Whitsun Cantatas
John Eliot Gardiner's "Bach Cantata Pilgrimage" series having had an  inauspicious beginning with the fiasco ofvolume 1, it's a pleasure to report  that this fifth volume is a delight. The chorus and orchestra areas precise and musical as ever. A  bevy of soloists--ranging from the well known (Robin Blaze) to the not-yet known  (Martina Jankova, Christoph Genz) to the fast rising (Magdalena  Kozená)--do sterling work. There is fabulous solo playing from the  unnamed principal oboist, violinist, and trumpeter. What's more, there's a  feeling of real involvement--joy, even--that's not as common as it ought to be.To be sure, these are exuberant, triumphant Pentecost cantatas that Gardiner's  typically energetic style serves well; when called for, however, the conductor  and musicians find a smoothness and even delicacy we rarely hear from Gardiner  since his move intoRomantic  territory. A special commendation goes to contralto Bernarda Fink: granted,  her voice sounds a bit better suited tooperatic Handelthan to pious Bach,  but the gentle lilt and gracious eloquence she brings to "Wohl euch" in the  cantataO ewiges Feuermake listening to that lengthy aria, for once, a  mellow pleasure instead of a tedious chore. "Lob und Dank" ("praise and  thanks," to quote several of Bach's cantatas) to all concerned for providing some  marvelous performances--and for restoring this listener's faith in the potential  of this series.--Matthew Westphal