A Beautiful Work But...
Having only recently discovered the choral repertoire of J.W. Hertel, I eagerly await each new CD of his sacred music opus. In this regard, many thanks to CPO for continuing their exploration of Hertel's work. I am especially delighted with this release of Hertel's Weihnachtsoratorium 'Geburt Christi'. Maestro Willens and his forces are to be commended; the performance is excellent, the soloists (who also comprise the 'chor' here and in other CPO releases) all sing beautifully. The production itself is of the highest quality. However, I must confess that with this recording (as well as several others produced by CPO) employing similar soloist-based vocal forces leaves me with the wish to hear the work re-recorded with more sizeable choirs. This was done, for example, with the outstanding CPO recording of Hertel's sacred music as performed by the larger NDR choir (CPO 777 732-2). The sound there is full, rich and the many voices are revealed as a single coherent 'instrument'. Although Willens' soloists are wonderful, the full choral sound is greatly diminished into a more intimate salon chamber sound where single voices can be easily identified. Again, this in no way detracts from the superb singing by said soloists, but I believe that a fuller choir sound might better recreate the sound of the choirs of the St.-Marien-Kirche (Stralsund) for whom Hertel primarily composed his sacred choral works during his tenure there.
