It is said that drug dealers give away the first dose for free,
then make users pay full price once they are hooked. Challenge
Classics, who are now selling the complete Bach cantatas recorded
by Ton Koopman, and originally sold on his Antoine Marchand label
- and some prior to that on Erato - seem to have adopted the same
strategy. In order to get music fans to discover this series,
they have released a bargain priced two-disc set of “highlights”
from the cantatas. For a mere £6 or €7, you can get a bit more
than an hour and a half of the “best bits” of this series, which,
the label is hoping, is enough to entice you to buy some of the
22 three-disc sets of cantatas they are selling, at £38 each,
which is relatively expensive for multi-disc sets these days given
the propensity for classical labels to apply more aggressive pricing.
Performers on this set include Annette Markert,
Lisa Larsson, Bogna Bartosz, Paul Agnew, Klaus Mertens, Christoph
Prégardien, Sandrine Piau, and Anne Grimm though the skimpy
booklet doesn’t specify each singer’s range, nor does it list
recording dates or venue. Many of these singers are top-notch,
and familiar with the repertoire. While the Challenge Classics’
website (http://www.challenge.nl) does not provide full track-lists
for these releases, or even lists of which cantatas are in
each set, more information about the entire set can be found
on the excellent Bach
Cantatas website.
Challenge Classics could have filled the
two CDs a bit more - most labels would have put from two to
two-and-a-half-hours of music on such a sampler. That aside,
this is 98 minutes of fine music by excellent performers.
Koopman’s series is well performed and recorded throughout,
and maintains a consistent level of quality. But with the
glut of Bach cantata recordings on the market - complete series
exist by Leonhardt and Harnoncourt (Warner), Rilling (Hänssler),
and Leusink (Brilliant Classics), and series are currently
being issued by Suzuki (Bis) and Gardiner (his own label SDG),
as well as dozens of other recordings that appear occasionally,
by such conductors as Herreweghe and Kuijken - it’s hard to
provide a convincing argument for this series over another.
If one examines the cost of the series - and that is a valid
argument when buying some 60 CDs - the Koopman comes out at
the high end, when compared to those that have been completed.
Personally, I own three complete series
(Leonhardt/Harnoncourt, Rilling and Leusink), and am purchasing,
as they appear, John Eliot Gardiner’s live recordings from
his Bach pilgrimages - which have been favorably reviewed
here and elsewhere. I also have many of the Suzuki recordings
- also favorably reviewed - but am waiting for that series
to finish before buying what I hope will be a more affordable
complete set. While I am a big fan of this music - one can
never have enough recordings of Bach cantatas - I simply can’t
justify the cost of the Koopman set, which would come to more
than £800, or nearly €1100! To compare, the Leonhardt/Harnoncourt
set can be found for less than €200, and the Rilling set for
less than €600. And the less-than-stellar Leusink set is part
of Brilliant Classics’ complete Bach box, which retails for
less than €100.
The only reason I’m focusing on price is
because of Challenge Classics’ strategy of releasing a sampler
at a very low price to get listeners “hooked” on this music
and buy an expensive set. The days of full-price classical
CDs are over; few labels attempt to sell what has become back
catalog at this price, and Challenge would be better off selling
these discs in, say, larger boxes - perhaps ten CDs each -
at a nicer price. Koopman’s approach to the cantatas is interesting,
his performers top-notch, his chorus excellent, and the sound
impeccable. While some critics have found them unequal, this
sampler presents a florilegium of the finest parts of the
series, with rousing chorales and moving arias, with a few
orchestral movements for variety. The music flows smoothly
from one piece to the next, and is well organized for listening;
putting one or both of these discs on will lighten your heart
and please your ears. However, most listeners won’t see the
need for 66 discs of this music; only true lovers of Bach
cantatas will be likely to want to go further. For those who
want to get just a few more discs of Bach cantatas, the two
box sets of recordings by Philippe Herreweghe on Harmonia
Mundi are probably the best introduction to the genre.
I love the Bach cantatas, and listen to
them regularly; I would love to be able to hear more of Koopman’s
work, but the price is simply prohibitive. However, the pittance
that you’ll spend on this sampler is worth many times its value.
Grab it if you don’t know Bach’s cantatas, or if you’re a fan;
you won’t be disappointed.
Kirk McElhearn
Various soloists including Annette Markert; Lisa Larsson; Bogna
Bartosz; Paul Agnew; Klaus Mertens; Christoph Prégardien; Sandrine
Piau; Anne Grimm
