English Baroque Soloists, John Eliot Gardiner - J.S. Bach: Whitsun Cantatas BWV 172, 59, 74 & 34 (2000)

John Eliot Gardiner has returned to the form reminiscent of his earliest days with the Monteverdi Choir, when performances were bright and fresh and taut and, well, really good. Of course, he’s working with some really fine music, his soloists are all top-notch, and he’s recording in a familiar place (London’s St. John’s Smith Square) with several of the industry’s most seasoned recording wizards at the controls (especially the two Mikes, balance engineers Mike Hatch and Mike Clements). The music, four of Bach’s Whitsun (or Pentecost) cantatas, shows the composer at his most creative in terms of text setting and structural formulations. As Ruth Tatlow’s informative liner notes remind us, Bach was anything but casual regarding text selection, and he followed this by meticulously considering all pertinent aspects of its meaning and how best to express it musically, fully mindful of his “audience”.

In each of these cantatas we find some of his most inspired efforts, from the tender, pleading/reassuring dialog of believer (soprano) and Holy Spirit (countertenor) in BWV 172 to the noble opening chorus of BWV 74 and its following–and exceptionally lovely–soprano aria “Komm, komm mein Herze steht dir offen”. And what heavenly muse must have been present when Bach conceived the alto aria in BWV 34–a musical creation whose beauty and emotional depth is beyond words? Contralto Bernarda Fink not only understands these aesthetic and very personal elements, but also knows just how to tap the aria’s spiritual essence, as a prayer from the center of the heart. This highly underrated cantata closes with one of Bach’s wildest and liveliest choruses, a jubilant thanksgiving “to the wondrous hands of the Almighty”. After a few disappointing releases in his “Bach cantata pilgrimage” series, Gardiner, his excellent chorus and orchestra, and his recording teams seem to have found the coming of the Holy Spirit as compelling and artistically inspiring a subject as did the world’s greatest composer. May the trend continue.