Bach vs. Scheibe

Marie-Sophie Pollak, soprano
Concerto Köln
Max Volbers, conductor and recorder

Berlin Classics 0304477BC
Released: 2025

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Sometimes a musical dispute does not begin with great fanfare, but with a sharp pen. In 1737, the German-Danish composer and music critic Johann Adolph Scheibe (1708–1776) published a commentary in his journal *Der Critische Musicus*. The target of his satirical barbs was none other than Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750). Without naming him, he criticised Bach’s compositional style as ‘confused’ and ‘bombastic’. The response was swift: the lecturer in rhetoric, Johann Abraham Birnbaum, publicly came to the defence of his friend Bach. And so a dispute broke out that dragged on for years. This conflict is the subject of Concerto Köln on their album ‘Bach vs. Scheibe’.

The orchestra, which specialises in historical performance practice, approaches this dispute through music. Works by Bach and Scheibe are set against one another. In this way, rather than a dispute, a dialogue emerges. For this recording, Concert Köln has invited two guests. First and foremost is the young soprano Marie-Sophie Pollak, originally from Baden-Württemberg. She is completely at home in Baroque music and combines, seemingly effortlessly, a sense of historical style with a lively and nuanced expressiveness. The second guest is the recorder player and harpsichordist Max Volbers, who brings all his skill and extensive experience in the field of early music to the project. Above all, he takes on the role of conducting the ensemble. However, he does not miss the opportunity to pick up the recorder for one piece (‘Himmelskönig, sei willkommen’, BWV 182) and take on the solo part. He also plays the harpsichord at various points and is the author of the booklet text.

The recording begins with Bach’s radiant cantata ‘Jauchzet Gott in allen Landen’, whose virtuosity is further enhanced by Wilhelm Friedemann Bach’s magnificent arrangement. Scheibe responds with the cantata ‘Wer sich rühmen will’, in which his love of gallant melodies and stylistic clarity is evident. Whether instrumental works such as Bach’s Concerto in C minor, BWV 981, the sinfonia to ‘Ich hatte viel Bekümmernis’, vocal gems such as ‘Süßer Trost’ or Scheibe’s sensitive arias – every piece becomes a contribution to the musical debate. And so this album contains more than just the music of two contemporaries. Rather, it illustrates the transition from the High Baroque to the Classical period and is an expression of an aesthetic generational conflict. Concerto Köln It invites listeners to examine their preconceptions and discuss matters of taste. Above all, however, ‘Bach vs. Scheibe’ offers the pleasure of enjoying historically informed and vividly interpreted music. When two artists ‘argue’ so brilliantly through music, the audience is in for a treat!