Bach Cantatas - Ton Koopman, Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir

Dutch musicologist Ton Koopman leads performances of six Bach cantatas in a mostly successful filmed musical venture. The performances by the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra and Choir adhere to accepted standards of 'Baroque performance' while manifesting Bach's red-blooded music with passionate abandon. Especially welcomed is the inclusion of BWV 106 'Actus Tragicus', Bach's funeral cantata of humble mien and everlasting richness, with a superbly played opening sonatina, the singers entering the stage only toward its conclusion. My one disappointment was the unnecessary commentary throughout by Koopman. I appreciate Koopman's musical attainment, but his ability to communicate Bach's essence with words is fraught with academic nomenclature that translates confusedly to the average viewer, a criticism frequently made to me by my students who have watched the film. I reckon one man's 'informative soliloquy' is another's made-to-order bore. I don't find in these performances the spiritual attainment I find with Bach Collegium Japan, but the rewards here are plentiful regardless. A beautifully measured musical pulse consistent throughout. Recommended for lovers of these radiant works. Definitely a favored plus to the available catalogue.

For someone born, raised, and currently still living in the Central United States, having the chance to see even one major Bach work without having to travel at least an hour by car is a rarity. Being able to see so many as are featured on this DVD is a veritable Bach buffet! Ton Koopman's renditions leave naught for want and, as a special treat, the Kaffe Kantate adds an amazingly candid look at how human Bach actually was! (Who would have thought!?)When I first received this DVD, I watched it through completely twice before I was able to go on with anything else; what a treat!

This DVD is superb - musically, visually and organizationally with the selection of cantatas and with Koopman's brief introductions of each work. This is a great joy and I am delighted that I acquired it.

I had seen these cantatas on BBC several years ago and was very interested in purchasing. It doesn't disappoint. My favorite is BWV 56. Finally, a Bass who doesn't sing with a clogged up throaty tone. All of the cantatas are great and Koopman and the Amsterdam Baroque are at their usual best.

This is a great recording of musical performance and a series of very interesting short lectures. Unfortunately everything is mixed together, making the listening hardly enjoyable. It would be perfect if the lectures were either on the beginning or on the end of the program.

Koopman has a wonderful way with these timeless works, his love of every phrase is well conveyed in this generous disc.The superb camera work compliments the quality of sound. This is a keeper, for sure.

Terrific! Fine performances with "authentic" instruments. Koopman gives an informative introduction to each work. Audio/visual quality is quite good.

I'm just starting exploring Bach cantatas. I ordered $300 worth of recommended CDs and DVDs. This is the best of them all. I adore Koopman's educational talks before each cantata... and musically they are glorious.FIVE STARS

I'm a sucker for Bach cantatas, but I was never that keen on Koopman's recorded set (started with Erato, and then continued privately à la Gardiner). However, this set, inexplicably only available on Region 1 DVD, is excellent. Koopman takes his Amsterdam Bach Orchestra and Choir through some of the greats, including BWV140 "Wachet auf" and BWV147 "Herz und Mund" (forever known for "Jesu, joy of man's desiring"). The performances are nice and Koopman's introductions always interesting. There is one secular cantata BWV211 (the so-called "Coffee" cantata), which is staged. Warmly recommended.

I cannot rate it as the DVD format is a region 1 disc and my intended recipient can only playregion 0. Am still debating what to do about it

These performances were recorded at Pieterskerk, Utrecht and Grote Kerk, Naarden for television in 1997, and the camera work catches some of the beauty of these buildings and many nuances of performance that you would miss even if present in the audience. There is complete synergy between conductor and players and singers, whose faces are beautifully caught on camera, showing the intensity of concentration necessary to play this music well, and the joy of having done so. It is wonderful to see the sometimes intense emotion expressed on their faces as they interact in creating these exquisite performances of deep spirituality, and also fascinating to see a strange beast such as the oboe da caccia in the wild, so to speak. Audio quality is exemplary.Cantata BWV 106 'Actus tragicus' is one of Bach's earliest works, probably written in 1707 when he was 22 years old. It is achingly beautiful, beginning with the deceptive simplicity of a melody played on two recorders slipping almost surreptitiously in and out of unison. Otherwise there are 2 gambas and continuo. That is all. John Eliot Gardiner suggests this cantata might have been composed in response to the death of Susanne Tilesius, sister of Bach's friend Pastor Eilmar of Mülhausen, but that Bach's 'inspiration' may actually have come from a deeper source, memories of his own mother who died 12 years previously at the exact same age (34), and in the same tragic circumstance of leaving behind four young children. There is added poignancy to this interpretation when one remembers that the soloist in Bach's time would have been a 12 year old boy, and not as here, an adult soprano.Cantata 131 'Aus der Tiefen' also one of his earliest cantatas is a love duet between Bach and God. The quartet of 3 counter tenors and 1 alto is exquisitely beautiful. Cantata 140 'Wachet auf' (Sleepers awake) includes a very familiar chorale. Cantata 147, 'Herz und Mund und Tat und Leben' (Heart and Mouth and Deed and Life) is a challenge to those whose Christian faith is wavering. Its concluding chorale 'Jesus bleibet meine Freude' is widely known in the English-speaking world as 'Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring'. Cantata 56 'Ich will den Kreutztab gerne tragen' - 'The Pilgrim Staff Cantata', is a challenge to live a life of faith through difficult times, and a tour de force for bass-baritone Klaus Mertens.For Cantata 211, 'Schweigt stille'/Be Quiet (Coffee Cantata), the musicians adjourn to the coffee house (Stadscafe de Waag, Doesberg), and we discover another side to Bach, the opera composer that he might have been in a parallel universe, and a man with a sense of fun that is not usually apparent in his church cantatas !I have recordings of Bach Cantatas made by a dozen other conductors; and I find these to be the most deeply satisfying in every way. Koopman provides a short optionally selected introduction to each cantata (select English or German), which I find very engaging, though it may be of interest mainly to musicians when he is discussing technical matters such as correct pitch for music of this period. German or English text may be selected as sub-titles. On Mac, turn closed captioning 'on'.Total playing time is 3 hours. Was it really that much'..?Keith Davies Jones

Includes a brief description of most works and then outstanding and authentic performances. Sound and visual qualities along with excellent musicianship. Highly recommended.

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