Ton Koopman, Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra - J.S. Bach: Solo Cantatas for Alto and Tenor (2008)

One of the seemingly endless possibilities for programming Bach's cantatas, this 2008 Antoine Marchand disc drawn from Ton Koopman and the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir's survey of the complete surviving cantatas joins five works featuring either alto or tenor soloists. The first two works here feature Polish alto Bogna Bartosz, the third German alto Andreas Scholl, the fourth German tenor Christoph Prégardien, and the fifth -- a single aria for an unspecified occasion -- Bartosz again. As in all Koopman's Bach recordings, these are always entirely successful if not entirely predictable performances. Organist Koopman is a canny Bach conductor, leading performances from the keyboard that combines both the spirituality and humanity of Bach's music. The soloists are uniformly excellent, though they may not be to every listener's taste. Though most will enjoy Prégardian's doleful account of the aria "Ich armer Mensch, ich Sündenknecht" from the cantata of the same name, as well as Bartosz's soulful reading of the arioso "Gott soll allein mein Herze haben" from the cantata Gott soll allein mein Herze haben, some may have trouble adjusting to Scholl's virtuosic but slightly arch performance of "Wer Sünde tut, der ist vom Teufel" from the cantata Widerstehe doch der Sünde. Recorded in bright, vivid digital sound, this disc will serve to introduce listeners to Koopman's way with Bach.