This recording features all known sacred cantatas by Bach (about 200) in the best possible approximation to how they were performed in Bach's time: Baroque instruments, boy/men choirs, and almost all soprano solos are sung by boys, while alto solos are sometimes sung by boys, sometimes by countertenors.
The recordings were made over a number of years. The earlier ones feature mostly the Vienna Boy's Choir, while the later ones mostly are done by the Tölzer Knabenchor and the Knabenchor Hannover. A good number of soloists appear (too many to list here), and they are all at least very good, some are stunningly good! You have to hear the treble Peter Jelosits or the boy alto Panito Iconomou! Or Sebastian Hennig, or Helmut Wittek, and so many more... Listening to these CDs is untroubled enjoyment!
In my collection there are about 20 other recordings of Bach cantatas. Comparing them to the Harnoncourt/Leonhardt set, in only ONE case did another recording win: a tenor cantata sung by Peter Schreier. In ALL OTHER cases the recording reviewed here was superior!
I thought that it would be monotonous to listen to 200 Bach cantatas... Wrong! The genius of Bach, combined with this incredible performance, made me devour the 60 CDs at a stretch, over a full week, without loosing attention!
This is first-class music, by one of the best composers of all time, marvelously performed and perfectly recorded. Buy it. Don't wait as long as I did!
I would argue that no one can really claim to know Bach without knowing both his organ works and his cantatas. After all, this is the music that occupied him for most of his professional life. Most of these cantatas were written as part of his duties at Leipzig, and while in the hands of any lesser composer that might have meant uninspired music cranked out week by week out of necessity, Bach rarely, if ever, had an off day. Each cantata is a little world unto itself, a place you can retreat to for 20 minutes and either reflect on their spiritual message (which, be warned, is sometimes grim indeed), or just lose yourself in the beauty and grace of the melodic lines.
Harnoncourt and Leonhardt choose to keep these performances intimate; this is not the Bach of the concert hall; these are direct, personal expressions that work well in the private space of one's living room. Some of the playing sounds a bit shaky by today's standards--apparently some of the soloists were still discovering how to play period instruments that had not been heard in centuries--and the boy soloists seem to strain at their parts sometimes, especially in the earlier recordings, but that only adds to the charm: I much prefer the uncertain readings to letter-perfect performances offered by others. The performances actually draw the listener's attention away from the playing itself, forcing attention on the music and the text, which is entirely consistent with the nature of these pieces.
For those who don't want to spend the 500+ dollars all at once, Teldec also offers these in six-CD sets at a great budget price. They're worth every penny. My only disappointment is that the CD package doesn't include the scores, as the old Telefunken vinyl sets did. But that's perfectly understandable. This set reminds us why Harnoncourt and Leonhardt were once at the forefront of the period-instrument movement. Let's hope that Teldec keeps these recordings in print for a long, long time.
While Herreweghe's or Gardiner's new interpretations are CERTAINLY better in both orchestral and vocal support, they all are greatly in debt of Harnoncourt/Leonhard, for it's always simple to improve something ALREADY existing instead of breaking new grounds (as this stellar 1970's recording did). Not to be forgotten is the fact newer version bring a sence of lightness which pleases anyone's ears, but it's manytimes inappropriate for the content of the music.
