David Greco & Van Diemen’s Band - Bach: Bass Cantatas (2020)

The music of Johann Sebastian Bach is pure perfection: a vast yet intricate tapestry of heavenly beauty and human emotion. Music was for Bach the means through which mortals could directly experience the divine, and his cantatas reveal his extraordinary gift for communicating directly with his listeners, even across three centuries. As dramatic and passionate as any opera, each cantata carries us deep into the heart of its story.

This CD presents Bach’s two sacred cantatas for solo bass, performed by acclaimed Australian baritone David Greco and the exciting Tasmanian Baroque ensemble Van Diemen’s Band. Both cantatas offer us a vision of comfort and hope, beautifully conveyed by Greco’s rich, warm tones: Ich habe genug (It is enough), BWV82, is an outpouring of uttermost relief and joy: long, agonising years of waiting are forgotten as the old man Simeon realises that the baby he is cradling in his arms is the Christ child who brings new hope for the world. Ich will den Kreuzstab gerne tragen (Gladly will I bear the cross), BWV56, presents the human journey as a sea voyage, tossed on raging waters before coming safe home to port in heaven.

The album also presents a selection of bass arias and instrumental movements taken from cantatas across Bach’s long career, from the carefree joy of the opening sinfonia to his cantata Der Herr denket an uns (BWV196) – written for a wedding, perhaps even for Bach’s own wedding in 1707 – to the profound tranquility of Betrachte, meine Seel (Contemplate, O my soul) from the St John Passion, as revised by Bach in 1749, just one year before his death.

Warmth, honesty, truth, compassion and transcendent beauty: this recording by the cream of Australia’s early music specialists will make you fall in love with Bach all over again.

Tracklist
1. David Greco, Matthew Manchester, Van Diemen’s Band & Julia Fredersdorff – Ach! ich sehe, itzt, da ich zur Hochzeit gehe, Cantata BWV 162: I. "Ach! ich sehe, itzt, da ich zur Hochzeit gehe" (03:56)
2. David Greco, Van Diemen’s Band & Julia Fredersdorff – Warum betrübst du dich, mein Herz, Cantata BWV 138: V. "Auf Gott steht meine Zuversicht" (04:28)
3. Jasu Moisio, Van Diemen’s Band & Julia Fredersdorff – Ich hatte viel Bekümmernis, Cantata BWV 21, Pt. 1: I. Sinfonia (02:58)
4. David Greco, Donald Nicolson, Van Diemen’s Band & Julia Fredersdorff – Johannes-Passion, BWV 245, Pt. 2: 31. Arioso: "Betrachte, meine Seel'" (02:21)
5. David Greco, Jasu Moisio, Van Diemen’s Band & Julia Fredersdorff – Ich habe genug, Cantata BWV 82: I. "Ich habe genug, ich habe den Heiland" (07:16)
6. David Greco, Van Diemen’s Band & Julia Fredersdorff – Ich habe genug, Cantata BWV 82: II. "Ich habe genug! Mein Trost ist nur allein" (01:09)
7. David Greco, Van Diemen’s Band & Julia Fredersdorff – Ich habe genug, Cantata BWV 82: III. "Schlummert ein, ihr matten Augen" (09:10)
8. David Greco, Van Diemen’s Band & Julia Fredersdorff – Ich habe genug, Cantata BWV 82: IV. "Mein Gott! wann kommt das schöne Nun!" (00:51)
9. David Greco, Jasu Moisio, Van Diemen’s Band & Julia Fredersdorff – Ich habe genug, Cantata BWV 82: V. "Ich freue mich auf meinen Tod" (03:12)
10. Van Diemen’s Band & Julia Fredersdorff – Der Herr denket an uns, Cantata BWV 196: I. Sinfonia (01:39)
11. David Greco, Jasu Moisio, Van Diemen’s Band & Julia Fredersdorff – Sehet, wir gehn hinauf gen Jerusalem, Cantata, BWV 159: IV. "Es ist vollbracht" (05:42)
12. Anna Fraser, Stephanie Dillon, Eric Peterson, David Greco, Van Diemen’s Band & Julia Fredersdorff – Sehet, wir gehn hinauf gen Jerusalem, Cantata, BWV 159: V. "Jesu, deine Passion ist mir lauter Freude" (01:12)
13. Jasu Moisio, Donald Nicolson, Van Diemen’s Band & Julia Fredersdorff – Geist und Seele wird verwirret, Cantata BWV 35, Pt. 2: V. Sinfonia (03:36)
14. David Greco, Jasu Moisio, Van Diemen’s Band & Julia Fredersdorff – Ich will den Kreuzstab gerne tragen, Cantata BWV 56: I. "Ich will den Kreuzstab gerne tragen" (06:00)
15. David Greco, Van Diemen’s Band & Julia Fredersdorff – Ich will den Kreuzstab gerne tragen, Cantata BWV 56: II. "Mein Wandel auf der Welt" (01:41)
16. David Greco, Jasu Moisio, Van Diemen’s Band & Julia Fredersdorff – Ich will den Kreuzstab gerne tragen, Cantata BWV 56: III. "Endlich, endlich wird mein Joch" (06:20)
17. David Greco, Van Diemen’s Band & Julia Fredersdorff – Ich will den Kreuzstab gerne tragen, Cantata BWV 56: IV. "Ich stehe fertig und bereit" (01:21)
18. David Greco, Van Diemen’s Band & Julia Fredersdorff – Ich will den Kreuzstab gerne tragen, Cantata BWV 56: V. "Komm, o Tod, du Schlafes Bruder" (01:26)