Bach Collegium Japan/Masaaki Suzuki - Vol. 34
Suzuki's Bach series continues with these three beautiful cantatas.
Composer: Bach
Repertoire: Cantatas Nos 1, 126 & 127
Artists: Bach Collegium Japan/Masaaki Suzuki
Rating: 4/5
Genre: Vocal
Label: BIS SACD 1551
Suzuki’s series reaches No. 34 with three cantatas written for Leipzig in the spring of 1725. In Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern, Bach weaves an elaborate pattern round the opening chorale melody and Suzuki catches the air of pastoral grace to perfection. Equally delightful is the following aria in which Carolyn Sampson’s clear soprano is partnered by the throaty oboe da caccia (‘hunting oboe’) of Masamitsu San’nomiya. Peter Kooij is not weighty enough in the bass aria ‘Erhalt uns, Herr’, but Sampson excels again in ‘Herr Jesu Christ’, a dialogue with the oboe enhanced by the magical entry of pizzicato strings.
