Bach Complete Max 84% OFF Cantatas Vol. 11 K · Baroque Orchestra Amsterdam

Bach Complete Cantatas Vol. 11 / Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra · K

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

These nine cantatas--performed here as part of Ton Koopman's complete series for Erato--were written in 1724-25, during Bach's second year in Leipzig, for specific feast days of the Church calendar. All are constructed on the same plan: an opening contrapuntal chorus supported by full orchestra; recitatives and often florid arias, many partnered by solo wind and string instruments; and a simple closing chorale. The texts, by unknown authors, are literary dross, which Bach miraculously turned into musical gold. However, even Bach, under constant pressure of time and work, could not always write music of unvaryingly high quality, and these cantatas seem to grow in substance, cohesion, depth, and expressiveness.

The first three (CD 1) are somewhat elusive and unsettled--dark, fearful, and death-oriented--but they always end in a serene, resigned chorale. The mood changes on CD 2 in a cantata for the New Year, which is serene, full of thanks, hope, and prayers, and opens and closes with brilliant trumpets and drums. The next, for the Feast of St. John the Baptist, extols the mystery of baptism; it is followed by a hymn of praise, gratitude, and love. From here on, the music bears the stamp of Bach at his greatest and most glorious. Of the last three cantatas, one is in Bach's special key of B minor. All offer warm reassurances of God's grace and mercy and overflow with wonderful instrumental solos, grand orchestral writing, complex dramatic choruses, and meltingly beautiful arias. The singing and playing are exemplary: pure in sound, transparent in texture, and deeply expressive, with moderate, expansive, yet flowing tempos. --Edith Eisler

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