recommended recordings

·     Chamber ·     Choral ·     Concerti ·     Solo Insrumental Bach Edition - Bach: Messe en si / Herreweghe, et al Composer: Johann Sebastian Bach Conductor: Philippe Herreweghe Performer: VŽronique Gens, Peter Kooy, et al. Ensemble: Collegium Vocale Harmonia Mundi (Fra) - #2951614 / October 12, 1999 Click here for more information This recording is, quite frankly, a marvel. In the opening bars of the Kyrie, where tradition dictates a powerful, agonized cry for mercy, Philippe Herreweghe offers a gentle, awestruck plea that took this listener's breath away. Extroverted movements like the Gloria, Et resurrexit, and Sanctus lack nothing in excitement; Qui tollis and Dona nobis pacem feel like fervent prayers. Herreweghe's luminous Collegium Vocale and skillful, sensitive instrumentalists make every gesture, large and small,...Read more Bach: St Matthew Passion / Klemperer, Pears, Ludwig, et al Composer: Johann Sebastian Bach Conductor: Otto Klemperer Performer: Walter Berry, Wilfred Brown, et al. Ensemble: Hampstead Parish Church Boys' Choir, Philharmonia Chorus, et al. Emd/Emi Classics - #63058 / March 8, 1989 Click here for more information With all the (deserving) attention paid these days to period instruments and performance practices, it remains for any period performance group to equal or surpass this magnificent production, recorded in 1961. With soloists of a caliber hard to match today, and one of the world's finest orchestras and choruses, this recording brings the deeply spiritual and dramatic aspects of the work together in a way that is nothing less than revelatory. The opening chorus alone is a marvel of conducting...Read more Bach, J. S.: Saint Matthew Passion / Herreweghe, Bostridge, Selig, Collegium Vocale (Plus CD-Rom) Composer: Johann Sebastian Bach Conductor: Philippe Herreweghe, Cantate Domino Chorus Performer: Ian Bostridge, Werner GŸra, et al. Ensemble: Cantate Domino Chorus, Ghent Collegium Vocale Orchestra, et al. Harmonia Mundi (Fra) - #951676 / November 16, 1999 Click here for more information The St. Matthew Passion, Bach's monumental retelling of the story of the Last Supper and the arrest and execution of Jesus, typically runs from two-and-a-half to three hours. Yet this performance makes the time... well, not exactly fly past (consider the subject matter), but it's not tedious for even a second. Much of the credit for this goes to the marvelous Evangelist, Ian Bostridge. He's an outstanding narrator: the clear tone and diction, skillful timing, and intense involvement with words...Read more Bach: Cantatas Vol 6 / Thomas, American Bach Soloists Composer: Johann Sebastian Bach Conductor: Jeffrey Thomas Performer: Catherine Bott, William Sharp, et al. Ensemble: American Bach Soloists Koch International Classics - #7234 / June 18, 1996 Click here for more information Here are three of Bach's most popular cantatas. No. 80, based on Luther's famous hymn ("A mighty fortress"), includes four different treatments of the chorale tune and a meltingly beautiful quartet for alto, tenor, violin, and oboe. No. 78 is best known for its zippy little soprano-alto duet; no. 140 ("Sleepers awake") features the original version (for tenor and strings) of Bach's famous organ chorale prelude with the same title, along with a splendid opening chorus and two...Read more Bach: Easter Oratorio, Magnificat / Koopman, Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra, et al Composer: Johann Sebastian Bach Conductor: Ton Koopman Performer: Elisabeth von Magnus, Klaus Mertens, et al. Ensemble: Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra, Amsterdam Baroque Choir Wea/Atlantic/Erato - #23416 / March 16, 1999 Click here for more information Bach's celebration of Easter is a mostly joyous one, opening with a three-movement sinfonia, richly orchestrated, and complete with trumpets and drums: the third movement includes the chorus inviting listeners to rejoice and hasten to the tomb of Jesus, "For our Savior has awakened." There follow recitatives and arias for Mary Magdalen, Mary, the mother of James, Peter, and John. Each character goes through grief to love and gratefulness, and Bach's endlessly inventive scoring, melodic lines,...Read more Bach: Christmas Oratorio / Gardiner, English Baroque Soloist Composer: Johann Sebastian Bach Conductor: John Eliot Gardiner Performer: Nancy Argenta, Hans-Peter Blochwitz, et al. Ensemble: English Baroque Soloists, Monteverdi Choir Uni/Archiv - #23232 / October 1, 1997 Click here for more information This isn't an oratorio in the Handelian sense, but a series of cantatas for various days from Christmas to Epiphany. Bach's music is loaded with treats: an echo aria for soprano and oboe; a "pastoral" sinfonia; bravura arias for tenor with flute and bass with trumpet; a giddy soprano-bass duet; a transporting lullaby for alto. Then there are the choruses, featuring the Monteverdi Choir at their best: exuberant full-orchestra choruses in parts one and three; a lilting triple-time chorus...Read more

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