From what I have read about your bio you were a stone’s throw from hearing the Bach Cantatas done according to the liturgical year done as Bach and his contemporaries would have done it. ick Erickson, cantor at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church at West 65th Street and CPW offers performances of the Bach cantatas in accordance to the liturgical year at 5 pm Vespers services. Rick programs organ works of Bach contemporaries or predecessors to offer a historical context and Tobin provides excellent English translations of the German text. Interspersed are special performances – last year he did the St Mathew’s Passion AND all of the Bach Motets. He has a great stable of singers and a good period performance orchestra. If you are in NYC this summer – they will be presenting end of July two cantatas.
Another interesting fact about Bach’s cantatas – they were performed along with a service and a 1 hour sermon. Therefore the length of the bach’s cantatas were rather extraordinary in his time. A more typical length and style of cantatas hear by Bach’s parishioners would be the ones by Kuhnau and Graupner and minor baroque composers.
As for recordings I have found that for consistency in quality I prefer the Herreweghe and then the Suzuki or Gardiner.
So if you are interested in such an exploration Rick Erickson from Holy Trinity Lutheran Church is an excellent person to meet and get to know – also he does enjoy performing new liturgical works once in awhile for his 11 am masses and other services. he was kind enough to have a very short Kyrie of mine performed at two services this past March.
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great documentary btw, if you haven’t seen it already, replete with sorely missed late 90s fashions for your nostalgic enjoyment.
Check out Monica Huggett, our local duchess of the Portland Baroque.
Have you read Albert Schweitzer’s book on Bach? If not, i suggest picking it up. i’m reading it right now and it’s great. not exactly a discographic kind of book though. hilliard ensemble’s recordings of the motets and chorales (morimur) are amazing.
this probably isn’t helping. thanks for a great post though. made me day.
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]]>These websites are also worth exploring:
http://www.bach-cantatas.com/Order-2010.htm
http://launch.groups.yahoo.com/group/BachCantatas/
And don’t miss this:
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