Histoire de la nativité et autres œuvres chorales

Description

This CD offers an interesting program as the Historia is preceded here by other pieces dedicated to the mystery of the Nativity, including excerpts from op. 9 and 11, as well as "Hodie Christus natus est" (SWV 456) and the sublime Magnificat (SWV 468). It comes with a booklet that includes, in addition to welcome notes, the original German text and the English translation of everything that is sung. The whole is presented in a beautiful, careful interpretation, featuring English conductor David Hill leading the Schola Cantorum of Yale. Careful, but oh so restrained! And perhaps there is a cultural gap here. While others, in Dresden or Ghent, strive to bring these pages to life with a bit more spontaneous fervor, and despite the dramatic intent sought by Emilia Donato (Magnificat) or some interpreters of the Historia, a too serious, sometimes ethereal rendition risks depriving the music of its dramatic component. More under Venetian influence, Schütz of 1664 is not Bach of 1724 or 1727, which does not detract from either. A Nativity that ultimately deserves to be more embodied. (Alain Monnier)