Shinzo wo Sasageyo

Wagner at The Met is the first authorized release of Richard Wagner's operatic masterpieces, including the complete Ring Cycle, captured live in historic broadcasts from The Metropolitan Opera.

Written to exalt the glory of God and to facilitate Lutheran worship, Johann Sebastian Bach’s sacred cantatas stand among the highest achievements of Western musical art.

Muzio Clementi’s four surviving mature symphonies were never published in his lifetime and were rescued from neglect through painstaking reconstruction. His sophisticated use of counterpoint can be heard in his treatment of the tune God Save the King in the third symphony. Classical poise, drama and eloquence of expression in both works can be traced to the influence of Haydn and Mozart. Muzio Clementi’s four mature symphonies have rarely been recorded in comparison to his works for piano.

Shoko Nakagawa (中川 翔子, born May 5, 1985 in Tokyo) is a Japanese tarento (media personality), actress, voice actress, illustrator, and singer. Also known by her nickname Shokotan (しょこたん), she is best known as the presenter of Pokémon Sunday.

The second section of the cantata is a long vocal section opening with four soloists (soprano, alto, tenor and bass) singing together. Many recordings of this cantata use a choir for this section, but recent recordings have featured a one-voice-per-part strategy here, as does this one. The texture of this is excellent, although the balance between the voices wavers a bit. The tenor, bass and soprano each have ariosos within this section. Tenor Knut Schock enters a bit heavily, but his voice is quite appropriate for the melancholy tone of his section. Bass Bas Ramselarr has a slightly dark, yet clear voice. His section features a delightful accompaniment by the two recorders - in an interesting counterpoint with such a deep voice - and, again, the balance is slightly off, his voice sometimes drowning out the recorders just a bit…