Cantata No. 167, 'Ihr Menschen, rühmet Gottes Liebe,' BWV 167 (BC A176): 'Sei Lob und Preis mit Ehren', Chorus
What is it about Bach cantatas and the millennium? For years after the landmark Harnoncourt-Leonhardt series from the early 1980s, none of the big-name period-instrument conductors (or their record labels) were inclined... more » to tackle all 200-plus Bach cantatas. Then three complete sets started appearing in the late '90s--conducted by John Eliot Gardiner (the entire series to be issued in 2000), Ton Koopman (well under way), and proverbial dark horse Masaaki Suzuki. He and his Bach Collegium Japan got off to a less-than-flashy start with volume 1 but have gone from strength to strength since then: vol. 7 and vol. 8 are superb; vol. 6 is positively exhilarating. Volume 9 is just as impressive--especially the exultant Cantata No. 76, Die Himmel erzählen, featuring an extensive virtuoso part for tromba da tirarsi (slide trumpet), for which the BCJ's trumpeter specially researched and built an instrument. The other two cantatas are essentially cheerful, if smaller-scale affairs; the opening aria of Cantata No. 24 has an amusing note of self-satisfied German chauvinism. Soprano Midori Suzuki and countertenor Robin Blaze combine boylike purity with grown-up technique; bass Chiyuki Urano doesn't quite manage the fast passage work of his bravado trumpet-and-bass aria, but he and tenor Gerd Türk do good work overall. Suzuki's radiant chorus and orchestra are the equals of any such group in the world. --Matthew Westphal« less
What is it about Bach cantatas and the millennium? For years after the landmark Harnoncourt-Leonhardt series from the early 1980s, none of the big-name period-instrument conductors (or their record labels) were inclined to tackle all 200-plus Bach cantatas. Then three complete sets started appearing in the late '90s--conducted by John Eliot Gardiner (the entire series to be issued in 2000), Ton Koopman (well under way), and proverbial dark horse Masaaki Suzuki. He and his Bach Collegium Japan got off to a less-than-flashy start with volume 1 but have gone from strength to strength since then: vol. 7 and vol. 8 are superb; vol. 6 is positively exhilarating. Volume 9 is just as impressive--especially the exultant Cantata No. 76, Die Himmel erzählen, featuring an extensive virtuoso part for tromba da tirarsi (slide trumpet), for which the BCJ's trumpeter specially researched and built an instrument. The other two cantatas are essentially cheerful, if smaller-scale affairs; the opening aria of Cantata No. 24 has an amusing note of self-satisfied German chauvinism. Soprano Midori Suzuki and countertenor Robin Blaze combine boylike purity with grown-up technique; bass Chiyuki Urano doesn't quite manage the fast passage work of his bravado trumpet-and-bass aria, but he and tenor Gerd Türk do good work overall. Suzuki's radiant chorus and orchestra are the equals of any such group in the world. --Matthew Westphal
CD Reviews
Suzuki's cantata series is the one to beat
Ryan Michero (rmichero@flash.net) | Dallas, TX, USA | 05/30/1999
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I am a great lover of Bach's cantatas, and I think I have sampled every major group of cantata recordings available (from Harnoncourt/Leonhardt, Koopman, Gardiner, K. Richter, Rifkin, Herreweghe, Rilling, and various others). I have found no set of recordings as consistently satisfying as that of Suzuki and the Bach Collegium Japan. This terrific volume would be a great introduction to these wonderful recordings."
Amazing Bach from non-European artists.
Marlon Borba | Sao Paulo, SP (Brazil) | 10/10/2001
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This release from Bach Collegium Japan shows a masterful blend of technique and interpretation. Not only the ensemble and choir are absolutely first-rate but the soloists also do their parts with panache (two of them are from Europe, I must agree). Another interesting aspect of this disc is the careful rebuilding of these Cantatas, to the detail of one of the musicians (Toshio Shimada) to build a special 'corno da caccia in B flat'. I know the recordings are a bit expensive but by all means buy them all."
Track Listings (25) - Disc #1