Search - Bach, Tear, Shirley-Quirk :: Cantatas 82, 159 & ,170

Crucial cantatas.

quia-nihil-sum | Inverness,Scotland. | 01/02/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I have every reason in the world to be grateful for having encountered this wonderful CD over 10 years ago now,when I was taking my first tentative steps into the vast ocean of classical music.First of all,this terrific triumvirate of cantatas revealed to me just what a feast of musical riches are to be found in this copious corpus of Bach's output,and secondly,they led me on to the glorious "sacred summits" of the master's settings of the St.Matthew and St.John passions.For me at least,this is one of the granite cornerstones of my collection,and a fondly remembered musical milestone in my ongoing journey through the repertoire.The performances themselves date from the mid 1960's and positively revel in the lovely,well-balanced Decca sound of that period.Janet Baker excels herself in BWV 170,Vergnugte ruh,beliebte seelenlust ("Contented rest,beloved inner joy") and she makes a fantastic contribution to BWV 159,Sehet,wir gehn hinauf gen Jerusalem ("Behold,we go up to Jerusalem").But perhaps the most precious plum in this pudding from paradise is the stunning performance of BWV 82,Ich habe genug ("I have now enough").Based on the Song of Simeon by an anonymous poet,it is a fair contender for the title of Bach's loveliest Cantata of all.Certainly,all the evidence for the defence is superbly presented here,with a magical rendition of the opening aria by the baritone John Shirley-Quirk,with the oboist Roger Lord laying down a liquid line of pure instrumental gold at his feet.Then,when we come to the second aria,Schlummert ein,ihr matten augen ("Slumber now,ye eyes so weary") the prosecution is absolutely blown out of the water by what is one of the most gorgeous lullabies to have come from the pen of any composer.It is 11 minutes and 12 seconds of blissful beauty,and once you hear it for yourself,you will realise instantly why BWV 82 rates so highly in the affections of music lovers world-wide.That perfect partnership of John Shirley-Quirk and Roger Lord also help to make that superb aria,Es ist vollbracht ("It is accomplished") from BWV 159 just as unforgettable.I should also say that the closing chorale ("Jesu,deine passion") of this cantata,and indeed the final track of the disc,is a quite lovely thing despite it's relative brevity (1'54"),and the choir squeeze every last drop of emotion out of it.Precious few discs end in such a gorgeous valedictory fashion as this,and it puts the ultimate seal of distinction upon the whole proceedings. Of this excellent recording as a whole,I think from memory,the Penguin guide to Classical CD's recommended it as one of the few cantata recordings that belong in every personal collection.I couldn't agree more,given my own experience of it,and sincerely hope that this modest review of mine spreads it's fame a little further still,and that it will go on to enchant and beguile ears as lucky as mine were back in 1991 when I first inserted it into my CD player and pressed "play"."

Janet Baker brings a voluptuous sound to JS Bach canatas

quia-nihil-sum | 12/29/1998

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Listened to Baker conducted by Neville Marriner off and on for 10 days during WKCR's annual Bach festival, Dec. 21 -28. (KCR is Columbia U.'s college radio station.) She's as addictive as the music."

Finest CD in my collection.

quia-nihil-sum | 02/18/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This remains the most passionate recording I have. The slow arias in #82 and #156 by Shirley-Quirk are haunting. I never tire of this disc."