A tribute to Bach
Wildeguy | 03/01/2002
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I'm afraid I have limited technical knowledge of music, but I love Bach & his contatas and am writing this because there were no other reviews.
I recommend this recording highly. The period instrumentation is superb, and and seems to blend flawlessly with the solo and choral singing, which are themselves performed in a most affecting and sensitive way. One of the themes of these contatas is the acknowledgement of personal sin and the desire to surrender to Jesus.
The result is a recording of spiritual power and beauty. I think John Eliot Gardiner is vastly talented. I think he must have a very great appreciation and love for Bach, given this very sensitive, beautiful recording."
Excellent
Wildeguy | New York | 03/16/2004
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Magdalena Kozena has one of the most beautiful voices I have ever heard. Her feeling and sense of the music is powerful and very touching. She displays an incredible range and control. This is a breath taking performance of Bach! I also recommend her performance on French Arias. She just gets better and better."
Another good one
Teemacs | Switzerland | 03/04/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Most of the Archiv label cantata recordings by Gardiner released in connection with the cantata pilgrimage were not in fact made on the pilgrimage but up to 10 years earlier (e.g., the recording of The Big Two, BWV140 & 147). This is one of the exceptions. In fact, it has the odd distinction of having been recorded twice - this concert (in St. David's Cathedral, Dyfed, Wales) is also on a DVD. If you have a DVD player, this is the better bet, as it also has a fascinating documentary on the pilgrimage.
For those who like audio only, this is, again, a splendid issue, with one big name cantata (BWV199, the grim-sounding "Mein Herze schwimmt im Blut" (yes, it really did say that)), splendidly done by Magdalena Kozená, who I think may be the only big-name singer who performed on the pilgrimage. The other two cantatas also receive good performances.
JEG really has made his mark on the cantatas.
"