Bach, Handel: Solo Cantatas, etc. [Original recording remastered]

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
Dame Janet Baker's fans will need no prompting. Others won't, either, after sampling one of the great mezzos of our time in classic recordings of great music to which she brought a voice of individuality and beauty, as well as peerless interpretive gifts. These selections are made the more moving by the tear in Baker's voice, her richly personal timbre, and her absolute mastery of music and texts. Everything on these ample discs dates from the late 1960s to the mid-1970s, when Baker was at her peak. The Bach cantatas are led by Yehudi Menuhin; the mezzo version of "Ich hab genug" is brighter in tone than the more familiar one for bass-baritone, but Baker's dignified reading fully captures the spirit of the piece. In the arias, her partner is Neville Marriner, and Handel's dramatic Italian Cantatas are firmly supported by their arranger, Raymond Leppard. Listeners used to male altos or period instruments will find their preferences challenged by the sheer artistry on display here. --Dan Davis

Bach, Handel: Solo Cantatas, etc., Music, Martin Gatt, Kenneth Heath, Johann Sebastian Bach, George Frideric Handel, Neville Marriner, Raymond Leppard, Sir Yehudi Menuhin, John Gray, Edward Beckett, Peter Lloyd, Dame Janet Baker, Celia Nicklin, Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields, Bath Festival Orchestra, English Chamber Orchestra, Nicholas Kraemer, Jeanne Dolmetsch, Marguerite Dolmetsch, Cantata, Choral, Classical, Classical Composers, Classical Music, Magnificat, Oratorio, Orchestral & Symphonic, Passion, Solo Voice and Continuo, Vocal
Bach, Handel: Solo Cantatas, etc.
Average customer rating: 5 out of 5 stars
  • Profoundly moving. Unqualifiedly recommended.
 Bach, Handel: Solo Cantatas, etc.

Manufacturer: EMI Classics
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

All Works by J.S. BachAll Works by J.S. Bach | Bach, Johann Sebastian | ( B ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music
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CantatasCantatas | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music
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OratoriosOratorios | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music
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GeneralGeneral | Songs & Lieder | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music
Similar Items:
  1. The Very Best of Janet Baker

ASIN: B00005B5NN
Release Date: 2001-07-03

Tracks:

  1. Cant No.82 'Ich Habe Genug': Aria: Ich Habe Genug
  2. Cant No.82 'Ich Habe Genug': Recitative: Ich Habe Genug
  3. Cant No.82 'Ich Habe Genug': Aria: Schlummert Ein
  4. Cant No.82 'Ich Habe Genug': Recitative: Mein Gott! Wann Kommt Das Schone, Nun!
  5. Cant No.82 'Ich Habe Genug': Aria: Ich Freue Mich Auf Meinen Tod
  6. Cant No.169 'Gott Soll Alein Mein Herze Haben': Sinf - Bath Festival Orch/Yehudi Menuhin
  7. Cant No.169 'Gott Soll Alein Mein Herze Haben': Arioso: Gott Soll Allein Mein Herze Haben
  8. Cant No.169 'Gott Soll Alein Mein Herze Haben': Aria: Gott Soll Allein Mein Herze Haben
  9. Cant No.169 'Gott Soll Alein Mein Herze Haben': Recitative: Was Ist Die Liebe Gottes?
  10. Cant No.169 'Gott Soll Alein Mein Herze Haben': Aria: Stirb In Mir
  11. Cant No.169 'Gott Soll Alein Mein Herze Haben': Recitative: Doch Meint Es Auch Dabei
  12. Cant No.169 'Gott Soll Alein Mein Herze Haben': Chorale: Du Susse Liebe, Schenk' Uns Deine Gunst
  13. Christmas Oratorio: Bereite Dich, Zion
  14. Cant No.190; Lobe, Zion, Deinen Gott
  15. Cant No.129: Gelobet Sei Der Herr
  16. Cant No.34: Wohl Euch, Ihr Auserwahlten Seelen
  17. Magnificat in D: Et Exultavit
  18. Cant No.11: Ach, Bleibe Doch

Tracks:

  1. Bist Du Bei Mir
  2. St. John Passion: Es Ist Vollbracht
  3. Cant No.6: Hochgelobter Gottesohn
  4. Cant No.161: Komm, Du Susse Todesstunde
  5. Easter Orotorio: Saget, Saget Mir Geschwinde
  6. Italian Cant No.1 'Ah! Crudel Nel Pianto Mio': Sinf - ASMF/Neville Marriner
  7. Italian Cant No.1 'Ah! Crudel Nel Pianto Mio': Aria: Ah! Crudel Nel Pianto Mio
  8. Italian Cant No.1 'Ah! Crudel Nel Pianto Mio': Recitative: Non Sdegnerai D'amor
  9. Italian Cant No.1 'Ah! Crudel Nel Pianto Mio': Aria: Di Quel Bel Che Il Ciel Ti Diede
  10. Italian Cant No.1 'Ah! Crudel Nel Pianto Mio': Recitative: Balena Il Cielo
  11. Italian Cant No.1 'Ah! Crudel Nel Pianto Mio': Aria: Per Trofei Di Mia Costanza
  12. Cant No.13 'Armida Abbandonata': Recitative: Dietro L'orme Fugaci
  13. Cant No.13 'Armida Abbandonata': Aria: Ah! Crudel, E Pur Ten Vai
  14. Cant No.13 'Armida Abbandonata': Recitative: Per Te Mi Struggo, Infido
  15. Cant No.13 'Armida Abbandonata': Aria: Venti, Fermate
  16. Cant No.13 'Armida Abbandonata': Recitative: Ma Che Parlo, Che Dico?
  17. Cant No.13 'Armida Abbandonata': Aria: In Tanti Affanni Miei

Amazon.com

Dame Janet Baker's fans will need no prompting. Others won't, either, after sampling one of the great mezzos of our time in classic recordings of great music to which she brought a voice of individuality and beauty, as well as peerless interpretive gifts. These selections are made the more moving by the tear in Baker's voice, her richly personal timbre, and her absolute mastery of music and texts. Everything on these ample discs dates from the late 1960s to the mid-1970s, when Baker was at her peak. The Bach cantatas are led by Yehudi Menuhin; the mezzo version of "Ich hab genug" is brighter in tone than the more familiar one for bass-baritone, but Baker's dignified reading fully captures the spirit of the piece. In the arias, her partner is Neville Marriner, and Handel's dramatic Italian Cantatas are firmly supported by their arranger, Raymond Leppard. Listeners used to male altos or period instruments will find their preferences challenged by the sheer artistry on display here. --Dan Davis

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars Profoundly moving. Unqualifiedly recommended........2003-01-17

The Bach cantatas on this disc are both unusual. "Ich habe genug" is usually sung by baritones, but Bach's intentions as shown in the autograph score are less than clear: the autograph begins for soprano, but the first movement is not completed; the second version of the first movement is for alto; but the final version is for bass. At any rate, it makes you listen to this magnificent music afresh to hear it sung by a different voice-type than usually heard. "Gott soll allein" is a wonderful cantata that features an organ obbligato part in several movements instead of a violin or wind instrument.

Then there is the collection of arias. Bach wrote some truly beautiful music for the alto voice, expressive and heartfelt. Although many of these arias tend to the reflective, there is no routine here. Particularly remarkable is the drama of "Es ist vollbracht" from the St. John Passion. Baker conveys the negative meaning of the words "it is finished" at the beginning, then rips through the section that foreshadows the Resurrection ("Der held von Juda"). But when she returns to the first phrase she conveys the alternate meaning of the words--"It is accomplished." Yes, it is sung softly and slowly, but there is a quality of the voice that is triumphant. Wow!

Dame Janet was also well known for her abilities in the music of Handel, and here she puts all her vocal acting ability at the complete service of the music.

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