Editorial Reviews To be sure, these are exuberant, triumphant Pentecost cantatas that Gardiner's typically energetic style serves well; when called for, however, the conductor and musicians find a smoothness and even delicacy we rarely hear from Gardiner since his move into Romantic territory. A special commendation goes to contralto Bernarda Fink: granted, her voice sounds a bit better suited to operatic Handel than to pious Bach, but the gentle lilt and gracious eloquence she brings to "Wohl euch" in the cantata O ewiges Feuer make listening to that lengthy aria, for once, a mellow pleasure instead of a tedious chore. "Lob und Dank" ("praise and thanks," to quote several of Bach's cantatas) to all concerned for providing some marvelous performances--and for restoring this listener's faith in the potential of this series. --Matthew Westphal
Amazon.com
John Eliot Gardiner's "Bach Cantata Pilgrimage" series having had an inauspicious beginning with the fiasco of volume 1, it's a pleasure to report that this fifth volume is a delight. The chorus and orchestra are as precise and musical as ever. A bevy of soloists--ranging from the well known (Robin Blaze) to the not-yet known (Martina Jankova, Christoph Genz) to the fast rising (Magdalena Kozená)--do sterling work. There is fabulous solo playing from the unnamed principal oboist, violinist, and trumpeter. What's more, there's a feeling of real involvement--joy, even--that's not as common as it ought to be.
Bach - Cantatas BWV 34 · 59 · 74 · 172 ~ Whitsun / Jankova · Kozená · B. Fink · Blaze · S. Genz · Davislim · Hagen · Harvey · Foster · Gardiner, Music, Johann Sebastian Bach, John Eliot Gardiner, Magdalena Kozená, Bernarda Fink, The English Baroque Soloists, The Monteverdi Choir, Cantata, Choral, Classical, Classical Composers, Classical Music, Classical Vocals
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