Bach: Cantatas, Vol. 1 - City of London
This is the first of many volumes recording a Pilgrimage made in 2000, when John Eliot Gardiner, his remarkable instrumentalists and chorus and a team of outstanding soloists performed each Bach Cantata on the feast day for which it was originally composed. Each box will contain 2 CDs, copious notes, and full texts and translations. The fact of the Pilgrimage aside, these performances are simply stunning. Gardiner treats each cantata like a little drama, and his players and singers make certain to dramatize the music and text vividly. When, in Cantata No. 20, the tenor sings of "flames that burn forever," for example, the wildly difficult coloratura and accompanying strings slash with heat. Elsewhere, the listener will bask in Cantata 30's oddly rhythmic alto solo with flute and muted violins. The chorus is excellent throughout, but they dazzle in the 8-minute opening to Cantata 7.  The soloists are well-known Bach singers, lieder singers, and performers from the world of opera. Bass Dietrich Henschel and tenor Paul Agnew are, perhaps, the finest of the five, and they have the most to do as well. This is a glorious set of six cantatas, a splendid 2.5 hours of great music-making.--Robert Levine