Switzerland Bach, Beethoven: Rebecca Hardwick (soprano), Iris Korfker (alto), Peter Davoren (tenor), Alex Ashworth (bass), The Constellation Choir, Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich / Sir John Eliot Gardiner (conductor). Tonhalle Zurich, 31.12.2025. (AL-L)
Bach – Motet Singet dem Herrn ein neues Lied, BWV 225
Beethoven – Symphony No.9 in D minor, Op.125
To mark the passage into the new year, Sir John Eliot Gardiner chose two works oriented toward renewal: Bach’s Singet dem Herrn ein neues Lied and Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony. It was an exacting and wide-ranging programme, perfectly suited as an introduction to his new ensemble, The Constellation Choir, which promptly delivered a masterclass in choral singing.
Formed after Gardiner’s separation from the Monteverdi Choir, this new group immediately established itself as a first-rate ensemble. In the Bach Motet, it displayed exemplary textual clarity: each vocal line remained distinct and audible despite the density of the double choir writing. Gardiner’s direction prioritized breath, articulation and the transparency of layers, constantly re-energising the music through the text itself. For Beethoven, the choir adopted an entirely different palette — richer, more opulent, more physical — without sacrificing precision or rhetorical bite.
The Tonhalle itself deserves special praise. Seating roughly 1,500, it offers luminous acoustics without excessive dryness, generous yet precise, allowing sound to project freely while retaining definition. It is exactly the kind of hall Geneva sorely lacks — but that is another story.
Beethoven’s Ninth revealed a conductor little inclined toward metaphysical abstraction. Gardiner favoured nervous contrasts, elastic rubato, and highly personal sound balances. The opening Allegro emerged from near-silence, the strings — without vibrato — producing a slightly acidic timbre before the development gathered intensity. The fugato unfolded with distinctly Bachian clarity, the phrasing taut and spring-loaded.
The Molto vivace movement found the orchestra visibly engaged, even smiling, though the scherzo exposed some tension in the woodwinds. The Adagio might have benefited from a more singing string line, yet its central section produced one of the evening’s most striking moments: the tempo relaxed for the woodwind entries, supported by pizzicato strings, creating an unexpected, almost chorale-like atmosphere — Bach glimpsed through Beethoven.
The soloists, all solid and well-integrated, emerged naturally from the choral texture in the Finale. Alex Ashworth, in particular, shaped a charged silence between ‘Freunde’ and ‘nicht diese Töne’, illuminating the meaning of the text before a note was sung. The strings occasionally sounded firm to the point of restraint — perhaps a deliberate choice — while the solo clarinet and trumpet contributions were splendid. Once again, the choir proved decisive, repeatedly relaunching the music with authority and conviction.
A beautiful evening that reminded us — if any reminder were needed — of Gardiner’s immense artistry. A radiant Bach and an exhilarating Beethoven: it is hard to imagine a finer way to move from one year to the next.
Antoine Lévy-Leboyer