The Partitas (a.k.a. Of particular interest is the fine playing of Katharina Arfken, who is oboe d’amore soloist in a reconstruction of Bach’s Harpsichord Concerto No 4 (BWV1055). There are to my knowledge two (more or less) complete cycles of the sacred cantatas. Written for the Feast of the Purification of Mary, it is a moving meditation on having one’s hopes and dreams fulfilled, just as the hopes of the aged Simeon are fulfilled by holding the infant Jesus in his arms. He doesn’t set out to shock (not even peripherally), or primarily excite, but to delight. Bach's 333rd birthday. 5 comes with Bach’s original pithy harpsichord cadenza in the final movement. Glenn Gould is admittedly Canadian, not English (or even British), but for one he is the can’t-get-around-figure when it comes to the Goldberg Variations (at least where a conventional recommendation is concerned) and at least Canada is a member of the Commonwealth. Head and heart: Goerne and Andsnes mix drama and poetry. 4pm - 7pm, Chariots of Fire - Theme | Year 2007 He is the only composer on whom I cannot overdose, and while his music seemed dated to his own, slightly embarrassed sons, it strikes us as perfectly timeless now. Most importantly, this enhances the dancing character of the music which is, after all, (stylized) dance music. | Year 2008 Choosing the "best" of Johann Sebastian Bach's nearly 200 sacred cantatas is a daunting task, as each one seems perfect. All other works are either adaptations or reconstructions of concertos written either for different instruments or adapted for other instruments from subsequently lost originals for the violin or concertos for more than one violin (BWV 1043 for two violins is a common disc-mate) or violin and another instrument (like the reconstruction of BWV 1060 for violin and oboe instead of two harpsichords)… You get the point. That said, do lend Goerne your ears – he still has much to say. Fresh, vibrant and joyful Bach with a stunning new addition. | Instruments, Voices, Choirs The chorale “Wenn ich einmal soll scheiden” isn’t so much dour but displays an utter reluctance to part. Get the latest round-up of arts, culture, news and reviews delivered to your inbox every Saturday. Within a totally unruffled outwardly demeanor, she manages to evoke a wildly playful feeling in the music. The best recordings of JS Bach’s Brandenburg Concertos, R Strauss: Don Juan; Brantano Lieder, Op. Now, despite a certain amount of musical training, I am not a musician or a musicologist, and I am certain to slip into the bad linguistic habit of using absolute comparatives and superlatives when what I am actually describing is my emotional reaction to a work. During the compilation of these reviews I have used many different sources of information. I don't consider myself qualified to pass an absolute judgement of quality on any of these works but I hope it will help guide you on to "what to listen to next". Instead, Jacobs hones in on subtlety and gentle nuance and employs the two choruses and orchestras in the most dramatically effective, stereophonic way. I used to read it religiously and got many of my first hints, tastes, and opinions from its pages. One by Harnoncourt and Leonhardt on Teldec (now available at budget price on 60 CDs) and another by Rilling on Hänssler (at super bargain price). Still, I’ve no hesitations when it comes to a “best”, which is to say favorite, version: Jos van Veldhoven and the Netherlands Bach Society on Channel Classics! I fail pitifully at describing exactly what she does so well, but I feel it every time upon listening. I would like to say a few words of introduction and apology for the approach that I have taken here to the sacred cantatas: They are sacred works, mostly written with a specific function in a Lutheran church service and I believe that they should be listened to with that context in mind, whether you are a believer or not. Jordi Savall (director)Le Concert des Nations (1991). That makes the pianist Schiff my choice over the excellent harpsichord playing of Pinnock’s (in excellent sound on Hänssler), which was ahead of its time and remains glorious. | Year 2004 Vangelis Neglected gems get a polish from a master and his apprentice. Koopman has started a complete cycle (on Erato) which I will collect in due course and use at some stage in the r… Among HIP versions, I’d also take John Elliot Gardiner (who has just brought out his second recording with the Monteverdi Choir and his English Baroque Soloists; Archiv then, now Soli Deo Gloria), definitely any one of Philippe Herreweghe’s three recordings (Virgin/Erato, HMU, Phi, especially either of the latter), or Sigiswald Kuijken (Challenge Classics) or Václav Luks and Collegium 1704 (Accent) or Frans Brüggen (Glossa) or glorious Mark Minkowski (naïve) or Konrad Junghänel (Harmonia Mundi, the best among the most radically slimmed down and fast versions) or the exacting, exciting Masaaki Suzuki (BIS) ahead of Butt. I actually agree with the Gramophone choice of Rachel Podger (Channel Classics). In the central aria, Schlummert ein, Goerne  projects a lush tone, sensitively softened in the da capo. | Year 2019 However, if you want to investigate the background to the cantatas, I would like to refer you to the following excellent sources of information on the World Wide Web: In this latest revision I have completed the sacred cantatas and am very close to completing the secular cantatas. This set offers an irresistibly expansive and effusive approach, right down to the immediacy of the recording and the vast breadth of the sound. © 2020 Forbes Media LLC. Having heard, before I started, that I should expect to find that the cantatas have much fine music swimming in a sea of mediocrity, I now find myself in a position to deny that emphatically! Hopefully, this will be put right on release of the appropriate parts of Koopman's traversal or the re-release of Schreier's set. Less successful are the almost endless, frenetic phrases of the central aria, Endlich, endlich will mein Joch where a lighter, more connected approach, such as that used by Goerne’s mentor, Fischer-Dieskau, might have produced a more appealing result. I contribute to Listen Magazine and Auditorium and mostly live in Vienna, Austria. Mention should be made of the cycle that has just started on the BIS label under Suzuki. The visual wizards at Fly On The Wall have been capturing outstanding musical performances, and this one is no exception. 3 feels more like an interruption than a connection between movements. One reason may be that their original function and context, either as sacred or secular celebration, does not fit well with modern concert practice and so exposure to all but a handful of them is rare. Bach have? It’s a stiff and a very matter-of-factly reading that makes any other seem downright willful. To make the lists comparable, I’ve kept the same choice of works that Gramophone opted for, even if this means skipping over recordings of cantatas and organ works, two of the most important genres in Bach’s output, although they used to be deemed less popular; even arcane. Recordings of Bach’s Brandenburg Concertos are ample; deducting for duplications and compilations, ArkivMusic lists about 50 available complete versions… and “Pinnock II” is among a bunch of favorites, but it wouldn’t quite be my top choice. We can hear No. Although in its very earliest stages, what has appeared is very good indeed. For jazzed-up Brandenburgs, Jacques Loussier (Telarc) is the foot-tappin’ choice. I've thought long and hard about this and decided that this would be fun to do, but I really have nothing useful to add to the extensive mass of commentaries on the great passions and the b-minor mass. General Topics: Save when you subscribe today and get your magazine + CD delivered direct to your door from the UK! The Icelandic pianist, who Limelight's critics have voted our International Artist of the Year 2019, tells us about his forays into the music of Philip Glass and Johann Sebastian Bach. Re-listening to these and many others, I found the Freiburg recording the most delicate, vividly phrased, with perfect intonation and a light and lively understatement and Amandine Beyer’s the most exciting. Recordings of Bach Cantatas & Recommended Cantatas General Discussions - Part 16: Year 2012 : Continue from Part 15: Year 2011: Sacred cantatas: conductors' review: Lucian Gabriel Popescu (aherne) wrote (March 13, 2012): Hello back! Cantatas rated 3 are those that have left me cold. (A more extensive review can be found here.) So, what I plan to do is to add pages about the lesser known vocal works, for example the missae breves and the various sanctuses. Add a page called "Don't take my word for it", with other people's opinions of the cantatas together with some alternative rating mechanisms. For an essay on the late-romantic composer Hans Rott in Listen Magazine I won a 2012 ASCAP Deems Taylor Award. Enter to win tickets to the latest productions around Australia and films on the big screen. | Year 2002 Finally, a big thank-you to Dave Lampson, both for offering a home to these essays and for all his hard work in supporting the venture. Attach MIDI files of the unrecorded works and fragments (subject to overcoming any copyright problems!). The category of violin concertos is tricky with Bach, as there are only two (BWV 1041 & 1042) that are straightforward surviving concertos for one solo violin. That’s perhaps the one reason I choose him over the more extrovert but excellent recording of Gavriel Lipkind (a comparative review can be read here), or the surprise contender Arnau Tomàs (Aglae, in almost artificially great sound) that swept the board in a recent blind-listening exercise I participated in. If I opted for a HIP recording, it would be Peter Wispelwey’s Second (Channel Classics). J.S. 9. | Texts, Translations, Languages For that, I would choose either Jordi Savall’s recording (Alia Vox) or that of harpsichordist-conductor Richard Egarr. It is an extended, surprisingly slow and devastatingly disturbing cry that tears through the fabric of the music. A Spotify playlist can be found Spotify List: Top Ten Bach Recordings, Forbes, but since Spotify lacks numerous labels and good meta-data, it has been padded with second and third choices. There is something about the music of Johann Sebastian Bach that puts it in a category of its own. Not only has this refreshed my flagging spirits at times of exhaustion but your comments have helped me to focus on those areas where my opinions really did need more thought. BachCantatas for BassMatthias Goerne bar, Freiburger Barockorchester/Gottfried von der GoltzHarmonia Mundi HMM902323. Bach form an exceptional body of work that, for various reasons, seem not to be as well known by the listening public as the venerated status of their composer suggests they should be. A detailed discography to accompany this list, including alternative choices, can be found on ionarts. Birthday surprise: Bezuidenhout delivers vivid period performances. Steven Isserlis is a very charming, gregarious man, a fine cellist, and a savvy artist. Of the over 1,120 entries in the Bach Works Catalogue (BWV), this cantata is No.