The Cantatas of Bach had long been a repertoire which I felt rather overwhelmed by; it was difficult to know where to begin with such a substantial body of work! So I recently acquired the complete Gardiner cantata box set (one of the best purchases I've ever made!) and am listening to the whole cycle, one disc a week according to the liturgical calendar, whilst reading the book The Cantatas of J.S. Bach by Alfred Dürr, which contains some very interesting explanations. I find this repertoire endlessly fascinating and I hope to become more and more familiar with it.
So I suppose I wanted to ask you, What are your favourite cantatas by Bach? What do you like about them? How do you go about listening to them? Or if you dislike the cantatas, feel free to tell us why. (I can understand if the endless recitative and the repetitive chorales aren't to everyone's taste!). Any comments, observations, comparisons would be much appreciated!
I would make a poll of favourite cantatas but one is not allowed 200 options, and there aren't any "obvious" choices to pull out, I don't think
Thanks.
So I suppose I wanted to ask you, What are your favourite cantatas by Bach? What do you like about them? How do you go about listening to them? Or if you dislike the cantatas, feel free to tell us why. (I can understand if the endless recitative and the repetitive chorales aren't to everyone's taste!). Any comments, observations, comparisons would be much appreciated!
I would make a poll of favourite cantatas but one is not allowed 200 options, and there aren't any "obvious" choices to pull out, I don't think
Thanks.