{"title":"Masaaki Suzuki","description":"","products":[{"product_id":"handel-messiah-suzuki-bach-collegium-japan-240711","title":"Händel: Messiah \/ Suzuki, Bach Collegium Japan","description":"With forty or so complete recordings and countless discs of highlights, a Japanese performance of this most beloved of English choral works may seem an unlikely contender. Yet the Bach Collegium Japan has already established itself as one of the most interesting period ensembles specialising in Baroque music, and this account has much to recommend it, not least Suzuki’s obvious affection for the piece. The sound is warm and detailed, though occasionally the voices are swamped by the orchestra; tempi are thoughtfully judged and the fresh-voiced choir sings with remarkable clarity and impeccable diction. Suzuki has chosen two very young Japanese soloists for the soprano and countertenor parts, alongside two highly experienced English singers for the tenor and bass. Soprano Midori Suzuki has a light, boyish voice, not without imperfection but affectingly naive; countertenor Yoshikazu Mera has an innocent, tender alto range that belies a surprisingly powerful lower register; tenor John Elwes is agile, lyrical, perfectly focused; and David Thomas makes an imposing, if somewhat stentorian, bass. By pitting innocence against experience, Suzuki has achieved a particularly moving account. \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e -- Kate Bolton, BBC Music Magazine\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"BIS","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":44625352720618,"sku":"7318598918922","price":34.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/2262585.jpg?v=1786741783"},{"product_id":"buxtehude-membra-jesu-nostri-7318590008713","title":"Buxtehude: Membra Jesu Nostri","description":"Classical Music","brand":"BIS","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":44624133554410,"sku":"7318590008713","price":21.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/2263024.jpg?v=1786741838"},{"product_id":"wagner-beethoven-symphony-no-9-7318590009505","title":"Wagner: Beethoven - Symphony No. 9","description":"Classical Music","brand":"BIS","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":44624023847146,"sku":"7318590009505","price":21.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/2263084.jpg?v=1786746269"},{"product_id":"bach-christmas-oratorio-suzuki-193742","title":"Bach: Christmas Oratorio \/ Suzuki, Bach Collegium Japan","description":"A meticulous attention to detail, superlative balance, and speeds which allow the music to proceed with dignity in the gradual, contemplative unfolding of events are second nature to Suzuki.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  – Gramophone","brand":"BIS","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":44711196393706,"sku":"7318599419428","price":34.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/2262587_94751558-6a98-4325-8a32-a3668361d46d.jpg?v=1786721041"},{"product_id":"bach-j-s-cantatas-vol-9-bwv-24-76-167-7318590009314","title":"Bach, J.S.: Cantatas, Vol.  9  - Bwv 24, 76, 167","description":"Classical Music","brand":"BIS","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":44711197901034,"sku":"7318590009314","price":21.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/2263073.jpg?v=1786746175"},{"product_id":"bach-cantatas-vol-10-suzuki-bach-collegium-207262","title":"Bach: Cantatas Vol 10 \/ Suzuki, Bach Collegium Japan","description":"This 10th volume in BIS's ongoing Bach cantata series features three works Bach composed during his first summer in Leipzig. While BWV 179 certainly has been recorded more frequently, BVW 186 (Ärgre dich, o Seele, nicht) is the most significant of the three because of its greater length and because it marks Bach's return to two-part cantata form. Based on a revised lost cantata originally composed at Weimar, this is a remarkably assured work, grand in conception yet subtle in its underlying beauty. The opening chorus must be counted among Bach's most stately, its impact augmented by multiple oboes, strings, and full continuo. Among the soloists, tenor Makato Sakurada delivers an introspective fourth-movement recitative that perfectly sets up his spirited fifth-movement aria. Equally distinguished is the 10th-movement duet, expertly harmonized by countertenor Robin Blaze and soprano Miah Persson--a dance that steps as high as any we've heard from Bach so far.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e The popularity of BWV 179--Siehe zu, dass deine Gottesfurcht nicht Heuchelei sei (Make sure that your fear of God is not hypocrisy)--is understandable since it not only includes one of Bach's most exciting opening choruses, but also gives unusual dramatic license to the soloists through the text's many self-deprecating references. In respect to the latter, for its sheer declarative power, no recording surpasses Karl Richter's awe-inspiring 1976 Archiv account featuring Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Peter Schreier, and Edith Mathis. While not quite up to Richter's level, Suzuki and his forces offer their own interpretive details. For instance, in the fifth-movement aria Suzuki broadens the tempo, and the additional time (more than a minute longer than Richter's version) heightens Persson's characterization of wanton shame and pity. The only performance slower than Suzuki's (more than a minute longer!) is Gunther Ramin's, where Elisabeth Meinel-Asbahr's ruthless, devastating anguish guarantees tears.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e BWV 105--Herr, gehe nicht ins Gericht mit deinem Knecht (Lord, do not enter into judgment with thy servant)--also features many inspired moments. The magnificent, brooding opening chorus is most engaging, and tenor Sakurada's beautifully rendered espousal of determination in his fifth-movement aria is superb--as is the final chorale, where Bach's clever, near-dissonant string writing effectively alludes to weariness if not weeping, the gradually slowing pulse eventually leading to resigned calm.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e As usual with this series Suzuki and his colleagues deliver performances that more often than not are without peer. Faithfully captured by BIS's expert engineering team, their ongoing cycle promises to be the most consistently rewarding one currently or previously available.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e --John Greene, ClassicsToday.com\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"BIS","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":44711262093546,"sku":"7318590009512","price":21.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/2263085_72f764b0-cdbe-4835-a1b8-d852ee9a76a3.jpg?v=1786746713"},{"product_id":"bach-cantatas-vol-11-suzuki-bach-collegium-157148","title":"Bach: Cantatas Vol 11 \/ Suzuki, Bach Collegium Japan","description":"Volume 11 of BIS's cantata series gives us four more examples from Bach's first annual cycle in Leipzig. Despite their relatively narrow time span (July to September 1723) and the consequent pressure that it imposed on Bach, there's no suggestion of formula, either in structure or in content, linking these cantatas. And although none of them is particularly well known, each is memorable in its own right. In a list of highlights, one might cite the alto aria with oboe d'amore of BWV 136; the opening chorale and recitative (also countertenor) of BWV 138; the tenor aria, \"Ach schlage doch,\" with its characteristic imitations of bells, of BWV 95; and BWV 46's somber opening chorus (later reworked as the \"Qui tollis\" of the B-Minor Mass). It goes without saying that such a list would be incomplete. \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e As always, conductor Suzuki has assembled an fine quartet of soloists, with the ever-reliable Kooij and the marvelous Midori Suzuki at the bottom and top, respectively, and tenor Sakurada again stepping out of the chorus to prove his considerable mettle. New to the series is the outstanding German countertenor Kai Wessel, who has been prominently featured in the Koopman series as well. Suzuki's thoughtful direction and the splendid singing and playing of the Bach Collegium Japan have become givens in the series. Exemplary notes (Taasashi Isoyama shares the duties with Suzuki) and BIS's customarily excellent engineering complete the package.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e This latest installment in an eminent ongoing project is self-recommending, but deservedly so.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e -- George Chien, FANFARE\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"BIS","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":44711275790570,"sku":"7318590009918","price":21.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/2263116.jpg?v=1786746747"},{"product_id":"bach-matthaus-passion-suzuki-bach-collegium-japan-65934","title":"Bach: Matthäus-Passion \/ Suzuki, Bach Collegium Japan","description":"\"Masaaki Suzuki brings to the St Matthew Passion the same devotional intensity that has characterised his Bach cantata recordings. This focus is immediately evident in the opening chorus\/chorale, which he imbues with compelling power despite opting to use relatively small vocal and orchestral forces throughout. It is evident, too, in Bach Collegium Japan’s impeccable performances, which bespeak a score explored in meticulous detail and with profound affection. There is certainly much to admire here: fierce turbas, gentle chorales, exemplary instrumental solos.\" \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cb\u003e5 out of 5 stars for both sound and performace!\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e -- Graham Lock, BBC Music Magazine\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"BIS","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":44711296270570,"sku":"7318591000020","price":39.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/2262589.jpg?v=1786741731"},{"product_id":"bach-johannespassion-suzuki-bach-collegium-japan-83786","title":"Bach: Johannespassion \/ Suzuki, Bach Collegium Japan","description":"It’s reported that, after a Passion performance (composer unknown), an elderly noble widow exclaimed: ‘God save us, my children! It’s just as if we were at a comic opera.’ Though Bach never wrote an opera, he was no stranger to the genre. His cantatas reflect the recitative\/aria structure and the Passion story provided the missing element, dramatic narrative. In the theatre of his imagination, Bach’s response matched anything staged by his secular contemporaries. The music is dramatic from the start: dissonant wind above nervous violins and pulsating bass, before the choir prays of the glory and pain of the Passion. Suzuki balances the layers beautifully: the dense texture, recorded fairly close, retains every detail. Türk’s narrative as Evangelist is accompanied by harpsichord, with organ added for the words of Jesus. He sings with dramatic insight, though without the theatrical sensitivity which sets my benchmark – Rolfe-Johnson’s offhand approach to less consequential moments exemplifies the visionary realism of Gardiner and his team. The chorus is a fearsome mob – indignant, angry, self-righteous in turn. As the Christian congregation, its chorales flow without sanctimonious pauses. The soloists are superb in their eight arias, each differently coloured. Orchestral playing is meticulous, the intonation exemplary, even in the wind-players’ B flat minor graveyard, as the soprano’s heart ‘melts in floods of tears’ (No. 35). My benchmark remains. But if you prefer reverence to dramatic realism, this outstanding achievement will surely be for you. Performance: 5 (out of 5), Sound: 5 (out of 5)\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e -- George Pratt, BBC Music Magazine\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"BIS","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":44711320322282,"sku":"7318599219226","price":34.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/2262586_23f32163-b8d8-40ad-946d-39341687d17a.jpg?v=1786746772"},{"product_id":"bach-j-s-cantatas-vol-8-bwv-22-23-75-7318590009017","title":"Bach, J.S.: Cantatas, Vol.  8  - Bwv 22, 23, 75","description":"Classical Music","brand":"BIS","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":44711323664618,"sku":"7318590009017","price":21.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/2263047.jpg?v=1786746734"},{"product_id":"schtz-geistliche-chormusik-suzuki-bach-collegium-japan-240696","title":"Schütz: Geistliche Chormusik \/ Suzuki, Bach Collegium Japan","description":"REVIEWS:\u003cbr\u003eFanfare (5-6\/98, p.204) - \"The fifth complete recording of this magnificent collection of motets is astonishing....there is no feeling that the singing is rushed, nor does the diction of the nonnatives sound strange....Highly recommended.\"","brand":"BIS","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":44711325729002,"sku":"7318598318326","price":34.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/2262584_c0772594-833d-463a-9461-105a92e28c36.jpg?v=1786746435"},{"product_id":"bruhns-cantatas-and-organ-works-vol-1-suzuki-yale-institute","title":"Bruhns: Cantatas and Organ Works, Vol.1 \/ Suzuki, Yale Institute of Sacred Music","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eWhen he died, Nicolaus Bruhns was just 31 years old, and only twelve of his vocal works and five organ compositions have survived. On the strength of these, he is nevertheless considered one of the most prominent North German composers of the generation between Buxtehude and Bach.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eBuxtehude was in fact Bruhns's teacher, and thought so highly of him that he recommended him for a position in Copenhagen. There he worked as a violin virtuoso and composer until 1689, when he returned to Northern Germany to become organist in the main church of Husum. It was here that most if not all of the extant works were performed. According to Bach's obituary, Bruhns was one of the composers that he took ‘as a model’, and he is therefore naturally of interest to Bach specialist Masaaki Suzuki.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eOn this first of two discs made in collaboration with the Yale Institute of Sacred Music, Suzuki directs – from the organ – a group of singers and musicians, in six of the vocal works: so-called ‘sacred concertos’ scored for 1-3 soloists and various combinations of strings with basso continuo. Suzuki’s performances of two organ pieces by Bruhns – the larger of the two preludes in E minor, and the fantasia on the chorale Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland – appear here as well.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eREVIEWS\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cspan id=\"ctl00_MainContent_gvReviews_cell4_12_ASPxPopupControl1_ASPxLabel2\" class=\"dxeBase_PlasticBlue\"\u003eThese performances by famed Bach conductor Masaaki Suzuki were recorded in 2016 and 2017 at Yale University in the U.S. but not released until 2022. Bruhns is closer to Buxtehude (and there's even the flavor of Heinrich Schütz) in these chamber cantatas than he is to Bach. Suzuki directs these pieces from the organ and gets wonderful results from the Yale Institute of Sacred Music choir; if it originally had an American sound, Suzuki smooths it out. His soloists are not quite the equal of those he assembled in Japan, but they are idiomatic and fully equal to the music, perhaps consistent with what the composer would have heard. A wonderful Baroque release commended to anyone with the slightest interest in Bach and his world.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"dxeBase_PlasticBlue\"\u003e-- AllMusic.com\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"BIS","offers":[{"title":"SACD","offer_id":46012554576106,"sku":"7318599922713","price":21.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/4046029-2791274.jpg?v=1786694519"},{"product_id":"bach-die-kunst-der-fuge-masaaki-suzuki","title":"Bach: Die Kunst der Fuge \/ Masaaki Suzuki","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe Art of Fugue emerges as the central instrumental project of the last decade of Bach’s life, after a gradual development over several years: the exploration in depth and with an overflowing musical imagination of the contrapuntal possibilities inherent in a single musical subject. In this work, the theoretical component of Bach’s thinking is at its clearest: theory and practice merge, old and new stylistic elements and compositional techniques are integrated and demonstrate in an incomparable way his individual approach to composition.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSince Bach gave no indication of the instrument, nor does his writing shed any further light on the subject, one might even wonder whether this work is a purely theoretical work, intended solely for musical analysis. However, since the composer’s rediscovery in the nineteenth century, musicians have appropriated the work, whatever their instrument. It is now generally accepted that the work was composed for the keyboard. A second harpsichord part is added for three fugues, played here by Masato Suzuki.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAfter several acclaimed recordings of Bach’s works for keyboard instruments, Masaaki Suzuki finally takes on this immense work, the pinnacle of the cantor’s art and one of the absolute peaks of Western music.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eREVIEW\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAlthough Masaaki Suzuki’s solo harpsichord Bach recordings span several decades, his technical and musical consistency seems to defy time, as borne out in The Art of Fugue. He continues to use a Willem Kroesbergen harpsichord modeled after a Flemish Baroque-style instrument, whose transparent timbres befit the vocal orientation governing his phrasing. For example, his tempos never move faster nor slower than one can comfortably sing. As a result, the contrapuntal lines accommodate Suzuki’s breath pauses, arpeggiations, agogic adjustments, and ritards at cadences.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn lieu of Bach’s completion, Suzuki follows the tradition of placing Bach’s valedictory chorale prelude Wenn wir in höchstein Nöten sein at the end. All in all, a fine Art of Fugue that complements my harpsichord reference versions. BIS’s superb sonics and Bach scholar Christoph Wolff’s in-depth annotations also deserve kudos.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e-- ClassicsToday.com (Jed Distler)\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"BIS","offers":[{"title":"SACD","offer_id":46012586098922,"sku":"7318599925318","price":34.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/4299791-3143310.jpg?v=1786664241"},{"product_id":"bach-organ-works-vol-4-masaaki-suzuki","title":"Bach: Organ Works, Vol. 4 \/ Masaaki Suzuki","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"dxeBase_PlasticBlue\" id=\"ctl00_MainContent_gvReviews_cell4_12_ASPxPopupControl1_ASPxLabel2\"\u003eThis album was released in the summer of 2023; it may not have been intended as a Christmas album, but it would make a wonderful purchase at that time.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe fourth volume of Masaaki Suzuki’s Bach works for organ series features one of the most important surviving instruments of Bach’s time, made by the German organ builder Christoph Treutmann the Elder. Widely known for its extraordinary tonal quality, the instrument was built between 1734 and 1737. A recent general restoration preserved all essential structural elements or renewed them, remaining faithful to the originals, making it an ideal instrument for Bach interpreters who wish to come close to the sound ideas of the Leipzig Thomaskantor.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSuzuki now takes up the Orgel-Büchlein (literally, ‘little organ book’), a collection of 45 short chorale preludes on melodies from the Lutheran hymn book, a project that came into being in connection with Bach’s appointment as organist and chamber musician at the Duke’s court in Weimar in 1708. Presenting chorales for different periods of the church year, this collection serves as a general guide to text-based composition focusing on specific word-sound relationships and content-specific musical expression. Two Preludes and Fugues complete the first volume dedicated to the Orgel-Büchlein, illustrating the principle of variety and structure historically practised by concert organists in order to demonstrate the tone colours and expressive possibilities of their instrument.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eREVIEW\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan id=\"ctl00_MainContent_gvReviews_cell4_12_ASPxPopupControl1_ASPxLabel2\" class=\"dxeBase_PlasticBlue\"\u003eThe great Masaaki Suzuki’s traversal of Bach’s keyboard music is well underway, and several attractions have become clear. In general, he is a bit less concerned with a pearly surface and a bit more with direct expression. In works for organ, he has shown a willingness to delve into period instruments, and the one here is a real find. Suzuki is willing to take a bit of time to bring out its colors; there is nothing too radical, but there are subtle adjustments to the tempo throughout that define the profile of each little ornamented chorale, and all the performances are vivid. This album was released in the summer of 2023; it may not have been intended as a Christmas album, but it would make a wonderful purchase at that time.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan class=\"dxeBase_PlasticBlue\"\u003e-- AllMusic.com (James Manheim)\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"BIS","offers":[{"title":"SACD","offer_id":46012591735018,"sku":"7318599925417","price":21.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/4226820-3131904.jpg?v=1786640477"},{"product_id":"bach-organ-works-vol-5-masaaki-suzuki","title":"Bach: Organ Works, Vol. 5 \/ Masaaki Suzuki","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe fifth volume of Masaaki Suzuki’s series of Bach’s works for organ features one of the most important surviving instruments from Bach’s time, made by the German organ builder Christoph Treutmann the Elder. Widely known for its extraordinary tonal quality, the instrument was built between 1734 and 1737. A recent general restoration preserved all essential structural elements or renewed them while remaining faithful to the originals, making this an ideal instrument for Bach interpreters who wish to come close to the sound world of the Leipzig Thomaskantor.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSuzuki now takes up the Orgel-Büchlein (literally, “little organ book”), a collection of 45 short chorale preludes on melodies from the Lutheran hymn book, a project that came into being in connection with Bach’s appointment as organist and chamber musician at the Duke’s court in Weimar in 1708. Presenting chorales for different periods of the church year, this collection serves as a general guide to text-based composition focusing on word- sound relationships and content-specific musical expression. Three Preludes and Fugues complete the second volume dedicated to the Orgel-Büchlein, illustrating the principle of variety and structure historically practised by concert organists in order to demonstrate the tone colours and expressive possibilities of their instrument.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"BIS","offers":[{"title":"SACD","offer_id":46012660580586,"sku":"7318599926612","price":21.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/4299793-3143329_5e2b8971-d113-4705-8da2-376b95904446.jpg?v=1786664249"},{"product_id":"j-s-bach-organ-works-vol-6","title":"Bach: Organ Works, Vol. 6 \/ Suzuki","description":"This sixth instalment of Masaaki Suzuki's critically acclaimed complete organ works by Johann Sebastian Bach presents the first eleven pieces from a manuscript since referred to as the Leipzig Chorales. Conceived around 1739, this collection is unusual in that it contains no new compositions, but rather 'reworkings' of organ chorales dating from the years 1708-17, when Bach was in Weimar.    The chorale arrangements are based on established Lutheran melodies that particularly appealed to Bach. They were not intended as preludes for congregational singing, but rather as music to accompany the communion service or as concert music. Bach took great care with this project, selecting the best of his organ music from earlier in his career, and saw it as his legacy for the future. Together with the Orgel-Buchlein, the Schubler Chorales and the third book of the Clavier-ubung, the Leipzig Chorales represent the pinnacle of Bach's sacred organ music.    On this recording, Masaaki Suzuki plays the Arp Schnitger organ of the Martinikerk in Groningen, the Netherlands, one of the largest and most famous baroque organs in Northern Europe. Arp Schnitger was the most famous organ builder in northern Germany in the seventeenth century, and his admirers included Buxtehude, Handel and Bach himself.","brand":"BIS","offers":[{"title":"SACD with CD","offer_id":46012700360938,"sku":"7318599927312","price":21.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/4383374-3290550.jpg?v=1786830161"},{"product_id":"brahms-ein-deutsches-requiem-1","title":"Brahms: Ein deutsches Requiem","description":"Before conquering concert halls with his symphonies,  Johannes Brahms made a name for himself as a choral  conductor. He led vocal ensembles in his hometown of  Hamburg, in Detmold and Vienna, enriching the  repertoire with his own music. Composed between 1865  and 1868, Ein deutsches Requiem (A German Requiem)  is his most extensive choral work and a milestone in his  artistic development.    In this work, Brahms combined text passages from the  Old and New Testaments in an unconventional way: the  'target' of the text and music is no longer the deceased,  for whose salvation we pray, but the survivor, who is to  be consoled. He thus turned away from ecclesiastical  conventions and created a very atypical requiem which  has nothing to do with the Catholic Church's often-set  Latin requiem mass. Instead, it was conceived from the  outset for the concert hall or church concerts. Musically  the Requiem draws from earlier traditions in a highly  personal way while remaining firmly in a Romantic  choral idiom, at times embedded in lush orchestral  textures.    After countless acclaimed recordings devoted to the  religious music of Bach, Mozart and Beethoven, Masaaki  Suzuki and the Bach Collegium Japan now present their  unique vision of Brahms's masterpiece.","brand":"BIS","offers":[{"title":"SACD","offer_id":46012709142762,"sku":"7318599927510","price":21.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/4409984-3332418.jpg?v=1786660212"},{"product_id":"mendelssohn-symphony-no-2-lobgesang","title":"Mendelssohn: Symphony No. 2 \"Lobgesang\"","description":"Masaaki Suzuki and the Bach Collegium Japan, renowned for their definitive interpretations of Bach's vocal music, have also garnered critical acclaim for their recordings of major choral and orchestral works, including Mozart's Requiem and the Mass in C minor, Beethoven's Missa Solemnis and Symphony No. 9, and Brahms's Ein deutsches Requiem. Their latest venture sees them turn their expertise to Felix Mendelssohn's symphony-cantata, Symphony No. 2 'Lobgesang' (Hymn of Praise).    Scored for soloists, choir, and orchestra, the work comprises three symphonic movements and a final chorus-a design that clearly echoes Beethoven's Ninth Symphony. Yet Mendelssohn takes this concept further, with the concluding cantata section occupying two-thirds of the entire work's duration. It's text draws from biblical excerpts and specially commissioned poems. The initial symphonic movements, steeped in German Romanticism, deftly alternate with chorale-like passages, establishing a profound link to the ancient cantata tradition that defines the monumental finale.    Premièred at St Thomas' Church in Leipzig (the same church where Mendelssohn's hero, Johann Sebastian Bach, once worked), the work celebrates the 400th anniversary of Gutenberg's invention of the printing press. It proved an immediate and resounding success, quickly becoming one of the most frequently performed works during Mendelssohn's lifetime.","brand":"BIS","offers":[{"title":"SACD","offer_id":46012712419562,"sku":"7318599927619","price":21.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/4484254-3505458.jpg?v=1786675385"},{"product_id":"beethoven-symphony-no-9-7318599924519","title":"Beethoven: Symphony No. 9 \/ Suzuki, Bach Collegium Japan","description":"\u003cp\u003eVan Gogh’s Sunflowers, da Vinci’s Mona Lisa, Tolstoy’s War and Peace – those works of art that are truly part of the canon of global culture are few and far apart. In music, one work that holds significance for people all over the world is Ludwig van Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, and especially its choral finale. Even today, as we are getting ready to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the birth of its creator, the sheer size and complexity of the symphony is daunting. There are some eyewitness accounts from the first performance, at the Kärntner-Tor-Theater in Vienna on 7th May 1824: we know for instance that Beethoven was on stage himself throughout the performance, but that owing to his deafness he did not notice the audience’s overwhelming enthusiasm. What the Ninth sounded like that evening in Vienna is something we will never know, however – which is why hearing it in a historically informed performance on period instruments is all the more interesting. With impeccable credentials from their 65-album series of Bach’s complete cantatas, and acclaimed recent recordings of Mozart’s Requiem and Beethoven’s Missa solemnis, Bach Collegium Japan and Masaaki Suzuki now give us their rendering of Beethoven’s last and greatest symphony, joined by a fine quartet of vocal soloists.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"BIS","offers":[{"title":"SACD","offer_id":46012843720938,"sku":"7318599924519","price":10.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/3718691-2517033.jpg?v=1786721037"},{"product_id":"bach-j-s-st-matthew-passion-bwv-244-excerpts-7318599915005","title":"Bach: St. Matthew Passion, BWV 244 \/ Bach Collegium Japan","description":"Italy.","brand":"BIS","offers":[{"title":"SACD","offer_id":46012899983594,"sku":"7318599915005","price":21.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/1633012.jpg?v=1786749221"},{"product_id":"bach-cantatas-vol-12-suzuki-bach-collegium-80794","title":"Bach: Cantatas Vol 12 \/ Suzuki, Bach Collegium Japan","description":"The astonishing variety of Bach’s cantatas is brilliantly illustrated by these CDs. Vol. 12 of Masaaki Suzuki’s ongoing cycle features a pair of extended, two-part cantatas: BWV 147, best-known for its lovely chorale (aka ‘Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring’), and BWV 21, described by Nicholas Anderson as having ‘a dramatic intensity hardly inferior... to that of the two great Passions’. Both cantatas have their origins in Bach’s Weimar period but are presented here in their later, Leipzig versions. \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e As is to be expected from Suzuki, the performances are meticulous and sensitive, and he brings out each cantata’s different emotional character with quiet authority. BWV 21 is particularly impressive, his team breathing vivid life into Bach’s portrayal of the Soul’s journey from darkest night to heavenly bliss. In contrast to this spiritual introspection, Philippe Herreweghe’s excellent disc features three cantatas Bach wrote for the annual inauguration of the Leipzig town council. This is public-event music, ablaze with ceremonial splendour: the earliest cantata, 1723’s BWV 119, begins with a French overture and is among the most richly scored of all the cantatas. The other two follow suit, jubilant choruses and brass fanfares proclaiming civic pride, though Bach takes care to balance this pomp with more delicate colours in the arias. Funeral music, yet another facet of the Cantor’s output, is explored on John Eliot Gardiner’s newly reissued 1989 recording. The deft vocal interweavings of the Actus tragicus and the Trauer Ode’s lavish salute to the Electress Christiane are adeptly handled by Gardiner, whose (relatively) small forces give the music a rapt, devotional air. In this company, Stephen Cleobury’s King’s College double seems lacklustre. The programme, which mixes major works with miniatures and extracts, is cluttered, the latter pieces merely distractions. Performances, while good, rarely match the precisely focused, sharply etched flair so evident on the Herreweghe and Suzuki discs. Performance: 5 (out of 5), Sound: 5 (out of 5)\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e -- BBC Music Magazine\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"BIS","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46012901621994,"sku":"7318590010310","price":21.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/2263151.jpg?v=1786746489"},{"product_id":"j-s-bach-english-suites-nos-1-6-bwv-806-811-7318599922812","title":"Bach: English Suites \/ Masaaki Suzuki","description":"\u003cp\u003eA busy schedule as music director of the Bach Collegium Japan and sought-after guest conductor doesn’t stop Masaaki Suzuki from returning to his first loves, the organ and the harpsichord. With the present release he adds yet another chapter to his series of Bach’s works for solo harpsichord. After acclaimed recordings of the Well-tempered Clavier, the Goldberg variations, the French Suites and other works the turn has come to the English Suites. Composed while Bach was in his thirties it precedes other sets such as the French Suites and the Toccatas, and in his liner notes, Bach scholar Yo Tomita draws attention to 'the stylistic traits of a youthful and ambitious composer wanting to make his mark through the use of counterpoint and virtuosity'. Despite its title, the collection has very little to do with England, at least musically: the six suites are instead rooted in the French tradition, and show certain striking similarities to the composer Charles Dieupart’s Six Suites pour le Clavessin from 1701. (Bach made a copy of Dieupart's set sometime between 1709 and 1716.) It was only in the 19th century that the suites became known as the 'English', based on a never substantiated claim that the set was commissioned by an English nobleman.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"BIS","offers":[{"title":"SACD","offer_id":46012903751914,"sku":"7318599922812","price":34.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/3912072.jpg?v=1786679327"},{"product_id":"verbum-caro-factum-est-a-christmas-greeting-80712","title":"Verbum caro factum est: A Christmas Greeting \/ Suzuki, Bach Collegium Japan","description":"\u003cp\u003eBach Collegium Japan and Masaaki Suzuki have sung of the wonders of Christmas a number of times, in Bach’s cantatas and Christmas Oratorio as well as in Handel’s Messiah. Here, instead, we hear the choir a cappella in a selection of classic Christmas carols. Masato Suzuki, son of the ensemble’s founder and director, has selected some of the best-loved songs of Christmas, such as Adeste fideles and Silent Night, as well as less familiar hymns, arranging them especially for these singers. A consummate organist, he also performs a number of Louis-Claude Daquin’s noëls variés – keyboard variations on Christmas songs which became a highly popular genre in 18th-century France.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cstrong\u003eREVIEWS\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e The performances are typically classy, and punctuated by a selection of Daquin’s ‘Noels’ for solo organ, played with peppery registrations by Suzuki.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e – BBC Music Magazine\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe performances themselves are superb, as one would expect from this outstanding chorus. Masato Suzuki dazzles us with his virtuosity...\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e-- American Record Guide\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"BIS","offers":[{"title":"SACD","offer_id":46012904014058,"sku":"7318599922911","price":21.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/3581411.jpg?v=1786710072"},{"product_id":"bach-brandenburg-concertos-orchestral-suites-suzuki-80761","title":"Bach: Brandenburg Concertos, Orchestral Suites \/ Suzuki","description":"\u003cp\u003eBach Collegium Japan was first noticed internationally for undertaking the huge project of recording the complete church cantatas of J. S. Bach. Although the ensemble's discography consists of predominately vocal works, the participating instrumentalists have attracted acclaim ever since the outset. On the present offering, it is Bach's two great sets of orchestral works that form the programme and the choir of the BCJ is silent. Bach Collegium Japan and Masaaki Suzuki first recorded the Brandenburg Concertos in 2000, but now return to these great works. The new recording took place in the recently completed MUZA Kawasaki Hall, a venue that is highly suitable to an approach focussing on the chamber music qualities of this music.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn four of the concertos Masaaki Suzuki has chosen to replace the traditional cello with the violoncello da spalla - a smaller instrument played horizontally on the shoulder or held against the breast. The instrument has already featured in the BCJ Cantata series, and opens for new possibilities in timbre, for instance in Concerto No. 6, where the violoncello da spalla blends particularly well with the two solo violas and the viola da gambas. Making a new recording also provided the opportunity to record these in many ways multidimensional works in 5.0 Surround Sound, releasing them as hybrid SACDs. This is also the format of the included recordings of the Orchestral Suites, originally released in 2005 to great and universal acclaim.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe German website klassik.com called the 2-CD set 'incredibly perfect Bach!' and named it one of the reference recordings of these oft-recorded works, while the Financial Times (UK) listed it as one of the outstanding classical discs of 2005, remarking that 'Suzuki's traversal of the Bach orchestral suites combine scholarship and style without compromising the music's expressiveness.' In the Brandenburg Concertos and the Suites, Bach explored an Italian and a French genre respectively, and in his inimitable way transcended the boundaries of both. This attractive box at a very advantageous price combines both sets performed by one of the leading Baroque ensembles in high fidelity recordings - not to be missed! Please note: The music on this Hybrid Super Audio CD can be played back in Stereo (CD and SACD) as well as in 5.0 Surround sound (SACD).\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"BIS","offers":[{"title":"SACD","offer_id":46012976890090,"sku":"7318591721222","price":39.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/1632842.jpg?v=1786820366"},{"product_id":"bach-secular-cantatas-vol-9-the-contest-65922","title":"Bach: Secular Cantatas, Vol. 9 - Contest of Phoebus \u0026 Pan \/ Suzuki, Bach Collegium Japan","description":"\u003cp\u003eMost of Johannes Sebastian Bach’s secular cantatas were written for specific political, academic or private festive occasions. In the case of Geschwinde, ihr wirbelnden Winde, BWV 201, however, it may well be that Bach composed it for his own sake: the message conveyed in the work can be interpreted as a defence of Bach’s own artistry and musical attitudes against the trend of the time towards easier fare.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSubtitling the cantata ‘dramma per musica’, Bach sets an episode from Greek mythology in which Phoebus (Apollo) and Pan enter into a musical contest. Phoebus, the god of the arts, presents a beautifully balanced and technically accomplished aria, while Pan sings a rustic dance tune. The judges offer Phoebus the prize, but the verdict isn’t unanimous – King Midas prefers Pan’s catchy ditty, for which Phoebus punishes him by giving him donkey ears. On this amply-filled disc Bach’s praise of high art is followed by another tribute, now to Augustus III, Elector of Saxony and King of Poland. It is likely that Augustus never knew that the same music had been used 10 years earlier to congratulate a Leipzig academic on his promotion: Auf, schmetternde Töne… BWV 207a is based almost entirely on Vereinigte Zwietracht der wechselnden Saiten, BWV 207. But Bach was something of the recycler’s recycler, and already BWV 207 included music from the First Brandenburg Concerto, with a choir added to the forces, and trumpets and timpani replacing the horns.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eREVIEWS\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBWV201 is an enormous piece lasting over three-quarters of an hour...The score is packed with imaginative passages describing the landscape, the characters and the events of the preposterous mythological scenario. It is, needless to say, utterly superb music.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBWV207a...like the companion piece on this disc, is indulgently scored with trumpets and timpani in addition to the usual woodwind and strings. A grand and exciting sound it all makes too. Thirty minutes of the most glorious music.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIt is almost superfluous to mention that the performers are excellent, the notes are detailed and scholarly and the recording is spectacular in its clarity and spaciousness but still a realistic sound picture of the recording space.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e-- MusicWeb International\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"BIS","offers":[{"title":"SACD","offer_id":46012981018858,"sku":"7318599923116","price":21.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/3756791.jpg?v=1786690044"},{"product_id":"bach-secular-cantatas-vol-10-cantatas-of-80704","title":"Bach: Secular Cantatas, Vol. 10: Cantatas of Contentment \/ Suzuki, Bach Collegium Japan","description":"Robert von Bahr, CEO of BIS Records, writes of this release: “When we finished the Bach Sacred Cantatas there was an emptiness with us all participants, which was - partly - alleviated by the fact that there were several records of secular Cantatas still to be recorded. And now we are at the bitter end of those as well, and there are no more Bach Cantatas to be recorded. After 23 years of a steady diet of Bach Cantatas, to be without them is brutal and cruel. All the better, then, that we have finished on a high point. Carolyn Sampson’s singing in the solo cantata BWV 204 beggars belief - it is as close to Heaven one can hope to come on this Earth. Big words, and yet too small for what she does. This is the crowning glory of a series that has transformed my life and given me so much more fulfillment that I could possibly have hoped for. Thank you, Masaaki and your faithful BCJ, for creating a musical treasure possible to be treasured by a grateful mankind.”\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e  -----\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e  REVIEWS:\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e  This issue completes one of the great modern recording odysseys, being the final disc of complete surviving secular cantatas from Bach Collegium Japan. The Bach Collegium Japan sing and play as satisfyingly as they have done since their foundation in 1990 and the hero of the disc, as ever, is Masaaki Suzuki. His sense of the tempo giusto in this music is unerring, and his response to the sprightly dance measures is always infectious.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e  – MusicWeb International\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e  We celebrate here, as always, many of Suzuki’s finest qualities of expressive lucidity, unforced coherence, and the quiet nobility of one serving the music as the most natural of reflexes.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e  Carolyn Sampson’s ever-inspiring contributions close the project with Ich bin in mir vernügt, a little-known solo soprano cantata compared to the Nos 51, 199, and 210s of this world. Just when one thought it impossible to hear Bach sung any better than in her recent performance of No 105 (arr. Schumann—Ondine, 8\/18), she brings an Arcadian coloration to ‘Meine Seele sei vernügt’, placing her among the finest exponents on record of this composer’s peerlessly demanding soprano-writing.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e  – Gramophone","brand":"BIS","offers":[{"title":"SACD","offer_id":46013150200042,"sku":"7318599923512","price":10.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/3821018.jpg?v=1786819499"},{"product_id":"mera-sings-bach-7318590011294","title":"Mera Sings Bach","description":"Classical Music","brand":"BIS","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46013175857386,"sku":"7318590011294","price":15.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/2263238.jpg?v=1786721789"},{"product_id":"bach-concertos-vol-1-suzuki-terakado-wakamatsu-83812","title":"Bach: Concertos Vol 1 \/ Suzuki, Terakado, Wakamatsu, Et Al","description":"This new recording from the Bach Collegium Japan contains the three violin concertos by Bach which have been preserved in their original form (BWV 1041-3) and another, for violin and oboe (BWV 1060), which has survived only in a version for two harpsichords and strings. But since Bach has left us arrangements of all four works for one or two harpsichords, it seems probable that BWV 1060 was also originally a work for two melody instruments, the writing suggestive of an oboe with violin.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e Though plenty of recordings exist of these concertos played on period instruments, few if any entirely satisfy my sensibilities. Solo violinist Ryo Terakado, who customarily leads the Bach Collegium Japan, perhaps comes as close as any to fulfilling hopes and expectations. His playing in the A minor and E major Concertos is clearly articulated with eloquently shaped phrases – the Andante of the A minor work provides a good instance of these virtues. His tone, furthermore, has a sweetness in the upper register which is all too often lacking in performances by his period instrument rivals. In the D minor Concerto for two violins, Terakado is joined by Natsumi Wakamatsu, another member of Bach Collegium Japan. Their partnership, evenly balanced and animated in the outer movement dialogue, is rewarding, while the lyrical Largo ma non tanto is sensitively played with alluring inflections.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e The oboist in the remaining work (C minor) is the Belgian virtuoso Marcel Ponseele. He is one of the finest Bach oboe players around and nowhere here does he disappoint. In short, this version of the violin concertos, as well as that for violin and oboe, is comfortably my first choice.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e -- Nicholas Anderson, BBC Music Magazine\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"BIS","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46013257744618,"sku":"7318590009611","price":21.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/2263094.jpg?v=1786741799"},{"product_id":"bach-secular-cantatas-vol-1-suzuki-sampson-224855","title":"Bach: Secular Cantatas Vol 1 \/ Suzuki, Sampson, Et Al","description":"\"While recordings of Bach’s Coffee Cantata abound, the same cannot be said for his spaciously proportioned Wedding Cantata, ‘O holder Tag’. Scored for soprano with flute, oboe d’amore and strings, this last-mentioned piece is unquestionably one of the most vocally challenging of all Bach’s solo voice cantatas, requiring stamina and virtuosity over and above all Bach’s other usual demands. Carolyn Sampson has these challenges well within her grasp and no one is likely to be disappointed by her restrained and delicately poised singing... Comparably successful are the fourth aria, a deliciously pervasive polonaise, and the spirited finale, though throughout the cantata elegance of phrase and transparency of texture take precedence over nuptial high spirits. The Coffee Cantata is a delight from start to finish. Sampson is an almost perfect Liesgen, the willful, headstrong but affectionate daughter of dyspeptic though ultimately indulgent father, Schlendrian. As in the other work, the emphasis in Suzuki’s performance is on refinement of detail rather than animated dialogue. But the little domestic contretemps comes over charmingly and with just enough theatre to hold our attention. Stephen Schreckenberger makes clearer tonal sense of his aria ‘Mädchen, die von harten Sinnen’ than any other bass I know and Sampson’s sublime ‘Heute noch’ is lightly articulated and wholly enchanting.\" \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e -- Nicholas Anderson, BBC Music Magazine\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"BIS","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46013263675626,"sku":"7318590014110","price":21.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/2263477.jpg?v=1786721128"},{"product_id":"bach-cantatas-vol-21-suzuki-bach-collegium-130935","title":"Bach: Cantatas Vol 21 \/ Suzuki, Bach Collegium Japan","description":"The four cantatas of Volume 21 were written earlier in the year––No. 190 for New Year’s Day, No. 65 for Epiphany, No. 81 for the fourth Sunday after Epiphany, and No. 83 for Candelmas (the feast of the Purification of the Virgin). BWV 65 is a splendid cantata, richly scored with pairs of corni da caccia, oboes da caccia, and recorders (in addition to the usual strings and continuo), as befits a commemoration of the arrival of the three kings. In addition to the brilliant opening chorus, there is a memorable aria for tenor. In Cantatas 81 and 83, the chorus is limited to the concluding chorales, the narrative being carried forth in arias for alto, tenor, and bass. The men’s arias in BWV 81 deal with raging waters, but in the bass aria, Jesus’s command for the sea to subside does not result in a corresponding calming of the musical argument. The New Year’s cantata, BWV 190, is––or should be––even more resplendent than No. 65, calling for three trumpets (with kettledrums), three oboes, and an oboe d’amore. Unfortunately, the surviving score is even more compromised than that of BWV 59––to the extent that Harnoncourt and Leonhardt omitted it from their series. For the BIS series, however, Suzuki includes a first movement reconstructed by his son, Masato, and a second movement of his own devising. For interested listeners, a detailed description of the process is included in the notes. Purists, of course, can skip the reconstructed movements, but it seems unlikely that most listeners will want to do so after hearing them.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e 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.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e I thought I detected a hint of fatigue when I got to Cantata 83, but wasn’t sure whether to attribute it to a harried composer or a hyperactive interpreter––or to an ear-weary listener. Frankly, it may well have been the third. At any rate, everyone seemed to have revived by the time I got to Volume 22 and the second cycle. Of course, I’m going to urge interested listeners to acquire [this disc]. Bach and Suzuki are still one of the best tandems going.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e -- George Chien, FANFARE - FANFARE\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"BIS","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46013268295914,"sku":"7318590013113","price":21.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/2263400_64e5e473-4441-455f-9b83-d8d35671f0c5.jpg?v=1786749184"},{"product_id":"messian-highlights-7318590015216","title":"Handel: Messiah Highlights \/ Bach Collegium Japan","description":"Classical Music","brand":"BIS","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46013269901546,"sku":"7318590015216","price":18.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/2265848_b31d00fa-da25-458f-87eb-5063abe5a74c.jpg?v=1786741607"},{"product_id":"bach-cantatas-vol-29-suzuki-mields-trk-163678","title":"Bach: Cantatas Vol 29 \/ Suzuki, Mields, Türk, Et Al","description":"This is a hybrid Super Audio CD playable on both regular and Super Audio CD players.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e In this the 29th volume of Bach Cantatas, Masaaki Suzuki and his musicians are still exploring Bach's great project, the Chorale Cantata Year, which was initiated in 1724 in order to celebrate the bicentenary of the first Lutheran hymn books. Each cantata belonging to the project is very closely connected to one particular hymn from this collection, especially in terms of the texts used. For all of them can be said that the first and the last movement are settings of the first and last strophes of the hymn, with Bach using the original hymn melody as the guiding light in highly imaginative scores. The remaining strophes were used as an inspiration by an unknown librettist, providing texts suitable for arias, recitatives and ensembles, while remaining true to the idea of the original hymn. All of the works on the present disc use the addition of cornetto and\/or trombones, resulting – in particular in BWV2 and BWV38 – in a sonic world both dramatic and archaic, even for Bach's own time. On this recording it is Concerto Palatino, the world's leading ensemble of their kind, which provides the inimitable timbres of cornettos and baroque trombones. Among the soloists, Gerd Türk and Peter Kooij will be familiar to followers of this series and Pascal Bertin has also appeared before, while the young German soprano Dorothee Mields makes her first appearance on BIS.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"BIS","offers":[{"title":"SACD","offer_id":46013278683370,"sku":"7318599914619","price":21.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/1632886_b21a2fa5-6bc9-4396-bfb3-f1a4d7090266.jpg?v=1786748997"},{"product_id":"bach-cantatas-vol-33-suzuki-blaze-kobow-83631","title":"Bach: Cantatas Vol 33 \/ Suzuki, Blaze, Kobow, Nonoshita, Etc","description":"This is a hybrid Super Audio CD playable on both regular and Super Audio CD players.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e 'Consistently outstanding performances, musical beyond belief, and worthy of any collection' (MusicWeb International); 'Yet again a fine achievement, striking the right balance between deep contemplation and freshness of approach.' (International Record Review); 'The same thrillingly high standard as the whole series.' (Pizzicato); 'Suzuki and his Bach Collegium Japan continue to overwhelm us.' (Classica-Répertoire) – the list could go on and on! These quotes from all over the world apply to Volume 28 of Bach Collegium Japan's Cantata cycle, but the reception has repeated itself throughout this series. On the present, 33rd instalment Masaaki Suzuki has chosen to open with a jubilant New Year cantata, Jesu, nun sei gepreiset, first performed on 1 January 1725. Only a few weeks later BWV 92 was performed, exhorting the congregation of Bach's Thomaskirche in Leipzig to surrender to God’s will and God’s hand. In this unusually long cantata Bach pays special attention to creating variety, and illustrates the text with powerful musical images. The closing cantata is BWV130, composed for Michaelmas – a feast day in celebration of the Archangel Michael and all angels. Again a festive work, in which trumpets and timpani play an important part, notably in the bass aria ‘Der alte Drache brennt’, a display piece in which the trumpets play as if in combat with the ‘old dragon’. Here we also hear German bass singer Dominik Wörner, who with this disc makes a fortuitous début with the Bach Collegium Japan. He is joined by Jan Kobow, tenor, who has appeared before in the cycle, and regular soloists Yukari Nonoshita, soprano, and Robin Blaze, counter-tenor.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"BIS","offers":[{"title":"SACD","offer_id":46013280223466,"sku":"7318599915418","price":21.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/1633156.jpg?v=1786694661"},{"product_id":"bach-motets-bwv-225-230-suzuki-bach-58804","title":"Bach: Motets Bwv 225-230 \/ Suzuki, Bach Collegium Japan","description":"\u003cimg src=\"\/graphics\/p10s10.gif\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  Bach's motets have been very lucky on disc. This latest version from Masaaki Suzuki and the Bach Collegium Japan is as good as it gets. In addition to the canonic six pieces, BWV 225-230, we also get the much more rarely heard Ich lasse dich nicht BWV Anh. 159, and O Jesu Christ, meins Lebens Licht BWV 118. This brings the playing time of the disc up to more than 75 minutes, and may well prove important to Bach collectors. The singing is uniformly excellent, the small choir and soloists seemingly perfectly scaled to give the more complex pieces, Jesu, meine Freude in particular, plenty of contrast without any cost of contrapuntal clarity.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  In the works with double choir, Suzuki has decided to double the first choir with strings, the second with winds, an excellent choice. In the other works he mixes winds and strings, always with an ear to giving each voice its own vivid identity. He doesn't dispute the authenticity of the brief BWV 230 (Lobet den Herrn, alle Heiden), and the performance has great spirit and rhythmic verve. Several of these works (Fürchte dich nicht BWV 228, for example) were written for funerals, but however solemn the occasion or the mood, the music always soars. BIS's SACD sonics are typically marvelous. Just great!\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  --David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday.com\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"BIS","offers":[{"title":"SACD","offer_id":46013286187242,"sku":"7318599918419","price":21.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/1632746.jpg?v=1786732984"},{"product_id":"bach-cantatas-vol-54-nos-14-100-83685","title":"Bach: Cantatas, Vol. 54 - Nos. 14, 100, 197, 197a \/ Suzuki, Bach Collegium Japan","description":"\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan class=\"COMPOSER12\"\u003eBACH \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12b\"\u003eCantatas Nos. 100\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"SUPER12\"\u003e1;\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12b\"\u003e 14\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"SUPER12\"\u003e2;\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12b\"\u003e No. 197\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"SUPER12\"\u003e3;\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12b\"\u003e No. 197a\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"SUPER12\"\u003e4 \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"BULLET12\"\u003e • \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12\"\u003e Masaaki Suzuki, cond; Bach Collegium Japan; \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"SUPER12\"\u003e1-3\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12\"\u003eHana Blažiková (sop); \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"SUPER12\"\u003e1,3,4\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12\"\u003eDamien Guillon (ct); \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"SUPER12\"\u003e1,2\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12\"\u003eGerd Türk (ten); \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"SUPER12\"\u003e1-4\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12\"\u003ePeter Kooij (bs) \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"BULLET12\"\u003e • \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12\"\u003e BIS 2021 (SACD: 75:40 \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12\"\u003eText and Translation) \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAs his momentous series nears its conclusion, Masaaki Suzuki turns his attention to three late cantatas, all presumably composed in the mid-1730s, all richly scored. Cantata No. 100’s two horns (and timpani), flute, and oboe d’amore suggest a festive occasion, but actually which one is not known. Cantata No. 197, with three trumpets, two oboes, and an obbligato bassoon, was composed for a wedding, although, again, the principals are unknown. Given the lavish score—10 numbers divided into two parts—it’s fairly safely assumed that they were persons of rank. Little did they suspect that by simply affixing their names to the score they could have achieved immortality—of a sort! Cantata No. 14 was composed for the fourth Sunday after Epiphany in 1735. Its scoring includes one trumpet, a horn, and two oboes. Bach wrote No. 14 to fill a gap in his chorale cantata cycle of 1724–25; there was no fourth Sunday after Epiphany in 1725. It opens with a contrapuntally complex motet-style chorus, a harbinger, perhaps of \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-style:italic\"\u003eThe Art of Fugue\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e, which must have been percolating in Bach’s mind at the time. BWV 100 has the distinction of being one of four Leipzig cantatas (along with 97, 117, and 192) in which all movements are based on the chorale melody. It’s also one of the few cantatas without recitatives. Ever the tinkerer, Bach drew upon an existing Christmas cantata for some of BWV 197. Only three movements and a part of a fourth of the earlier cantata have survived. In crafting a viable, performable fragment, the musicologist Diethard Hellmann has returned the favor, in a way, basing his reconstruction of its incomplete alto aria on Bach’s second thoughts. \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe reconstructed aria, accompanied by a pair of flutes, is tenderly realized by Damien Guillon. Hana Blažíková is brilliant in her aria with trumpet in Cantata No. 14. Gerd Türk and Peter Kooij are their usual dependable selves. The chorus and orchestra—all Japanese except for the solo quartet and the two hornists\/trumpeters—are predictably excellent as well. Masaaki’s direction is masterful, as always. It’s another triumph for Suzuki and the Bach Collegium Japan. \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight:bold\"\u003eFANFARE: George Chien \u003c\/span\u003e","brand":"BIS","offers":[{"title":"SACD","offer_id":46013291036906,"sku":"7318599920214","price":21.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/2309519.jpg?v=1786631562"},{"product_id":"bach-cantatas-vol-46-suzuki-bach-collegium-240782","title":"Bach: Cantatas Vol 46 \/ Suzuki, Bach Collegium Japan","description":"This hybrid disc plays on both CD \u0026amp; SACD players.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e   \u003cspan class=\"COMPOSER12\"\u003eBACH \u003c\/span\u003e  \u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12b\"\u003eCantatas: No. 17;\u003c\/span\u003e  \u003cspan class=\"SUPER12\"\u003e1,2,3,4\u003c\/span\u003e  \u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12b\"\u003e No. 19;\u003c\/span\u003e  \u003cspan class=\"SUPER12\"\u003e1,3,4\u003c\/span\u003e  \u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12b\"\u003e No. 45;\u003c\/span\u003e  \u003cspan class=\"SUPER12\"\u003e2,3,4\u003c\/span\u003e  \u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12b\"\u003e No. 102\u003c\/span\u003e  \u003cspan class=\"SUPER12\"\u003e2,3,4 \u003c\/span\u003e  \u003cspan class=\"BULLET12b\"\u003e•\u003c\/span\u003e  \u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12\"\u003e Masaaki Suzuki, cond; Bach Collegium Japan (period instruments); \u003c\/span\u003e  \u003cspan class=\"SUPER12\"\u003e1\u003c\/span\u003e  \u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12\"\u003eHana Blažíková (sop); \u003c\/span\u003e  \u003cspan class=\"SUPER12\"\u003e2\u003c\/span\u003e  \u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12\"\u003eRobin Blaze (ct); \u003c\/span\u003e  \u003cspan class=\"SUPER12\"\u003e3\u003c\/span\u003e  \u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12\"\u003eGerd Türk (ten); \u003c\/span\u003e  \u003cspan class=\"SUPER12\"\u003e4\u003c\/span\u003e  \u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12\"\u003ePeter Kooij (bs) \u003c\/span\u003e  \u003cspan class=\"BULLET12b\"\u003e•\u003c\/span\u003e  \u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12\"\u003e BIS 1851 (SACD: 76:24 \u003c\/span\u003e  \u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12\"\u003eText and Translation) \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e   \u003cspan\u003eMasaaki Suzuki continues his estimable series with Volume 46 of the complete Bach cantatas. The latter half of the year 1726 saw the creation of these pieces, done at a time when Bach was not writing as many of his own and making use of the work of other composers in his churchly duties. Johann Ludwig Bach composed the texts for these cantatas, from a cycle of the church years published in Meiningen in 1704, and evidently a great inspiration for Sebastian Bach. All except No. 19 are bipartite in form, beginning with a quote from the Old Testament, followed by a parallel quote from the New at the beginning of part I. No. 19 is dedicated to Michaelmas. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e   \u003cspan\u003eBut what sets these apart is the almost symphonic conception of the opening choruses, boisterous and energetic, and even the timings indicate that something is up—4:07, 4:08, 5:19, and 5:35, respectively (according to the order in the head note) are quite extensive for the cantatas in general, and it gives Bach ample opportunity to develop his music in the way that perhaps only the Passions allow. The extended division of the works also gives him time to accentuate the differences in mood among movements, more dramatically than in some other cantatas. Though these pieces are taking place in comparatively bland seasons—10th (102), eighth (45), 14th (17) after Trinity, and St. Michael (19) Sundays, respectively, the depth of compositional effort is a little startling. The last particularly was always celebrated with much splendor and high drama, and Bach does not disappoint; right from the start, without benefit of orchestral introduction the choir enters the fray with blazing coloraturas. This is after all, music about a war in heaven. But the trumpets and timpani ensure that by the end no one is in doubt as to the victor, and all leave the church suitably exalted. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e   \u003cspan style=\"font-style:italic\"\u003eO Lord, Are Not Thine Eyes Upon the Truth\u003c\/span\u003e  \u003cspan\u003e (No. 102) must have blown away some parishioners with its massive sweep and concise themes used as the basis for the entire cantata. No. 45, \u003c\/span\u003e  \u003cspan style=\"font-style:italic\"\u003eHe Hath Showed Thee, O Man, What Is Good\u003c\/span\u003e  \u003cspan\u003e takes as its theme obedience, and Bach demonstrates this musically by using only one theme in the opening movement, expanding the argument brilliantly combining fugal and concertante elements. This is perhaps the most relaxed of the works on this disc, each movement in possession of noble bearing and high stature. \u003c\/span\u003e  \u003cspan style=\"font-style:italic\"\u003eWhoso Offereth Praise Glorifieth Me\u003c\/span\u003e  \u003cspan\u003e (No. 17) is the most joyous on the disc, amplified by the tight and unified structure of the opening movement, even though the final chorus may be considered more reflective as it speaks of mankind’s very short passage through life, and implores pity from the Father. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e   \u003cspan\u003eAs I have mentioned before, Suzuki’s renderings are definitely a believer’s Bach, more impassioned and assertive than others. Recently I have had a chance to listen to all of Koopman’s recordings and have to fess up to a mistaken judgment; while they are not as demonstrative as these, they are a valid take on a many-faceted music, and I now reverse myself on my previously harsh opinions. Even so, this one sounds great in Super Audio, and if push came to shove I would still recommend these over all others currently offered. Bring on Volume 47! \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e   \u003cspan style=\"font-weight:bold\"\u003eFANFARE: Steven E. Ritter \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"BIS","offers":[{"title":"SACD","offer_id":46013292118250,"sku":"7318599918518","price":21.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/2263811.jpg?v=1786742178"},{"product_id":"bach-concertos-for-two-harpischords-masaaki-masato-115059","title":"Bach: Concertos For Two Harpischords \/ Masaaki \u0026 Masato Suzuki, Bach Collegium Japan","description":"This is a hybrid Super Audio CD playable on both regular and Super Audio CD players. \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e That Johann Sebastian Bach as Cantor at St Thomas Church in Leipzig was expected to provide the churchgoers with suitably impressive musical performances each Sunday and Feast day is quite widely known. Fewer will be aware of the fact that the post as director of the city's Collegium Musicum, which he held from 1729, in some ways was just as demanding and time-consuming. Weekly concerts all year round – and twice-weekly during the three busy fair periods (New Year, Easter and Michaelmas) – meant that Bach during his ten years as director spent far more time performing secular instrumental music in Zimmermann's coffee house – the usual concert venue – than cantatas in church. As with his church duties, Bach will also have been expected to provide repertoire for the ensemble, composing as well as arranging music by others and himself for it. Among such works will have been his various harpsichord concertos: with Bach's great reputation as a keyboard virtuoso, it is not difficult to imagine the demand by the Leipzig audiences to see their local hero shine on the stage. Three double concertos for harpsichord by Bach survive, all dating from around 1736, and all arrangements of earlier compositions. BWV 1060 is thought to have originated as a now lost double concerto for oboe and violin, while BWV 1062 is a reworking of the well-loved concerto for two violins. Unlike these two works, BWV 1061 was composed for two harpsichords from the outset, but probably started out as a concerto without orchestral accompaniment – this will have been added later. Performing these works, with a quintet of string players from the Bach Collegium Japan, Masaaki Suzuki is joined by his son Masato. For the present disc Masato Suzuki has also taken a page from Bach’s own book, in arranging the composer’s Orchestral Suite No.1 for two unaccompanied harpsichords.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"BIS","offers":[{"title":"SACD","offer_id":46013295034602,"sku":"7318599920511","price":21.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/2565689.jpg?v=1786733676"},{"product_id":"bach-cantatas-vol-53-masaaki-suzuki-bach-65942","title":"Bach: Cantatas  Vol  53 \/ Masaaki Suzuki, Bach Collegium Japan","description":"\u003cimg src=\"\/graphics\/features\/misc\/edchoice2012_79.jpg\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003eThe three cantatas on this recording come from the first half of the 1730s, by which time J.S. Bach was no longer writing a new cantata every week. In these later works, Bach’s affinity for instrumental colour is coming more clearly to the fore, as are elements of the new ‘empfindsamer Stil’ with its tendency towards expressive melodies rich in syncopations and suspensions, and towards homophonic writing. The three cantatas are also linked in that they are all chorale cantatas, harking back to Bach’s second year in Leipzig (1724–25), when the cantatas that he wrote were each based in their entirety on a well-known hymn. The opening cantata, In allen meinen Taten BWV 97, is a setting of nine strophes from a poem by Paul Fleming, one of the great German baroque poets, and begins with a splendid French overture, in which the orchestra intones a solemn, slow introduction with the typical dotted rhythms, followed by a lively fugal section during which the choir makes its entry. This is followed by BWV 177, Ich ruf zu dir, Herr Jesu Christ, which at its centre has the aria Verleih, dass ich aus Herzensgrund… a heartfelt prayer from the soprano and oboe da caccia for the capacity to forgive one’s enemies. The hymn Es ist das Heil uns kommen her, on which the closing BWV 9 is based, remains an important hymn in the German Evangelical Church. The text – and Bach’s setting of it – eloquently conveys the message that it is through faith rather than deeds that mankind may achieve salvation.","brand":"BIS","offers":[{"title":"SACD","offer_id":46013298933994,"sku":"7318599919911","price":21.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/2263881.jpg?v=1786722422"},{"product_id":"bach-lutheran-masses-vol-1-suzuki-bach-240322","title":"Bach: Lutheran Masses, Vol. 1 \/ Suzuki, Bach Collegium Japan","description":"This is a hybrid Super Audio CD playable on both regular and Super Audio CD players. \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  By Bach's time, the Reformation had fundamentally altered the traditional forms of church service, and in German churches Latin had yielded to the country's own language. To a limited extent, however, the Latin mass text did remain in use in the Protestant church – in particular the Kyrie and Gloria sections, which were often set to music as an entity in their own right. Albeit incomplete, this form of mass setting was termed ‘Missa’, a name it retained even in Bach’s day. Nowadays, to differentiate them from complete settings, these pieces are often referred to as 'Lutheran Masses'. Bach's famous Mass in B minor, later expanded into a complete mass, began its existence as a work of this type, and four other examples from Bach's pen have survived. They all make extensive use of earlier compositions, and the two masses on the present disc consist entirely of so-called parodies: reworkings of arias and choruses from cantatas, in which Bach demonstrates his skill in adapting existing music for new uses. Performed by Bach Collegium Japan – who under the direction of Masaaki Suzuki have already recorded the original settings as part of their acclaimed cantata series – the Missae BWV 235 and 236 are here combined with four separate settings of the Sanctus, another section of the traditional mass that in Bach's time could be heard in the churches of Leipzig during important feast days. Two of these are original compositions, whereas BWV 241, and possibly also 240, is an arrangement of a setting by another composer. The 'Kyrie – Christe' BWV Anh. 26 is also an example of how Bach in his task of providing the music for church services used music by other composers. In this case he turned to a movement from a mass by his contemporary Francesco Durante from Naples, but adapted it for his own purposes by composing a new setting – a duet for soprano and alto – of the Christe eleison section, labelling it 'Christe di Bach' in his autograph.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e  Review:\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e  Suzuki's solo 'A team' are out in force and generally deliver excellent and communicative quasi-arias...The choruses are perhaps a touch less well-heeled and defined than usual, in both consistency and balance, but Collegium Musicum Japan compellingly advocate both Masses as well as the festive Kyrie and Sanctus settings.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e  – Gramophone","brand":"BIS","offers":[{"title":"SACD","offer_id":46013305094378,"sku":"7318599920818","price":21.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/2910374.jpg?v=1786698478"},{"product_id":"bach-j-s-cantatas-vol-41-bwv-56-82-84-158-7318599916910","title":"Bach, J.S.: Cantatas, Vol. 41  - Bwv 56, 82, 84, 158","description":"Import Hybrid-SACD pressing.","brand":"BIS","offers":[{"title":"SACD","offer_id":46013306568938,"sku":"7318599916910","price":21.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/1632845_78e02d63-9676-4724-9c10-f5a9b2aa0657.jpg?v=1786732911"},{"product_id":"bach-cantatas-vol-47-7318599918617","title":"Bach: Cantatas, Vol. 47","description":"Classical Music","brand":"BIS","offers":[{"title":"SACD","offer_id":46013310206186,"sku":"7318599918617","price":21.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/2263819.jpg?v=1786722171"},{"product_id":"bach-cantatas-vol-51-7318599919614","title":"Bach: Cantatas, Vol. 51","description":"Classical Music","brand":"BIS","offers":[{"title":"SACD","offer_id":46013313614058,"sku":"7318599919614","price":21.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/2263863.jpg?v=1786749682"},{"product_id":"bach-toccatas-masaaki-suzuki","title":"Bach: Toccatas \/ Masaaki Suzuki","description":"\u003cp\u003eVery little is known about the origin of J. S. Bach’s seven Toccatas (BWV?910–916) or of their use. They are believed to have been written before 1717 or the end of Bach’s Weimar period – but it is quite possible that at least some of them were drafted before he arrived there in 1707, at the age of 22. The Toccatas are usually performed on harpsichord or piano – but even though they are ‘manualiter’ (intended to be played by the hands only) and do not call for pedal parts, they are also occasionally heard on the organ. In terms of style they are examples of the so-called stylus phantasticus – ‘the most free and unfettered method of composition’ – and belong to the North German organ tradition of the late 17th century. Each piece consists of several distinct and contrasting sections, interweaving strict counterpoint and fugal passages with freely rhapsodic material, and as such the toccatas differ from the two-movement prelude-and-fugue format which Bach later would put his own, indelible stamp on. With this disc, Masaaki Suzuki takes on some of the earliest of Bach’s extant harpsichord compositions, after having released acclaimed recordings of a wide range of later works, from the two-part Inventions to the two books of the Well-Tempered Clavier. However, he also brings his experience in performing the music of Bach’s North German predecessors to bear, for instance Buxtehude (BIS-1809) and Nicolaus Bruhns.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eREVIEW\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan id=\"ctl00_MainContent_gvReviews_cell0_12_ASPxPopupControl1_ASPxLabel2\" class=\"dxeBase_PlasticBlue\"\u003eSince completing his Bach cantata cycle, conductor and keyboardist Masaaki Suzuki has turned to Bach's keyboard music. The results have been consistently satisfying, as one would expect from this great contemporary Bach interpreter, but even Suzuki fans might have wondered what he would do with these six rarely played toccatas. There are more purely dramatic readings of these works, mostly played on piano, but Suzuki is attuned to this music, and his performances are not in the least colorless. Bach's intense Adagios, like that of the Toccata in E minor, BWV 914, and the irregular structures of the music have snap and surprise. Suzuki's 1982 harpsichord, based on an enlarged Ruckers instrument, is an excellent choice for the music, and anyone whose Bach collection is missing these remarkable works can do well with this choice.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan class=\"dxeBase_PlasticBlue\"\u003e-- ALlMusic.com (James Manheim)\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"BIS","offers":[{"title":"SACD","offer_id":46013338419434,"sku":"7318599922218","price":10.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/3782258-2540378.jpg?v=1786717578"},{"product_id":"bach-celebratory-cantatas-suzuki-collegium-japan-80716","title":"Bach: Secular Cantatas, Vol. 8 - Celebratory Cantatas \/ Suzuki, Bach Collegium Japan","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003eBesides the fact that they both celebrate Augustus III, Elector of Saxony and King of Poland, there is a close connection between the two works included on the eighth volume of Bach's secular cantatas. On October 2nd, 1734, the King and his family made a surprise visit to Leipzig, and in all haste a festive event was planned for three days later, in celebration of the anniversary of Augustus's ascension to the Polish throne. Bach was asked to provide the musical entertainment, and consequently had to put aside the work he was busy composing...namely BWV 206 ''Schleicht, spielende Wellen'', intended for a celebration of the King's birthday on October 7th! The new cantata, Preise dein Glucke, gesegnetes Sachsen, BWV 215, is a substantial work, and it is not surprising that Bach, with only a few days to produce it, had recourse to earlier compositions: the only parts that were written completely from scratch were the recitatives, the soprano aria and the final chorus.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn the meantime, BWV 206 - the birthday cantata that Bach had to put on hold - came to good use two years later, when the King's birthday was celebrated with a concert at Zimmermann's coffee house in Leipzig. Both works are richly scored with trumpets and timpani, and here receive suitably festive performances form Bach Collegium Japan and Masaaki Suzuki.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cstrong\u003eREVIEW\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e Schleicht, spielende Wellen (‘Flow, playful waves and murmur’) follows the \u003cem\u003edramma per musica\u003c\/em\u003e template of allegory – this time with four competing rivers yearning for the primacy of the monarch’s affections. However ludicrous, Bach constructs a very significant work which Suzuki treats as an undertaking of serious critical engagement. After 22 years of intensive Bach recording, Suzuki and his forces just seem to get better.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e – Gramophone\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"BIS","offers":[{"title":"SACD","offer_id":46013444129002,"sku":"7318599922317","price":21.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/3647487.jpg?v=1786726312"},{"product_id":"st-john-passion-359578","title":"Bach: St. John Passion (The Koln Recording) \/ Suzuki, Bach Collegium Japan","description":"\u003cp\u003eOn 6 of March 2020, Bach Collegium Japan began their long-awaited 30th anniversary tour of Europe with a performance of Bach's St John Passion in Katowice, Poland. The same week Europe was becoming aware of the very stark reality of the threat posed by the new Corona virus, Covid-19. Consequently, as Masaaki Suzuki and his ensemble went on to perform in Dublin and then London, concert halls across Europe were closing down and the remaining tour dates were cancelled. Before making their return to Japan, the BCJ agreed with the Kölner Philharmonie to go ahead with the concert that had been planned, in the form of a live streaming without an audience. This meant that the ensemble had time on their hands, and the idea was born to use it for making a recording.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e Having received permission to use the hall of the Philharmonie for the recording, Bach Collegium Japan and BIS jointly decided to go ahead with the idea, and during a few hectic hours arrangements were made for a recording team to come to Cologne. Over the next few days, Suzuki, the BCJ and a team of soloists headed by James Gilchrist as the Evangelist, recorded Bach's rendering of the Passion of Christ, finishing just ahead of complete lockdown. Their efforts are now available as a testimony not only to the drama of Bach's score, but also to the urgency of a week when the world changed.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e ‘The spread of the virus created an urgency and energy that rendered this a very dramatic performance’, he continues. ‘The music itself has such incredible power of course, and in this situation, it was somehow doubled. Looking back, it was all like a miracle, and even now it seems like a dream. The tension of the whole experience, combined with the drama of the St John Passion, will stay in our minds forever.’ - Masaako Suzuki\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cstrong\u003eREVIEWS\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eHere we have a reading that feels as if, deep in the psyche of the performers, they know this is all happening close to the wire. Gilchrist is again on masterly form, risking pinpoint precision for graphic description in a way that makes the experience feel ‘live’ in every respect. Suzuki takes us as co-travellers in a search of faith, not necessarily assuming us all as believers.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e– Gramophone (Awards Issue, 2020)\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e Despite the hurried nature of the production, engineering is top-notch, and even if the bass is more pronounced this time around, there is an ideal blend of analytical clarity and warmth, both on SACD and regular stereo. No single interpretation can capture every aspect of this monumental music. But Suzuki’s latest is his finest, and belongs in the library of anyone who loves this work – urgently recommended.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e – Classical CD Review\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"BIS","offers":[{"title":"SACD","offer_id":46013468475626,"sku":"7318599925516","price":34.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/3842059-2594866.jpg?v=1786717438"},{"product_id":"early-italian-chamber-music-works-for-recorder-and-basso-c-7318590013359","title":"Early Italian Chamber Music - Works For Recorder And Basso C","description":"Classical Music","brand":"BIS","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46019961061610,"sku":"7318590013359","price":21.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/2263418.jpg?v=1786749677"},{"product_id":"bach-cantatas-vol-24-suzuki-bach-collegium-240442","title":"Bach: Cantatas Vol 24 \/ Suzuki, Bach Collegium Japan","description":"\u003cp\u003eEach new volume of J.S. Bach's church cantatas continues to attract accolades from the musical press. The excellence of the Bach Collegium Japan led by their inspirational director Masaaki Suzuki and with a line-up of some of the best and most experienced vocal soloists are know entities. Everyone is pretty much in agreement: the cantatas have been entrusted to the best possible interpreters who take endless pains in preparing the recordings and still manage to convey the frisson of a live performance. Perhaps what makes these recordings so special is the fact that the listener is constantly astounded at the quality of the music itself. We still nourish a romantic view of genius and think of a musical masterpiece as the product of a great and painful labour. Yet Bach produced a whole succession of masterpieces, week after week, in order to fulfil his obligations as Cantor of the Thomas Church in Leipzig. The present disc is a fine example of Bach's development of the Church Cantata. The three cantatas are for 'ordinary' Sundays in the liturgical year - 11th, 13th and 16th Sundays after Trinity. They were written in Bach's second year as Thomas cantor in 1724. And they excellently demonstrate Bach's desire to make use of the post-Reformation hymnbook in his liturgical works. Whereas the earlier cantatas had been based on the gospel of the day on which they were to be sung, Bach now began to concentrate on illuminating various familiar hymns - possibly in an attempt to involve the congregation more closely in the service. This is the 24th volume of our cycle of Bach cantatas. It seems almost as though the recordings have an addictive quality for demand continues to increase! The present volume is in the best traditions of the series, featuring Cantata veterans Yukari Nonoshita, Robin Blaze, Gerd Türk, Peter Kooij and a wealth of striking music. Another must from the Bach Collegium Japan and BIS..\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"BIS","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46019961258218,"sku":"7318590013519","price":21.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/2263429.jpg?v=1786721564"},{"product_id":"bach-cantatas-vol-22-suzuki-bach-collegium-206035","title":"Bach: Cantatas Vol 22 \/ Suzuki, Bach Collegium Japan","description":"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. \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e 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.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e 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.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e 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.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e 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.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e Jonathan Freeman-Attwood, Gramophone [5\/2004]\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"BIS","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46019971907818,"sku":"7318590013212","price":21.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/2263408.jpg?v=1786749380"},{"product_id":"bach-cantatas-vol-23-suzuki-bach-collegium-83582","title":"Bach: Cantatas Vol 23 \/ Suzuki, Bach Collegium Japan","description":"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.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e 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.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e -- George Chien, FANFARE\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"BIS","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46020400808170,"sku":"7318590013311","price":21.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/2263416.jpg?v=1786746893"},{"product_id":"bach-j-s-cantatas-vol-17-bwv-73-144-153-154-181-7318590012215","title":"Bach, J.S.: Cantatas, Vol. 17  - Bwv 73, 144, 153, 154, 181","description":"Classical Music","brand":"BIS","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46020401266922,"sku":"7318590012215","price":21.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/2263322.jpg?v=1786721174"}],"url":"https:\/\/arkivmusic.com\/collections\/masaaki-suzuki.oembed?page=3","provider":"ArkivMusic","version":"1.0","type":"link"}