Bach, J S: Cantata BWV200 'Bekennen will ich seinen Namen'

J S Bach wrote several cantatas for alto solo, however there is one that is rarely performed or recorded: the alto version of the famous bass cantata Ich habe genug BWV 82. Scored for voice, oboe and strings, the cantata consists of three arias which are completely different in character and expression, with two short recitatives between them.

It was composed for the feast of Purification of Mary (2 February), and its text which incorporates the words of old Simeon to Mary about the coming of the Messiah, concentrates on the subject of welcoming death. Since the feast of Purification was one of the most solemn occasions in the Lutheran liturgical calendar, there is a strong argument in favour of completing the program with figural Latin mass parts, and this recording includes sections from other works in an attempt to re-create music for the full event.

The performers are the period instrument group La Tempesta under the artistic direction of Jakub Burzynski. Burzynski is also an excellent countertenor, and he takes one of the alto parts in this production. Other soloists include the soprano Julita Miroslawska, the tenor Mariusz Cyciura, and bass-baritone Artur Janda.

Daniel Taylor is one of the most sought-after countertenors in the world today. This album represents a compilation taken from the almost twenty recordings Taylor has made for the ATMA label since 1997, and includes music by Bach, Handel, Purcell, Dowland and Buxtehude, among others. Taylor is heard performing solo, as well as with such singers as Suzie LeBlanc and Jan Kobow, in what promises to be the definitive portrait of this gifted artist.

J.S. Bach wrote several cantatas that feature a particular solo voice. The selection on this CD, which has been taken from the award-winning cycle by Ton Koopman and the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra and Choir are for alto and tenor. The alto solo cantata “Vergnügte Ruh, beliebte Seelenlust” BWV 170 was written for the 6th Sunday after Trinity and first performed on 28 July 1726. Bach took its text from a collection by Georg Christian Lehms, whose sacred poetry he had previously utilised in Weimar. The alto solo cantata “Gott soll allein mein Herze haben” BWV 169 was premiered on the 18th Sunday after Trinity, 20 October 1726. The anonymous text is based on the Gospel for that Sunday, Matthew 22: 34-46, (“love thy neighbour”). “Widerstehe doch der Sünde” BWV 54, written for the 3rd Sunday in Lent, was performed in Weimar on 4 March 1714, but probably originated in 1713 or earlier. The words are by the librettist of BWV 170. Georg Christian Lehms, The piece represents in all likelihood Bach’s first example of a solo cantata. The tenor solo cantata “Ich armer Mensch, ich Sündenknecht” BWV 55 for the 22nd Sunday after Trinity was first performed on 17 November 1726. The anonymous text refers to the Sunday’s Gospel, Matthew 18: 23-35 (parable of the unmerciful servant). The alto aria “Bekennen will ich seinen Namen” BWV 200 represents a fragment from a cantata whose other movements are completely unknown.