Bach would be pleased with Cantata Singers

Cantata Singers
First Baptist Church, Ottawa

Vaughan Williams undoubtedly owed a debt to Bach, though probably no more than most composers of the early 20th century. Yet his sacred and liturgical music—and he wrote a lot of it, unbeliever though he was—was probably the purest and most profound since the motets of Bach.

The Cantata Singers did well by the Mass, better perhaps in the choral passages than in the solo work. There was nothing wrong with the solo work, confided to eight members of the choir. Indeed, it was frequently pleasing, particularly in the Benedictus. But the special qualities we've come to associate with this choir, particularly its glowing internal balance and tuning, came forward mainly, and not surprisingly, in the choral work.

All in all, one imagines that Bach would be pleased that a concert in his honour began with such wonderful music, so well expressed.

The second half of the program was given to three of Bach's approximately 10 motets. However fine the Vaughn Williams mass may be, one has only to hear Bach to understand why music lovers admire him beyond almost any other composer.

Although the motets are often sung a capella, last night's performance honoured the tradition of having an instrumental basso continuo to add more resonance to the overall sound. It was provided with rock-solid reliability by organist Christopher Devlin, cellist Donald Whitton and bassist Nathan Morris.

Komm, Jesu, Komm was the first motet presented, and its rendition set the tone for all three. The singing was vigourous and vital, perfectly focused on the counterpoint, but never at a loss for expressive power. Only some momentary stridency in the sopranos marred the effect, and that not by much. The formal layout of the work was rendered with luminous transparency.

The more concise motet Fürchte dich nicht, ich bin bei dir (Fear not, I am with thee) was remarkable for the joy and majesty of the performance, and for the sheer power of the score itself. It was almost as though the Singers took their strength directly from the promise of the text.

It might have seemed the concert could not get better after that, but it did.

Singet dem Hern ein neues Lied (Sing a New Song to the Lord) is probably the best loved of Bach's motets. In its Latin version, Cantate Domine the text is well known for its settings by Heinrich Schütz, among others.

There is no setting more magnificent than Bach's though, and, despite [a] few rough sounds that crept into the singing, last night's performance was entirely worthy of it.

If you missed this concert, you might want to head out to the Almonte Town Hall at 8 p.m. tonight where the Cantata Singers will offer the motets once again along with other music by Bach.