Best Bach Complete Cantatas Box

[James]

he's much more restrained and severe in Bach's religious vocal works (sometimes even too much).

Just a little sidebar to this .. his Christmas Oratorio recording is great.

[Marc]

Just a little sidebar to this .. his Christmas Oratorio recording is great.

I agree.
It's one of my favourites.
And his B-minor Mass is very good, too, even though it's rarely mentioned.

[Madiel]

Well, I might be cheating a little bit in that I only have the Suzuki.

But about 60% of the way through I'm very, very happy with my choice. On a certain Bach cantata discussion board, I've seen "complaints" that Suzuki is often faster than more traditional versions... in which case I think that's exactly what I like about it. There is such life and animation in it. This kind of Bach, with figurations repeated over and over, can easily become very stodgy. Suzuki isn't stodgy, and having not been influenced by other versions I've never felt that any of it is rushed.

I did do a comparison once on a particular movement where Suzuki completely delighted me, and no other version that I found came close. But of course, given that it was a movement I particularly liked it probably wasn't a very fair choice.

[Jo498]

I have heard/owned two disc with Suzuki. The first must have been one of the first (incl. BWV 4) and it was sold cheaply as some kind of teaser, probably with a catalogue. I found it terrible: weak, unexpressive, no contrasts, poor articulation of German etc.
The other one is a later recording with BWV 140, 112 and 29 and it does not suffer from any of the problems the older recording had. It is overall very good. However, for this later one I can understand how some listeners describe his approach as "slick". It is very far from the (sometimes rough) "Klangrede" of Harnoncourt/Leonhardt, brilliant but "neutral".

[Ken B]

Well, I might be cheating a little bit in that I only have the Suzuki.

But about 60% of the way through I'm very, very happy with my choice. On a certain Bach cantata discussion board, I've seen "complaints" that Suzuki is often faster than more traditional versions... in which case I think that's exactly what I like about it. There is such life and animation in it. This kind of Bach, with figurations repeated over and over, can easily become very stodgy. Suzuki isn't stodgy, and having not been influenced by other versions I've never felt that any of it is rushed.

I did do a comparison once on a particular movement where Suzuki completely delighted me, and no other version that I found came close. But of course, given that it was a movement I particularly liked it probably wasn't a very fair choice.

You made a very wise choice indeed! I think the fleetness is a virtue.  And one thing that does come through on these too is sincerity. Suzuki is a believing Lutheran.

[James]

I agree.
It's one of my favourites.
And his B-minor Mass is very good, too, even though it's rarely mentioned.

I haven't heard that one .. I saw a video of his Matthew Passion a few years back, it was also good.

I prefer HIP performances of Bach's orchestral and religious work .. the nuance, no vibrato, paler tones etc.

[Marc]

I haven't heard that one .. I saw a video of his Matthew Passion a few years back, it was also good.

I prefer HIP performances of Bach's orchestral and religious work .. the nuance, no vibrato, paler tones etc.

The video is probably the performance in Amersfoort, NL, Sint Joriskerk, 2005.
It's available both on CD and DVD, and I prefer it to Koopman's studio recording, because there's more involvement.

His studio Johannes-Passion is also very good, with plenty of drama and nuances. Like the Mass, this recording, compared to other Koopman/Bach stuff, remained rather unnoticed, too.

Anyway: I think that, if you want to buy a complete cantatas box, you're gonna find much to enjoy in either Koopman, Suzuki or Gardiner. Maybe, for the nuance, Koopman and Suzuki will turn out to be the best choices. Suzuki is less expensive, yet with Koopman you seem to know what you're gonna get: reliable HIP-quality throughout.

[James]

Suzuki or Gardiner.

Gardiner often leaves me cold. I haven't heard a thing from Suzuki.

[PerfectWagnerite]

Gardiner often leaves me cold. I haven't heard a thing from Suzuki.

The only thing I have heard from Suzuki are the Brandenburgs. They left me cold, even for period instrument they were rather dull.

[James]

The only thing I have heard from Suzuki are the Brandenburgs. They left me cold, even for period instrument they were rather dull.

Hmmmm  .. but I'll have to at least listen to some of his Cantata recordings soon.

[Ken B]

Gardiner often leaves me cold. I haven't heard a thing from Suzuki.

I am surprised. You really should give Suzuki a listen.

[Jo498]

From my (limited) experience, Suzuki is even "colder" than Gardiner (or rather "squeaky clean"). The later live Gardiner is better (more involved) than the bunch of DG recordings. But there is no shortcut for trying them out. At least the later Suzuki seem very good in their way (i.e. if one does not expect "Klangrede" or strong emotions).

[Marc]

[...] The later live Gardiner is better (more involved) than the bunch of DG recordings. [...]

That's my experience, too.

[aligreto]

The only thing I have heard from Suzuki are the Brandenburgs. They left me cold, even for period instrument they were rather dull.

I am not a great advocate for the Suzuki Bach Cantatas but to be fair his Cantatas are much better performances than his Brandenburgs.

[Todd]

Own Gardiner, Suzuki, Harnoncourt/Leonhardt.  Gardiner is my favorite.

[James]

Gardiner often leaves me cold. I haven't heard a thing from Suzuki.

Have to retract this ... I'm in the process of re-visiting the big Archiv/DG Gardiner set I have, focusing on the Cantata discs (just 35 Cantatas in all)..
I'm enjoying the performances and recording quality thus far.

[James]

I am not a great advocate for the Suzuki Bach Cantatas but to be fair his Cantatas are much better performances than his Brandenburgs.

My personal favorites for the Brandenburgs have been in place for a long time. My top HIP favorite for the Brandenburg Concertos is Archiv/Pinnock.

However, Ton Koopman's Brandenburg recordings on Erato are great too, ditto his Orchestral Suites disc!

Another huge, huge, left-field favorite is Wendy Carlos's Switched-On Brandenburgs, a fresh & masterful treatment.

[prémont]

Best Bach Complete Cantatas Box?

Difficult question. Each set has its pro's et contra's. I own all sets except Koopman, which I find to be too expensive. Probably I have not yet heard more than one third of the lot. I think I prefer Harnoncourt / Leonhardt. I consider Suzuki to be an acquired taste, both as to cantatas and instrumental music, but in my case it has been worth the effort.

[Turner]

Best Bach Complete Cantatas Box?

Difficult question. Each set has its pro's et contra's. I own all sets except Koopman, which I find to be too expensive. Probably I have not yet heard more than one third of the lot. I think I prefer Harnoncourt / Leonhardt. I consider Suzuki to be an acquired taste, both as to cantatas and instrumental music, but in my case it has been worth the effort.

Leusink not getting much praise is understandable, I think. 

[aligreto]

Have to retract this ... I'm in the process of re-visiting the big Archiv/DG Gardiner set I have, focusing on the Cantata discs (just 35 Cantatas in all)..
I'm enjoying the performances and recording quality thus far.

I started off with the original  Archiv CDs but that project was abandoned as you know. However I did like them and I have always kept them. As soon as the SDG set was issued I started to collect the individual sets. I found them to be a step above the studio Archiv editions due to the live performance aspect, which is palpable. If you enjoy the performances and recording quality of the Archiv/DG Gardiner set you will also definitely enjoy the [IMO enhanced] SDG recordings.