Bach: Cantatas, Vol 5 (BWV 18, 152, 155, 161, 143) /Bach Collegium Japan · Suzuki [Import]

Again, from Montana I am writing to you to extoll the virtures of this excellent CD. The counter-tenor, Yoshikazu Mera, is one of the artists on this CD adding his incredible, almost surreal, voice to this fascinating collegium. When I am in need of a spiritual soul boost I put on a CD like this one with the voice of Mera. I recommend the CDs "Romance" and "Nightingale" as being two of the truly most exceptional classical CDs I have ever heard. The famous Bach cantatas have never sounded as good as they do on this CD.

The focus in my Bach cantatas' listening is on early recordings (before - 1985), so this fine CD found its way to my collection later than it should. I have a soft spot for the cantatas from Bach's Weimar period (-1714) included in this compilation and I was curious to hear these recordings made by Bach Collegium Japan (conductor Masaaki Suzuki) in 1997.

The performances are well-played and have integrity. I can recommend them to everyone who rate quality ensemble singing higher than individual achievements of the soloists.

The voices except for the bass, Peter Kooy, are of modest or small size. The singers' pronunciation is good but they deviate from the mainstream German tradition of poignant reciting and highlighting text nuances - cf. the recitatives sung by Fischer-Dieskau's here Bach: Cantatas, Vol. 5: Sonntage Nach Trinitatis II [Box Set]or other German and Austrian recordings from 1950-1970s Bach Made in Germany 1: Sacred Cantatas, Johann Sebastian Bach : Cantatas ; Gottes Zeit ist die allerbeste Zeit, BWV 106 / Jesu, der du meine Seele, BWV 78 (1954), Bach: Cantatas BWV 80, 140, 147; Jesu, meine Freude. One has an impression that a group of Italian singers (but mostly with Japanese names) trained on Schütz and other Pre-Bach composers somehow landed at the Weimar court in 1714 and perform early Bach cantatas in a cantilena style.

The voices of the woman choir sound clear and almost boyish which may be partly due to the recording conditions and short resonance in the lower range. The beautiful dialogue of the choir and soli in track 3 - `Litanei' from BWV 18 - shows the merits of such an approach in the best possible way.

The choral cantatas BWV 18 and BWV 143 get the most successful performances: they display glorious choral singing and playing of the tutti in the opening sinfonias. The Dialogue bass-soprano cantata BWV 152 gets a good but not especially exciting reading. The central movement of BWV 155 is an unusual, almost operatic-sounding alto - tenor duetto with an obbligato bassoon (track 13). The soloists, countertenor Mera and tenor Sakurada have delicate voices but carefully listen to each other and to the accompaniment. An important comparison is Helmut Rilling Cantatas 32 155 & 3 Volume 22 whose soloists sing faster and more vigorously. I am not sure that Suzuki's soloists could do it in the same tempo but anyway their version of this duetto is charming and is one of high points of the reviewed CD. The famous BWV 161 `Komm du süsse Todesstunde' features the same soloists, alto and tenor. Suzuki's reading lacks the intensity achieved once by Felix Prohaska (Vanguard Classics The Bach Guild OVC 2541)and Mera's fragile voice lacks the resources of Prohaska's soloist, contralto Hilde Rössl-Majdan, so conjuring of death in this version is more small-scale. Anyway, even is Mera's voice is weak, he is touching.

To sum up: very fine performances that reveal the beauty of Bach's music and have their own happy moments. The best tracks: track 3 - Litanei from BWV 18 and track 13 - the alto - tenor duetto from BWV 155.

Bach: Cantatas, Vol 5 (BWV 18, 152, 155, 161, 143) /Bach Collegium Japan * Suzuki is a recording under the direction of Masaaki Suzuki who leads the Bach Collegium Japan on this BIS Records AB from 1997. The liner-notes have been written by Tasashi Isoyama and the production notes by Masaaki Suzuki. One also gets short biographies of the performers, and the orchestra. Especially impressive is the performance of the bass, Peter Kooij. Highly recommended. 5/5.