Suzuki’s Bach
Masaaki Suzuki is the Director of the Bach Collegium Japan. In Volume 52 of his massive cantatas project, Masaaki Suzuki includes one of J.S. Bach’s best-loved cantatas of all, “Wachet auf ruft uns die Stimme”, BWV 140.
“Der Herr ist mein getreuer Hirt” (‘the Lord is my faithful shepherd’) is the second selection. Psalm 23 provides the text for all five movements.
Finally, the cantata “Wir danken dir, Gott, wir danken dir” was composed for a church service celebrating the inauguration of a new city council in which Bach shows off his capabilities as a composer.
As such, here’s what we are able to listen to on this CD:
Bach – Cantatas Volume 52:
Bach, J S:
- Cantata BWV140 ‘Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme’
- Cantata BWV112 ‘Der Herr ist mein getreuer Hirt’
- Cantata BWV29 ‘Wir danken dir, Gott, wir danken dir’
Performed by Hana Blažíková (soprano), Robin Blaze (counter-tenor), Gerd Türk (tenor) & Peter Kooij (bass), with the Bach Collegium Japan, conducted by Masaaki Suzuki
I feel that one has to learn to appreciate the beauty of J. S. Bach’s Cantatas. This is particularly true if you only know his instrumental music. So I have assembled four cantatas from Masaaki Susuki’s vast cantata project on my playlist called “Hank’s Massaki Suzuki” on Spotify. Please click on this link to hear some samples. For you instrumentalists, the final selection on this playlist is not a cantata, but rather, it is Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 1, where we only hear the Harpsichord in this amazing Bach masterpiece.
Here is an excellent video with Masaaki Suzuki: Bach: Freue dich, erloste Schar, BWV 30, performed by The Bach Collegium Japan
http://youtu.be/BuNizXXY7t0
Finally, here is Bach’s Wir danken dir Gott, BWV 29 performed by The Bach Collegium Japan. (What amazing dedication to musical excellence)
http://youtu.be/guhzdU1wvuw
Tags: J. S. Bach, Cantatas, Msaaki Suzuki, volume 52