Dip Your Ears, No. 47 (Bach Family Matters)

Bach Family et al., Lamento, MAK, R.Goebel, M.Kožená Archiv

Lamento, Magdalena Kožená’s latest album on Archiv is really the third installment of Musica Antiqua Köln’s “Bachiana” series where they, under the leadership of Reinhard Goebel, explore seldom-heard music of Bach family members interspersed with J. S. Bach’s work and occasionally other contemporaries. But having Gramophone Artist of the Year winner (2004) Magdalena Kožená on hand proved too irresistible a marketing opportunity even to the hard-nosed lads at Archiv – so they went with her as the main draw. If that means that more people will be exposed to Johann Christoph (1642-1703) and Johann Christoph Friedrich (1732-1795) Bach’s work, all the better.

Between “Ach, dass ich Wasser’s g’nug hätte” by the former and “Die Amerikanerin” by the latter, you’ll hear Francesco Bartolomeo Conti’s “Languet anima mea,” a cantata for soprano, two oboes, strings, and basso continuo; J. S. Bach’s contralto cantata “Vergnügte Ruh, beliebte Seelenlust,” BWV 170; his contralto aria “Bekennen will ich seinen Namen,” BWV 200; and C. P. E. Bach’s soprano cantata Selma. The works are arranged chronologically (or at least in chronological order of the composers), and you can hear the development from the first Bach’s early Baroque style to the last Bach’s hints of the galant style. All works are charming, none are overwhelming, and the execution is up to the expected high standards. For followers of MAK or Kožená’s, it will be of special interest.

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