COMPOSERS: Bach
LABELS: Decca Serenata
WORKS: Motets BWV 225-230
PERFORMER: Louis Halsey Singers/Louis Halsey
CATALOGUE NO: 433 728-2 ADD (1971)
The mixed voices of the Louis Halsey Singers provide thoroughly accomplished, unaffected performances of the Bach Motets. The organ accompaniment results in somewhat tubby textures, and the counterpoint never achieves the lean clarity of, say, Harnoncourt’s performance with instrumental ensemble. Halsey emphasises the music’s devotional aspect, giving less priority to its rhythmic qualities; in the larger pieces such as Jesu, meine Freude there is a consequent lack of vitality. Terry Barfoot
Bach: Motets BWV 225-230
The mixed voices of the Louis Halsey Singers provide thoroughly accomplished, unaffected performances of the Bach Motets. The organ accompaniment results in somewhat tubby textures, and the counterpoint never achieves the lean clarity of, say, Harnoncourt’s performance with instrumental ensemble. Halsey emphasises the music’s devotional aspect, giving less priority to its rhythmic qualities; in the larger pieces such as Jesu, meine Freude there is a consequent lack of vitality. Terry Barfoot
Our rating
3
Published: January 20, 2012 at 2:35 pm