J.S. BACH

Cantatas Vol. 34

 

Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern, BWV1

Erhalt uns, Herr, bei deinem Wort, BWV126

Herr Jesu Christ, wahr’ Mensch und Gott, BWV127

 

Carolyn Sampson (soprano), Robin Blaze (counter-tenor), Gerd Türk (tenor), Peter Kooij (bass)

Bach Collegium Japan /  Masaaki Suzuki

 

In 33 previous volumes comprising 114 cantatas, Masaaki Suzuki and his Bach Collegium Japan have been guiding us through the universe of Bach’s church cantatas, to the acclaim of both collectors and reviewers. In Classic FM magazine, the reviewer wrote of Volume 29: “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. Suzuki’s ongoing cantata cycle gets better with each release.” Volume 31 was greeted in a similarly rapturous manner by MusicWeb, which concluded: “This disc is a perfect introduction to this wonderfully rich repertoire, truly music’s greatest treasure trove.”

 

The three cantatas on Volume 34, the present disc, were first performed in 1725 in the Thomaskirche in Leipzig, where Bach was employed. The first one, Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern, celebrates the Annunciation in suitably jubilant manner. A particular feature is the unusual scoring – as well as string orchestra there are two horns, two oboi da caccia (alto oboes) and two solo violins.

 

BWV126 (Erhalt uns, Herr, bei deinem Wort) is in a rather more dramatic vein, with its exhortation to God. The recitative ‘Der Menschen Gunst und Macht’ for alto and tenor is particularly noteworthy: Bach has cast the entire movement in the form of a dialogue, creating a fusion of recitative, arioso and chorale that is without equal in its era. The disc ends on a more resigned note with BWV127, based on a hymn which is in fact a song of death, ending with a plea for the forgiveness of sins. The soprano aria ‘The soul will rest in Jesus’ hands’ combines a certainty of belief and a longing for death combined in one of Bach’s most beautiful and individual cantata movements, and the simple four-part final chorale concludes with an exquisite sequence of harmonies that lends a dreamlike quality to the words ‘until we slumber blessedly’.

 

BIS SACD BISSACD1551