Evening star., 1952-08-10
7urntobIe Talk:
By jones G. Deone

bdCIl SdCTGQ muS1C Is IlcdTO
often enough in churches, but
we seldom have a chance to
sample his secular cantatas.
Record makers now are doing
something about this.
The Bach Guild has issued
performances of two of the live
liest non-sacred works on two
discs. The first is the Cantata
No. 201, ''Phoebus and Pan"
The second is the Cantata No.
205. "Aeolus Appeased." Both
are little dramas with mytho-
logical characters, the first tell
ing of a contest in song, the
second relating efforts to pacify
Aeolus. the god Of the winds.
to permit a peaceful birthday
party. ChoruSeS open and close
each, and in between are Sec
tionS for solo voices. Both works
are full Of good humor-"Phoe-
bus and Pan" is downright
bumptious and Aeolus' pompus
arias are nothing short of comic.
The instrumental accompani-
ment is interesting. too. You've
probably never heard Bach like
this before. Soloists and an Or
chestra led by Helmut Koch
perform Justify and the record
ing is good.
A wedding cantata - num-
bered 202. "Weichet nur, be-
trubte Schatten"-is on another
Bach Guild disc. This is secular
music Of a different sort, in
tended for a wedding feast and
celebrating the joys of love- and
spring. Here Bach Is the ro-
mantle poet. Amy Felbermayer's
lovely, pure soprano voice
makes the music joy to listen
to. On the reverse is one of the
most famous church cantatas,
No. 161, "Komm de suesse
Todesstunde" Come, Sweet
Death), sung by Hide Roessel-
Majdan. alto, and Waldemar
Kmentt, tenor. Felix Prohaska,
one Of Vienna's abler conduc-
tors, leads q choir and orches-
ira. Recording is first rate.
Boch Moses Recorded
Westminster has issued an
other wedding cantata No.
210, 20 holder tag" This is in
a somewhat more serious vein.
but it is no less impressive.
Magda LaSzlo, the soprano. has
a dark-hued voice, which she
uses with less expression than
Miss Felbermayer, however.
There is no chorus in this work.
Hermann Scherchen leads the
Vienna State Opera Orchestra,
and the sound is luscious.
Two Renaissance discs bring
us back to the church, this time
with music composed by the
Lutheran Bach for a Catholic
admirer and patron. On one
disc are the Missa Brevis No.
and Sanctus No. !. On the
other are the MisSa Brevis No.
2 and Sanctus No. 2. Each mass
contains three choral sections
and three solo arias. The brief
Sanctus are both for chorus.
The music is impressive; it is
suggestive on small scale of the
great B minor mass. The Swa-
bian Choral Singers and Ton
Studio Orchestra of Stuttgart
are led by Hans Grischkat, and
they perform capably. The re-
cording is clear, although the
review copy of the second disc
has somewhat granny surfaces.
Three of Bach's seven harp
sichord concertos are on a
single Vox disc, and two more
have been issued by Period.
The Vox offerings are the
fourth, fifth and seventh. The
fifth, in F minor, contains
familiar largo middle move
ment. The seventh. in q minor.
like most Of the seven. is a re-
write Of a violin concerto, in
this case the one in A minor.
Helma Elsner is the soloist and
Rolf Reinhardt leads the Pro
Musica Orchestra of Stuttgart.
Performances and recording
are good.
Cello Suites Are Resonont
Periods pair are the third
concerto, in D major, which is
the counterpart of the E major
violin concerto, and the sixth
F. major, which Bach modelled
on the fourth "Brandenburg"
concerto. The F major is note
worthy for its use Of two re-
corders in place Of flutes in the
orchestra. The sound is quaint
it should be a real inspiration
to Junior! The recording Is
less acute than Voxs'.
Finally, Period has performed
a service for lovers of the cello
by issuing two of Bach's un-
accompanied cello suites, the
third and sixth. Janos Starker,