J. S. BACH

 

The Sacred Masterworks

 

Mass, Passions, Oratorios

 

Mass in B minor, BWV232

Christmas Oratorio, BWV248

Easter Oratorio ‘Kommt, eilet und laufet’, BWV249

Ascension Oratorio ‘Lobet Gott in seinen Reichen’, BWV11

St John Passion (1749 version), BWV245

St Matthew Passion, BWV244

 

Bach Collegium Japan / Masaaki Suzuki

Rachel Nicholls - soprano

Carolyn Sampson - soprano

Monika Frimmer - soprano

Yukari Nonoshita - soprano

Yoshie Hida - soprano

Ingrid Schmithüsen - soprano

Nancy Argenta - soprano

Robin Blaze - counter-tenor

Yoshikazu Mera - counter-tenor

Patrick van Goethem - counter-tenor

Gerd Türk - tenor

Jan Kobow - tenor

Makoto Sakurada - tenor

Peter Kooij - bass

Chiyuki Urano - bass

 

This luxurious limited edition box provides a unique opportunity to acquire the best of Bach’s sacred works as a set. Besides the ten CDs, the set consists of three full-sized booklets (Mass, Passions, Oratorios) giving ample information about the works and the performers, as well as the full texts (in Latin/German as well as English) of all six works.

 

The ongoing Bach cantata cycle with Masaaki Suzuki and the Bach Collegium Japan was initiated in 1995. The series has now reached its 40th volume, receiving an astonishing number of distinctions from magazines and critics all over the world. But parallel to their cantata cycle, Suzuki and his Collegium have also recorded Bach’s larger-scaled choral works; recordings which have caught the imagination and attention of audiences and critics alike.

 

“Throughout this ongoing series I have come to consider the magnificent direction of Masaaki Suzuki to be one of the greatest recording achievements of my lifetime.” (MusicWeb International)

 

“Compelling performances – the sheer polish and technical accomplishment of the music-making immediately hold the ear, and are reinforced by subtle phrasing and a quality of listening among all concerned that allows Bach’s counterpoint to progress with lightness and jaw-dropping clarity.” (Classic FM Magazine).

 

BIS 10cds BISCD902022