‘With Suzuki you can hear Bach's heart beat...’ (International Record Review

Volume 48 of Masaaki Suzuki’s and Bach Collegium Japan’s traversal of Johann Sebastian Bach’s cantatas opens with Cantata 34, O ewiges Feuer, o Ursprung der Liebe – a jubilant work intended for Whit Sunday 1727, but with its origins in an earlier, secular wedding cantata.

Gott, man lobet dich in der Stille (BWV 120) was composed for a festive church service marking the annual town council election in Leipzig. But the programme also also offers moments of introspection and quiet beauty, such as the celebrated alto aria Ich will dich all mein Leben lang from Cantata 117, here performed by the counter-tenor Robin Blaze, well-known to the followers of this series.

Cantata 98 contains another heartfelt aria: Hört, ihr Augen, auf zu weinen, sung by the soprano Hana Blažíková, whose performances on recent releases have impressed many reviewers.

With approximately another eight volumes remaining of this great undertaking, the energy and dedication of Masaaki Suzuki and his musicians show no signs of flagging, and the recent volumes 46 and 47 were warmly welcomed by reviewers around the world, receiving distinctions such as ‘Critics’ Choice’ in Gramophone and ‘Choral Choice of the Month’ in BBC Music Magazine.