Masaaki Suzuki & Bach Collegium Japan

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Masaaki Suzuki & Bach Collegium Japan

Cantatas Vol. 28

Cantatas BWV 26, BWV 62, BWV 116, BWV 139

Recording

C-28	J.S. Bach: Cantatas Vol. 28 - Cantatas from Leipzig 1724
Cantatas BWV 26, BWV 62, BWV 116, BWV 139
Masaaki Suzuki
Bach Collegium Japan
Soprano: Yukari Nonoshita; Counter-tenor: Robin Blaze; Tenor: Makoto Sakurada; Bass: Peter Kooy
BIS		Mar 2004	SACD / TT: 68:44
Recorded at the Kobe Shoin Women's University Chapel, Japan. Buy this album at: Amazon.com

A few odds and ends you might be interested in... / Suzuki vol 28

Peter Bright wrote (July 3, 2005):
I recently received vol. 28 of Masaaki Suzuki's Bach cantata series (courtesy of our friend and fellow list member Piotr Jaworski), and have just finished listening to it for the first time. It's got a new design, and is now in SACD format. The sound quality is phenomenal - as clear as a bell. I may send on comments once I have heard it some more, but my initial feelings are very positive, as is usual with the Bach Collegium Japan.

In the mean time, here are some bits and bobs you may or may not be interested in:

A review of a recent CD of Froberger and Louis Couperin (played by Skip Sempe):
http://www.gramophone.co.uk/gramofilereview.asp?mediaID=213859&reviewID=200213807

"Music of the hemispheres" - a review of Steven Mithen's 'The Singing Neanderthals" - a 240 page rebuff of Stephen Pinker's view that musical abilities were useless in terms of importance in human evolution.
http://books.guardian.co.uk/reviews/scienceandnature/0,6121,1519096,00.html

Reviews of the Goldberg Variations (Jeno Jando and Cedric Pescia):
http://www.gramophone.co.uk/gramofilereview.asp?mediaID=214194&reviewID=200213856

Thomas Shepherd wrote (July 3, 2005):
[To Peter Bright] Peter, please tell us more! Which cantatas? There is nothing yet on the BIS web site. When will it be available in England?

Peter Bright wrote (July 3, 2005):
[To Thomas Shepherd] I'm afraid I can't answer your question about availability in the UK - all I know is that they are available much earlier in Poland. Vol 28 has cantatas BWV 26, BWV 62, BWV 116 and BWV 139. I don't have an SACD player, but I have to say that the CD sound is unbelievable - perhaps the best production I have heard. The main vocalists are Yukari Nonoshita, Robin Blaze, Makoto Sakurada and Peter Kooij. The packaging is more glossy, and they have done away with the usual cover page (this one shows Suzuki conducting). The case is the usual curved SACD type...

I'm listening to the first movement as I type - BWV 62 - not a favourite, but it sounds really good here...

Suzuki Cantatas vol 28 - file uploaded to BachCantatas

Peter Bright wrote (July 16, 2005):
Having read the recent discussions on Suzuki's approach to Bach's cantatas, I have uploaded a movement from the most recent volume (28)
-
it is saved as 'BWV26_mov1_m4a'. This is the first movement from BWV 26 ('Ach wie fluchtig, ach wie nichtig'). Despite the views of others that his approach lacks drama, I certainly find plenty of drama in his style of direction.

Anyway, to play the file you will need a player that can read mp4 - Winamp and Realplayer are fine, Windows Media Player isn't.

I hope you enjoy it...

Neil Halliday wrote (July 17, 2005):
Peter Bright wrote: "This is the first movement from BWV 26 ('Ach wie fluchtig, ach wie nichtig'). Despite the views of others that his (Suzuki's) approach lacks drama, I certainly find plenty of drama in his style of direction."
In this movement, yes!

It's interesting to compare this performance (Suzuki's timing 2.22) with two other recordings taken at this very lively tempo - Richter (2.27) in 1966 (!), and Rilling (2.22) in 1980; they are all exciting versions of this dramatic music, with Suzuki and Rilling having a slight edge regarding clarity of the parts. Note the harpsichord in Suzuki's continuo.

SACD 1451 - release in UK

Thomas Shepherd wrote (July 25, 2005):
UK members might be interested in the following exchange of e-mails.

Thomas S.

Begin forwarded message:
From: BIS - Joachim Budweg
Date: 25 July 2005 16:54:08 BST
To: Thomas Shepherd
Subject: Re: SACD 1451 - release in UK

Dear Mr. Shephard,
the release in Great Britain will be first 29^th of August, sorry! Hope you can wait until then!
Best wishes
Joachim Budweg

Original Message ----- From: "Thomas Shepherd
To: Info-BIS
Sent: Friday, July 22, 2005 5:41 PM
Subject: SACD 1451 - release in UK

Dear BIS

J.S. Bach - Cantatas, Vol.28 (BWV 26, 62, 116, and 129) BIS SACD 1451
Friends on the Bach Cantata Web site ( http://www.bach-cantatas.com/Performers/Suzuki-Vol28.htm ) are saying how wonderful the latest Suzuki recording sounds. I have all 27 CDs so far, but am told by MDT records in the UK that vol. 28 is not due for release for several months here. Have you a firm date set yet?

In eager anticipation!

Thomas Shepherd

Suzuki's #28 quantum leap

Nils Lid Hjort wrote (November 19, 2005):
I should perhaps humbly apologise for raising a topic that is not inherently musicological or related to musical interpretation per se -- but I'm curious about whether there might be strong opinions around concerning the BIS Suzuki Bach Cantatas series' drastic change of gears:

Volumes 1-27 have all been of Type I, splendid CDs, working their chronological way from BWV 4 Mühlhausen 1708 to BWV 115 Leipzig 1724, all alike in approach, technology and design (somewhat curiously showing Bach's face rotated to the left & with a red circle around his right eye). But now, after an astounding eleven Leipzig 1724 CDs, there's a quantum leap of a discontinuity, to Type II. We shall clearly expect to see Masaaki Suzuki on the remaining covers, rather than Bach, but, more importantly, these are not merely "CDs", but "SACDs"; "SACD Surround / Super Audio CD / SACD Stereo / CD Stereo". We are informed that these are "hybrid" and may still be played on our old-fashioned CD players. But the implicit BIS Suzuki message appears to be "go forth to thy nearest sound shop and buyeth new SACD (tm) equipment".

So: experiences & opinions? Does it really matter (apart from the noticeable practical aspect that it's a somewhat more cumbersome process to open the box and get out the disc)? Is the SACD sound really more glorious? Are we closer to "being there"? Is there any listening differerence at all between #27 and #28 if the discs are played on CD machinery?

Nils Lid Hjort
... who will use a later opportunity to discuss music matters related to the BWV 62 / 139 / 26 / 116 works on Suzuki's #28.

David Hitchin wrote (November 19, 2005):
Nils Lid Hjort wrote:
< ... But now, after an astounding eleven Leipzig 1724 CDs, there's a quantum leap of a discontinuity, to Type II. We shall clearly expect to see Masaaki Suzuki on the remaining covers, rather than Bach, but, more importantly, these are not merely "CDs", but "SACDs"; "SACD Surround / Super Audio CD / SACD Stereo / CD Stereo". We are informed that these are "hybrid" and may still be played on our old-fashioned CD players. But the implicit BIS Suzuki message appears to be "go forth to thy nearest sound shop and buyeth new SACD (tm) equipment". >
They are not as compatible as advertised. Some DVD players (including mine) which play ordinary CDs without any problem will not play SACDs. My solution is to copy them onto ordinary CDs using my computer, and the copies play OK. Perhaps some DVD players will accept them.

Michael Telles wrote (November 19, 2005):
[To Nils Lid Hjort & David Hitchin]
I have noticed a few odd changes in fidelity from my standard Suzuki discs to the new hybrid discs, and the changes are difficult to describe. For instance, I recently bought his St. Matthew (BWV 244) hybrid disc, and the sound has a sharper, closer quality which can be stunning, but it also has a strange chrystaline, airless quality too. On my conventional system I've noticed that upper mid-range sounds -- for instance when the children's choir comes in on the opening movement of St. Matthew (BWV 244) -- can be so full that my speakers can't handle the sound and may cut out or flutter. This happens more so when I turn it up fairly loud; but I love to do that! On the other hand, I feel that the warmth and clarity of the bass is improved and any muddiness overall is generally improved. So, I think it is an improvement but not a quantam leap (if you have a conventional system). But given the quality of the recordings as they were, an improvement on that is pretty impressive.

By the way, I just read that Suzuki has booked a new tour of the U.S., coast to coast, playing pieces such as Brandenburg #5! The choir will not be with him. This is scheduled mainly for March, so take a look at his website and you will be directed to a ticket vendor.

Eric Bergerud wrote (November 19, 2005):
[To Michael Telles] Sound is so subjective a topic that I don't think it possible to make any grand pronouncements concerning SACD. Some people find it a real improvement and others don't. I do think it safe to say that SACD, if it is an improvement, will reward high quality audio systems that are specifically designed to play it. Someone with a standard two speaker stereo set up would get little if any benefit. In general I would not worry about compatibility problems at least with CD players as the "installed base" of standard CDs is so huge. Stereo and mono coexisted for nearly a decade and every receiver that I know of still will play mono. I have ranted on this issue before, but I still strongly recommend against buying a "home theater" audio system unless one is willing to pay real money: there are some really poor systems out there at present. A good standard stereo system is far superior to a low end multi-channel system. I do admit, however, that a high end multi-channel system can be pretty impressive.

Suzuki is passing through Berkeley too: and no cantatas. Sigh.

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Last update: �January 19, 2006 �21:46:44