Johann Sebastian Bach: Solo Cantatas

These cantatas are from a minor fault-line in Bach’s output, coming after three years of composing, rehearsing and performing a cantata a week. They focus less on the chorale as a musical and textual pivot and more on the solo voice, whilst elevating the organ from the traditional meat and potatoes continuo role, to full concertante instrument. The Freiburg Baroque Orchestra ensemble work is the best of all worlds, giving us the hearty soul of a classical orchestra, but from the authentic texture of original instruments, with breath-taking individual contributions (I’m thinking of the woodwinds, especially.) Petra Müllejans serves a unique role here as both Musical Director and principle violinist, so the result is light years away from a “what the conductor wants” mindset, generating a sound which is truly collaborative. Seminal works, like these cantatas, don’t fare well if they’re loaded up with superstar brilliance. Quite often the path to the center of the work is subtractive in that the interpreter removes any and all obstacles between the author and the lucky audience. On this recording, Bernarda Fink personifies this stripping away of the unnecessary. Soaring above fine tone and consummate musicianship, she renders some of the most introspective, uncomfortable texts with utter humility and simplicity. No raised pinky, no chewed scenery, just you, Bach, and texts that leave you nowhere to hide. — Hugo Munday.

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