Johann Sebastian Bach

2 CD + DVD

A composer of true genius, Johann Sebastian Bach was familiar with the musical styles and forms of every nation. He composed for all the known instruments of his time and for soloists of great virtuosity. If he is usually considered as the father of German music, as a very serious composer, a manager and Lutheran, it is because we all too often forget that behind this historic figure is a man who enjoyed the good life, his friends, intellectual debates and even Italian opera.

Bach’s BWV 201, 205 and 213 are veritable miniature operas, imbued with Italian vocality, humour and joie de vivre. They reveal an extraordinarily expressive richness with the conciseness of the pocket theatre.

'Der Streit zwischen Phöbus und Pan' (The contest between Phoebus and Pan, BWV201) is a musical jousting match between the intimate and harmonious beauty of Phoebus and the galant and less subtle charm of Pan. Bach champions Phoebus’ cause with a force worthy of the 'Goldberg Variations' and 'A Musical Offering'. For 'Der zufriedengestellte Äolus' (Äolus satisfied, BWV205) Bach calls upon the most varied musical forces of all his works. Nature’s raging is depicted with an intensity and violence worthy of the greatest operatic scenes, and human emotion is present throughout.

This box-set includes a bonus DVD recorded live at the Ambronay Festival in 2011, 'Die Wahl des Herkules' (The choice of Hercules), illustrating a third facet of this lesser-known secular Bach with pages which were later adapted and re-used for the 'Christmas Oratorio'.

“I am fascinated by these works which allow me to feel much closer to Bach ‘the man’. I believe it is time to put them back into their context and to imagine them invested with the original intention of the composer, with a mood of ebullient artistic enthusiasm, loyal friendship, scholarly erudition, a homely spirit – all accompanied with a coffee or a beer and the ‘presence’ of someone who is, in my opinion, the greatest artist of all time.” Leonardo García Alarcón

The baroque woman was confined to a strictly domestic role. She was either saintly (mother of Christ and the subject of religious allegory as in Handel’s Trionfo del tempo e del disinganno), a diva, a queen (Poppea, Cleopatra) or the inevitable victim in classical tragedies like Semiramis, Berenice, Rodelinda and Agrippina.

'Ladies sing Baroque' is shaped as a nod to those ladies who have enchanted jazz, but composed of music from two centuries earlier: hymns to emotion, the tunes that disturb for eternity! Monteverdi's invention of opera, Vivaldi's music for the Pieta, Pergolesi and Bach bring the drama and emotion found in temples and churches. Highlights include the final duet from 'L'Incorronazione di Poppea' and Bach's sublime 'Erbarme dich' whilst two Canadians with strong characters, Marie-Nicole Lemieux and Karina Gauvin, successfully evoke the legendary association of Marilyn Horne and Montserrat Caballé.

7 December 2012 marks the 50th anniversary of the death of Kirsten Flagstad. Born in Hamar, Norway, on 12 July 1895 Flagstad made her debut in Oslo in 1912 in D’Albert’s Tiefland.

Pianist and composer Dinu Lipatti was born in Bucharest in 1917, and made his debut as a soloist in 1935. Unfortunately his blossoming career was interrupted by World War II, although he continued to give concerts during this period. In 1947 after settling in Geneva he was diagnosed with cancer, and tragically died in1950. Despite his recording legacy being small, his influence as one of the greatest pianists of his time lives on.

Vladimir Horowitz was born in Kiev in 1903. He made his debut in the United States at the Carnegie Hall in 1928, where he became an overnight success, and spent the rest of his career based in America. Although throughout this time he remained pathologically insecure about his own abilities, withdrawing from public appearances for several years at a time, he is remembered as one of the greatest pianists of the 20th century. He died in New York in 1989.

In support of TOHOKU HELP, aiding the victims of the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami.

This compilation has been produced by Bach Collegium Japan and Masaaki Suzuki as part of their ongoing work to support the victims of the earthquake and tsunami off the Pacific coast of Japan in March 2011.

This selection comprises arias from Bach Collgium Japan’s ongoing cycle of the complete church cantatas, as well as instrumental movements, the motet Komm, Jesu, komm, and three organ chorales recorded by Masaaki Suzuki especially for this release.

The disc is being sold for the benefit of ‘TOHOKU HELP’, a local relief effort organized by the Sendai Christian Alliance, with the performers donating their royalties and BIS Records contributing the same amount.