Stay, ye angels
JS Bach: Cantatas
Lenneke Ruiten (soprano), Anke Vondung (mezzo), Benedikt Kristjánsson (tenor), Peter Harvey (baritone), David Franke (organ)
Gaechinger Cantorey, Hans-Christoph Rademann
Make no mistake, there’s much to savour. The choir is incisive and alert; the instrumental playing, deft. But things don’t gel consistently, and it’s a pity texts and translations are omitted.
Stay, ye angels
JS Bach: Cantatas
Lenneke Ruiten (soprano), Anke Vondung (mezzo), Benedikt Kristjánsson (tenor), Peter Harvey (baritone), David Franke (organ)
Gaechinger Cantorey, Hans-Christoph Rademann
Purchase product
Make no mistake, there’s much to savour. The choir is incisive and alert; the instrumental playing, deft. But things don’t gel consistently, and it’s a pity texts and translations are omitted.
About
Two cantatas written by Johann Sebastian Bach for Michaelmas in 1726 and 1728/29 respectively build the framework of this recording. They tell of the Archangel Michael‘s victory over Satan. At the center of the cantata 'Es erhub sich ein Streit' is the tenor aria 'Bleibt, ihr Engel' (Stay, ye angels), which gives this recording its name.
Embedded in these two magnificent, dramatic works with timpani and trumpets are two more intimate cantatas that sing the song of peace. In the introductory Sinfonia and the two alto arias of 'Gott soll allein mein Herze haben', the organ is highlighted as a virtuoso solo instrument - perfect for the Hildebrandt organ in the Naumburg Wenceslas Church, which lends a special color to this recording. The final chorale contains a message that can also be found in the subsequent solo cantata 'Friede sei mit Dir and can be regarded as a statement of the entire program: 'So that we love one another from our hearts and remain with one mind in peace'.
Recorded at the Stadtkirche Sankt Wenzel, Naumburg, in September 2018, in co-production with Deutschlandfunk Kultur.
Contents and tracklist
- David Franke (organ), Anke Vondung (alto)
- Gaechinger Cantorey
- Hans-Christoph Rademann
- Peter Harvey (bass), David Franke (organ)
- Gaechinger Cantorey
- Hans-Christoph Rademann
Awards and reviews
August 2019
Make no mistake, there’s much to savour. The choir is incisive and alert; the instrumental playing, deft. But things don’t gel consistently, and it’s a pity texts and translations are omitted.
September 2019
The orchestra and choir of Gaechinger Cantoery are conducted expertly by Hans-Christoph Rademann; ebullient trumpet-laden choruses fizz with a compound of sonorous muscle, rhythmic flair and contrapuntal transparency, nowhere more so than the convivial opening chorus of No. 149 (parodied from the Hunt Cantata).
June 2019
It would be hard to fault Peter Harvey’s singing on Accentus.
