The 36th volume in Masaaki Suzuki's survey of the complete extant cantatas of Bach shares all the virtues of the previous 35: insight into the works' spiritual underpinnings and top-notch musicality. The four vocal soloists sing with relaxed agility, and though some might find Yukari Nonoshita's soprano too white and Robin Blaze's counter-tenor too hooty, the effect is successful overall. As always, the Bach Collegium Japan plays with admirable clarity and lucidity, and the many instrumental soloists are excellent, from Dan ...
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The 36th volume in Masaaki Suzuki's survey of the complete extant cantatas of Bach shares all the virtues of the previous 35: insight into the works' spiritual underpinnings and top-notch musicality. The four vocal soloists sing with relaxed agility, and though some might find Yukari Nonoshita's soprano too white and Robin Blaze's counter-tenor too hooty, the effect is successful overall. As always, the Bach Collegium Japan plays with admirable clarity and lucidity, and the many instrumental soloists are excellent, from Dan Laurin's ethereal flauto piccolo to Masamitsu San'Nomiya's poignant oboe d'amore. Suzuki's conducting captures ideal tempos and clean textures. While some listeners may already have favorite recordings of some of these cantatas -- Karl Richter's large-scale reading of Bleib bei uns, denn es will Abend werden, BWV 6, with Peter Schreier and Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau has long been a preferred recording -- few period-instrument performances can match these for depth and detail. BIS'...
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