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Bach: Sacred Arias & Cantatas | 
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| Creators: Johann Sebastian Bach, Harry Bicket, David Daniels, Guy Williams, Lisa Beznosiuk, Hannah Mclaughlin, Katharina Spreckelsen, English Concert, Nadja Zwiener
Label: Virgin Classics
Category: Music
List Price: $16.98
Buy New: $12.05
You Save: $4.93 (29%)
New (25) Used (5) from $12.05
Avg. Customer Rating:  2 reviews
Sales Rank: 7981
Media: Audio CD
Discs: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 5.6 x 5 x 0.5
EAN: 5099951903725
ASIN: B001B1R1I6
Release Date: September 16, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: BRAND NEW, Factory Sealed items direct from the Studios. 30 Day Satisfaction Guarantee. Quick International Airmail!
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| Tracks:
| • | Mass in B minor BWV 232 - Qui sedes | | • | Mass in B minor BWV 232 - Agnus Dei | | • | St. John Passion BWV 245 - "Von den Stricken" | | • | St. John Passion BWV 245 - "Es ist Vollbracht" | | • | St. Matthew Passion BWV 244 - "Du lieber Heiland du... Buss' und Reu'" | | • | St. Matthew Passion BWV 244 - "Du lieber Heiland du... Buss' und Reu'" | | • | St. Matthew Passion BWV 244 - "Erbarme dich" | | • | St. Matthew Passion BWV 244 - "Erbarm'es Gott!... Koennen Traenen" | | • | . St. Matthew Passion BWV 244 - "Erbarm'es Gott!... Koennen Traenen" | | • | Cantata "Ich habe genug" BWV 82a - "Ich habe Genug" | | • | Cantata "Ich habe genug" BWV 82a - "Schlummert ein, ihr matten Augen" | | • | Cantata "Vergnuegte Ruh, beliebte Seelenlust" BWV 170 - "Vergnuegte Ruh, beliebte Seelenlust" | | • | Cantata "Was mir behagt, ist nur die muntre Jagd!" BWV 208 - "Schafe koennen sicher weiden" |
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| Customer Reviews:
a voice teacher and early music fan October 3, 2008
4 out of 6 found this review helpful
DAVID DANIELS ROMANTICIZES BACH? LIKE IT OR NOT!!!!!
This is the first David Daniels Baroque Virgins Classic recording since 2002, when he recorded his much acclaimed Handel oratorio arias.
For this new release he returns to the Baroque Era with several significant sacred arias and cantatas by Bach, some of which are solos from the Passions according to St.Matthew and St. John and cantatas that include a very popular often recorded 'Ich habe genug' These were all recorded in London in September, 2007.
It is notable that Daniels has waited until his vocal skills and musical maturity has come to their highest point, and this was quite astute of him to do so. Many professional singers and amateurs as well will readily admit that to sing great Handel is far easier than to sing great Bach.
As to his overall performance on this disc, it is vocal perfection: excellent diction(always one of his strong points), resonant tone quality and certainly a command of the material.
Having said all of the above,I add my own VERY PERSONAL reaction; as a 'Bach-a-holic' and a lover of Bach tradition,I find Daniel's interpretation to be highly romantic and not really what I prefer. But then, Daniels has explained via internet etc. that he fully intended to perform this music in the style of German lieder such as Schubert, Schumann etc.; and in that respect he is highly successful! There is no doubt in my mind that this recording will be well received by most listeners, as it should be.
Most, if not all, of these well known alto solos have been recorded by several excellent countertenors, my favorite being Michael Chance, who I feel is the consummate Bach interpreter. But Daniels will certainly have his share of adulation from his interpretation. This is definitely a SUPERB recording, so I will put on my 'Schubertian' ear and enjoy it many times over.
Harry Bicket conducts the English Consort, one of the finest chanmber orchestras for Baroque and Classical music interpretations, and demos this very well on this recording.
A Hushed Beauty Permeates Daniels' Immaculate Delivery and Amazing Voice on a Long Awaited Recording September 23, 2008
7 out of 8 found this review helpful
For an artist as remarkably gifted as countertenor David Daniels, his recording output has been miserably paltry as this is his first solo recital effort since 2004's beautiful repertoire of French art songs on Berlioz: Les Nuits d'Ete. Even as new performers promulgate in his decreasingly rarefied voice range, Daniels remains more than a pioneer in expanding the boundaries of his voice type. He brings immense dramatic skill and vocal dexterity to almost everything he sings, and at 42, he has produced a burnished quality to his delivery that is quite unlike any other countertenor. I'm sure the inevitable maturity in his approach may frustrate purists who wish he would regain his boyish coloratura technique. Nevertheless, the sure footing he displays with the impeccably chosen selection of Bach's cantatas showcases one of the finest, most enduring voices in the classical world.
Daniels starts the program with two key sections of Bach's famous setting for the Latin Mass, the Mass in B minor (BWV 232), which was assembled just before the composer's death but was primarily made up mostly of earlier pieces. The first is the quietly majestic "Qui sedes ad dexteram Patris", an aria for alto voice with oboe d'amore obbligato. It shows off the genuine beauty in Daniels' delivery without calling undue attention to himself. The second is the more mournful "Agnus Dei", another alto aria, this one in G minor with violin obbligato. It was derived from a lost wedding cantata circa 1725, a surprising source since the tone here is more funereal. One of Bach's grander choral-orchestral works, St. John Passion (BWV 245) allows Daniels to traverse his lower range with fluidity on "Von den Stricken", an aria describing when Jesus is arrested. The singer, however, really shines on the climactic "Es ist vollbracht" where he shifts from forlorn to defiant and back again with lightning-quick precision, accompanied all the while by the viola de gamba.
Like St. John Passion, St Matthew Passion (BWV 244) was written for Good Friday vespers services, but it represents a more lyrically robust work. "Du lieber Heiland du...Buss and Reu" establishes the mercurial mood of the Passion with a gently scolding recitative followed by a poignant aria. Easily the most familiar piece here is "Erbarme dich" which Daniels sings with breathtaking beauty as an ethereal prayer on Peter's repentance. There is an almost romantic quality to his phrasing that contrasts dramatically with the implied violence in the next aria, "Erbarm es Gott!", as Jesus is being tortured. You can really sense the return to faith expressed in "Koennen Traenen". Compare these exceptional performances with those of contralto Stephanie Blythe stellar work on 2004's Handel & Bach Arias, and you realize the broad dramatic range to be mined from these alto solos.
The last three cantatas on the recording reflect more complex arrangements that really draw out Daniels' masterful interpretative skills. Nearly seventeen minutes long, "Ich Habe Genug" (BWV 82a) is a wondrous lament that amounts to a religious awakening emboldened with the idea of dying for Christ. The fuller quality in the arrangement of "Vergnuegte Ruh, Beliebte Seelenlust" (BWV 170) produces a hymn-like paean to the contentment found in the soul of someone completely dedicated to Christ. The shortest of the cantatas, "Was Mir Behagt, Ist Nur Die Muntre Jagd" (BMV 208), speaks to the beauty of the land with the help of a pair of gentle voice flutes that add to the pastoral quality of the piece. Daniels' warm, round tones are perfectly accompanied by longtime collaborator Harry Bicket who leads the vastly talented period-instrument ensemble of the English Concert. Strongly recommended.
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