Bach Collegium Japan
The Bach Collegium Japan has become perhaps the finest Japanese period-instrument ensemble. Consisting of a chamber orchestra of 20 or so members and a choir of about 25, the ensemble has devoted itself largely to the cantatas and other choral works of J.S. Bach, and to those of various Baroque-era composers, such as Handel, Schütz, and Buxtehude. The group occasionally pares down its forces for instrumental works, such as the Brandenburg Concertos. The Bach Collegium Japan regularly appears in concert at home, as well as at major international locales and has made over 100 recordings for the BIS label.
The Bach Collegium Japan was founded in 1990 by its music director Masaaki Suzuki. Over the years, the ensemble has performed its regular concerts at two locations: Tokyo Opera City Concert Hall and the Kobe Shoin Women's University Chapel. The BCJ initiated its first international tours in 2000 with appearances in Israel, Spain, and Australia. The following year included a highly successful tour of Italy (Rome, Milan, and Florence), and, in 2003, the group debuted in the United States, giving concerts in six cities, including New York (Carnegie Hall), Boston, and Los Angeles. Suzuki has performed at the keyboard in many concerts and recordings, typically on the harpsichord or organ, two instruments on which he had developed virtuosic skills. It should be noted that Suzuki, apart from his work with the BCJ, has forged a highly successful career as a recitalist and soloist with other ensembles and as a recording artist. Concert activity of note by the BCJ has included a return tour of the U.S. in 2006 and appearances in that same year in London, Amsterdam, and Madrid. In 2011, following the earthquake and tsunami in Japan, the ensemble and presenting organizations donated proceeds from its U.S. tour concerts to relief efforts.
In 1995, the BCJ began a massive project for the BIS label -- recording all the church cantatas of Bach. The BCJ completed this cycle of 50 albums in 2014. In 2018, the ensemble issued the final volume of its complete cycle of Bach's cantatas. Intermixed with these releases were albums of other Bach works, including Violin Concertos and Orchestral Suites, as well as albums devoted to Handel (Messiah), Buxtehude (Membra Jesu Nostri), and many others. Admirers were astonished at the pace of the Bach cantata series, and continue to be, as the ensemble carries on recording at a persistent clip. In 2020 alone, the BCJ issued recordings of Bach's St. Matthew Passion, St. John Passion, and the first volume in a cycle of the composer's Harpsichord Concertos.
© Robert Cummings & Keith Finke /TiVo
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J.S. Bach: St. Matthew Passion, BWV 244
Bach Collegium Japan, Masaaki Suzuki
Klassiek - Released by BIS on 7 feb. 2020
Gramophone: Recording of the Month24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Mozart: Great Mass in C Minor & Exsultate, Jubilate
Bach Collegium Japan, Masaaki Suzuki
Klassiek - Released by BIS on 2 dec. 2016
Gramophone AwardGramophone Editor's Choice24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Bach: The Secular Cantatas
Bach Collegium Japan, Masaaki Suzuki
Klassiek - Released by BIS on 1 okt. 2004
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bach, J.S.: Easter Oratorio / Ascension Oratorio
Bach Collegium Japan, Masaaki Suzuki
Klassiek - Released by BIS on 24 jan. 2006
24-Bit 88.2 kHz - Stereo -
Bach, J.S.: Cantatas, Vol. 3 - Bwv 12, 54, 162, 182
Klassiek - Released by BIS on 1 jul. 1996
The Qobuz Essential Discography16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bach, J.S.: Cantatas, Vol. 12 - Bwv 21, 147
Bach Collegium Japan Chorus, Bach Collegium Japan, Masaaki Suzuki
Klassiek - Released by BIS on 1 feb. 2000
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bach, J.S.: Cantatas, Vol. 33 - Bwv 41, 92, 130
Bach Collegium Japan, Masaaki Suzuki
Klassiek - Released by BIS on 1 nov. 2006
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bach, J.S.: Cantatas, Vol. 30 (Suzuki) - Bwv 51, 210, 1127 (Solo Cantatas)
Bach Collegium Japan, Carolyn Sampson, Masaaki Suzuki
Vocale muziek (wereldlijk en religieus) - Released by BIS on 28 feb. 2006
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bach: Cantatas, Vol. 55 – BWVV 69, 30 & 191
Bach Collegium Japan, Masaaki Suzuki
Klassiek - Released by BIS on 19 nov. 2013
Gramophone Editor's Choice24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Bach, J.S.: Cantatas, Vol. 45
Klassiek - Released by BIS on 17 nov. 2009
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bach, J.S.: Cantatas, Vol. 5 - Bwv 18, 143, 152, 155, 161
Bach Collegium Japan, Masaaki Suzuki
Klassiek - Released by BIS on 1 sep. 1997
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bach, J.S.: Cantatas, Vol. 28 - Bwv 26, 62, 116, 139
Bach Collegium Japan, Masaaki Suzuki
Klassiek - Released by BIS on 1 aug. 2005
24-Bit 88.2 kHz - Stereo -
Bach, J.S.: Cantatas, Vol. 32 - Bwv 111, 123, 124, 125
Bach Collegium Japan, Masaaki Suzuki
Klassiek - Released by BIS on 1 sep. 2006
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
J.S. Bach: Concertos for 2 Harpsichords
Masato Suzuki, Masaaki Suzuki, Bach Collegium Japan
Klassiek - Released by BIS on 1 mrt. 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bach, J.S.: Cantatas, Vol. 31 - Bwv 91, 101, 121, 133
Bach Collegium Japan, Masaaki Suzuki
Klassiek - Released by BIS on 1 apr. 2006
24-Bit 88.2 kHz - Stereo -
Bach, J.S.: Cantatas, Vol. 39 - Bwv 28, 68, 85, 175, 183
Klassiek - Released by BIS on 1 apr. 2008
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bach, J.S.: Cantatas, Vol. 21 - Bwv 65, 81, 83, 190
Robin Blaze, James Gilchrist, Peter Kooij, Bach Collegium Japan, Masaaki Suzuki
Klassiek - Released by BIS on 1 mrt. 2003
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
J.S. Bach: Trauerode, BWV 198
Bach Collegium Japan, Bach Collegium Japan Chorus, Masaaki Suzuki
Klassiek - Released by BIS on 1 apr. 2016
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
J.S. Bach: Secular Cantatas, Vol. 10
Bach Collegium Japan, Masaaki Suzuki
Klassiek - Released by BIS on 7 sep. 2018
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Mozart: Requiem in D Minor, K. 626
Bach Collegium Japan, Masaaki Suzuki
Klassiek - Released by BIS on 3 nov. 2014
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
J.S. Bach: St. John Passion, BWV 245
Bach Collegium Japan, Masaaki Suzuki
Klassiek - Released by BIS on 4 sep. 2020
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo