Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau Sings Bach (BWV. Nos. 56 & 82)

1. Cantata No. 56, "Ich will den Kreuzstab gerne tragen," BWV 56
Composed by Johann Sebastian Bach
with Stuttgart Bach Collegium , Harro Bertz , Hans-Joachim Erhard , Hans-Joachim Erhard , Kurt Etzold , Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau , Kaisuke Mogi , Gunther Passin , Hedda Rothweiler , Helmut Veihelmann
Conducted by Helmuth Rilling

2. Cantata No. 82, "Ich habe genug," BWV 82
Composed by Johann Sebastian Bach
with Stuttgart Bach Collegium , Harro Bertz , Hans-Joachim Erhard , Hans-Joachim Erhard , Kurt Etzold , Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau , Kaisuke Mogi , Gunther Passin , Hedda Rothweiler , Helmut Veihelmann
Conducted by Helmuth Rilling

Customer Reviews:

Vintage Fischer-Dieskau in Marvelously Redone Sound.......2005-12-05

These performances would be self-recommending, even if they hadn't been re-engineered using modern technology. The two Bach cantatas ('Ich will den Kreuzstab gerne tragen' BWV 56 and 'Ich habe genug' BWV 82) were recorded in 1951 in the the Jesus-Christus-Kirche in the American sector of post-war Berlin, with Karl Ristenpart conducting the RIAS Kammerorchester. This was part of Ristenpart's pioneering effort to record all the cantatas, and although they are not informed by modern performance practice knowledge, they also do not use the bloated full-orchestra sound that we have gotten away from. As for Fischer-Dieskau's contribution, one can only say that this was the young -- in his mid-twenties -- FiDi in glorious voice. 'Schlummert ein' from the latter cantata is sung in a soft, perfectly controlled, almost crooning tone that, although it does not quite equal the very recent extraordinary recording by Lorraine Hunt Lieberson, deserves to be heard and treasured. The two Bach works are for solo voice (except for the final Chorale,'Komm, o Tod, du Schlafes Bruder' in BWV 56, sung wonderfully by the Berliner Motettenchor) and thus are almost entirely FiDi's show.

The Brahms 'Vier Ernste Gesänge' are accompanied by pianist Herta Klust, a well-known accompanist in her day who is remembered for accompanying FiDi in a Beethoven program recorded a few years later. The recording is not quite as startlingly modern-sounding, largely because it is harder to update the sound of a piano as recorded in 1950. But the full richness of FiDi's voice is there, and completely satisfying. He communicates the meaning of the biblical texts with simplicity and fervor. My favorite recent recording of these songs is by Thomas Quasthoff, but on every account FiDi conveys the text with greater immediacy.

If you love the artistry of Fischer-Dieskau -- and I have to suppose there are a few who don't -- you owe it to yourself to get this CD. And I am thankful that Günter Hänssler's new label, Profil, has seen fit to reissue this program, formerly on Deutsche Grammophon LP; I don't recall that it has ever been released on CD.

Scott Morrison

Average customer rating:

Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau Sings Bach
Bach , Fischer-Dieskau , and Rilling
Manufacturer: Hanssler Classics
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Operettas | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

Classical | Indie Music | Stores | Music
ASIN: B00006FI9Z
Release Date: 2002-08-27

Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau Sings Bach (BWV. Nos. 56 & 82)

Average customer rating:

Past him prime but still wonderful

Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau Sings Bach (BWV. Nos. 56 & 82)

Manufacturer: Hanssler Classics
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Cantatas | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Customer Reviews:

Past him prime but still wonderful.......2004-04-07

In the good old days of the 1990s, before music companies started recording every Bach cantata in multi-CD sets costing hundreds of dollars, this recording included the marvelous Helmuth Rilling-Arlene Auger collaboration of Bach's Cantata 51, "Jauchet Gott in allen Landen". The late soprano added much luster to her distinguished career with that recording. Combined with the two great baritone cantatas performed by the mature -- some might say overripe -- Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, that old CD (Hannsler 98.855 issued in 1985 and now long out of print) was probably the best Bach CD ever issued for singing and its combination of important works. Fischer-Dieskau was 60 in 1985 and approaching old age. His voice did not have the youthful vigor he projected in his 1956 mono recording of BWV 56 and 82 on DG, nor did it have the mature timbre he used when he again recorded these great works in the 1970s with Karl Richter. But he wasn't exactly dead in this recording, although he continued a pattern of substituting hectoring (never appropriate in Bach) for vocal tricks he could no longer pull off. Even with all these shortcomings, his muscial understanding and voice make this is a treasurable CD. After hearing it the first time, I asked how anyone possibly could sing Cantata 56 the way F-D did it. I later heard Peter Kooy, Mattias Goerne and some other big name singers do it, but never better than Fischer-Dieskau on this CD. His partner, Helmuth Rilling, is as always the model of moderation and consistency. Avoiding the Speedy Gonzales work of autheticists and never treating Bach cantatas like pancakes that require a lot of syrup, Rilling is just as good an interpreter of this music in 2004 as he was in 1974. If God's message is still being delivered through the Bach cantatas, no archangel is closer to his visage than Fish-Dish was when he made this record.

Track Listings:

Track Listings

track listings

Track Listings

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