Bach: Christmas Oratorio / Collegium Aureum, etc.
“Collegium Aureum” is a performing group formed in the early days of early music (1962) for the purpose of recording the Harmonia Mundi records. When it was first formed (until around 1967), it played almost at 440Hz in pitch, and although Gustav Leonhardt was featured on the harpsichord for the famous album “Brandenburg Concertos”, it was also a modern pitch of 440Hz. The violins and cellos used bows and instruments restored to the shape of the Baroque era, and gut strings were strung, but the performances always had vibrato. Hans-Martin Linde and others also participated in the flute and other wind instruments, and they played with a tone close to modern style (which I also liked in itself). In short, at that time, it was still an eclectic mix of modern and early music. However, when they recorded the “Christmas Oratorio” (around 1973), the pitch was 415Hz, and more importantly, the wind instruments were joined by musicians such as Barthold Kuijken and Bruce Haynes, who were aiming for a more strict Baroque style of performance.
Now, this group’s “Christmas Oratorio” is a “legendary masterpiece”. It seems impossible to obtain it nowadays, except as a used copy. At that time, two genius boys from the Tölzer Knabenchor, Andreas Stein (Boy Alt) and Hans Büchel (boy soprano), were specially trained and used as soloists, and their pure and innocent singing voices seem to cleanse the hearts of listeners. The Tölzer Knabenchor was founded in 1956 by conductor Gerhard Schmidt-Gaerden. Its history is very short compared to the choir of the Thomas Church (Thomanerchor), where Bach served as cantor, which dates back to 1212. However, the number of talented singers that the choir has produced is by no means inferior to that of the other choirs. Every year, they discover talented people and add them to their band, while they go on concert tours and make recordings. Currently, many videos, such as the “St. Matthew Passion” conducted by Christian Fliegner, can be seen on YouTube.
In ather hand there is a DVD (1981) by Nikolaus Harnoncourt and the Vienna Concentus Musicus of the “Christmas Oratorio”, in which you can hear the boy soprano and boy alto of the same Tölzer Knabenchor. This performance is also very valuable today, and I, as a fan, am particularly happy to hear Peter Schreier take part in the tenor solo and evangelist. #baroque #bach #oratorio #片山俊幸
