Einer? 2:32
1.13 19. Aria (Tenor): Ach, Mein Sinn 3:06
1.q14 20. Chorale: Petrus, Der Nicht Denkt Zurück 1:17
Part Two
Interrogation And Flagellation
1.15 21. Chorale: Christus, Der Uns Selig Macht 1:10
1.16 22-26. Recitative (Evangelist, Pilate, Jesus) And Corus: Da Führeten Sie Jesum / Wäre Dieser Nicht Ein Übeltäter / Da Sprach Pilatus Zu Ihnen / Wir Dürfen Niemand Töten / Auf Daß Erfüllet Würde Das Wort Jesi 5:04
1.17 27. Chorale: Ach, Großer König 1:54
1.18 28-30. Recitative (Evangelis, Pilate, Jesus) And Chorus: Da Sprach Pilatus Zu Ihm / Nicht Diesen, Sondern Barrabam! / Barrabas Aber War Ein Mörder 2:37
1.19 31. Arioso (Bass): Betrachte, Meine Seel' 3:00
1.20 32. Aria (Tenor): Erwäge, Wie Sein Blutgefärbter Rücken 7:49


Condamnation And Crucifixion
2.1 33-39 Recitative (Evangelist, Pilate, Jesus) and Chorus: Und Die Kriegsknechte Flochten Eine Krone / Sei Gegrüßet, Lieber Judenkönig! / Und Gaben Ihm Backenstreiche / Kreuzige, Kreuzige! / Pilatus Sprach Zu Ihnen / Wir Haben Ein Gesetz / Da Pilatus Das Wort Hörete 6:51
2.2 40. Chorale: Durch Dein Gefängnis, Gottes Sohn 0:58
2.3 41-47. Recitative (Evangelist, Pilate) And Chorus: Die Juden Aber Schrieen Und Sprachen / Lässest Du Ihnen / Wir Haben Keinen König / Da Überantwortete Er Ihn 4:40
2.4 48. Aria (Bass With Chorus): Eilt, Ihr Angefochtenen Seelen 4:57
2.5 49-51. Recitative (Evangelist, Pilate) And Chorus: Allda Kreuzigten Sie Ihn / Schreibe Nicht: Der Juden König / Pilatus Antwortet 2:18
2.6 52. Chorale: In Meines Herzens Grunde 1:08
The Deathe Of Jesus
2.7 53-55. Recitative (Evangelist, Jesus) And Chorus: Die Kriegsknechte Aber / Lasset Uns Den Nicht Zerteilen / Auf Daß Erfüllet Würde Die Schrift 4:35
2.8 56. Chorale: Er Nahm Alles Wohl In Acht 1:26
2.9 57. Recitative (Evangelit, Jesus): Und Von Stund' An Nahm Sie 1:53
2.10 58. Aria (Contraalto): Es Ist Vollbracht! 6:30
2.11 59. Recitative (Evangelist): Und Neigte Das Haupt 0:35
2.12 60. Aria (Basso) With Chorale: Mein Teurer Heiland 5:03
Burial
2.13 61. Recitative (Evangelist): Und Siehe Da, Der Vorhang Im Tempel Zeriß 0:35
2.14 62. Arioso (Tenor): Mein Herz, Indem Die Ganze Welt 0:58
2.15 63. Aria (Soprano): Zerfließe, Mein Herze 6:19
2.26 64. Recitative (Evangelist): Die Juden Aber. Dieweil Es Rüsttag War 2:25
2.17 65. Chorale: O Hilf, Christe, Gottes Sohn 1:08
2.18 66. Recitative (Evangelist): Darnach Bat Pilatum Joseph Von Arimathia 2:25
2.19 67. Chorus: Ruht Wohl, Ihr Heiligen Gebeine 8:18
2.20 68. Chorale: Ach Herr, Laß Dein Lieb' Engelein 2:47

Personnel:

Choir – Münchener Bach-Chor
Directed By – Karl Richter
Orchestra – Münchener Bach-Orchester

Recorded: München, Herkules-Saal, 1964