P-21

Bach Cantatas Vol. 21: Cambridge/Walpole St Peter
For Quinquagesima Sunday (Estomihi)
For Annunciation / Palm Sunday / Oculi

CD-1: Cantatas BWV 22 [16:04], BWV 23 [15:41], BWV 127 [19:52], BWV 159 [17:04], BWV 127 Appendix: Chorus (Chorale) [5:34]
CD-2: Cantatas BWV 182 [26:31], BWV 54 [12:09], BWV 1 [21:25]

John Eliot Gardiner

Monteverdi Choir, Choir of Clare College, Cambridge & Choir of Trinity College, Cambridge / English Baroque Soloists

CD-1: Soprano: Ruth Holton; Alto: Claudia Schubert, Tenor: James Oxley; Bass: Peter Harvey
CD-2: Soprano: Malin Hartelius; Alto: Nathalie Stutzmann; Tenor: James Gilchrist; Bass: Peter Harvey

Soli Deo Gloria 118

CD-1: Mar 5, 2000
CD-2: Mar 26, 2000

2-CD / TT: 135:04

Live recordings from the Bach Cantata Pilgrimage:
CD-1: King’s College Chapel, Cambridge, England
CD-2: Walpole St Peter, Norfolk, England.
See: John Eliot Gardiner - Bach Cantata Pilgrimage - Vol. 21
Buy this album at:
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Gardiner PIlgrimage Vol. 21

Uri Golomb wrote (June 30, 2006):
Soli Deo Gloria finally have a distributor in Israel, as I discovered this week; so their CDs can now be bought in record stores here. There was one CD set I couldn't help but buy right away, as it contains a record of the only Pilgrimage concert I personally attended.

This was the concert Gardiner gave on March 5, 2000 (the precise 36^th anniversary of the foundation of Monteverdi Choir), and it took place in the same venue where the choir gave their very first concert -- the chapel of King's College, Cambridge. I wrote a review of that concert which is available on http://www.bach-cantatas.com/Performers/Gardiner-Gen6.htm (you'd have to scroll down a bit to get to my review, though). As you can see there, it was a profoundly moving experience for me, and I've been awaiting its release on CD ever since I learned that the pilgrimage will be coming out on record.

It has been worth the wait. There is little trace of the venue's over-reverberant acoustic -- the microphones must have been placed quite close (I heard the concert from *behind* the performance stage, so I couldn't really see how it was done). The tenor, James Oxley, might actually have benefited from a slightly more distant recording (he sounds slighlty strained at times), but otherwise the recording confirms all my positive impressions from this wonderful concert. So I have little to add beyond what I already said in my concert review -- and I very strongly recommend this CD.

The other CD in the same album contains cantatas BWV 182, BWV 54 and BWV 1. It's another set of excellent performances, though here I had a few more reservations. Cantata BWV 182 is one of these works I now positively prefer to hear one-per-part, and a few instances of over-forceful choral singing further confirmed this preference. I also found parts of Cantata 1 a bit over-pressed -- here, I prefer Koopman's more genial reading. Cantata BWV 54 was suprisingly lyrical and elegiac -- not for the first time, Gardiner proves more expansive and lyrical than Herreweghe (before the Pilgrimage, I would have expected Gardiner to be teh more dramatic conductor, Herreweghe the more lyrical). Personally, I actually prefer to have a touch of anger in the opening aria of Cantata BWV 54 -- but other listeners might well prefer the lyrical, elegiac yet still highly tense and intense approach, in which case they'd defimitely enjoy this recording, with the profoundly moving and deep-voiced alto Nathalie Stutzman. Ove! rall, to my taste, CD 1 in this set is absolutley superb, whereas CD 2 is "merely" very, very good indeed. A recent review, of this and another set, is available on: http://tinyurl.com/m8rrl -- and it's even more positive than mine.

In sum: once more, Bach lovers can feel really grateful that Gardiner's Pilgrimage series is finally availalbe on record. It's proving to be one of the finest complete cycles.

John Eliot Gardiner: Short Biography Ensembles: Monteverdi Choir | English Baroque Soloists
Bach Discography: Recordings of Vocal Works: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Videos | Recordings of Instrumental Works
Table of recordings by BWV Number
General Discussions: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Newsletters
Discussions of Cantatas: Cantatas BWV 106, 118b, 198 | Cantatas BWV 140, 147 | Cantatas BWV 11, 37, 43, 128 | Cantatas BWV 6, 66 | Cantatas BWV 72, 73, 111, 156 | Cantatas BWV 82, 83, 125, 200
Discussions of Bach Cantata Pilgrimage: BCP - Vols 1&8 | BCP - Vol. 6 | BCP - Vol. 9 | BCP - Vol. 13 | BCP - Vol. 14 | BCP - Vol. 15 | BCP - Vol. 21 | BCP - Vol. 22 | BCP - Vol. 23 | BCP - Vol. 24 | BCP - Vol. 26 | Bach Cantata Pilgrimage DVD | DVD John Eliot Gardiner in Rehearsal
Discussions of Other Vocal Works: BWV 232 - J.E. Gardiner | BWV 244 - J.E. Gardiner | BWV 245 - J.E. Gardiner | BWV 248 - J.E. Gardiner | BWV 1127 - J.E. Gardiner
Bach Festivals and Cantata Series: Bach Cantata Pilgrimage
Books: Bach: Music in the Castle of Heaven