Bach: Cantatas Vol 3 (BWV 12, 54, 162, 182) /Bach Collegium Japan * Suzuki
This probably was the first disc to bring serious attention to the  talented Japanese countertenorYoshikazu Mera. This diminutive,  baby-faced young man has quite a voice--sweet, very nimble, and with real body  on low notes (a rarity among countertenors); he does a smashing job with the  solo cantata No. 54,Widerstehe doch der Sünde("Then resist sin"),  as well as in the animated alto/tenor duet in cantata No. 162. Yet Mera is far  from the only pleasure to be found on this disc. Cantata No. 12,Weinen,  Klagen, Sorgen, Zagen("Weeping, complaining, worries, fears") opens with a  beautifully plangentsinfoniafor oboe and strings, while the title  chorus (performed with more emotional tension than one might expect from these  musicians) later became the "Crucifixus" of theMass in B Minor. Best of all  is the sprightly Palm Sunday cantataHimmelskönig, sei willkommen("Be welcome, Heavenly King"), which features an elegant openingsinfoniafeaturing recorder and violin, radiant fugal choruses, and several movements  with deliciousobbligatoparts for recorder, which are played with real  charisma by Yoshimichi Hamada.--Matthew Westphal