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Ultra-Audio Magazin
Ultra-Audio Magazin
Febuary 2005
Heinrich Schütz:
Musicalische Vesper (Symphoniae Sacrae, Psalmen Davids)
Soloists
Kölner Kammerchor
Collegium Cartusianum
Peter Neumann, conductor
MDG 932 1170-5 (DVD-Audio)
Last month I reviewed a disc of music Giovanni Gabrieli had written
to be performed at San Marco in Venice, noting how greatly the antiphonal
music of renaissance composers benefited from multichannel recording.
German composer Heinrich Schütz studied with Gabrieli for a
spell, and the music he wrote for performance in Dresden was meant
to envelop the listener. Musicians were placed in various locations
throughout the church. Schütz knew the church's acoustic well
and took full advantage of it. MDG's wizard CEO and chief engineer,
Werner Dabringhaus, has entirely succeeded in recreating these effects
while using as his venue the Mellachthonkirche in Köln-Zollstock.
Dabringhaus put the soloists and various choirs on raised platforms
so they would sound as if singing from the galleries of the original
performance location. This effect is probably more dynamic using
MDG's 2+2+2 setup, but it is very impressive in the more common
5.1-channel format. The responsorium "Saul, Saul, was verfolgst
du mich" is hair-raising. Soloists and violins sing from the
front while ripieno choruses comment from the rear. At points in
the piece there are reverse echo effects, with sound being passed
from the rear, fortissimo, to the front, pianissimo. The effect
is awesome and impressive, and would be impossible in a two-channel
recording. It would also be difficult for most performers, but the
superb musicians for these sessions surmount every obstacle with
virtuoso singing and playing -- the trombone choir is the best I
have ever heard. Discounting the multichannel effects on this disc,
the hi-rez sound scores in clarity and nuance from first note to
last. The soloists have unusually good presence. If you have a good
multichannel music setup, this disc is a must.
Rad Bennett
radb@ultraaudio.com
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