Bach, one on a part

A New York Times review of a new CD by the Netherlands Bach Society, which presents the B Minor Mass with only one singer per part. Key quote:

“Johann Mattheson, the great Baroque composer and theorist, wrote that to sing you must speak properly, with understanding of the text,” Mr. van Veldhoven said during a recent visit to New York. “At the same time he says that you can only play well if you can sing. Song and instrumental music all have the same source.”

But in response to criticism from other early-music experts, such as Gustav Leonhardt:

In any case “authenticity” is not everything. Mr. van Veldhoven said: “I’m very interested in facts, but I don’t want to be a conservator and do exactly what Bach did. A good performance uses a framework of knowledge. But within that framework there’s freedom. So many musicians are trained to think of the composer as God, who had the truth in his pen — one single truth, and only one. The composer isn’t God. He’s a friend you can talk to.”