Whatever one thinks of Mr. Suzuki's agendas, they might conceivably add urgency to his music-making. His musical urgency, at any rate, is often notable. By contrast, the performance in Ton Koopman's cantata series on Erato is a bit gentlemanly. But such musical success does not resolve the question of the home-court advantage for Christians. Mr. Suzuki himself seems ambivalent about the issue.
Musical performance is a kind of complex of very different elements.
Michael Marissen, a musicologist who has written liner notes for Mr. Suzuki's recordings, is also ambivalent. But Mr. Marissen hesitates to claim special privileges for Christian performers. For Bach, Mr. Marissen emphasizes, musicianship matters most. Musicianship is, to be sure, Mr. Suzuki's greatest strength. His recordings of the keyboard and organ music demonstrate a subtle ear for color, a keen sense of harmonic direction, and an ability to make phrases breathe and rhythms live.