Selection of the best secular cantatas by Johann Sebastian Bach.01. Find the top 100 most popular items in Amazon Music Best Sellers. J.S. For the first time on one label the complete live recordings from the Bach Cantata Pilgrimage, in an elegant box reflecting the quality of the original series packaging. The only point of this exercise is to record my opinion of which cantatas to approach first. The cantatas composed by Johann Sebastian Bach, known as Bach cantatas (German: Bachkantaten), are a body of work consisting of over 200 surviving independent works, and at least several dozen that are considered lost.As far as known, Bach's earliest cantatas date from 1707, the year he moved to Mühlhausen, although he may have begun composing them at his previous post in Arnstadt. A plus means that one movement (or occasionally two movements) is especially outstanding and had the rest of the cantata been at that level, it would have gained a higher overall rating. ... and despite strong competition this performance clearly ranks among the best. For some recordings I rather prefer Gardiner over Koopman and Suzuki while for others is not my reference. This is a sortable list of the Bach cantatas, the cantatas of Johann Sebastian Bach. Despite the depressing title, the piece has an upbeat message that's fitting for Jubilate Sunday, the third Sunday after Easter. Just after Bach, then a court organist in Weimar, was named concertmaster in 1714, he wrote this cantata about Christ's farewell to his disciples and about the joy of one day meeting again. Back to the Listener's Guide Introduction, © 1995-2020 Classical NetUse of text, images, or any other copyrightable material contained in these pages, without the written permission of the copyright holder,except as specified in the Copyright Notice, is strictly prohibited. Bach never wrote an opera, but his sacred cantatas are pure music drama that give a fascinating insight into what moved the masses in his day. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy | (ii) A "3+" rating means that there is a single interesting movement in an otherwise undistinguished cantata. He starts out by developing the musical motif in the style of a French overture — very modern music in those days — which heightens the work's sense of dignity. For instance his top 10. I have both sets and like each of them for their complementary attributes. His translations are very competent, using straightforward language and largely sticking to the original German word-order, without attempting to be metrically-equivalent. The Mass in B minor, the St. Matthew and St. John Passions, the Christmas Oratorio, and the Magnificat are included, as well as 35 cantatas. The moods range from a motif suggesting a gentle sigh to a flood of triumphant joy. This is just a very cursory overview of Bach's cantatas based on the ones with the most elaborate opening chorus, there are many cantatas for solo singers, or when a specific aria steals the show. Having very favorably reviewed several earlier installments of the Bach Collegium Japan’s now near-complete cycle of Bach cantatas, listening to this 52nd volume is a delight. Bach's almost 200 extant cantatas are among his important vocal compositions.. Music Bach's greatest cantata hits Bach never wrote an opera, but his sacred cantatas are pure music drama that give a fascinating insight into what moved the masses in his day. However, if you feel strongly that I have misjudged a work, please do get in touch (sec@hplb.hpl.hp.com) Koopman has started a complete cycle (on Erato) which I will collect in due course and use at some stage in the r… or the Cantata Index, "One of the most extraordinary and inspired of Bach's works," in the assessment of the conductor Sir John Eliot Gardiner. Bach's sacred choral works isn't a complete traversal of the composer's choral music, but the major and best-known works are all here, plus a number of more obscure ones. Weary of life, the person of faith longs for death and for life in the hereafter. Weichet nur, betrübte Schatten, BWV 202 (Wedding cantata) 00:00 Aria (soprano): Weichet nur, betrubte Schatten Recitative (soprano): Die Welt wird wieder neu Aria (soprano): Phoebus eilt mit schnellen Pferden Recitative (soprano): Drum sucht auch Amor sein Vergnugen The work dates from 1727, was written in Leipzig, and the text probably came from the pen of a 24-year-old student of theology by the name of Christoph Birkmann. Director Michael Maul is thinking ahead with plans to showcase dozens of choirs from around the world. Based on one of the best-known hymns by Martin Luther, it is pure splendor, ranging from gentle violin sounds to a swinging, dancing mood of jubilation. The first is like a lullaby, a meditation on death and resurrection. Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) left us a wide collection of cantatas, written for celebratory days of the liturgical calendar or other special celebrations. However, The English Baroque Soloists performance is no less than excellent, along with one of the very best choirs ever performing Bach cantatas, The Monteverdi Choir. One by Harnoncourt and Leonhardt on Teldec (now available at budget price on 60 CDs) and another by Rilling on Hänssler (at super bargain price). The visual wizards at Fly On The Wall have been capturing outstanding musical performances, and this one is no exception. Richter’s Bach, with all the flawed style it’s performed, is closest to the spirit of the music, which is the most important aspect to evaluate the quality of a conductor. One of Bach's solo cantatas, this for alto. Martin Luther wrote the corresponding hymn in 1524. I wonder whether someone could give me his personal choice of Bach's cantatas. Bach - 6 Favourite Cantatas (CD-1) - J. Rifkin - YouTube Nothing unusual about that: Bach frequently set texts by little-known poets to music. 1. Another work by the young Bach in Weimar. The best-known examples of using secular arias and choruses with new sacred texts are found in the Christmas Oratorio, for which Bach drew extensively on three festive cantatas written for the Prince-Elector of Saxony and his family. Bach is a booming business, as the Bachfest Leipzig has discovered, with more events seeing higher ticket sales. Here's our list of Essential Bach Recordings. "The raging serpent, the hellish dragon / storms against heaven with furious vengeance," goes the text, which continues: "But Michael conquers / and the host that surrounds him / overthrows Satan's cruelty." You can find more information in our data protection declaration. Consisting of two parts, the cantata with 11 movements is comparatively long. 70 cds might seem too much, but cd after cd offers multiple surprises of joy and awe. The best-known is the solo cantata Ich habe genug, BWV 82, a serene meditation on the ending of life, surrendering oneself into God's hands. J.S. The Cantatas have been separated into Sacred and Secular groups. Bach composed it for the feast of the Annunciation. Perhaps the best-known and best-loved of Bach's cantatas are Wachet auf and Herz und Mund und Tat und Leben (the latter containing the time-honoured chorale often performed in English as 'Jesu, joy of man's desiring'). The former employs "original" performance practice, the latter a "modern" practice. I've heard some (about 20) of Bach's Cantatas and I loved them a lot. A star is reserved for those cantatas that I have found especially attractive. (I still like Gardiner’s series a lot, though it will not be complete.) The best-known examples of using secular arias and choruses with new sacred texts are found in the Christmas Oratorio, for which Bach drew extensively on three festive cantatas written for the Prince-Elector of Saxony and his family. "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring" from Cantata BWV 147, Herz und Mund und Tat und Leben. At the end, there's a ray of hope, with a plea of deliverance from life's suffering and temptations. This website follows that calendar, based on the liturgical rhythm and the dates of those celebrations, presenting the cantata(s) for the day and playlists with those cantatas on the three major audio streaming services. 82, “Ich habe genug,” is perhaps his most well-known for solo voice. Bach: Cantatas Bach Collegium Japan / Masaaki Suzuki Begun in 1995, this series was initially greeted with incredulity – a complete cantata cycle recorded with Japanese performers in Japan? To illustrate, Bach finds the appropriately dramatic sounds. Their enduring popularity reveals a universal message that still rings true. Wolfgang Rübsam Revisits Bach’s French Suites. Rather than hope or consolation, the subject is fear of the fires of hell. Dramatic, with a great, stormy instrumental Sinfonia first movement. Bach excels. It has two major arias. Although there are no accounts of the reception given to Bach's chorale cantatas by the Leipzig congregration, it is known that some of these cantatas were the only works that the city was interested in keeping alive after Bach's death. Cantata 11 - Lobet Gott in seinen Reichen (Praise God in His Kingdom) Cantata 21 - Ich hatte viel Bekümmernis (I had much Sorrow) Cantata 23 - Du wahrer Gott und Davids Sohn (Thou very God and David's Son) Cantata 34 - O ewiges Feuer, o Ursprung der Liebe (O eternal Fire, O source of Love) "Selection of the best secular cantatas by Johann Sebastian Bach. and I'll revisit the review, come revision time. Disclaimer: Ratings are meaningless. In his cantatas, there are all kinds of emotions expressed from grief to … 3. The probably most famous classical music composer has spurred numerous biographies and has many fans around the world. Most scholars rate this movement among Bach's best in the cantatas. The first booklet lists the track contents of all 55 CDs, and includes essays on this Suzuki project - an introduction by Masaaki Suzuki himself, followed by a 16 page essay on the cantatas of Bach, and finally includes a short description of the Bach Collegium Japan … Bach wrote at least three cantatas on the basis of this song, the earliest in 1714 in Weimar. Best Bach Works: 10 Essential Pieces By The Great Composer Explore the best Bach works featuring 10 masterpieces including the Brandenburg Concertos, St Matthew Passion, and The Well-Tempered Clavier. > I'm totally perplexed - I can't find the matching piece in the A-major mass - which movement do you mean? When Wolfgang Rübsam departed from his favored organ and harpsichord in the early 1990s to record Bach’s French Suites on the piano, the results were rather stiff and colorless. Countertenor Tim Mead takes centre stage in this glorious reading of the first movement of Bach's cantata 'Vergnügte Ruh, beliebte Seelenlust'. Thank you. Bach's last newly composed chorale cantata in his second year in Leipzig was Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern for the feast of the Annunciation on 25 March. You'll soon notice that I'm easily swayed by melody, by choral fugues or by a neat flute or oboe line. January 27, 2021 by Jed Distler. Here is an overview: "Bach's religious cantatas vary greatly in form and instrumentation. A great Bach's cantatas box set. We use cookies to improve our service for you. | Mobile version. First performed in 1727 in Leipzig for the Feast of the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary, or “Candlemas,” “Ich habe genug” is one of five cantatas Bach composed for what is today a relatively obscure feast day. The oboist is performing on YouTube in a new DW series, "House Concerts." There are to my knowledge two (more or less) complete cycles of the sacred cantatas. > Well, they probably work for the record company! < Cantata BWV 56 is not one of my favourites, but the boys who write things think it is a great Cantata. This album by German counter tenor Andreas Scholl includes two complete Bach cantatas and movements of several others. Three of Bach's best-loved cantatas are enlivened by Gardiner's insight and enthusiasm. The Bach Cantatas website also has translations supplied by one Francis Browne, about whom I have found no other details. Choosing the "best" of Johann Sebastian Bach's nearly 200 sacred cantatas is a daunting task, as each one seems perfect. "My quite terrified heart trembles / so that my tongue cleaves to the roof of my mouth," the choir sings. The premise of this well-known cantata: the connection between Jesus and the individual soul is depicted metaphorically as a wedding. Any rating of 1 or 2 is a positive rating, 3 being reserved for those cantatas which I have found uninteresting. Nota bene (i) There may be a quite outstanding single movement in a "2+" cantata. Discover the best Cantatas in Best Sellers. Bachfest, Bayreuth Festival, Salzburg Festival: Organizers are hopeful even as the coronavirus forces them to modify their plans for spring and summer concerts. The finest solo cantatas (performed by one singer bar the closing chorale) are the soprano cantatas 51, alto cantatas 54, 169 and 170, and bass cantatas 56 and 82. Yet little is known about Johann Sebastian Bach as a person. Re: Bach's Cantatas: your favourite top 10: Listened to as a whole, as one organic composition, is to be in touch with western classical music at its most sublime and inventive. This is the way cantatas should be performed: the very best singers performing with absolute conviction and understanding of the score. I realized that many of the Bach pieces I recorded were among the best examples of contrapuntal composition and that counterpoint was the perfect brain exercise. 01. Of the over 1,120 entries in the Bach Works Catalogue (BWV), this cantata is No. But three leading Bach experts took up the challenge. Bach obviously poured the best of his creative spirit and energies into the cantatas. With thousands of Bach music performances committed to recordings, it's hard to know where to begin. One of Bach's greatest qualities was to take theology and make it human. Legal notice | On we go to the 43rd release in this, probably the best series of Bach’s cantatas going, at least in Super Audio. The list includes both extant cantatas and, as far as known, lost cantatas. Carlos. The story of this apocalyptic meeting is depicted in music on St. Michael's Day that commemorates Michael the archangel. The entire set of Bach's cantatas is a revelation. If Cantata 140 is Bach’s most popular chorale cantata, Cantata No. Deutsche Grammophon/Archiv Productions' 22-disc set of J.S. My equivalent of a Penguin Guide Rosette, I guess. Best Bach Cantata set I have been an avid collector of Bach's Cantatas for many years. Somebody described these as "the largest body of great music which is largely undiscovered by most music listeners", and I would have to emphatically agree. Despite the cheerful subject of advent, the sound is somewhat dark. I've rated the cantatas on a scale of 1-3 and, in certain cases, qualified these ratings with either a star ("*") or a plus ("+"). So okay, here are a few of the best-known cantatas: BWV 4 Christ lag in Todes banden (Christ lay in death’s bonds) - an Easter cantata, probably written when Bach was 22. Reviews Dr Koopman's musical offering comes hard on the heels of that of John Eliot Gardiner, whose Bach Cantata Pilgrimage marked the Millennium with a complete set of the cantatas, now available on disc as a box-set. Contact Albrecht Mayer aims to offer comfort and joy with works by Johann Sebastian Bach, and he explains why he feels like Bach's twin.