Reviewed by Steven Whitehead

We know so much about Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) that we can be taken by surprise when we find gaps in his biography. 1725 sees Bach in his third year of service in Leipzig. For his first two years there we have cantatas for nearly every Sunday and feast day but in 1725 the record fails us. We know Bach sometimes used material from other composers and perhaps he sometimes reprised his own earlier compositions but the fact of the matter is that we do not know whether he wrote new material that has been lost without trace or if there is a more prosaic explanation. So let us instead enjoy what we have on this hybrid SACD. The four works featured come from just before the start of Epiphany 1725. Two of them, "Tue Rechnung! Donnerwort" ("Give An Account") (BWV 168) and "Ihr, Die Ihr Euch Von Christo Nennet" ("You Who Call Yourselves Christians") (BVW 164) were performed four weeks apart and come from the same textual source, Salomon Franck's 'Evangelisches Andachtsopfer' of 1715. The other two cantatas, "Lobe Den Herren, Den Machtigen Konig Der Ehren" ("Praise To The Lord, The Almighty" (BVW 137) and "Gott Der Herr Ist Sonn Und Schild" ("For The Lord God Is A Son And Shield") (BVW 79) are independent works. As we have come to expect, the performances under the assured direction of Masaaki Suzuki are excellent. The soloists for this volume are Yukari Noontide (soprano), Robin Blaze (counter-tenor), Makoto Sakurada (tenor) and Peter Kooij (bass). All are as good as ever so all is well.

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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