Arias with Instrumental Obbligato

Johann Sebastian Bach’s arias are the only chamber music in which vocal and instrumental solos share equally to convey the text’s meaning. The singer is entrusted with the words, and the instrumentalist with delineating the ideas and feelings of the text –as intensely as the words themselves. Bach’s arias have been underappreciated because they are excerpted, and because they are taken from cantatas that functioned liturgically in the churches where Bach worked. They unfairly suffer a parochial status when their universality is evident--their sadness is sadder than that in many other musical genres, and their joy is more joyous. Here, Bach related directly to his congregants, acknowledging their occupations and celebrations, their fears and aspirations, and their mystical religious leaps. Bach’s genius as composer of the some of the greatest religious music stems from his participation as an accepted, admired, and trusted member of a middle class community, attuned to its values and concerns. In Bach’s arias, the interaction between religious, political, and socioeconomic forces found an authentic voice that continues to resonate. This recording of the Bach Aria Festival and Institute was recorded in 1987 and originally released in 1989.

Track Listing

101	Cantata 30a: Aria for for Alto, Flute, and Continuo: Was die Seele kann ergötzen Bach Aria Group	05:37
102	Cantata 205: Aria for Soprano, Violin, and Continuo: Angenehmer Zephyrus Bach Aria Group	03:33
103	Cantata 41: Aria for Tenor, Cello, and Continuo: Woferne du den edlen Frieden Bach Aria Group	09:35
104	Cantata 158: Aria for Bass, Flute, and Continuo, with Chorale in Soprano: Welt, ade! Bach Aria Group	05:46
105	Cantata 105: Aria for Soprano, Oboe, Violins, and Violas: Wie zittern und wanken der Sünder Gedanken Bach Aria Group	06:33
106	Cantata 146: Duet for Tenor, Bass, and Orchestra: Wie will ich mich freuen Bach Aria Group	05:50
107	Cantata 33: Aria for Alto, Strings, and Continuo: Wie furchtsam wankten meine Schritten Bach Aria Group	10:31
108	Cantata 58: Aria for Soprano, Violin, and Continuo: Ich bin vergnügt in meinem Leiden Bach Aria Group	05:01
109	Cantata 97: Aria for Tenor, Violin, and Continuo: Ich traue seiner Gnaden Bach Aria Group	08:39
110	Cantata 140: Duet for Soprano, Bass, Oboe, and Continuo: Meine freund ist mein Bach Aria Group	05:36
111	Cantata 83: Aria for Alto, Violin, Strings, Two Oboes, Two Horns, and Continuo: Erfreute Zeit! Bach Aria Group	06:20