In my comments on McCreesh's Mathew's Passion I wrote that: "I love OVPP performances. They bring out the complexity and flavor of Bach's contrapunctal thought with a clarity and beauty that full choruses never have and never will."
I stand by that comment. However, it should also be said that choruses offer an aesthetic that OVPP performances will never match. I also love Suzuki's performances, along with Koopman's, when Koopman's are well recorded (they can be uneven).
It's really an aesthetic choice and I am not about to play the "authentic performance" card. If we want authentic, then it has to be little boys, not women. Most of Bach's Cantatas were written for boy choirs. Harnoncourt has given us that route, and their intonation is enough to crack teeth. It's no wonder Bach threw his wig at them (true story).
Kuijken's soloists are not the finest on record but beautiful nonetheless. The performances are warmly and well recorded. If you stand between the speakers, you truly feel as though you are standing in the center of an ensemble cast in which all the players, singers and instrumentalists, are playing an equal part. They are much warmer and closer than Rifkin's much earlier efforts, for example.
Buy this recording for the proximity and intimacy you will feel when listening.
Buy Suzuki when you want to hear a chorus. His come closest to attaining the clarity Bach's Cantatas enjoy.
