The 26th Volume of Bach Cantatas with Masaaki Suzuki and Bach Collegium Japan consists of three works composed for performances during the last three months of 1742. They are part of the composer's projected (but discontinued) Chorale Cantata Year, in which every cantata for a whole year was to be based on a well-known chorale rather than on the traditional gospel reading for the Sunday in question. The text of the chosen hymn was thus reworked by the librettist into poems suitable for setting into recitatives, arias, duets etc. Of the three works in question, BWV 180 (Schmücke dich, o liebe Seele) is the most famous -- based as it is on a communion hymn by Johannes Crüger. Among Bach connoisseurs, its opening chorus -- which also opens the disc -- has long been regarded as one of the most beautiful in any of the cantatas. ('One can tell from the composition that the master was working on one of his favourite melodies', wrote Albert Schweitzer.) BWV 122 (Das neugeborne Kindelein) was intended for the Sunday after Christmas, which in 1742 was also New Year's Eve, and is a meditation on the future, seen in the light of the recent birth of the Saviour. The BIS Cantata Cycle has recently been earning even more praise than usual. In the yearly best-of-lists of the critics of the German magazine Fono Forum, the whole series is put forward as Edition des Jahres, and Volume 24 was named Choc de l'année in the influential French review Le Monde de la musique, while Diapason gave it their November Diapason d'Or. In the same month Volume 25 was chosen as Disc of the Month by BBC Music Magazine, while in the December issue the Gramophone critic wrote: 'Suzuki projects the unity of each work with carefully sculpted opening choruses, well-leavened recitatives and urgent, radiant orchestral playing -- a recording series, reaching near its mid-point, of outstanding consistency.' This the 26th volume will surely be seen as a worthy successor!
Bach: Cantatas Vol 25 / Suzuki, Bach Collegium Japan
BIS
CD
$21.99Jul 01, 2004
Volume 25 of Masaaki Suzuki's Bach cantata series arrived on my desk out of sequence, providing further proof of that old adage, "Better late than never"? The disc comes in a slipcase marked Jubilee Edition, along with a separate booklet containing a celebratory essay (in four languages), a slew of encomiums (none, unfortunately, from me), and, best of all, an index of the cantatas in the first 25 volumes, arranged in BWV order. One hopes that it will be updated periodically. Three superb cantatas, dating from September and October 1724, make this one of the most attractive volumes in the series. All three are cast in the chorale-cantata format with splendid opening choruses that further illustrate Bach?s endless ingenuity. Cantata 78 opens with an intensely expressive chaconne over a lamento bass that is sounded 27 times. (For numerology buffs, 27=3x3x3 or 33 is a representation of the Trinity.) BWV 99 has a more joyful feel, with chorus and orchestra alternating in concertante style. No. 114 projects an aura of strength and confidence, its choral statements punctuated by an energetic ritornello. All three cantatas also feature memorable arias for tenor with an obbligato traverse flute. Many observers have pointed out that Bach had a virtuoso flutist at his disposal at the time, but Klaus Hofmann?s notes suggest that a superior tenor soloist may have been available then as well. BWV 78, Jesu der du meine Seele, one of the most popular of all the cantatas, contains a duet for soprano and alto that qualifies as a ?Bach moment???a movement you might profitably play for an uninitiated listener who wants to know what the fuss over JSB is all about. Did I sense a hint of impatience in Suzuki?s pacing for No. 78? If so, it would be a rare blip in an epic venture that to date has maintained a remarkably and consistently high standard. Most highly recommended, nonetheless.
Monteverdi: Vespro Della Beata Vergine / Suzuki, Et Al
BIS
CD
$34.99Mar 01, 2001
‘Our main purpose for this recording,’ writes Masaaki Suzuki, ‘was to perform all the music contained in the collection that Monteverdi published in 1610.’ So he begins with the Missa In illo tempore, a superb example of old-style, elaborate polyphony; moves through the Vespers themselves, following the original order of the pieces and interpolating nothing; then, after the lavish Magnificat a 7, he ends with the more modest Magnificat a 6, which Monteverdi appended as an alternative.
This straightforward approach seems almost radical given the current glut of more fanciful versions, in which conductors reshuffle the Vespers, pepper them with antiphons and works by other composers and variously ‘adapt’ them to fit specific liturgical occasions. Such diverse interpretations make the choice of a benchmark recording highly subjective. Gardiner (dramatic, on Archiv) and Parrott (intimate and liturgically correct, on Virgin Veritas) offer fine, contrasting views, and several other versions (Christie, Garrido, Junghänel, Pickett) are well worth exploring.
This new set is consistently engaging. Unlike his rivals, Suzuki uses a high pitch of A=465Hz (common in Monteverdi’s Italy), but follows current thinking in transposing certain pieces down a fourth (the Missa, the Magnificats, ‘Lauda Jerusalem’). Performances throughout are expressive, sharply focused, intensely committed. Though he dispenses with liturgical trappings, Suzuki, aided by a spacious ‘churchy’ acoustic, certainly brings out the ritualistic and devotional character of the music, from the ornate orchestral splendour of the ‘Sonata sopra Sancta Maria’ to the tender vocal passions of ‘Pulchra es’ and ‘Duo Seraphim’. Excellent.
Bach: Mass In B Minor / Suzuki, Bach Collegium Japan
BIS
SACD
$34.99Sep 01, 2007
This is a hybrid Super Audio CD playable on both regular and Super Audio CD players.
REVIEW:
From within the midriff of the BIS cantata project, Masaaki Suzuki presents the last of his recordings of Bach’s four extant large-scale choral masterpieces. This is, as you would expect, a B minor performance of extraordinary devotional weight, as its resonant surround sound irradiates the score in a patiently constructed explication.
[The] Gloria fairly crackles and Suzuki’s careful voicing between singers and instrumentalists generates extraordinary revelations (such as the consoling beauty of the “Qui tollis” and, later, a remarkable reading of the Sanctus). The choral movements are admirably unhurried but purposeful, the light and lithe sopranos glowing like Jupiter on a clear night...“Et in unum Dominum” (with the admirable Carolyn Sampson and Robin Blaze) reveals its expectant delights, as does Blaze’s heart-stopping Agnus Dei.
[A] rounded and impressive reading whose “Dona nobis pacem” encapsulates the best of Suzuki: committed, life-affirming and generous.
Bach: Cantatas Vol 44 / Suzuki, Bach Collegium Japan
BIS
SACD
$21.99Jul 01, 2009
JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH Rachel Nicholls, soprano; Robin Blaze, counter-tenor; Gerd Turk,tenor; Peter Kooij, bass; Bach Collegium Japan/Masaaki Suzuki. JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH - CANTATAS, VOLUME 44: Wir mussen durch viel Trubsal in das Reich Gottes eingehen, BWV 146; Siehe, ich willviel Rischer aussenden, BWV 88; Gott fahret auf mit Jauchzen, BWV 43.
Bach: Cantatas Vol 50 / Suzuki, Bach Collegium Japan
BIS
SACD
$21.99Dec 01, 2011
Three cantatas from 1729 gathered on the 50th volume of Masaaki Suzuki's traversal of J.S. Bach's cantatas testifies to a huge loss to music - along with another six works, they are all that remain of what was probably an entire year's worth of cantatas, composed by Bach in collaboration with the Leipzig poet Picander (Christian Friedrich Henrici). Some fifty cantatas from this year are unaccounted for, but on the evidence of those that are still extant, it is still possible to see the outlines of the lost cantata year. Fairly concise, the cantatas generally make sparing use of the choir. Instead they centre on two arias, linked by one or two recitatives, and a final chorale. In addition, the surviving works contain several examples of parody - movements in which Bach combined Picander's words with an already existing composition - as well as the reuse of earlier instrumental movements as introductions. A striking example is the opening Sinfonia of BWV 174, where Bach used the first movement of his Third Brandenburg Concerto, adding new parts for three horns and for a tutti section consisting of two violins, viola and three oboes. Another highlight may also be the result of a borrowing - the soprano aria Gottes Engel... from BWV149 is a minuet, complete with the polonaise accents fashionable at the time, and could well have served a secular purpose at another occasion. It is here performed by Hana Blazíková, appearing on this disc alongside three other familiar soloists of the series: Robin Blaze (counter-tenor), Gerd Türk (tenor) and Peter Kooij (bass). With another five discs to go before completing their monumental task, Masaaki Suzuki and his Bach Collegium Japan are in no way flagging, as proven by this splendid instalment, and by recent releases which have received critical acclaim, for instance in International Record Review, where Volume 48 was described as demonstrating 'the ever-rising standard, by now quite stratospheric, of Suzuki and his choir and orchestra in this massive recording project.'
Bach: Cantatas Vol 27 / Suzuki, Rydén, Bertin, Kooij, Türk
BIS
CD
$21.99Mar 01, 2005
There’s a bit of a problem with the inclusion of the lead item on this disc. BWV 80, Ein feste Burg ist under Gott, is the quintessential chorale cantata, but it wasn’t a part of the second Leipzig cycle (1724–25). The most conclusive evidence indicates that in its present form it was first performed later––perhaps as late as 1731––but that it was derived from a much earlier effort, BWV 80a, composed, perhaps, in 1715. What’s more, most current listeners got to know it in an even later version. Bach’s oldest son, Wilhelm Friedemann, added high trumpet and timpani parts when he used the cantata in Halle, where he served from 1746 to 1764. His additions were so skillfully integrated that they were considered authentic and printed in the first Bach edition. Only recently has Bach’s original version come into fashion. Meanwhile, what took Bach so long to settle on his own version of the score? Consider that he was the most Lutheran of all composers, while Ein feste Burg was Martin Luther’s most characteristic hymn. Perhaps, Bach simply felt obliged to get it right, no matter when. The present release confirms that the elder Bach’s solution, without drums and trumpets, is more than adequately stirring––but one secretly hopes that the weight of scholarship will not cause the younger Bach’s version to disappear completely.
Cantatas 5 and 115 are correctly placed in historical context, having been composed for October and November 1724, respectively. Both exemplify Bach’s chorale cantata concept and demonstrate his endless ingenuity. Cantata 5, retelling the story of Jesus healing a crippled man, traces the path from supplication in the tenor aria (with water from the divine spring bubbling in the background) to triumph in the aria for bass with obbligato slide trumpet (tromba da tiarsi). BWV 115, based on the parable of the unforgiving servant, has a pair of remarkable arias, too––one, for alto, depicting sleep; the other, for soprano, representing prayer.
Maestro Suzuki has added two fine new soloists to his roster, the Swedish soprano, Susanne Rydén and the French countertenor Pascal Bertin. The lower parts are handled by series veterans Gerd Türk and Peter Kooij. As always, the performances, the recording, and the presentation are splendid.
Bach: Cantatas Vol 32 / Suzuki, Blaze, Kooij, Et Al
BIS
SACD
$21.99Jul 01, 2006
This is a hybrid Super Audio CD playable on both regular and Super Audio CD players. Includes cantata(s) by Johann Sebastian Bach. Ensemble: Bach Collegium Japan. Conductor: Masaaki Suzuki. Soloists: Peter Kooij, Robin Blaze, Yukari Nonoshita, Andreas Weller.
Bach: Cantatas Vol 36 / Suzuki, Bach Collegium Japan
BIS
SACD
$21.99Jul 01, 2007
Four cantatas written for services during April 1725 make up the programme on this disc. Just before Easter that same year, Bach had put an end to his projected chorale cantata cycle, originally planned to span the entire church year. These particular cantatas did hot have a direct association with the gospel passage for the days in question; instead they used specific hymns as their starting point. All four cantatas on the present disc deal with the interplay between the resurrected Christ and his disciples. Among the soloists, Yukari Nonshita and Robin Blaze are well-known to the followers of this series, while James Gilchrist and Domink Wörner both appear in it for the second time. For this particular disc, Bach Collegium Japan are visited by Dan Laurin, who performs the virtuosic flauto piccolo part in BWV 103, and Dmitry Badiarov, who plays his own, unique reconstruction of a violoncello piccolo in BWV6.
Before releasing his first disc of Bach’s organ works, Masaaki Suzuki had recorded the composer’s complete sacred cantatas, as well as the large-scale choral works and much of the music for harpsichord. His achievements in these fields obscured the fact that Suzuki originally trained as an organist, and began working as such already at the age of twelve. So when Volume 1 of this series reached reviewers around the world, it was something of a revelation to many: the disc went on to be named Choice of the Month in BBC Music Magazine, Diapason d’Or in Diapason and Recording of the Month in Gramophone, which then went on to include it on its list of the ‘50 Greatest Bach Recordings’.
Volume 1 featured the celebrated Schnitger/Hinz organ of Groningen’s Martinikerk in the Netherlands. For this present instalment, Suzuki returned to more familiar ground – the chapel of the Kobe Shoin Women's University where the great majority of his recordings with Bach Collegium Japan have taken place. The chapel houses a French classical organ built in 1983 by Marc Garnier, and on it Suzuki performs a highly symmetrical programme with the large-scale chorale partita BWV 768 at its centre. The work is known as ‘Sei gegrüßet, Jesu gütig’, although the chorale text that it is structured upon most probably is that of ‘O Jesu, du edle Gabe’. On either side the partita is flanked by an arrangement by Bach of concertos by Vivaldi, and a chorale prelude on ‘Liebster Jesu, wir sind hier’. The disc opens and closes with a Prelude and Fugue, in G major and C major respectively.
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REVIEWS:
Suzuki makes extremely savvy use of his resources; the instrument's almost chamber-music-like clarity and intimacy of the results is most enjoyable. The recorded sound is unusually crisp and clear. Strongly and enthusiastically recommended.
– Fanfare
The life, vitality, affection and fun Suzuki brings to them will ensure they have a lasting place in the annals of Bach organ recordings.
– MusicWeb International
The remarkable harpsichordist/organist/conductor Masaaki Suzuki continues his recordings for BIS with this SACD of organ music of Bach played on the Marc Garnier organ of Shoin Chapel in Kobe, Japan. This is not a large cathedral organ. You won’t hear massive pedal notes, but these are excellent performances, beautifully and naturally recorded.
Bach: Cantatas Vol 23 / Suzuki, Bach Collegium Japan
BIS
CD
$21.99Dec 01, 2003
BWV 10, composed for the feast of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, is a setting of the German translation of the Magnificat. The cantata is more compact than Bach’s Latin Magnificat––seven numbers (instead of 12) and about two thirds as long––and not as grand (one trumpet, for example, instead of three). The choir, as in most cantatas of the period, appears only in the opening chorus and the final chorale. In a duet for alto and tenor, the chorale melody is not sung, but intoned by the solo trumpet. Cantatas 93, 107, and 178 were composed for the fifth, seventh, and eighth Sundays after Trinity respectively. No. 93 is a prime example of the chorale cantata; all of its seven movements quote the chorale melody wholly or partially. Cantatas 107 and 178 show how flexible Bach was in applying the principle. BWV 107’s chorale tune appears in the opening choral fantasia and again in the expanded chorale finale, but not in the intervening movements, a recitative, and four consecutive arias. However, Bach uncharacteristically uses the unedited text of the chorale in all movements. In BWV 178, the chorale tune appears in four of the seven movements, but the text is paraphrased in the middle five. When listening to Bach’s cantatas one must always expect to be surprised.
Some general notes: after Maestro Suzuki himself, the closest thing to a constant in the series remains Peter Kooij’s steady bass. The leading soprano is now Yukari Nonoshita, whose clear, near white tone is entirely appropriate for Bach’s music. Tenors come and go; note that four different tenors, all satisfactory, appear on these four discs. Suzuki continues to alternate between male or female altos depending on the specific task at hand. The soloists participate in the chorus but do not sing alone. Western names have become quite rare in the list of performers, with Japanese musicians handling most parts, vocal and instrumental, with their by-now-accustomed excellence. The notes remain exemplary, but Klaus Hofmann now shares that task with Suzuki, whose function is generally to explain his decisions regarding problems with the performing editions. As always, BIS’s recordings are first-rate... Of course, I’m going to urge interested listeners to acquire [this disc]. Bach and Suzuki are still one of the best tandems going.
Bach: Cantatas Vol 22 / Suzuki, Bach Collegium Japan
BIS
CD
$21.99Aug 01, 2003
This volume heralds the beginning of the most substantial and ambitious compositional exercise in Bach’s career: an annual series of cantatas in which the composer planned that every Sunday in the church calendar would be identified, textually and musically, by the appropriate chorale for the season. Bach’s second annual cycle – or Jahrgang 2 – was never completed but it contains around 40 chorale cantatas in which, most notably, the first stanza of the chorale is presented variously as an intricate fantasia on the chosen hymn, proclaimed with stirring fervour, usually by the sopranos. While Bach sought new compositional challenges here, he also knew that his boys at St Thomas’s would cope better with familiar chorale-based material than the highly complex choruses which characterise the earlier cycle.
Suzuki’s approach to these cantatas is not strictly chronological as has often been the case. He starts with the first piece in the cycle, the splendid O Ewigkeit, du Donnerwort (No 20), which Bach performed on the first Sunday of Trinity (June 11, 1724) but jumps a week by missing out No 2 (with its strikingly austere stilo antico opening movement) and goes for No 7, and then chooses No 94 from a few weeks later. None of this has much bearing on the performances except that this formula seems to juxtapose deftly the wide range of forms used by Bach. The extended and graphic description of Christ’s baptism in Christ unser Herr zum Jordan kam (No 7), articulated by two concertante violin parts, is contrasted with the dazzling French overture of No 20. If the playing in the former is somewhat prosaic, Suzuki gives the majestic opening movement of O Ewigkeit such apt propulsion in the bass line that one only intermittently yearns for the more secularised elegance of Herreweghe.
It seems curious that two performances of No 20, released so closely, should employ the same tenor and bass soloists in Jan Kobow and Peter Kooy. Suzuki’s approach with both singers is rather more rhetorical than Herreweghe, who tends to irradiate the music for its own sake, enhanced by the cultivated strings of Collegium Vocale. Both have something interesting to say but Suzuki connects language and music with greater depth of sentiment.
As exemplary a work is Was frag ich nach der Welt (No 94), a substantial cantata whose librettist clearly worked in close collaboration with Bach, ensuring that each stanza of the chorale could be presented with disarming invention. The work is as eager to provide telling dramatic imagery as it is to ruminate on the transience of life and Mammon’s vanity. Bach makes instant demands on his virtuoso flute player who, judging by the number of obbligato parts from this period, was no slouch. It is a marvellous, fresh and abiding testament to Bach’s increasing obsession with unified and economical means. Suzuki realises its quizzical turns and relishes the enriching set-pieces.
Pieter Jan Leusink and Ton Koopman’s readings are full of character and ruddy energy (in the case of Koopman and the Amsterdammers, particularly distinguished instrumental performances) but neither can boast Robin Blaze’s commentary on our deluded world, Betorte Welt. All told, another success chalked up for this continually impressive Bach series.
