It is not an exaggeration to call the Bach Cantata project of Nicholas Harnoncourt and Gustav Leonhardt a landmark in the history of recorded music. The scope itself is monumental: to record all of the known sacred cantatas of J.S. Bach, numbering almost 200. That in and of itself is remarkable, but it was the artistic standards that Harnoncourt and Leonhardt imposed upon themselves that lent the project an historic imprint. Great things do not usually come quickly or easily—they made the first recording in 1971, and completed their work 18 years later. In many ways, what they had accomplished marked the culmination of the Bach revival that began shortly after the end of World War II. One of the leaders of that first wave, by the way, was a young American conductor working in Europe by the name of Jonathan Sternberg, who, now in his 80s, directs the Bach Festival of Philadelphia.
 Everything you’ve always wanted to know about Bach, but were afraid to ask: Warner Classics releases the majesty of the composer’s cantatas on 60 CDs. |
These recordings also represent the maturation of the period instrument revival, which began as a fringe movement; by the time of Harnoncourt and Leonhardt, it had become the accepted norm for the performance of 18th century music. Some earlier examples of period instrument playing did not bode well for the practice, with poor quality and difficult-to-tune instruments, and most damaging, playing that was too fast and too rhythmically constricted. Harnoncourt and Leonhardt made music that was the antithesis to what came to be known as “sewing machine Baroque.” Their ensembles, the Concentus musicus Wien, and the Leonhardt Consort, respectively, both play with immense skill, bracing ardor, and a dramatic style that is often operatic in impact. These recordings also standardized authentic practices such as Baroque pitching, the use of boys’ choirs, and male altos (counter tenors).
Warner Classics has just released Complete Sacred Cantatas, a beautiful set of the entire series, 60 CDs in a container a bit smaller than a shoebox. There are two thick booklets with superbly trenchant descriptions of all of the music, along with other essays. It is quite a splurge, at a bit over $500 retail, but there is a lifetime of rewards within. The real star here, with all due respect to wonderful musicians, is Bach. He turned out this music with the regularity of an accountant producing profit-and-loss reports, and yet miraculously, his genius blazes on full burner at all times. What we have here, simply, is the foundation for all of Western music to follow.