Complete Sacred Cantatas (CDs)

Written to exalt the glory of God and to facilitate Lutheran worship, Johann Sebastian Bach's sacred cantatas stand among the highest achievements of Western musical art. This acclaimed recording sees the works performed in their entirety by a stellar line-up of musicians that includes the renowned Holland Boys' Choir and period-instrument ensemble Netherlands Bach Collegium. The cantatas are directed by Pieter van Leusink, one of Holland's leading Bach experts. From the plaintive opening of Weinen, Kleinen, Sorgen, Sagen ('Weeping, lamenting, worrying, fearing') BWV12 to the triumphant D major chorus in Man singet mit Freuden vom Sieg BWV149, the works traverse a wide range of themes and moods, having been written for a variety of occasions throughout the liturgical year. In bringing together proclamation, amplification and interpretation of scripture in order to teach and persuade the listener, they are highly dramatic and lyrical pieces, ones that delight today's listener for the sheer beauty of their music. Bach wrote about 300 sacred cantatas, of which 200 have survived. They have been widely recorded over the years, but Pieter van Leusink's account remains one of the most acclaimed to date; created over a 15-month period and first released to mark the 250th anniversary of the composer's death, this complete survey brims with spiritual expression. Other information: - Upon popular demand available again: Bach's complete Sacred Cantatas, recorded in 1999--2000, newly compiled, on 50 CD's, an unbelievable bargain. - These recordings, produced for the Bach-year 2000, feature a superb boys choir, the Holland Boys Choir, a tradition going back to the time of the composer. The Netherlands Bach Collegium consists of Dutch early music specialists playing period instruments. Conductor Pieter Jan Leusink puts his entire soul in these recordings of what one might call "the greatest and most humanly moving corpus of sacred music ever written". - Reviewers around the world praised the set for its "characteristic performances, marked by a great sense of authenticity, especially from the use of boy sopranos". It sounds very much like it might have sounded in Bach's time (Gramophone). - "The chorales are luminously immediate and affecting... These readings are consistently honest... and illuminating statements. All the instrumental sinfonias are beautifully conceived." (Gramophone).