As the saying goes, there are no bad Bach Cantatas, only Bach Cantatas one doesn't know yet. In Volume 6 of
Ton Koopman's series of recordings of the Cantatas, there are two fairly well-known Cantatas, as well as with eight lesser-known Cantatas, plus a rarely recorded unfinished Cantata. And they are all superb. The familiar celebratory Cantata 76 "Die Himmel erzählen die Ehre Gottes" (The heaven's are telling the glory of God) and the pastoral Cantata 104 "Du Hirte Israel, höre" (You shepherd of Israel, hear us) are performed with tremendous élan and enthusiasm by
Koopman's
Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Chorus. In the less familiar Cantatas,
Koopman and his forces, along with soprano
Ruth Ziesak, alto
Elisabeth von Magnus, bass
Klaus Mertens, and especially tenor
Paul Agnew, make them sound just as magnificent as the familiar Cantatas. While not every listener will want to hear every cantata Bach ever composed, those who want to dig deeper into the most consistently sublime spiritual music ever composed will want to hear these performances. Antonie Marchand's sound is rich, warm, and detailed.