Search - Bach Collegium Japan :: Motets

Lively, True, and Clear

Qwerty | 02/11/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Bach's six motets need no introduction. They are arguably the most intricate and fascinating choral pieces ever written, and among the most difficult to perform. Layers upon layers of complex polyphony and counterpoint. Achingly beautiful melody and harmony. This music explodes vertically, horizontally, and seemingly into new dimensions. This is music to listen to deeply and become enveloped by.



And Bach Collegium Japan nails it. With smallish forces (probably no more than two to a part), the lines are clear and intimate -- none of that big choral fuzziness. The recording was made in a location with little reverberation, which contributes to the clarity. The group is balanced, tight, and in tune.



The interpretation is lively and passionate in exactly the "late baroque" sense of those words. This is no academic recording of a museum artifact. This feels like a fresh performance of living and breathing music. Over the past 15 years, Bach Collegium Japan and Massako Suzuki have recorded 45 albums of Bach's cantatas and all of the other major sacred works (Mass in B Minor, the two passions, the oratorios, etc.). At this point, Bach is in their marrow. You really fell that internalization in this recording.



I have recordings of the Motets by RAIS-Kammerchor/Rene Jacobs, La Chappelle Royale/Philippe Herreweghe, The Sixteen/Harry Christophers, Nederlands Kamerkoor/Peter Dijkstra, and the Hilliard Ensemble. While all are very fine, this is the one to get."

Tremendous performances of rich, intricate choral music

T. Fisher | 05/15/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Bach's six motets are performed absolutely beautifully here by the Bach Collegium Japan, a combined orchestra and chorus dedicated to performing Baroque works since 1990. The BCJ is led by its founder and keyboardist Masaaki Suzuki, a professor of music and conducting in Tokyo and at Yale.



The BCJ has built up quite a reputation as Bach specialists, and this recording makes clear why. The chorus and the backing instrumentalists turn in really lively, moving performances here, and the recording is tremendously clear and bright, even in MP3 quality.



Motets are complex, polyphonic choral works, usually with a religious theme, that generally have several layers of singing going on, weaving among each other in point and counterpoint. Bach's motets were written as funeral pieces for the St. Thomas Church in Leipzig in the 1720s. They are fantastic pieces of music, and definitely among the most significant in the motet literature.



Don't worry about this music being written for funerals -- it is not depressing, but uplifting in its beauty and feeling of underlying spirituality. It's also pretty exciting stuff when you get into it. If you really pay attention, it's easy and satisfying to get lost in the details.



Amazon's decision to put this out as the MP3 Daily Deal on May 15, 2010 at a price of $2.99 is a winner -- I couldn't afford the SACD release this is taken from, although I'm sure it sounds great. Even in MP3 quality (bitrates are in the 222-243 kbps range), the album sounds fantastic. If baroque music is your cup of tea, you can't go wrong here. Highly recommended!

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