Heart's Solace

Johann Sebastian Bach (Composer), Andrew Parrott (Conductor) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Conductor: Andrew Parrott
• Composer: Johann Sebastian Bach
• Audio CD (April 14, 1998)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Sony
• ASIN: B0000062CX
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #289,922 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Komm, Jesu, komm, motet for chorus & continuo, BWV 229 (BC C3): Komm, Jesu, Komm

2. Komm, Jesu, komm, motet for chorus & continuo, BWV 229 (BC C3): Drauf shließ' ich mich

3. Trauer-Ode: Cantata No. 198, 'Lass, Fürstin, lass noch einen Strahl,' BWV 198 (BC A120): Chorus: Laß, Fürstin, laß noch einen Strahl

4. Trauer-Ode: Cantata No. 198, 'Lass, Fürstin, lass noch einen Strahl,' BWV 198 (BC A120): Recitative: Dein Sachsen

5. Trauer-Ode: Cantata No. 198, 'Lass, Fürstin, lass noch einen Strahl,' BWV 198 (BC A120): Aria: Verstummt!

6. Trauer-Ode: Cantata No. 198, 'Lass, Fürstin, lass noch einen Strahl,' BWV 198 (BC A120): Recitative: Der Glocken bebendes Getön

7. Trauer-Ode: Cantata No. 198, 'Lass, Fürstin, lass noch einen Strahl,' BWV 198 (BC A120): Aria: Wie starb die Heldin so vergnügt

8. Trauer-Ode: Cantata No. 198, 'Lass, Fürstin, lass noch einen Strahl,' BWV 198 (BC A120): Recitative: Ihr Leben ließ die Kunst zu ster

9. Trauer-Ode: Cantata No. 198, 'Lass, Fürstin, lass noch einen Strahl,' BWV 198 (BC A120): Chorus: An dir, du Fürbild großer Frauen

10. Trauer-Ode: Cantata No. 198, 'Lass, Fürstin, lass noch einen Strahl,' BWV 198 (BC A120): Part 2, Aria: Der Ewigkeit saphines Haus

11. Trauer-Ode: Cantata No. 198, 'Lass, Fürstin, lass noch einen Strahl,' BWV 198 (BC A120): Part 2, Recitative: Was Wunder ist?

12. Trauer-Ode: Cantata No. 198, 'Lass, Fürstin, lass noch einen Strahl,' BWV 198 (BC A120): Part 2, Chorus: Sedunda: Doch, Königin!

13. Jesu, meine Freude, motet for 5-part chorus, BWV 227 (BC C5): 'Jesu, meine Freude'

14. Jesu, meine Freude, motet for 5-part chorus, BWV 227 (BC C5): 'Er ist nun nichts'

15. Jesu, meine Freude, motet for 5-part chorus, BWV 227 (BC C5): 'Unter deinen Schirmen bin ich vor den Sturmen'

16. Jesu, meine Freude, motet for 5-part chorus, BWV 227 (BC C5): 'Denn das Gesetz des Geistes, das da lebendig macht'

17. Jesu, meine Freude, motet for 5-part chorus, BWV 227 (BC C5): 'Trotz, trotz dem alten Drachen'

18. Jesu, meine Freude, motet for 5-part chorus, BWV 227 (BC C5): 'Ihr aber seid nicht fleischlich'

19. Jesu, meine Freude, motet for 5-part chorus, BWV 227 (BC C5): 'Weg mit allen Schatzen'

20. Jesu, meine Freude, motet for 5-part chorus, BWV 227 (BC C5): 'So aber Christus in euch ist'

See all 23 tracks on this disc

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Andrew Parrott's first disc for Sony isn't the most cheerful debut imaginable--two funeral motets and a cantata mourning the death of a Saxon princess. But it's all Bach, so the music, however solemn, is sublime. Parrott experiments with the one-singer-per-part approach he's used for most of his Bach recordings: one motet and the cantata's opening chorus are sung by soloists; the other motet and the cantata's chorales get two singers per part. The singing and playing in the Trauer-Ode cantata are marvelous, probably the best available; the motets are beautifully done as well, but there's little to choose between this performance and the equally good one by Cantus Cölln (also performed one-singer-per-part). In any case, this disc is certainly worth having--especially for the Trauer-Ode. --Matthew Westphal

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not just a pretty album cover, March 6, 2003

By 

R. Gerard (Pennsylvania USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Heart's Solace (Audio CD)

This record is an abolute must for those even remotely interested in Bach's works. Andrew Parrott has released many records using the One Voice Per Part theory, put forth by Joshua Rifkin. This one, by far has to be one of the better ones of his Bach releases.

The thick reverberation is thanks to the performance venue. This release was recorded in St. Jude's in Hampstead Gardens, London. The massive church sound is quite possibly a more accurate representation of what one might have heard in the Leipzig churches that Bach was responsible for music-wise. For me, the reverberation compliments the religious air of Bach's vocal works- especially the motets, two of which are recorded here, accompanying the Funeral-Ode, BWV 198.

With this record (which has a theme of death and the afterlife) Parrot prooves that such a small ensemble (which Bach would have likely used) can succesfully narrate the deepest human emotions just as well as, if not better than, a larger choir.

The voices are all excellent. They sparingly use vibrato, faithful to baroque performance practice. In the motet, "Komm, Jesu, Komm," we also have the opportunity to hear Panito Iconomou, no longer a boy-alto from the Tolzer Knabenchor, but a mature-sounding and burly bass. Adult female altos and sopranos are used, but their boyish sounding voices make this recording more believable and uniform.

The orchestra is polished and balances well with the voices. Many people realize that the One Voice Per Part approach balances much better with an orchestra. Thanks to the minimal forces, each voice, each line, and therefore more of Bach's intentions, are meticulously heard.

This is clearly a must-have recording.

4.0 out of 5 stars Overall, a beautiful performace., June 14, 2000

By 

J. Waddell (Tennessee, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Heart's Solace (Audio CD)

Bach is definetly one of my favorite composers, and I especially like his melancholy works. These are some of the most beautiful and sad pieces I've heard from Bach. All 3 are equally good, but the uncontrolled reverb in the recording never ceases to irritate me. 5 stars for the performance, 4 for the thick reverb.