Bach, J S: Cantata BWV4 'Christ lag in Todesbanden' (Easter Cantata)

“The Bach Players can notch up yet another resounding success in their ever inventive explorations of Johann Sebastian by juxtaposing works by other composers...Their is little to dislike here, and much to enjoy: the team of singers demonstrates technical brilliance and expressive force, while the instrumentalists are equally excellent” Classical Music, 2nd June 2012 *****

"Boasting a distinguished discography of 17-century German sacred music, Cantus Cölln takes a leap forward to Bach's initial forays into the cantata....Cantus Cölln is the undisputed master..." Gramophone

“Pierlot's instrumentalists are pleasingly attuned to each other's declamatory needs, resulting in a well-balanced and lucidly coloured ensemble. He favours the one-voice-to-a-part approach which works well in the generally lighter textures of Bach's earliest cantatas. His four soloists, ever aware of Bach's imaginative work painting, are excellent in their declamatory fervour both in a solo capacity and in ensemble.” BBC Music Magazine, September 2009 *****

“John Eliot Gardiner's strongest qualities are evident in these performances of six Easter cantatas made in his on-going Bach Cantata Pilgrimage series. I particularly admire the fervour with which Gardiner imbues the music, his lively responses to the many instances of word-painting and his intuitive feeling for dance rhythms.” BBC Music Magazine, May 2007 *****

“Once again, Gardiner’s Monteverdi Choir is the jewel in the crown of each cantata performance. Add to that Gardiner’s dramatic, electric response to music he clearly loves and you have a set that rivals his Gramophone Record of the Year Award-winning disc that launched this amazing series.” Gramophone Magazine

“Easter 2000 had strong historical resonances for Sir John Eliot Gardiner's cantata pilgrims, as these outstanding works were performed in St George's, Eisenach, where Bach was baptised, and only a stone's throw from Wartburg Castle where Luther completed his New Testament translations.
One can only guess what inspired an unusually visceral reading of Christ lag in Todesbanden (arguably Bach's first great creation), with a plethora of extremes from the Monteverdi Choir. One might quibble with moments where orchestral gestures are a little exaggerated but this is a performance where the sinuous lines and the momentum of liturgical ritual allow Luther's great hymn to take us tantalisingly to the brink of Christ's victory.
The Easter cantatas receive some ebullient readings. Erfreut euch boasts one of Bach's longest choral movements and the composer (and Gardiner) demands vigilance from his virtuoso ensemble, whose roulades of quicksilver scales shed all the fear of the preceding weeks. Despite a few uncertainties in the chromatic solos of the middle section, this is a powerful account whose spiritual core is found in the central recitativeduet between the allegorical characters Hope and Fear.
The presence of James Gilchrist in any Bach recording raises the stakes and his singing in the little-known pearl Ein Herz is an infectious display of the new believer's ecstatic joy, expressed disarmingly in his first aria and reinforced in the duet with alto 'Wir danken and preisen'.
This volume continues to present the riches of the Pilgrimage with admirable consistency; rough edges aside, there is a unique sense of exploration and devotion to the music which comes from the palpable adrenalin of live performance in an oeuvre which has, historically, been studio-bound. Bleib' bei uns, with its strong St John Passion undertones, is an embodiment of the best in the millennial journey and receives one of the most concentrated and telling performances on disc.” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010

“across the performances as a whole, alto Daniel Taylor and tenor James Gilchrist make outstanding contributions, especially Gilchrist in the Easter Tuesday Cantata Ein Herz, das seinen Jesum lebend weiss BWV134.” Andrew McGregor, bbc.co.uk, 5th April 2007

"For sheer brilliance of technique, the Purcell Quartet and friends take the biscuit." International Record Review

“…rhythmically supple performances with generally effective tempos and which demonstrate an awareness of the antecedent styles of Buxtehude and others.” BBC Music Magazine, May 2005 ***