The Hilliard Ensemble, Münchener Kammerorchester, Christoph Poppen - Bach, Webern: Ricercar (2003)

The conceit that informs this disc is that Bach and Webern's meditations of life, death, and eternity are essentially complementary, that Bach's Lutheran faith and Baroque aesthetic and Webern's Catholic faith and Modernist aesthetic speak of a shared belief in the luminous and the numinous. Indeed, so pervasive is the conceit that complementary performances of Webern's orchestration of Bach's Ricercata in six voices from The Musical Offering opens and closes the disc. And so successful is the conceit that this otherwise tired trick is incredibly effective. The credit for this success must go to conductor Christoph Poppen, whose conceit it is that informs the disc. From the first notes of the ethereal Ricercata through the spirituality of Webern's string quartet (1905), the dreadful mystery of Bach's Cantata No. 4 "Christ lag in Todesbanden," the sublime transcendence of Webern's Satze (5) für Streichquartett, and back to the ethereal Ricercata, Poppen's interpretation makes a whole aesthetic experience of these seemingly disparate pieces. The singing of the Hilliard Ensemble is powerfully affecting in the cantata and the playing of the Kammerorchester München is superb throughout. ECM's sound is first rate. This is a great spiritual experience and a very great recording.