The Bach Cantatas

[Coopmv]

He wouldn't have been happy had he done that... you know, without a job and all that.

Indeed, as the cantor of St. Thomas in Leipzig, Bach had to compose cantatas for the various occasions.  It was an obligation ...

[Franco]

I will be on vacation during the Christmas week when I can finally start playing this set, which I got back in February at a great price from MDT ...

I bought the Leusink complete cycle on Brilliant earlier this year, but I am buying individual recordings of the ones I especially like, and also sampling some from the Sigiswald Kuijken series.  These are some of my favorite Bach works.

[Antoine Marchand]

Indeed, as the cantor of St. Thomas in Leipzig, Bach had to compose cantatas for the various occasions.  It was an obligation ...

"I have always kept one end in view, namely, with all good will to conduct a well-regulated church music to the honor of God", J.S. Bach.

[The new erato]

You've listened to all 200 odd Cantatas?

Yep. Several times. And I'm not even a particularly dour fellow.

[71 dB]

Last Suzuki I bought was volume 37 with solo cantatas 35, 169, 170 & 200 sung by "not so highly ranked" Robin Blaze. Contrary to my modest expectations I find this volume very good! It seems I prefer Bach's solo cantatas in general but I need to study this theory further. It seems Bach's solo cantatas have a spiritual (noble) feel instead of the religious (church-like) feel of the non-solo cantatas (secular cantatas excluded, of course).

[SonicMan46]

Over the last month or more, I've been taking advantage of the BIS offering of the 4 anniversary volumes (10 CDs each) for just $40/box from MDT - the last arrived a few days ago (bought 'out of order') - listening to one at the moment!

 

 

[Marc]

"I have always kept one end in view, namely, with all good will to conduct a well-regulated church music to the honor of God", J.S. Bach.

Yep.
It was his own choice (and wish) to go to a place like Leipzig and compose this well-regulated church music. And I'm very glad he did!
Another good reason was, of course, the Thomanerschule being a very good place of education for his offspring.

BTW, I think that, in Bach's view, all music was meant to honour God ... Soli Deo Gloria!
Personally, I don't see any difference in quality within his oeuvre, regardless if it's church or secular music.
But because of the fact that the human voice is one of my favourite instruments, I particularly embrace Bach's cantatas, oratorias, masses and passions. Although lately I've developed a VERY weak spot for the organ ....

[Franco]

Yep.
It was his own choice (and wish) to go to a place like Leipzig and compose this well-regulated church music. And I'm very glad he did!
Another good reason was, of course, the Thomanerschule being a very good place of education for his offspring.

BTW, I think that, in Bach's view, all music was meant to honour God ... Soli Deo Gloria!
Personally, I don't see any difference in quality within his oeuvre, regardless if it's church or secular music.
But because of the fact that the human voice is one of my favourite instruments, I particularly embrace Bach's cantatas, oratorias, masses and passions. Although lately I've developed a VERY weak spot for the organ ....

I definitely remember a quote from Bach something to the effect of (paraphrase): The aim and final end of all music should be none other than the glory of God and the refreshment of the soul.

EDIT: After doing a little Googling I found some interesting information about this quote - it was made in the context of playing continuo.  Here's is a longer exceprt from a book on continuo playing with Bach's extended remarks that include the above quote:

"The thorough-bass is the most perfect foundation of music, being played with both hands in such manner that the left hand plays the notes written down while the right adds consonances and dissonances, in order to make a well-sounding harmony to the Glory of God and the permissible delectation of the spirit; and the aim and final reason, as of all music, so of the thorough-bass should be none else but the Glory of God and the recreation of the mind. Where this is not observed, there will be no real music but only a devilish hubbub."

I cannot vouch for the translation - but here is the German:

Um Ketils Zitat im Originalwortlaut von 1738 zu komplettieren: ,,Der General Bass ist das vollkommenste Fundament der Music[,] welcher mit beyden Händen gespielet wird [,] dergestalt [,] dass die linke Hand die vorgeschriebene Noten spielet [,] die rechte aber Con- und Dissonantien darzu greift [,] damit dieses eine vollklingende Harmonie gebe zur Ehre Gottes und zulässiger Ergötzung des Gemüths [,] und soll wie aller Music also auch des General Basses Finis und End Uhrsache anders nicht als nur zu Gottes Ehre und Recreation des Gemüths seyn. Wo dieses nicht in acht genommen wird [,] da izts keine eigentliche Music [,] sondern ein Teuflisches Geplerr und Geleyer."

[Marc]

I definitely remember a quote from Bach something to the effect of (paraphrase): The aim and final end of all music should be none other than the glory of God and the refreshment of the soul.

Well, his music certainly refreshes my soul.

Since about 1979, to be precise , when I first encountered the world of Bach's Matthäus-Passion, mainly thanks to my dad, who, together with my mum, sang in an amateur oratorio choir. He made a music cassette selection for me and I listened to it almost every day. My first favourite was Mache dich, mein Herze, rein.

And one year later I definitely fell in love when hearing the opening choir of the Johannes: home alone, in our family's living room, on a quiet Palm Sunday afternoon, listening to a live Concertgebouw/Harnoncourt broadcast and really not believing what I actually did hear. This magnificent chorus had me completely flabbergasted.
I started to listen to as much Bach vocal music as possible. All recorded on a small mono tape recorder. How I enjoyed my own music sessions with The Beatles and Bach's Bleib' bei uns, denn es will Abend werden!

The rest, so they say, is history. The love story's still continuing and will be in saecula saeculorum (for as long as I live, that is ).

[Marc]

EDIT: After doing a little Googling I found some interesting information about this quote - it was made in the context of playing continuo. 

Well, the importance and the rhythm of the continuo parts were one of the first things in Bach's music that struck me as a child, and I loved it! It really was a thorough bass. I had many difficulties to sit still and quiet whilst listening to Bach. I always felt the urge to move or dance. This still happens to me, also when I'm attending a concert.

[knight66]

As I quite often do, early on a Sunday morning, I am listening to Bach Cantatas and wondering what more marvelous music there could be. I have 96 cantatas in 144 versions and I decided to trawl through Amazon to see whether there were bargains to be had that mainly hit some of the missing cantatas from my collection.

I have ordered the following:



Volume 8 of Pieter Jan Leusink on Brilliant. Five CDs for £3.83. I am sure they have to be worth rather more, even if just to get me going on some cantatas that I just don't know. But while waiting for them to arrive; has anyone any opinions either on this volume or this series generally?

Mike

[The new erato]

I have 96 cantatas in 144 versions Mike

Wow.  You some kind of control freak? I like to be surprised when I peruse my collection. I know I have them all, almost all of them in multiple versions, but the info stops there.....

[knight66]

Thanks for the kind remarks.

With over 200 cantatas 'out there', I cannot possibly remember which ones I have, apart from the really famous names ones. So, some time ago I sat and catalogued them onto a spreadsheet, (one piece of A4 paper). This means I can fill in the gaps and not stand wondering...do I have that one or not?

Mike

[The new erato]

Thanks for the kind remarks.

With over 200 cantatas 'out there', I cannot possibly remember which ones I have, apart from the really famous names ones. So, some time ago I sat and catalogued them onto a spreadsheet, (one piece of A4 paper). This means I can fill in the gaps and not stand wondering...do I have that one or not?

Mike

As I mentioned, buy them all and the problem disappears, then you can sleep peacefully and avoid all work (except for that needed to get money to buy them).

[knight66]

I have a nice spread of styles of performance and I like the solo cantatas sung by some of the pre-hip singers, preferring to add a hip-performance. Often to get two cantatas I don't have, I end up with one or two I already have, sometimes in multiple versions.

I have given up on giant boxes, I never get through them. This way, buying slowly, I am getting to grips with the pieces and differing styles of performance. No one conductor covers all the bases with these inexhaustible works.

BTW, I don't have catalogues of any other bodies of work, but I defy most to know whether they have any, some or all of whenever Gardiner, Koopman, Suzuki et all pump another volume out.

I have been tempted to catalogue my Schubert songs; I have about 30 to 40 discs, but can't be bothered.

Anyway...anyone out there with knowledge of the Brilliant set?

Mike

[Coopmv]

I have 2 complete cantatas cycles in these two sets.  But I have yet to open the Harnoncourt set, which arrived from MDT back in February.  I also have many of the individual cantatas by Gardiner and Harnoncourt (on LP only) and will start collecting those by Rilling soon.  There is no such thing as having too many Bach Cantatas ...

[jlaurson]

I have given up on giant boxes, I never get through them. This way, buying slowly, I am getting to grips with the pieces and differing styles of performance. No one conductor covers all the bases with these inexhaustible works.

Best, truest, thing I've seen written in this forum! I couldn't possibly agree more.
(But even knowing that you are 100% right doesn't mean it's easy to follow that advice.
But at least anyone introduced to music should never be inundated with a box set. Even
a set of Beethoven Symphonies would probably be too much already. It splinters the focus
and hinders discovery.)

[Antoine Marchand]

I have 2 complete cantatas cycles in these two sets.  But I have yet to open the Harnoncourt set, which arrived from MDT back in February.  I also have many of the individual cantatas by Gardiner and Harnoncourt (on LP only) and will start collecting those by Rilling soon.  There is no such thing as having too many Bach Cantatas ...

"To collect" it seems to be the key verb here.

[Coopmv]

I have 2 complete cantatas cycles in these two sets.  But I have yet to open the Harnoncourt set, which arrived from MDT back in February.  I also have many of the individual cantatas by Gardiner and Harnoncourt (on LP only) and will start collecting those by Rilling soon.  There is no such thing as having too many Bach Cantatas ...

BTW, I left out a very important conductor of this subgenre of classical music, Herreweghe.  After having blown him off for a while, I finally started to collect his recordings in earnest.  The goal is to get all the passions by him and to start on the cantatas by midyear next year.  If my investments cooperate, this can happen even earlier ... 

[knight66]

Best, truest, thing I've seen written in this forum! I couldn't possibly agree more.
(But even knowing that you are 100% right doesn't mean it's easy to follow that advice.
But at least anyone introduced to music should never be inundated with a box set. Even
a set of Beethoven Symphonies would probably be too much already. It splinters the focus
and hinders discovery.)

A long time ago I gave up on collected works sets. Though there is one exception I will get to in a moment. But when there were LPs, I bought the entire 27 Mozart piano concerti. I doubt I ever got through half of them.

The exception was the recent 71 disc Karajan EMI vocal pieces box set, just too good to miss, though I had or knew about a half of the performances. However, typically, over a year later, they still have not all had an outing.

As for symphonic box sets, I have only bought them once I already had built up each cycle as I discovered them. That exploration is often a chance journey. I prefer that to an inexorable travail through a slab of a set, almost...duty calls.

It has taken me about 20 years to get almost half of the Bach Cantatas, I am content to assume I have another two decades to explore the remainder. Time is just about still on my side.

Mike