Bach's Lutheran Masses on this album are largely 'parodies' of his earlier cantata movements, meaning existing cantata texts were replaced with Mass texts.
Performer Biography
Masaaki Suzuki, the musical director, founded the Bach Collegium Japan in 1990 to introduce Japanese audiences to period instrument performances of baroque works.
Composition History
J.S. Bach's Lutheran Masses are 'Kyrie-Gloria' Masses, an abridged, bipartite form of the Mass text that remained in use in the Protestant church.
Recording & Production
This album was recorded in two sessions: September 2013 at Kobe Shoin Women's University Chapel and September/October 2014 at Saitama Arts Theater Concert Hall, both in Japan.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Bach likely reused existing cantata movements for his Masses to save time, possibly due to commissions, and found Latin texts easier to adapt than German.
Performer Biography
The Bach Collegium Japan gained a formidable reputation through its recordings of Bach's church cantatas, completing a 55-volume project in 2013.
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