For those like myself
who have been collecting this series
since it began in 1995, this review
is preaching to the converted. For those
who haven’t sampled the glories as yet,
where have you been?
For those who have
been on the space shuttle or on an Antarctic
base for the last ten years, let me
give you some background to what might
seem an unlikely source of great Bach
performances.
Masaaki Suzuki and
Bach Collegium Japan are based in the
city of Kobe, and according to the booklet
notes aim to "introduce Japanese
audiences to period instrument performance
of great works of the baroque period".
The orchestra features only three first
violins, three second violins and two
violas with a five-piece continuo. The
choir has twelve members, three per
part, including the soloists.
If you have already
a considerable number of Bach cantatas
from the other performers who have assayed
this pinnacle of Baroque choral music,
the question would be: "Why start
buying a new series of recordings?"
The answer, for this reviewer, is "these
are the best available".
Somehow, Masaaki Suzuki
has found a way to produce a rich and
strong tone from the period instruments
and small group of performers that other
"authentic" performers have
not. My impression of Harnoncourt, Koopman
and others is often of a thin and aggressive
sound. I don’t hear that in these Japanese
performances. Listen to the introduction
to the bass aria in BWV135 (Tr. 5) as
an illustration.
The other hallmark
of many "authentic" performances
is overly fast tempos, which were a
reaction against the turgidity which
characterised Baroque music as it was
performed in the first half of the 20th
century. Suzuki doesn’t race through
the movements, but maintains a strong
sense of forward progression; nor does
he fall into the "four-square rhythm"
trap of some. All in all, there is a
delightful - can I say "heavenly"
? - sense of air around the music.
The four works on this
CD form part of the chorale cantata
cycle that Bach wrote in his second
year of service at Leipzig, dating from
1724 and 1725. This gave a common structure
to the cycle, whereby the first and
last strophes of the hymns were used
unchanged in the chorales that open
and close the works and the inner strophes
revised for the arias and recitatives.
These four are unusual in that they
call for augmentation of the orchestra
by cornett and/or trombone (a quartet
of trombones in BWV2 and BWV38). The
colours that these instruments add give
the four works an archaic feel and a
more sombre atmosphere than some of
the better-known cantatas such as BWV80
and BWV147.
Suzuki has employed
a range of soloists across his recordings,
and the soprano in this volume, Dorothee
Mields makes her debut in the series.
Her solo duties are limited to a duet
aria in BWV3, and a recitative and terzetto
aria in BWV38. Her clear and light voice
is well suited to this music. The counter-tenor,
Pascal Bertin, has appeared once before
in the series, and is a name to watch
out for. His voice is rich and sweet,
and has nothing of the "strangled"
tone that some counter tenors seem to
have. Gerd Türk (tenor) and Peter
Kooij (bass) are long-standing members
of the performing team and do their
usual sterling work.
BIS, whose ongoing
commitment to this series and other
Bach works from the same performers
is to be commended, has taken the decision
to release all future CDs as hybrid
SACDs, I can’t comment on the sound
quality from the SA version, but the
conventional stereo is the usual BIS
quality, though on occasions, there
is a little sibilance at the end of
phrases, which might suggest the soloists
have been too closely miked; a.minor
quibble.
One other comment is
on the case: the booklet slips under
clip-holders on the left and right of
the cover, rather than sliding under
ones top and bottom. I’m sure that all
reading this review will have cursed
numerous times when attempting to remove
or replace thick booklets (i.e. those
for choral works with the lyrics included)
from the conventional case, shredding
the pages in the process. This is a
far better system, but why did it take
someone so long to figure it out?
This release further
enhances the reputation of the series
as one of the glories of the CD era.
David J Barker
Visit the Bach
Collegium Japan webpage for reviews of other releases
in this series
Dorothee Mields (soprano), Pascal Bertin (counter-tenor),
Gerd Türk (tenor), Peter Kooij (bass), Bach
Collegium Japan/Masaaki Suzuki
BIS
BIS-SACD-1461 [71:39] 
