Playlist

The Best of Bach Cantatas

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The Best of Bach Cantatas
First page of the autograph of cantata 'Wir danken dir, Gott, wir danken dir', BWV 29

FIRST PUBLISHED 10 AUG 2025

This playlist accompanies our latest feature on tenor Nick Pritchard, which focuses on his recent recording of Bach Cantatas with the Oxford Bach Soloists. We have put together a selection of some of the most beloved movements from Bach’s monumental oeuvre, alongside some lesser-known gems.

The featured tracks include those from a Continuo-funded album, The Art of Obligato, in which violinist Davina Clarke and friends explore the nuanced relationship between violin and voice in arias from Bach’s cantatas. We also feature tracks from recordings by a number of previous Continuo grantees including Dunedin Consort, Florilegium, Illyria Consort and La Nuova Musica. Alongside these are tracks from recordings by Continuo's first Patron, the late conductor Sir Roger Norrington, pioneer of historically-informed performance practice.


TRACK LIST

1. Ich habe genug, BWV 82b: I. Aria ‘Ich habe genug’ | Nick Pritchard, Yu-Wei Hu, Oxford Bach Soloists, Tom Hammond-Davies
2. Geist und Seele wird verwirret, BWV 35: I. Sinfonia | Johannes Strobl, Camerata Salzburg, Sir Roger Norrington
3. Bereitet die Wege, bereitet die Bahn, BWV 132: V. Aria ‘Christi Glieder, ach bedenket’ | Davina Clarke, Tom Foster, Hugh Cutting
4. Christ lag in Todes Banden, BWV 4: II. Chorus ‘Christ lag in Todes Banden’ | Oxford Bach Soloists, Tom Hammond-Davies
5. Was mir behagt, ist nur die muntre Jagd, BWV 208: IX. Aria ‘Schafe können sicher weiden’ | Clare Lloyd-Griffiths, Solomon’s Knot
6. Liebster Jes, mein Verlangen, BWV 32: V. Aria (Duet) ‘Nun verschwindern alle Plagen’ | Joanne Lunn, Matthew Brook, Dunedin Consort, John Butt
7. Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme, BWV 140: VII. Chorale ‘Gloria sei dir gesungen’ | The Monteverdi Choir, English Baroque Soloists, Sir John Eliot Gardiner
8. Wir müssen durch viel Trübsal das Reich Gottes eingehen, BWV 146: I. Sinfonia | Florilegium
9. Lobe den Herren, den mächtigen König der Ehren, BWV 137: II. Aria ‘Lobe den Herren’ | Hugh Cutting, Tom Foster, Davina Clarke
10. Der Friede sei mit dir, BWV 158: II. Aria & Chorale ‘Welt, ade, ich bin dein müde’ | Matthias Goerne, Rainer Schmidt, Salzburg Bach Choir, Camerata Salzburg, Sir Roger Norrington
11. Vernügte Ruh, Beliebte Seelenlust, BWV 170: I. Aria ‘Vergnügte Ruh, Beliebte Seelenlust’ | Barnaby Smith, Illyria Consort, Leo Duarte
12. Erfreut euch, ihr Herzen, BWV 66: V. Aria ‘Ich furchte zwar| nicht des Grabes Finsternissen’ | Hugh Cutting, Nick Pritchard, Tom Foster, Davina Clarke
13. Weinen, Klagen, Sorgen, Zagen, BWV 12: II. Chorus, ‘Weinen, Klagen’ | The Monteverdi Choir, Sir John Eliot Gardiner
14. Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme, BWV 140: III. Aria ‘Wann kömmst du, mein Heil?’ | Ruth Holton, Bas Ramselaar, Netherlands Bach Collegium, Pieter Jan Leusink
15. Christ lag in Todesbanden, BWV 4: I. Sinfonia | Oxford Bach Soloists, Tom Hammond-Davies
16. Vernügte Ruh, beliebte Seelenlust, BWV 170: V. Aria ‘Mir ekelt mehr zu leben’ | Tim Mead, La Nuova Musica, David Bates
17. Es ist euch gut, daß ich hingehe, BWV 108: II. Aria ‘Mich kann kein Zweifel stören’ | Nick Pritchard, Tom Foster, Davina Clarke
18. Mein Herze schwimmt im Blut, BWV 199: VIII. Aria ‘Wie freudig ist mein Herz’ | Johannette Zomer, Florilegium
19. Der Friede sei mit dir, BWV 158: IV. Chorale, ‘Hier ist das rechte Osterlamm’ | Salzburg Bach Choir, Camerata Salzburg, Sir Roger Norrington
20. Gottes Zeit ist die allerbeste Zeit (Actus Tragicus), BWV 106: VII. Chorus ‘Glorie, Lob, Ehr und Herrlichkeit’ | Dunedin Consort, John Butt
21. Wohl dem, der sich auf seinen Gott, BWV 139: II. Aria ‘Gott ist mein Freund’ | Nick Pritchard, Tom Foster, Kati Debretzeni, Davina Clarke
22. Nach dir, Herr, verlanget mich, BWV 150: VII. Ciacona (Chorus) ‘Meine Tage in dem Leide’ | Bach Collegium Japan, Masaaki Suzuki
23. Jesu, der du meine Seele, BWV 78: II. Aria ‘Wir eilen mit Schwachen’ | Ruth Holton, Sytse Buwalda, Holland Boys Choir, Netherlands Bach Collegium, Pieter Jan Leusink
24. Weinen, Klagen, Sorgen, Zagen, BWV 12: I. Sinfonia | English Baroque Soloists, Sir John Eliot Gardiner
25. Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott, BWV 80: I. Chorus ‘Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott’ | The Monteverdi Choir, English Baroque Soloists, Sir John Eliot Gardiner
26. Ich hatte viel Bekümmernis, BWV 21: III. Aria ‘Seufzer, Tränen, Kummer, Not’ | Barbara Schlick, La Chapelle Royale, Philippe Herreweghe
27. O Ewigkeit, du Donnerwort, BWV 20: I. Chorale: ‘O Ewigkeit, du Donnerwort’ | The Amsterdam Baroque Choir & Orchestra, Ton Koopman
28. Kommt, eilet und laufet, BWV 249 (Easter Oratorio): IV. ‘Spele, deine Spezereien’ | Monika Frimmer, Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, Gustav Leonhardt
29. Herz und Mund und Tat und Leben, BWV 147: X. Chorale ‘Jesus bleibet meine Freude’ | Crispian Steele-Perkins, The Monteverdi Choir, English Baroque Soloists, Sir John Eliot Gardiner
30. Ich habe genug, BWV 82: I. Aria, ‘Ich habe genug’ | Mathias Goerne, Albrecht Mayer, Camerata Salzburg, Sir Roger Norrington

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