Masaaki Suzuki acknowledges the challenge for Japanese performers of Bach's cantatas, which are deeply rooted in German language and culture, requiring careful study of technical and musicological aspects.
Performer Biography
The Bach Collegium Japan (BCJ), founded in 1990 by Masaaki Suzuki, aims to introduce Japanese audiences to Baroque works using period instruments, focusing on Bach and his German Protestant predecessors.
Recording & Production
This recording project of Bach's cantatas by Bach Collegium Japan was launched in the Far East in 1995, marking the 50th anniversary of the end of World War II.
Recording & Production
This CD was recorded in the Shoin Women's University Chapel, completed in 1981, which was designed with exceptional acoustics and houses a French Baroque-style organ by Marc Garnier.
Composer Biography
Bach began his professional music career at age 18 as an organist in Arnstadt in 1703, initially focusing on organ performance and composition before seriously composing cantatas in Mühlhausen.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Masaaki Suzuki, the director of Bach Collegium Japan, believes that the God Bach served and the God he worships are the same, bridging the 200 years between their times.
Composition History
J.S. Bach likely composed five complete sets of cantatas during his lifetime, with approximately 200 still in existence today, mostly from his time in Leipzig (1723-50).
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