Notes and Editorial Reviews
This is a hybrid Super Audio CD playable on both regular and Super Audio CD players.
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BACH
Cantatas, Vol. 49: Nos. 188, 156, 159, 171
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Masaaki Suzuki (cond); Rachel Nicholls (sop); Robin Blaze (ct); Gerd Türk (ten); Peter Kooij (bs); Bach Collegium Japan (period instruments)
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BIS BIS-SACD-1891 (72:07
Text and Translation)
Here is another
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winner from Masaaki Suzuki and his dedicated cohort. One would never know, listening to the performances, that these four cantatas, rarely recorded outside the complete editions, are not generally considered to be top-drawer Bach. Cantata 188 actually had to be reconstructed from fragments of the score that had been cut into pieces and sold as souvenirs. Yet here they are, sounding like indispensible masterpieces. Suzuki can claim some credit, to be sure, but the inescapable wonder is the inexhaustible depth of the repertoire.
Undoubtedly the most familiar movements are the orchestral sinfonias that open Cantatas 188 and 156. Both are alternate versions of movements from Bach’s harpsichord concertos—the former the third movement of the D-Minor Concerto arranged for organ (dynamically played by Masaaki Suzuki); the latter the second movement of the F-Minor Concerto scored for what was probably its original instrument, the oboe. In fact, I got a bit of a cultural shock from the BWV 156 sinfonia, having just heard it played by Heinz Holliger in a reconstructed oboe concerto. The cantata version is appropriately stark and solemn, whereas the concerto version, as one might expect in a virtuoso showpiece, is elaborately ornamented. Holliger’s obvious advantage is striking until one realizes that Masamitsu San’nomiya’s version is entirely appropriate in its context.
And there are other felicities. The choir has relatively little to do, but the New Year’s Day cantata, BVV 171, opens with a motet-like choral fugue, festively accompanied by trumpets and timpani, which gloriously return for the triumphal concluding chorale. Newcomer Rachel Nicholls shines in her BWV 171 aria. Robin Blaze, in peak form, and San’nomiya collaborate in a lively aria in BWV 156. The always dependable Gerd Türk has a memorable aria in BWV 188. The aria “Es ist vollbracht” of BWV 159 rivals the setting of the same text in the
Saint John Passion
; veteran bass Peter Kooij sings it exquisitely.
Although all of the soloists listed above are imports, first trumpeter Guy Ferber was the only other obviously non-Japanese performer named in the roster. By now it’s no stretch to say that Suzuki and the Bach Collegium Japan have mastered the idiom. Warmly recommended.
FANFARE: George Chien
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Works on This Recording
1.
Sehet, wir gehn hinauf gen Jerusalem, BWV 159 by Johann Sebastian Bach
Performer:
Rachel Nicholls (Soprano),
Robin Blaze (Countertenor),
Gerd Türk (Tenor),
Peter Kooy (Bass)
Conductor:
Masaaki Suzuki
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Bach Collegium Japan
Period: Baroque
Written: 1729; Leipzig, Germany
2.
Ich habe meine Zuversicht auf den getreuen Gott gericht, BWV 188 by Johann Sebastian Bach
Performer:
Rachel Nicholls (Soprano),
Robin Blaze (Countertenor),
Gerd Türk (Tenor),
Peter Kooy (Bass)
Conductor:
Masaaki Suzuki
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Bach Collegium Japan
Period: Baroque
Written: ?1728; Leipzig, Germany
3.
Gott, wie dein Name, so ist auch dein Ruhm, BWV 171 by Johann Sebastian Bach
Performer:
Rachel Nicholls (Soprano),
Robin Blaze (Countertenor),
Gerd Türk (Tenor),
Peter Kooy (Bass)
Conductor:
Masaaki Suzuki
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Bach Collegium Japan
Period: Baroque
Written: ?1729; Leipzig, Germany
4.
Ich steh' mit einem Fuss im Grabe, BWV 156 by Johann Sebastian Bach
Performer:
Rachel Nicholls (Soprano),
Robin Blaze (Countertenor),
Gerd Türk (Tenor),
Peter Kooy (Bass)
Conductor:
Masaaki Suzuki
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Bach Collegium Japan
Period: Baroque
Written: 1729; Leipzig, Germany
Sound Samples
Ich habe meine Zuversicht, BWV 188: Sinfonia
Ich habe meine Zuversicht, BWV 188: Aria: Ich habe meine Zuversicht (Tenor)
Ich habe meine Zuversicht, BWV 188: Recitative: Gott meint es gut mit jedermann (Bass)
Ich habe meine Zuversicht, BWV 188: Aria: Unerforschlich ist die Weise (Alto)
Ich habe meine Zuversicht, BWV 188: Recitative: Die Macht der Welt verlieret sich (Soprano)
Ich habe meine Zuversicht, BWV 188: Chorale: Auf meinen lieben Gott (Chorus)
Ich steh mit einem Fuss im Grabe, BWV 156: Sinfonia
Ich steh mit einem Fuss im Grabe, BWV 156: Aria with Chorale: Ich steh mit einem Fuss im Grabe (Alto, Soprano)
Ich steh mit einem Fuss im Grabe, BWV 156: Recitative: Mein Angst und Not (Bass)
Ich steh mit einem Fuss im Grabe, BWV 156: Aria: Herr, was du willt, soll mir gefallen (Alto)
Ich steh mit einem Fuss im Grabe, BWV 156: Recitative: Und willst du, dass ich nicht soll kranken (Bass)
Ich steh mit einem Fuss im Grabe, BWV 156: Chorale: Herr, wie du willt, so schicks mit mir (Chorus)
Sehet, wir gehn hinauf gen Jerusalem, BWV 159: Arioso and Recitative: Sehet, wir gehn hinauf gen Jerusalem (Bass, Alto)
Sehet, wir gehn hinauf gen Jerusalem, BWV 159: Duet with Chorale: Ich folge dir nach (Alto, Chorus Soprano)
Sehet, wir gehn hinauf gen Jerusalem, BWV 159: Recitative: Nun will ich mich, mein Jesu (Tenor)
Sehet, wir gehn hinauf gen Jerusalem, BWV 159: Aria: Es ist vollbracht (Bass)
Sehet, wir gehn hinauf gen Jerusalem, BWV 159: Chorale: Jesu, deine Passion ist lauter Freude (Chorus)
Gott, wie dein Name, so ist auch dein Ruhm, BWV 171: Gott, wie dein Name, so ist auch dein Ruhm (Chorus)
Gott, wie dein Name, so ist auch dein Ruhm, BWV 171: Aria: Herr, so weit die Wolken gehen (Tenor)
Gott, wie dein Name, so ist auch dein Ruhm, BWV 171: Recitative: Du susser Jesus-Name du (Alto)
Gott, wie dein Name, so ist auch dein Ruhm, BWV 171: Aria: Jesus soll mein erstes Wort (Soprano)
Gott, wie dein Name, so ist auch dein Ruhm, BWV 171: Recitative: Und da du, Herr, gesagt (Bass)
Gott, wie dein Name, so ist auch dein Ruhm, BWV 171: Chorale: Lass uns das Jahr vollbringen (Chorus)
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