J. S. Bach: Easter Oratorio/Magnificat (Ton Koopman)

Johann Sebastian Bach (Artist), Ton Koopman (Artist), Lisa Larsson (Artist), Elisabeth von Magnus (Artist), Klaus Mertens (Artist), Gerd Türk (Artist), Bogna Bartosz (Artist), Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra and Choir (Artist) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (March 16, 1999)
• SPARS Code: DDD
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Erato
• ASIN: B00000I8TC
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #223,411 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Easter Oratorio (Oster-Oratorium: 'Kommt, eilet und laufet'), BWV 249 (BC D8): Sinfonia

2. Easter Oratorio (Oster-Oratorium: 'Kommt, eilet und laufet'), BWV 249 (BC D8): Adagio

3. Easter Oratorio (Oster-Oratorium: 'Kommt, eilet und laufet'), BWV 249 (BC D8): Chorus: 'Kommt, Eilet Und Laufet'

4. Easter Oratorio (Oster-Oratorium: 'Kommt, eilet und laufet'), BWV 249 (BC D8): Recitativo (Soprano, Alto, Tenor, Bass): 'O Kalter Män

5. Easter Oratorio (Oster-Oratorium: 'Kommt, eilet und laufet'), BWV 249 (BC D8): Aria (Soprano): 'Seele, Deine Spezereien'

6. Easter Oratorio (Oster-Oratorium: 'Kommt, eilet und laufet'), BWV 249 (BC D8): Recitativo (Alto, Tenor, Bass): 'Hier Ist Di Gruft'

7. Easter Oratorio (Oster-Oratorium: 'Kommt, eilet und laufet'), BWV 249 (BC D8): Aria (Tenor): 'Sanfte Soll Mein Todeskummer'

8. Easter Oratorio (Oster-Oratorium: 'Kommt, eilet und laufet'), BWV 249 (BC D8): Recitativo (Soprano, Alto): 'Indessen Seufzen Wir'

9. Easter Oratorio (Oster-Oratorium: 'Kommt, eilet und laufet'), BWV 249 (BC D8): Aria (Alto): 'Saget, Saget Mir Geschwinde'

10. Easter Oratorio (Oster-Oratorium: 'Kommt, eilet und laufet'), BWV 249 (BC D8): Recitativo (bass): 'Wir Sind Erfreut'

11. Easter Oratorio (Oster-Oratorium: 'Kommt, eilet und laufet'), BWV 249 (BC D8): Chorus: 'Preis Und Dank'

12. Magnificat, for 5 voices, 5-part chorus, orchestra & continuo in D major, BWV 243 (BC E14): Magnificat

13. Magnificat, for 5 voices, 5-part chorus, orchestra & continuo in D major, BWV 243 (BC E14): Et Exsultavit

14. Magnificat, for 5 voices, 5-part chorus, orchestra & continuo in D major, BWV 243 (BC E14): Quia Respexit

15. Magnificat, for 5 voices, 5-part chorus, orchestra & continuo in D major, BWV 243 (BC E14): Omnes Generationes

16. Magnificat, for 5 voices, 5-part chorus, orchestra & continuo in D major, BWV 243 (BC E14): Quai Fecit Mihi Magna

17. Magnificat, for 5 voices, 5-part chorus, orchestra & continuo in D major, BWV 243 (BC E14): Et Misericordia

18. Magnificat, for 5 voices, 5-part chorus, orchestra & continuo in D major, BWV 243 (BC E14): Fecit Poetntiam

19. Magnificat, for 5 voices, 5-part chorus, orchestra & continuo in D major, BWV 243 (BC E14): Deposuit Potentes

20. Magnificat, for 5 voices, 5-part chorus, orchestra & continuo in D major, BWV 243 (BC E14): Esurientes Implevit Bonis

See all 23 tracks on this disc

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What a fun performance and glorious sound!, July 7, 2002

By 

Craig Matteson (Saline, MI) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: J. S. Bach: Easter Oratorio/Magnificat (Ton Koopman) (Audio CD)

This recording is full of energy and joy. The period instruments sound so wonderful and lush. It was recorded in just the right environment and sounds superb.

The approach to both pieces is spot on and you will want to listen to this recording many times just for the sheer fun of it.

The provided booklet provides some helpful notes on the background of the pieces - when and why Bach wrote them. And also the libretto (which is ALWAYS nice to have). I like to have all that information available and knowing when and why can deepen our appreciation of the music. However, the first and most important thing is to hear the music.

This recording is among the best of these works. So, you would do well to begin here!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Powerful Kantor's Easter & Magnificat Efforts, May 8, 2002

By 

rodboomboom (Dearborn, Michigan United States) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: J. S. Bach: Easter Oratorio/Magnificat (Ton Koopman) (Audio CD)

1723-25 were powerful, productive years for Bach in Leipzig as Kantor. In 1723-24 Christmas, comes this Magnificat. Especially attractive to me is track 14, "Aria" "Quia respexit humilitatem" which is a powerful soprano and oboe movement aided by the full chorus piping in "To all Generations!"

The Easter Oratorio was a gift for an honorarium by Duke Christian composed around four aria recitatives for Mary Magdelene, Mary, John and Peter. The opening Sinfonia is breathtaking with its gracious oboe work by Marcel Ponseele.
Building to the heights of the finale, "Praise and Thanks" ends in triumphant declaration by full choir "The Lion of Judah approaches in triumph!"

Strong vocalist performances by soprano Lisa Larsson and bass Klaus Mertens. Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra and Chorus directed by Ton Koopman is well done with passion and pace.

With translation in French, German and English, this is excellent performance of important Sacred Large-Scale Composition for soloists, choir and orchestra.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Treatise on Baroque Musicianship, February 6, 2008

By 

Timothy D. Hinck "Baroque keyboard instructor... (Chattanooga, TN USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: J. S. Bach: Easter Oratorio/Magnificat (Ton Koopman) (Audio CD)

A Treatise on Baroque Musicianship


Not only do I love this recording with all of its spontaneity and "accidents" (sometimes sublime and sometimes surprising), I even use this recording as a sort of primer for my organ students for Baroque technique. The best way to understand Baroque music is to start with the truly great compositions. Bach's Easter Oratorio is one of those pieces of mature Baroque music in which the drama of the Italian Opera, the refined subtleties of French instrumental music, and the passionate conviction of the Reformation have all come together in the form of some of the most creative vocal and instrumental lines ever written. Completed in its current form in 1738, it represents Bach at the prime of his career.

What is really important about this performance, however, is that the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra and Choir under the direction of Ton Koopman has succeeded in finally surpassing the old dry, academic playing of most "historical" performances and are bringing musicality back into Baroque music. They are certainly not the first to do this, but this balance of historically informed playing and the crafting of beautiful musical lines is rarely achieved at this level. The fabulous flute solo in the soprano aria "Seele, deine Spezereien" is full of beautifully shaped lines (which often cross the bar lines) and is a showcase of natural, unaffected playing that is so rare. (Baroque keyboard players take note!) As to the criticism from some who claim that the performance is "mushy" or "non-distinct" (I believe those were the words) one only needs to listen to the beatiful aria "Saget, saget" from the Oratorio, or the "Et Exultavit" from the Magnificat to hear the perfect precision of this band. The recent trend of going back to fewer players per part has finally allowed them to stop playing like typewriters, and start to sing! Speaking of singing, Lisa Larsson has one of the most perfect "period voices" I have heard: a pure and light tone, which also contains such passion and a large palate of tones. The sound produced from the blending of unison violins and recorders in the tenor aria "Sanfte soll mein Todeskummer" is very hypnotic.

There are some things which are a bit unpleasant in the recording. For example the difficult aforementioned aria "Sanfte" seems to low for Mr. Gerd Türk, but any of the unpleasantness is completely lost in the overwhelming combination of top musicianship from each of the orchestra members, singers, and their fearless leader. Mr. Koopman's fearlessness is at times unsettling for first-time listeners (his enthusiastic improvisation in the continuo seems at times distracting) but we must remember that it is his style of playing which drives the energy and improvisatory spirit of the whole performance. And it is exactly this type of enthusiasm that I imagine audiences in Bach's time and ours enjoy immensely.