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Cantata Collective

The Cantata Collective defines itself as "San Francisco's only professional ensemble dedicated solely to the performance of the cantatas of J.S. Bach." The group launched a complete cycle of Bach cantatas on the Centaur label in 2022. The Cantata Collective was formed in San Francisco in 2017 with the stated aim of performing J.S. Bach's cantatas exclusively. The group members are oboist Marc Schachman, violinists Katie Kyme and Lisa Weiss, violinist/violist Anthony Martin, cellist William Skeen, and bassist Kristin Zoernig, with choristers, soloists, and other instrumentalists added according to the requirements of specific works. All are San Francisco Bay Area early music players associated with the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, whose former conductor, Nicholas McGegan, has conducted or played organ on the group's performances and recordings and serves on its advisory board. Other board members include not only performers but also influential academics, researchers, and a harpsichord maker, John Phillips. The group's motivations include not only deep enthusiasm for Bach's music -- "Combining craft, passion, and imagination in equal parts, Bach somehow created a sum which comprehensively blew the lid off the whole artistic equation," they state -- but also practical considerations such as that the forces required for Bach cantata performances mean that these works are rarely included in concerts of other music. The Cantata Collective has been highly visible in the Bay Area thanks to its free Bach cantata performances at St. Mary Magdalen Church in the city of Berkeley. Those performances entered their seventh season in 2023-2024. The Collective has also undertaken larger performances, including those of the St. John Passion, BWV 245, and Mass in B minor, BWV 232, with McGegan as conductor; in these works, the Collective steers between choral and one-voice-per-part approaches, with three singers on each part. Those performances were recorded and released on the Avie label in 2023 and 2024, respectively. In addition, the group began a new cycle of Bach cantatas on recordings, releasing the first volume in the series on the Centaur label in 2022. In 2024, the series reached its second volume with a release featuring countertenor Reginald Mobley.
© James Manheim /TiVo
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Discography

6 album(s) • Sorted by Bestseller

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