Good performances, but short on quantity.
This is a very nice Magnificat, plus the Jauchzetg Gott in allen Landen cantata BWV 51, but it suffers, by today's standards, for being no more than 2/3 the length of modern CD value. The four stars, and no more are especially fair, in that there is an excellent Magnificat recording on Chandos, directed by Richard Hickox, with Emma Kirkby and John Mark Ainsley no less, joined with Vivaldi's Gloria RV 589 and Ostro picta, armata spina RV 642, weighing in at 64 minutes, with three stars from the Penguin guide. Go there for your Magnificat.

a voice teacher and early music fan
GREAT CHORUS-GREAT ORCHESTRA- LETHARGIC SOLOISTS in the 'Magnificat'.
This recording made in November of 1983 seems to be one of those rare incidents when Gardiner selected soloists who could not seem to arise to the emotional demands of the music, except for the tenor, Anthony Rolfe Johnson, who was more than up for the occasion; he was excellent in every way. Nancy Argenta seemed not to get into her usual 'form'; there were no mistakes, nothing poorly executed, but she did not evoke any feeling on my part of joy which is what this music is meant to convey. Patrizia Kwella had an uneven sound and almost faded out on some of her lower notes. Charles Brett and David Thomas performed with a bit more fervor but Brett (countertenor) was totally bland in his solo. The duet with Brett and Johnson was elevated by Johnson's expressive sound.

Now the Monteverdi Choir is quite another story: bouyant and resonant sound, clear and precise diction and a moving forwardness even in the slow sections, but even their 'aliveness' did not seem to wake up the soloists. The choir deserves 10 STARS!!!!!

"Jauchzet Gott In Allen Landen" should be considered as a solo motet, whose form comprises: aria, recitative, and aria leading to an 'Alleluia.' And Bach, in typical Lutheran fashion, inserts a chorale before the 'Alleluia'. Interestingly enough, this was first performed on Sept.19,1730, with a 12 year old boy performing the virtuostic solo part. And let's talk about that marvelous singer Emma Kirkby, who seems to sing everything so effortlessly, note after gorgeous note,with a voice full of life and joy; a true master Bach singer!!!Along with an excellent trumpet player,Crispian Steele-Perkins; they duet together in the first and the last sections of the motet.

Can we say this is all worth listening to? You bet!!!!! I loved it, and even though I would not rate this as my favorite 'Magnificat' (my favorite being the 1990 Chandos Disc with soloists:Kirkby-Bonner-Chance-Ainsley-Varcoe; Richard Hickox at the helm with the Collegium Musicum), but there are some truly fine moments on this disc, some of which I have mentioned. You can tell by the tone of this review that I really wanted it to be a 5-star disc, but it's not!!!!
.

Bach's Magnificat is Here Magnificent!
This is a magnificent recording of Bach's Magnificat. The sound quality is superb, the soloists and choir clear and moving, and the orchestra flawless in execution. In fact, the Gardiner series of recordings (the Mass in B minor, St. Matthew's Passion, St. John's Passion, and the Christmas Oratorio), can easily form a "backbone" of a classical music collection due to their stunning clarity, precision, and musical interpretation. The Magnificat, here, is one of the same: an outstanding piece of art as craftsmanship, with little left to be desired. Comments that this piece is too fast? After listening to this recording for well over twenty years, I have no clue as to what these few spurious detractors might be referring. (One must remember that it is easy to become "locked" into a particular recording of a piece, and then disdain any divergences from that recording in all others.)

This recording was made a number of years ago, but unless you are told so, it would be difficult, or impossible, to ever guess that: this recording sounds as good as I have heard even when compared to the most recent recordings by major labels. It's another case to demonstrate that many of the skills regarding technically sophisticated recordings was mastered decades ago, and many of the recordings of the 1970's and 1980's demonstrate excellent sonic characteristics. When coupled with Gardiner's skill in interpreting the piece, as well as the English Baroque Soloists' consummate skill in execution, the result can be outstanding. That is certainly the case with this recording.

If you are wishing to move into Bach's vocal works, but find yourself overwhelmed by the copious number of works and have no clue where to start, this is a great place to begin. The piece is only 45 minutes long, and, after a few playings, you can begin to understand the work as a unified whole. This can lead to a basic understanding of how Bach's vocal works are structured. A great next step is his Mass in B minor (also by Gardiner, where see my review), which will move you into what is routinely called "the greatest piece of western music ever written." That work will take longer for you to master, but you can do it over time, and then move onto the countless dozens of other vocal works Bach wrote. (Once you develop a love for these pieces, it may drive you crazy to find that scores and scores of Bach's original works were destroyed soon after they were composed, but that's a discussion for another day.) Meanwhile, savor the Magnificat in this superb recording.

Not what I'm really looking for.
This recording isn't bad for what it is, essentially a virtuoso showcase for Emma Kirkby and period instruments. I'd really like to see a re-release of the classic Theresa Stich-Randall/Maurice Andre recording. They really understood that it's a duet, and Andre's decrescendo ascending scale, ending at a pianissimo high C, is not to be missed.

Disappointing Performance
After having listened to this rendition of the Magnificat several times, I cannot decide if the intent was to present music or simply to see how outrageously fast and mediocre a performance could be.

Nothing is distinct in the vocal parts except the tempo which varies from blistering to warp 9.

Inexcusable. If I attended a concert of this performance I would be tempted to ask for my money back. On the other hand I could not have dozed off and embarassed my date.