J.S. Bach - Cantatas, Vol.25 (BWV 78, 99, 114)

BBC Music Magazine: 5 stars.

The 25th volume of the ongoing Bach Cantata series undertaken by BIS and Bach Collegium Japan is a milestone in a great project. Looking back on the reviews of the previous installments is an uplifting experience: 'indispensable', 'eminent', ' top of the list' and 'remarkable' are only a few of the words used about the interpretations by Masaaki Suzuki and the Bach Collegium Japan. And when Jonathan Freeman-Attwood of Gramophone chose volume 23 as his record of the year, he wrote: 'Of all Bach enterprises in recent decades, there can be few as consistently fulfilling as Masaaki Suzuki's series of cantatas.'

The present disc will not disappoint anyone, because Masaaki Suzuki and the BCJ are back in their usual form. They are joined by three soloists familiar from many previous volumes as well as one new-comer, the Canadian counter-tenor Daniel Taylor, who has made a name for himself both on the stage (for instance at Glyndebourne) and in the concert hall, collaborating with, among others, Philippe Herreweghe and William Christie.

---

Some press voices:

"The crowning achievement here is 'Jesu, der du meine Seele', which is wonderfully sustained throughout. Profoundly satisfying. Bravo!" BBC Music Magazine November 2004

“A landmark recording results in another fine volume and augurs well … Suzuki projects the unity of each work with carefully sculpted opening choruses, well-leavened recitatives and urgent, radiant orchestral playing… a recording series, reaching near its mid-point, of outstanding consistency.” Gramophone December 2004

"Tout en volutes vocales d'une fluidité soyeuse, l'allègre cantate Jesu, der du meine Seele (BVW 78) s'envole en guirlandes de doubles-croches, en rondes de pur bonheur... Masaaki Suzuki concilie héritage baroque et rituel oriental, métamorphosant chaque aria en cérémonie calligraphiée et chorégraphique."Télérama 15/10 2004

"La splendeur instrumentale, la ductilité du choeur et l'équilibre du quatuor vocal inscrivent ce vingt-cinquième enregistrement dans la lignée des précédents, c'est-à-dire au sommet." Le Monde de la musique November 2004