Ton Koopman, Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra - J.S. Bach: Cantatas for Marian Feasts (2008)

You might not expect the figure of Mary to have called forth exceptional music from the Protestant Bach, but the Marian feast days survived the Lutheran paring of the Catholic calendar, and at least the first two of these three cantatas are imposing works. Best of all is the opening chorale of the Cantata No. 1, "Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern," BWV 1 (How brightly shines the morning star). This work, despite its numbering, was actually the last in the series of cyclical chorale cantatas Bach wrote in 1724 and 1725. The eight-minute opening chorale, a gloriously broad design for chorus, horns, strings, and a pair of oboes da caccia, bears affinities with the warm, generous chorales of the contemporaneous St. John Passion. Veteran Bach conductor Ton Koopman and his Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir (mixed-gender, adult, medium-sized) are at their best here, with superbly controlled natural horn work from Andrew Clark. The other highlight is the 10-minute alto aria "Ich will auch mit gebrochnen Augen" (I will also with broken eyes) from the Cantata No. 125, "Mit Fried und Freud ich fahr dahin," BWV 125, with a luminous performance from alto Bogna Bartosz. One of Koopman's strengths is his ability to select soloists from his stable of singers who match the conceptions he applies to individual works, and the shorter arias and duos here, in which the Marian connection is more clear than in the big chorales, are uniformly effective. For German speakers, despite its unusual subject matter, this would make a good single-disc Bach cantata introduction. The texts of the cantatas are not provided, although they are accessible in original form and in translation at various locations online.