Sir John Eliot Gardiner

“With Gardiner's first down-beat it's obvious that Chaos's days are numbered.
Not that 'days' (strictly speaking) are in question till the mighty words have been spoken, and then, in this performance, what an instantaneous blaze! No premonitory intimation (of pre-echo in the old days whereas now even the faintest stirring in the ranks of the choir will do it), but a single-handed switching-on of the cosmic power-grid and a magnificently sustained C major chord to flood the universe with light. This is one of the great characteristics here: the superbly confident, precise attack of choir and orchestra. Enthusiasm, then, in plenty; but how about the mystery of Creation? It's certainly part of the aim to capture this, for the bass soloist's 'Im Anfange' ('In the beginning') with pianissimo chorus has rarely been so softly and so spaciously taken: the Spirit that moved upon the face of the waters is a veiled, flesh-creeping presence, felt again in the first sunrise and the 'softer beams with milder light' of the first moon. Even so, others have incorporated this element more naturally.
Gardiner has an excellent Raphael in Gerald Finley, and gains from having extra singers for Adam and Eve, especially as the Eve, Donna Brown, brings a forthright style doubly welcome after the somewhat shrinking-violet manner and breathy tone of Sylvia McNair's Gabriel. On the whole, Gardiner is sound: yet his is a fun Creation and a real enrichment of the library. Against others of comparable kind, Gardiner stands firm as an easy first choice: a re-creator of vision, a great invigorator and life-enhancer.” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010

“Unaccompanied, the Monteverdi Choir goes back to its roots in a programme which harnesses scholarship and singing of breathtaking beauty.” Gramophone Magazine, October 2008

“This is a staggeringly sung disc of some staggeringly beautiful music … an act of rapt devotion, be it religious or simply musical” Sunday Times

“This is an anthology that has been compiled with scrupulous care. It’s beautifully varied and exquisitely sung” The Guardian

“With panache [Gardiner] shows how authentic-sized forces can convey Handelian glamour even with sharply focused textures and fast speeds...the overriding glory is the singing of the Monteverdi Choir. Its clean, crisp articulation matches the brilliant playing of the English Baroque Soloists.” Penguin Guide, 2011 edition

"Gardiner captures the quintessentially Viennese flavour ... the choir produces some direct and richly expressive singing, with every individual phrase shaped with immense care and sensitivity." Gramophone

“Perhaps most appealing in Gardiner's direction is the unfailing delight he takes in refreshing Bach's dance rhythms without ever trivialising textural content.” BBC Music Magazine, April 2006 *****

“This eclectic selection covers works for Quinquagesima, the Annunciation, Palm Sunday and Oculi (the third Sunday in Lent) in arguably the least even of the seven releases so far. Yet there are significant contributions smattered throughout, not least Nathalie Stutzmann's purpleclad Widerstehe (No 54). This true contralto imparts a captivating resilience in the face of sin's devious tricks.
Inspired by the chamber-like ecclesiastical works of Bach's Weimar period, the reduced string ensemble lends a similar intimacy to No 182, though both works suffer from some scrappy playing that clearly could not be rectified simply by dropping in 'patches' from before or after.
Stutzmann, however, projects just the right sense of involvement without forcing the issue.
Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern (No 1) is the major work here – a masterpiece of understated majesty and gentle celebration (for the Annunciation) where Bach appears to alight on the morning star as a direct resonance of Epiphany; such musical connections within the cantata oeuvre, throughout the church calendar, provide listeners with endless sources of fascination.
Gardiner's performance is more an example of a splendid occasion captured rather than a notable addition to a distinguished discography.
Cantatas Nos 22 and 23 were Bach's first to have been performed at Leipzig, audition pieces for the post of Thomascantor before his eventual appointment. Both were performed in the same service on the morning of February 7, 1723. Given the Lenten context, Bach hardly had a chance to flex his muscles in opulent displays of orchestration but he makes up for this with two pieces of subtle stylistic range.
Jesus nahm zu sich die Zwölfe (No 22) is strikingly prescient of Passion narrative as Christ prepares for his death with melismas of distilled sadness and acceptance of destiny.
Peter Harvey's is an affecting performance, as is the incrementally impressive Du wahrerGott (No 23), of which Gardiner completely has the measure.
One special movement to bottle? 'Es ist vollbracht' from No 159 – arguably even better than the setting of the words at the end of the St JohnPassion. Heartfelt singing from Harvey is adorned by playing from oboist Marcel Ponseele which is as exquisite as you'll ever hear.” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010

“One special movement to bottle? 'Es ist vollbracht' from BWV159 - arguably even better than the setting of the words at the end of the St John Passion. Heartfelt singing from Harvey is adorned by playing from oboist Marcel Ponseele which is an exquisite as you'll ever hear.” Gramophone Magazine, May 2006

“One of Mozart's most colourful and delightful scores, The Seraglio is stylishly sung here in a performance that includes the spoken dialogue. Gardiner's orchestral forces are on tip-top form, and the sound is warm and fresh.” BBC Music Magazine, September 2005 *****

“The overture immediately establishes the extra zest of the performance, with Orgonasova in particularly outstanding form” Penguin Guide