Bach: Cantatas Vol 44 / Suzuki, Bach Collegium Japan
BIS
SACD
$21.99Jul 01, 2009
JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH Rachel Nicholls, soprano; Robin Blaze, counter-tenor; Gerd Turk,tenor; Peter Kooij, bass; Bach Collegium Japan/Masaaki Suzuki. JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH - CANTATAS, VOLUME 44: Wir mussen durch viel Trubsal in das Reich Gottes eingehen, BWV 146; Siehe, ich willviel Rischer aussenden, BWV 88; Gott fahret auf mit Jauchzen, BWV 43.
Bach: Concertos Vol 1 / Suzuki, Terakado, Wakamatsu, Et Al
BIS
CD
$21.99Apr 01, 2000
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.
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.
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.
Listeners familiar with other recordings in Masaaki Suzuki's ongoing traversal of Bach's solo keyboard works may find his performances of the Partitas somewhat of an anomaly. For instance, the sharply delineated juxtapositions of tempos that made his Fantasias and Fugues program so thrilling (type Q3840 in Search Reviews) are nowhere to be heard here. The interpretive agenda this time is much subtler and decidedly more introverted. Not only does his choice of relatively moderate-to-slow tempos throughout (and his observance of all repeats) make this performance one of the longest ever--each CD of this two-disc set extends beyond 80 minutes--there also is a sense of deeply considered involvement with the way phrases are turned, details attended to, and passages executed. Like Bach, who esteemed these compositions highly, Suzuki's performances suggest admiration, even occasionally excessive adoration.
Listen for instance to the way Suzuki renders the opening Sinfonia of the second Partita, to the way in which each thematic idea, however brief, is underlined through his use of subtle dynamic shading and crisp counterpoint. Likewise in the Passepied of the fifth Partita Suzuki's emphasis on inner detail often makes him sound as if he's recapitulating the recapitulations (though without ever sacrificing the movement's already quirky momentum). In less capable hands this kind of overt attention to detail could sound affected or needlessly fussy. In Suzuki's very capable ones however, we hear an artist ceaselessly probing, relishing both the significance and joy of his task.
BIS's engineering is fine, though admittedly the harpsichord sounds less immediate than in Suzuki's previous offering mentioned above. There is no shortage of outstanding harpsichord performances of Bach's Partitas, and for listeners who may prefer a performance equally as personal though a bit more extroverted, the stylish angular rhythms that characterize Blandine Verlet's performance on Philips, the freewheeling elegant ornamentation of Igor Kipnis on Seraphim, or the fresh unfettered spirit that Christophe Rousset brings to his L' Oiseau Lyre cycle make them deservedly distinctive and worthwhile as well. --John Greene, ClassicsToday.com
Bach: Cantatas Vol 21 / Suzuki, Bach Collegium Japan
BIS
CD
$21.99Mar 01, 2003
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.
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.
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.
Bach: Cantatas, Vol. 54 - Nos. 14, 100, 197, 197a / Suzuki, Bach Collegium Japan
BIS
SACD
$21.99Sep 24, 2013
BACH Cantatas Nos. 1001; 142; No. 1973; No. 197a4 • Masaaki Suzuki, cond; Bach Collegium Japan; 1-3Hana Blažiková (sop); 1,3,4Damien Guillon (ct); 1,2Gerd Türk (ten); 1-4Peter Kooij (bs) • BIS 2021 (SACD: 75:40 Text and Translation)
As 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 The Art of Fugue, 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.
The 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.
Bach Secular Cantatas, Vol. 4: Academic Cantatas / Suzuki, Bach Collegium Japan
BIS
SACD
$21.99Jul 08, 2014
This is a hybrid Super Audio CD playable on both regular and Super Audio CD players.
The two works on this disc perfectly illustrate a particular type of secular cantata, the so-called ‘dramma per musica’. In such works the libretto is constructed dramatically, and the singers embody various roles, such as gods and other characters from antiquity, and allegorical figures. The parallel with opera is apparent, although the ‘drammi per musica’ do without any scenic element. Bach primarily used the form in works intended for princely tributes or academic festivities: educated audiences could be expected to recognize the characters and literary traditions involved. Both cantatas recorded here are ‘academic’ cantatas, composed in honour of eminent members of the faculty at the University of Leipzig. BWV 205 celebrates the name day of Dr August Friedrich Müller (3rd August 1725), and takes us to Aeolia, where Aeolus, the King of the Winds, holds the mighty autumn storms captive until it is time to let them loose on the world. To prevent any disruption of the celebrations for Dr Müller, the goddess Pallas, among others, entreats Aeolus to keep the storms in check for a while longer. Grudgingly he concedes to her wish, but only after singing an aria full of splendid bluster (Wie will ich lustig lachen…). One year later, Bach composed the cantata BWV 207 for the appointment of Dr Gottlieb Kortte as ‘professor extraordinarius’. The young jurist enjoyed particular popularity among the young academics, who probably were the commissioners of the cantata. In this work it is virtues such as Diligence and Honour which take musical shape, singing the praise of the eminent academic. The cantata closes with a chorus, Kortte lebe, Kortte blühe!, wishing the new professor a long and flourishing life – unfortunately to little avail, as Dr Kortte died only five years later, at the age of 33.
Bach: Cantatas Vol 50 / Suzuki, Bach Collegium Japan
BIS
SACD
$21.99Dec 01, 2011
Three cantatas from 1729 gathered on the 50th volume of Masaaki Suzuki's traversal of J.S. Bach's cantatas testifies to a huge loss to music - along with another six works, they are all that remain of what was probably an entire year's worth of cantatas, composed by Bach in collaboration with the Leipzig poet Picander (Christian Friedrich Henrici). Some fifty cantatas from this year are unaccounted for, but on the evidence of those that are still extant, it is still possible to see the outlines of the lost cantata year. Fairly concise, the cantatas generally make sparing use of the choir. Instead they centre on two arias, linked by one or two recitatives, and a final chorale. In addition, the surviving works contain several examples of parody - movements in which Bach combined Picander's words with an already existing composition - as well as the reuse of earlier instrumental movements as introductions. A striking example is the opening Sinfonia of BWV 174, where Bach used the first movement of his Third Brandenburg Concerto, adding new parts for three horns and for a tutti section consisting of two violins, viola and three oboes. Another highlight may also be the result of a borrowing - the soprano aria Gottes Engel... from BWV149 is a minuet, complete with the polonaise accents fashionable at the time, and could well have served a secular purpose at another occasion. It is here performed by Hana Blazíková, appearing on this disc alongside three other familiar soloists of the series: Robin Blaze (counter-tenor), Gerd Türk (tenor) and Peter Kooij (bass). With another five discs to go before completing their monumental task, Masaaki Suzuki and his Bach Collegium Japan are in no way flagging, as proven by this splendid instalment, and by recent releases which have received critical acclaim, for instance in International Record Review, where Volume 48 was described as demonstrating 'the ever-rising standard, by now quite stratospheric, of Suzuki and his choir and orchestra in this massive recording project.'
Bach: Cantatas Vol 24 / Suzuki, Bach Collegium Japan
BIS
CD
$21.99Mar 01, 2004
Each 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..
Monteverdi: Vespro Della Beata Vergine / Suzuki, Et Al
BIS
CD
$34.99Mar 01, 2001
‘Our main purpose for this recording,’ writes Masaaki Suzuki, ‘was to perform all the music contained in the collection that Monteverdi published in 1610.’ So he begins with the Missa In illo tempore, a superb example of old-style, elaborate polyphony; moves through the Vespers themselves, following the original order of the pieces and interpolating nothing; then, after the lavish Magnificat a 7, he ends with the more modest Magnificat a 6, which Monteverdi appended as an alternative.
This straightforward approach seems almost radical given the current glut of more fanciful versions, in which conductors reshuffle the Vespers, pepper them with antiphons and works by other composers and variously ‘adapt’ them to fit specific liturgical occasions. Such diverse interpretations make the choice of a benchmark recording highly subjective. Gardiner (dramatic, on Archiv) and Parrott (intimate and liturgically correct, on Virgin Veritas) offer fine, contrasting views, and several other versions (Christie, Garrido, Junghänel, Pickett) are well worth exploring.
This new set is consistently engaging. Unlike his rivals, Suzuki uses a high pitch of A=465Hz (common in Monteverdi’s Italy), but follows current thinking in transposing certain pieces down a fourth (the Missa, the Magnificats, ‘Lauda Jerusalem’). Performances throughout are expressive, sharply focused, intensely committed. Though he dispenses with liturgical trappings, Suzuki, aided by a spacious ‘churchy’ acoustic, certainly brings out the ritualistic and devotional character of the music, from the ornate orchestral splendour of the ‘Sonata sopra Sancta Maria’ to the tender vocal passions of ‘Pulchra es’ and ‘Duo Seraphim’. Excellent.
Bach: Cantatas Vol 29 / Suzuki, Mields, Türk, Et Al
BIS
SACD
$21.99Nov 01, 2005
This is a hybrid Super Audio CD playable on both regular and Super Audio CD players.
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.
Bach: Cantatas Vol 27 / Suzuki, Rydén, Bertin, Kooij, Türk
BIS
CD
$21.99Mar 01, 2005
There’s a bit of a problem with the inclusion of the lead item on this disc. BWV 80, Ein feste Burg ist under Gott, is the quintessential chorale cantata, but it wasn’t a part of the second Leipzig cycle (1724–25). The most conclusive evidence indicates that in its present form it was first performed later––perhaps as late as 1731––but that it was derived from a much earlier effort, BWV 80a, composed, perhaps, in 1715. What’s more, most current listeners got to know it in an even later version. Bach’s oldest son, Wilhelm Friedemann, added high trumpet and timpani parts when he used the cantata in Halle, where he served from 1746 to 1764. His additions were so skillfully integrated that they were considered authentic and printed in the first Bach edition. Only recently has Bach’s original version come into fashion. Meanwhile, what took Bach so long to settle on his own version of the score? Consider that he was the most Lutheran of all composers, while Ein feste Burg was Martin Luther’s most characteristic hymn. Perhaps, Bach simply felt obliged to get it right, no matter when. The present release confirms that the elder Bach’s solution, without drums and trumpets, is more than adequately stirring––but one secretly hopes that the weight of scholarship will not cause the younger Bach’s version to disappear completely.
Cantatas 5 and 115 are correctly placed in historical context, having been composed for October and November 1724, respectively. Both exemplify Bach’s chorale cantata concept and demonstrate his endless ingenuity. Cantata 5, retelling the story of Jesus healing a crippled man, traces the path from supplication in the tenor aria (with water from the divine spring bubbling in the background) to triumph in the aria for bass with obbligato slide trumpet (tromba da tiarsi). BWV 115, based on the parable of the unforgiving servant, has a pair of remarkable arias, too––one, for alto, depicting sleep; the other, for soprano, representing prayer.
Maestro Suzuki has added two fine new soloists to his roster, the Swedish soprano, Susanne Rydén and the French countertenor Pascal Bertin. The lower parts are handled by series veterans Gerd Türk and Peter Kooij. As always, the performances, the recording, and the presentation are splendid.
Bach: Cantatas Vol 23 / Suzuki, Bach Collegium Japan
BIS
CD
$21.99Dec 01, 2003
BWV 10, composed for the feast of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, is a setting of the German translation of the Magnificat. The cantata is more compact than Bach’s Latin Magnificat––seven numbers (instead of 12) and about two thirds as long––and not as grand (one trumpet, for example, instead of three). The choir, as in most cantatas of the period, appears only in the opening chorus and the final chorale. In a duet for alto and tenor, the chorale melody is not sung, but intoned by the solo trumpet. Cantatas 93, 107, and 178 were composed for the fifth, seventh, and eighth Sundays after Trinity respectively. No. 93 is a prime example of the chorale cantata; all of its seven movements quote the chorale melody wholly or partially. Cantatas 107 and 178 show how flexible Bach was in applying the principle. BWV 107’s chorale tune appears in the opening choral fantasia and again in the expanded chorale finale, but not in the intervening movements, a recitative, and four consecutive arias. However, Bach uncharacteristically uses the unedited text of the chorale in all movements. In BWV 178, the chorale tune appears in four of the seven movements, but the text is paraphrased in the middle five. When listening to Bach’s cantatas one must always expect to be surprised.
Some general notes: after Maestro Suzuki himself, the closest thing to a constant in the series remains Peter Kooij’s steady bass. The leading soprano is now Yukari Nonoshita, whose clear, near white tone is entirely appropriate for Bach’s music. Tenors come and go; note that four different tenors, all satisfactory, appear on these four discs. Suzuki continues to alternate between male or female altos depending on the specific task at hand. The soloists participate in the chorus but do not sing alone. Western names have become quite rare in the list of performers, with Japanese musicians handling most parts, vocal and instrumental, with their by-now-accustomed excellence. The notes remain exemplary, but Klaus Hofmann now shares that task with Suzuki, whose function is generally to explain his decisions regarding problems with the performing editions. As always, BIS’s recordings are first-rate... Of course, I’m going to urge interested listeners to acquire [this disc]. Bach and Suzuki are still one of the best tandems going.
Bach: Secular Cantatas Vol 1 / Suzuki, Sampson, Et Al
BIS
CD
$21.99Oct 01, 2004
"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."
Bach: Cantatas Vol 22 / Suzuki, Bach Collegium Japan
BIS
CD
$21.99Aug 01, 2003
This volume heralds the beginning of the most substantial and ambitious compositional exercise in Bach’s career: an annual series of cantatas in which the composer planned that every Sunday in the church calendar would be identified, textually and musically, by the appropriate chorale for the season. Bach’s second annual cycle – or Jahrgang 2 – was never completed but it contains around 40 chorale cantatas in which, most notably, the first stanza of the chorale is presented variously as an intricate fantasia on the chosen hymn, proclaimed with stirring fervour, usually by the sopranos. While Bach sought new compositional challenges here, he also knew that his boys at St Thomas’s would cope better with familiar chorale-based material than the highly complex choruses which characterise the earlier cycle.
Suzuki’s approach to these cantatas is not strictly chronological as has often been the case. He starts with the first piece in the cycle, the splendid O Ewigkeit, du Donnerwort (No 20), which Bach performed on the first Sunday of Trinity (June 11, 1724) but jumps a week by missing out No 2 (with its strikingly austere stilo antico opening movement) and goes for No 7, and then chooses No 94 from a few weeks later. None of this has much bearing on the performances except that this formula seems to juxtapose deftly the wide range of forms used by Bach. The extended and graphic description of Christ’s baptism in Christ unser Herr zum Jordan kam (No 7), articulated by two concertante violin parts, is contrasted with the dazzling French overture of No 20. If the playing in the former is somewhat prosaic, Suzuki gives the majestic opening movement of O Ewigkeit such apt propulsion in the bass line that one only intermittently yearns for the more secularised elegance of Herreweghe.
It seems curious that two performances of No 20, released so closely, should employ the same tenor and bass soloists in Jan Kobow and Peter Kooy. Suzuki’s approach with both singers is rather more rhetorical than Herreweghe, who tends to irradiate the music for its own sake, enhanced by the cultivated strings of Collegium Vocale. Both have something interesting to say but Suzuki connects language and music with greater depth of sentiment.
As exemplary a work is Was frag ich nach der Welt (No 94), a substantial cantata whose librettist clearly worked in close collaboration with Bach, ensuring that each stanza of the chorale could be presented with disarming invention. The work is as eager to provide telling dramatic imagery as it is to ruminate on the transience of life and Mammon’s vanity. Bach makes instant demands on his virtuoso flute player who, judging by the number of obbligato parts from this period, was no slouch. It is a marvellous, fresh and abiding testament to Bach’s increasing obsession with unified and economical means. Suzuki realises its quizzical turns and relishes the enriching set-pieces.
Pieter Jan Leusink and Ton Koopman’s readings are full of character and ruddy energy (in the case of Koopman and the Amsterdammers, particularly distinguished instrumental performances) but neither can boast Robin Blaze’s commentary on our deluded world, Betorte Welt. All told, another success chalked up for this continually impressive Bach series.
Bach: Secular Cantatas, Vol. 6 - Trauerode / Suzuki, Bach Collegium Japan
BIS
SACD
$21.99Apr 08, 2016
Bach’s secular cantatas, in contrast to his sacred works, were not always intended to be performed for a specific church service. They were frequently commissioned for weddings, funerals, or other occasions. This new release is the sixth volume of Bach’s secular cantatas, and includes Trauerode alongside others. This album is performed by the Bach Collegium Japan.
Mozart: Great Mass in C Minor & Exsultate jubilate / Suzuki, Bach Collegium Japan
BIS
SACD
$21.99Dec 09, 2016
Following on the 2015 release of Mozart’s Requiem, Masaaki Suzuki and his Bach Collegium Japan has gone on to record the composers Mass in C minor, K427 – the ‘Great Mass’. As the nickname indicates it is a work of unusual proportions for a mass of the Classical period – or would have been so, had Mozart completed it. It is not known for what occasion Mozart intended the work, but a letter to his father Leopold dated 4 January 1783 indicate that he may have committed himself to writing it in connection with his marriage to Constanze and a planned visit to Salzburg. A performance of parts of the Mass did take place in Salzburg in October 1783, with Constanze performing the prominent soprano part. Two years later Mozart reused the music from the Kyrie and Gloria sections in the sacred cantata Davidde penitente, K?469, but the Mass itself was left incomplete. The present performance includes the sections completed by Mozart himself, as well as those sections for which extensive sketches by Mozart provided a basis for completion (by Franz Beyer in 1989). Three of Suzuki’s soloists also took part in the recording of the Requiem, while the Dutch mezzo-soprano Olivia Vermeulen makes her first appearance on BIS, shining in the aria Laudamus te. The disc closes with the celebrated cantata Exsultate, jubilate in which the soprano Carolyn Sampson glitters in the virtuosic solo part. As an appendix to the programme she and the Bach Collegium Japan orchestra also repeats the initial aria, in a less well-known later version with a slightly different text and with flutes replacing the oboes of the original.
Of all the current doyens of modern Bach performance, Masaaki Suzuki knows no limits to his explorations. This is a dazzling recital (from a musician better known as a director-harpsichordist) discerningly assembled and held aloft by three great pillars: the ubiquitous Toccata and Fugue in D minor, BWV565; the Pièce d’orgue, BWV572, with Bach whisking the French 17th century from under its own nose; and, to conclude, the great Prelude and Fugue in E minor, BWV548 (the Wedge). If one’s reflexive default at the prospect of an organ recording – even an exquisitely curated Bach one – is one of dispassionate or nonchalant resistance, this recording is as likely to turn ears as any made.
– Gramophone
One of the most versatile of all Bachians, Masaaki Suzuki still manages to spring a surprise with this outstanding recital. From its woody chuff to bright rasp, the instrument is superbly captured here and Suzuki uses it with flair and imagination. Both this performance of Von Himmel Hoch and that of the pungent Pastorale breathe with the best seasonal spirit.
Verbum caro factum est: A Christmas Greeting / Suzuki, Bach Collegium Japan
BIS
SACD
$21.99Nov 02, 2018
Bach 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.
REVIEWS:
The performances are typically classy, and punctuated by a selection of Daquin’s ‘Noels’ for solo organ, played with peppery registrations by Suzuki.
– BBC Music Magazine
The performances themselves are superb, as one would expect from this outstanding chorus. Masato Suzuki dazzles us with his virtuosity...
A 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.
