The Bach Cantatas

[sunnyside_up]

As far as dark horse recordings, none are more so than Christophe Coin's, yet deserving wider appeal.

I just received Volume 1 of the above (Cantatas 180, 49 and 115) in the mail today and can't stop playing it. Now I want to get the other two in the series but it seems they are OOP although Amazon has a couple of second hand copies which the vendors won't ship to Australia 

[Novi]

I just received Volume 1 of the above (Cantatas 180, 49 and 115) in the mail today and can't stop playing it. Now I want to get the other two in the series but it seems they are OOP although Amazon has a couple of second hand copies which the vendors won't ship to Australia 

Are any of these what you're looking for?

[beclemund]

I really have enjoyed the few volumes of Gardiner's Cantata cycle that I have purchased. Not only are the performances amazing, but the liner notes are very educational and the overall presentation of the product is quite lovely.

One disc that I have not seen mentioned and that I always go back to is this one:



Very well recorded and performed.

My small collection of cantatas includes some of Gardiner's releases and also of Herreweghe. I also have the coffee and peasant cantatas (211 and 212) from Neville Marriner with Varady and Fischer-Dieskau. The recorded sound on that one is not as fine as I would like, but the performances are engaging and entertaining.

Suzuki's Johannespassion inspired a renewed interest for me in Baroque vocal works a few years ago. While I have neglected adding his cantata cycle to my library, I have no doubt they are well conducted, performed and recorded based on the gorgeously performed passions.

[Dancing Divertimentian]

I just received Volume 1 of the above (Cantatas 180, 49 and 115) in the mail today and can't stop playing it.

It is good, isn't it?

Now I want to get the other two in the series but it seems they are OOP although Amazon has a couple of second hand copies which the vendors won't ship to Australia 

!

[sunnyside_up]

Are any of these what you're looking for?

Bingo! Just ordered both the other Christophe Coin ones - thanks Novitiate, I didn't think to check Amazon UK (duh on my part)! I already have these cantatas in my collection, but I enjoyed Coin's performance so much I think they will put my others in the shade! The only (very slight) disappointment is the inclusion of Barbara Schlick, whose voice I find rather shrill - but I LOVE the overall performance and approach he had for Cantatas 180, 49 and 115.

Does anyone make compilations of their favourite cantata movements?

[RebLem]

If sameone wants just those three cantatas only (why would anyone?) he/she needs to buy only one disc. Anyway, I agree with you Don this advantage is more or less irrelevant. I want all cantatas and I will collect all of them.

I made this recommendation as a way of testing the waters.  Dipping, not into what everyone recognizes as the great masterpiece cantatas, but the ones one might suspect are ordinary, run of the mill cantatas.  They aren't, of course, very few are.  My intent was to say, "Try these cantatas that no one has singled out for special praise, and discover for yourself how great they really are.  Then, if you agree, go out and buy a complete cycle."

[Que]

This new issue that I came across, would be a nice one for Harry.
Bach cantatas with Emma Kirkby, what more could he wish for?! 

Q

[Harry]

This new issue that I came across, would be a nice one for Harry.
Bach cantatas with Emma Kirkby, what more could he wish for?! 

Q

Thanks Que, it on my order list, missed that one somehow.

[Tancata]

This new issue that I came across, would be a nice one for Harry.
Bach cantatas with Emma Kirkby, what more could he wish for?! 

Q

I don't want to make my first contribution to the new version of this thread too negative, but a well-meaning relative bought this for me last week and I don't like it. The instrumental side of things is decent if a little leaden, but IMO the OVPP singing is out of balance. The tenor (Daniels) and bass (Harvey) put in respectable performances, but the soprano (gulp...Kirkby) and alto (Chance, his voice now seriously clapped-out) aren't up to much.

In the SATB movements, there isn't the blending and balance of Kuijken's excellent OVPP series. Chance is especially noticeable, hooting and cooing distractingly throughout. Kirkby is alright in these bits, but her voice - for whatever reason - is quite thin and insubstantial in the solo movements.

....

Some recommendations for single cantata sets that I don't see above:

Konrad Junghaenel / Cantus Koln - "Actus tragicus and other cantatas" (Harmonia Mundi)

Superb OVPP performances of some early cantatas, including my favourites "Christ lag in todesbanden" (4), the "Actus tragicus" (106) and "Weinen, Klagen, Sorgen, Zagen" (12).

Cantatas for Alto / Andreas Scholl, Phillipe Herreweghe (Harmonia Mundi)

One of my favourite CDs. Scholl gives breathtaking performances of "Vergnugte Ruh, beliebte Seelenlust" (170), "Wiederstehe doch der Sunde" (54) and "Geist und Seele wird Verwirret" (35). He's pretty much the perfect singer for this material, and it was recorded in 1998 when his voice was still at the peak.

Cantatas for Bass / Thomas Quasthoff (DG)

Quasthoff's voice has its quirks, but the stars came into perfect alignment for this recital! It features the usual solo bass cantata programme - "Ich will den Kreuzstab gerne tragen" (56), "Der Friede sei mit dir" (158), and "Ich habe genug" (82).

As for complete sets, I collect Gardiner and Kuijken, who give contrasting but excellent performances! Suzuki is also wonderful - I have a couple of the Suzuki sets and I would be almost as happy with those as with the Gardiner series.

A good taster of Gardiner's set is Vol. 14. It's 1-cd versus the normal 2-disc sets, so it's cheaper, and it has some marvellous Christmas cantatas - well worth checking out.

[Que]

I don't want to make my first contribution to the new version of this thread too negative, but a well-meaning relative bought this for me last week and I don't like it.

I personally find dislikes as interesting and informative as favourites - perhaps even more so.

Good to see you back on (y)our favourite thread! 

Q

[Marc]

I don't want to make my first contribution to the new version of this thread too negative, but a well-meaning relative bought this for me last week and I don't like it.

Hey, don't worry. Although I can't say anything about this second Volume, I personally thought that Volume One, though very polished, was also very superficial. It didn't touch me at all. I even get more excited about Rifkin's OVPP performances.
But, AFAIK, Harry loves Kirkby, so of course he should buy these two volumes. I for instance love Lucia Popp, and I even bought some of her Bach, although her voice isn't suited for baroque, IMHO. Still, you're a fan or you're not .... and I am!

Some recommendations for single cantata sets that I don't see above:

Konrad Junghaenel / Cantus Koln - "Actus tragicus and other cantatas" (Harmonia Mundi)

Superb OVPP performances of some early cantatas, including my favourites "Christ lag in todesbanden" (4), the "Actus tragicus" (106) and "Weinen, Klagen, Sorgen, Zagen" (12).

Cantatas for Alto / Andreas Scholl, Phillipe Herreweghe (Harmonia Mundi)

One of my favourite CDs. Scholl gives breathtaking performances of "Vergnugte Ruh, beliebte Seelenlust" (170), "Wiederstehe doch der Sunde" (54) and "Geist und Seele wird Verwirret" (35). He's pretty much the perfect singer for this material, and it was recorded in 1998 when his voice was still at the peak.

Seconded!
Your other recommandation, Quasthoff, I don't know (yet?).


Greetings,

Marc.

[Dancing Divertimentian]

As far as dark horse recordings, none are more so than Christophe Coin's, yet deserving wider appeal.

Speaking of Coin, the above recording is available again.

Here's a nice write-up in Classics Today.

[Tancata]

Your other recommandation, Quasthoff, I don't know (yet?).

It's on modern instruments, but it's really very special even if you are a HIP freak like me. I was originally recommended it by Bunnyears (if she is still around here...) and it's definitely worth checking out. There was a follow-up disc of sacred music from both the baroque and later periods, "Betrachte, meine Seel", which isn't nearly as interesting, though.

[Marc]

It's on modern instruments, but it's really very special even if you are a HIP freak like me. I was originally recommended it by Bunnyears (if she is still around here...) and it's definitely worth checking out.

I'm sorry, I wasn't making myself really clear. I did know about the Quasthoff CD, but never listened to it (probably because I prefer my Bach HIP, too, though not being a freak ). I'll check my library next week if they have it. If I'd buy anything I'm interested in, I'd be Ken Shabby now.
BTW: I like Quasthoff's voice, for instance in Schubert (Winterreise) and Mahler (Des Knaben Wunderhorn).

[Que]

Time to bump this thread!

You're all kindly invited to post here now and then on:

What are  your favourite Bach cantatas?
Which cantatas are you currently listening to?
(And what are your impressions on the work & performance.)

After a lapse of over a year, I've decided to regularly listen to a Bach cantata again.
And I probably will decide on buying some new recordings as well...


My cantata for today is an old favourite of mine:
"Gleich wie der Regen und Schnee vom Himmel fällt" BWV 18 . It is an early cantata which was written in 1713/14 during Bach's time in Weimar. Relatively short and of plain construction.

What struck me when I first heard it was the unusual opening: not a chorus but an instrumental "Sinfonia" with a catchy recurring tutti-theme and alternating 1st & 2nd violins. After a recitative for bass - representing the voice of Christ - comes a second recitative for tenor and bass, with interludes for soprano (here sung by a boy). This is IMO the jewel in the crown of the cantata - note the references to the enemies of Protestantism - the "murderous Turk and Papists". (Quotations from Luther...).
Then a virtuosic soprano aria "Mein Seelenschatz", which rather taxes the boy soprano. The cantata concludes with a simple chorus.

I've uploaded the recording with an anonymous boy soprano, Kurt Equiluz (tenor) and Max van Egmond (bass), the Wiener Sängerknaben, the Chorus Viennensis and the Concentus Musicus Wien conducted by Nikolaus Harnoncourt. He recorded the Weimar version - there is also a later version from Leipzig with augmentation of the part for strings with recorders (I'd rather would have wanted that, but Harnoncourt is kind of strict in these matters... )
Click the picture for the downloads (AAC 320 kbps) - bilingual texts can be found here



Hope you enjoy!

Q

[DavidW]

Donwyn, is Coin HIP?

[marvinbrown]

Time to bump this thread!

You're all kindly invited to post here now and then on:

What are  your favourite Bach cantatas?
Which cantatas are you currently listening to?
(And what are your impressions on the work & performance.)

After a lapse of over a year, I've decided to regularly listen to a Bach cantata again.
And I probably will decide on buying some new recordings as well...

Q

  Q you couldn't have bumped this thread at a better time, at least as far as I am concerned.  Just last week I picked up the following catatas 10, 93, 178, and 107 Suzuki, 61, 63, 132, 172 Suzuki, 61 again, 36, 62 Gardiner and 202, 210 Hogwood.  For the past couple of months I have neglected these fine works and concentrated on opera and now I am resolved to listen to a cantata every day.  Of those listed above, Suzuki and Gardiner are excellent, I am not terribly happy with the Hogwood set (a found the recordings a bit "dry") but hey you can't win all the time.  My favorite cantatas from those purchased are the 60s series (61-63 are simply outstanding).

  marvin

[Que]

Donwyn, is Coin HIP?

David, allow me to answer that instead: yes, Coin is HIP.

Q

[Larry Rinkel]

I've been going through the Harnoncourt/Leonhardt set in BWV order. Up to 128 or so. The soprano aria in 127 with oboe obbligato and pizzicato strings must be one of Bach's greatest.

[Marc]

Time to bump this thread!

You're all kindly invited to post here now and then on:

What are  your favourite Bach cantatas?
Which cantatas are you currently listening to?
(And what are your impressions on the work & performance.)

After a lapse of over a year, I've decided to regularly listen to a Bach cantata again.
And I probably will decide on buying some new recordings as well...

Hey man! Autumn is on its way, it's time for me Schubert and me Mahler! Bach is me spring composer!
Anyway, here you have one (of my ... about 200 ... favourites):
BWV 84: Ich bin vergnügt mit meinem Glücke.
Very appropriate for the first sunny day of spring!