Sunday, July 26, 2026

This could have been the best complete Bach cantata cycle, ever…

Good morning! This could have been the greatest Bach cantata cycle ever committed to disc. Astrée, in the end, only recorded and released ten cantatas before the project quietly came to a close.

What makes the ten so special is the countertenor: Andreas Scholl had just turned twenty six when the first sessions took place, and he already sings with the kind of ease that would soon make his name internationally.

The very first track of the series, the opening chorus of BWV 180, still sounds somewhat held back, almost cautious. But from track two onward the mood shifts, and the recordings turn into one long, uninterrupted feast for the ear.

The thread running through all ten cantatas is the accompaniment: throughout the series, Christophe Coin plays a Bach violoncello piccolo obbligato in every cantata, all of it recorded in the church of Ponitz, Thüringen, on the strength of its 1737 Gottfried Silbermann organ.

Programme

1. Vol. 1 — BWV 180, 49, 115
2. Vol. 2 — BWV 85, 183, 199, 175
3. Vol. 3 — BWV 41, 6, 68

► Open playlist in Spotify

The recordings

Vol. 1 Cantatas BWV 180, 49, 115

Recorded November 1993, Dorfkirche Ponitz, Thüringen · Astrée Auvidis, 1994

Barbara Schlick (soprano) · Andreas Scholl (alto) · Christoph Prégardien (tenor) · Gotthold Schwarz (bass)
Concerto Vocale de Leipzig · Ensemble Baroque de Limoges · Christophe Coin (violoncello piccolo, conductor)

BWV 180 "Schmücke dich, o liebe Seele" (playlist tracks 01–07)

BWV 49 "Ich geh' und suche mit Verlangen" (playlist tracks 08–13)

BWV 115 "Mache dich, mein Geist, bereit" (playlist tracks 14–19)

Vol. 2 Cantatas BWV 85, 183, 199, 175

Recorded May 1994, Ponitz Kirche, Thüringen · Astrée Auvidis, 1995

Barbara Schlick (soprano) · Andreas Scholl (alto) · Christoph Prégardien (tenor) · Gotthold Schwarz (bass)
Concerto Vocale de Leipzig · Ensemble Baroque de Limoges · Christophe Coin (violoncello piccolo, conductor)

BWV 85 "Ich bin ein guter Hirt" (playlist tracks 20–25)

BWV 183 "Sie werden euch in den Bann tun" (playlist tracks 26–30)

BWV 199 "Mein Herze schwimmt im Blut" (playlist tracks 31–38)

BWV 175 "Er rufet seinen Schafen mit Namen" (playlist tracks 39–45)

Vol. 3 Cantatas BWV 41, 6, 68

Recorded 1995, Dorfkirche Ponitz, Thüringen · Astrée Auvidis, 1996

Barbara Schlick (soprano) · Andreas Scholl (alto) · Christoph Prégardien (tenor) · Gotthold Schwarz (bass)
Chœur de Chambre Accentus (Laurence Equilbey) · Ensemble Baroque de Limoges · Christophe Coin (violoncello piccolo, conductor)

BWV 41 "Jesu, nun sei gepreiset" (playlist tracks 46–51)

BWV 6 "Bleib bei uns, denn es will Abend werden" (playlist tracks 52–57)

BWV 68 "Also hat Gott die Welt geliebt" (playlist tracks 58–62)

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