Geistliche Kantaten

Hans-Joachim Rotzsch, Thomanerchor Leipzig, Gewandhausorchester Leipzig - Bach: Geistliche Kantaten (11CD) (2008)

Hans-Joachim Rotzsch, Thomanerchor Leipzig, Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, Neues Bachisches Collegium Musicum - Bach: Geistliche Kantaten (11CD) (2008)
EAC | FLAC | Image (Cue & Log) ~ 3,03 Gb | Total time: 10h 55min | Scans included
Classical | Label: Berlin Classics | # 0184212BC | Recorded: 1975-1984

These performances are not, to be sure, historically informed, nor are they fashionably chamber-like. The Thomanerchor is traditionally large (and all male), and it is accompanied in four of the 11 discs by the Gewandhaus Orchestra and in the remaining seven by the Neues Bachisches Collegium Musicum. The roster of the latter is not listed, but, like the Gewandhaus Orchestra, its players use modern instruments and are not adverse to vibrato. On the other hand, Rotzsch does avoid, for the most part, languid tempos and extravagant gestures. The young men of the Thomanerchor are well trained and attentive and make, collectively, a joyfully controlled noise. The orchestral players and instrumental soloists, too, are beyond reproach. Similarly, Rotzsch’s soloists are top-drawer. Among the latter, Arleen Augér, Otrun Wenkel, Peter Schreier, and Hermann Christian Polster make the most frequent appearances, but the others, including the likes of Regina Werner, Doris Soffel, Theo Adam, and Siegfried Lorenz, are splendid as well. Rotzsch, himself, sings on two of the discs (he is a tenor).
–George Chien
Leo van Doeselaar, Alex Potter & il Gardellino - Bach: Cantatas, BWV 35 & 169 (2023)

Leo van Doeselaar, Alex Potter & il Gardellino - Bach: Cantatas, BWV 35 & 169 (2023)
FLAC (tracks), Lossless / MP3 320 kbps | 67:12 | 154 / 306 Mb
Genre: Classical / Label: Passacaille

Alex Potter und Il Gardellino präsentieren zwei geistliche Kantaten von Bach aus dem Jahr 1726: Geist und Seele wird verwirret BWV 35 und Gott soll allein mein Herze haben BWV 169. In diesen beiden Werken werden die durchaus weltlichen Ursprünge der Gattung deutlich. Die ausdrucksstarken Rezitative und die virtuosen Arien zeugen eher vom Einfluss der italienischen Oper als von Bachs lutherischen Wurzeln. Darüber hinaus spielt die konzertante Instrumentalmusik in diesen Kantaten, denen eigenständige Einleitungssinfonien mit obligater Orgel vorangehen, eine prominente Rolle.