Dominik Wörner, Zefiro and Alfredo Bernardini – Bach: Cantatas and Arias for Bass (2019) [Official Digital Download 24bit/48kHz]

Carl Philipp Emanuel tells us of his father’s talent as a singer: ‘He had a good penetrating voice of wide range and good singing style.’ It is therefore not surprising that the three church cantatas for solo bass are among his most exquisite and personal vocal works. Singing voice and instruments enter into a special relationship in these pieces. The dense yet sensitive polyphony is filled with a warmth and tenderness that seems to bring us closer to Bach, who is otherwise so ‘hermetically closed’. The ‘I’ voice in the poems of cantatas BWV 56 and 82 becomes the composer’s voice. Bach’s solo cantatas are precious gems whose subtle beauties go straight to the listener’s heart.

After releasing all the Brandenburg Concertos and Orchestral Suites, Zefiro joins forces with authoritative singer Dominik Woerner to investigate the intriguing relationship between bass voice and reed instruments in Bach’s sacred cantatas. “Johann Sebastian Bach’s son Carl Philipp Emanuel tells us of his father’s talent as a singer: ‘He had a good penetrating voice of wide range and good singing style.’ It is therefore not surprising that the three church cantatas for solo bass are among his most exquisite and personal vocal works. Singing voice and instruments enter into a special relationship in these pieces. The dense yet sensitive polyphony is filled with a warmth and tenderness that seems to bring us closer to Bach, who is otherwise so ‘hermetically closed’. The ‘I’ voice in the poems of cantatas BWV 56 and 82 becomes the composer’s voice. Bach’s solo cantatas are precious gems whose subtle beauties go straight to the listener’s heart.” – Peter Wollny

Tracklist:
1. Cantata “Ich habe genung”, BWV 82: I. [Aria] “Ich habe genung”
2. Cantata “Ich habe genung”, BWV 82: II. Recit. “Ich habe genung”
3. Cantata “Ich habe genung”, BWV 82: III. Aria “Schlummert ein, ihr matten Augen”
4. Cantata “Ich habe genung”, BWV 82: IV. Recit. “Mein Gott! wenn kömmt das schöne: nun!”
5. Cantata “Ich habe genung”, BWV 82: V. Aria “Ich freue mich auf meinen Tod”
6. Aria “Gott ist Gerecht” (From Cantata “O, Ewigkeit Du Donnerwort”, BWV 20)
7. Cantata “Die Friede sei mit Dir”, BWV 158: I. Recit. “Die Friede sei mit dir”
8. Cantata “Die Friede sei mit Dir”, BWV 158: II. Aria con Corale “Welt, ade, ich bin dein müde”
9. Cantata “Die Friede sei mit Dir”, BWV 158: III. Recit. “Nun, Herr, regiere meinen Sinn”
10. Cantata “Die Friede sei mit Dir”, BWV 158: IV. Choral “Hier ist das rechte Osterlamm”
11. From Cantata “Ach wie flüchtig, ach wie nichtig”, BWV 26: I. Aria “An irdische Schätze das Herze zu hängen”
12. Cantata “Ich will den Kreutztab gerne tragen”, BWV 56: II. Aria “Ich will den Kreuztab gerne tragen”
13. Cantata “Ich will den Kreutztab gerne tragen”, BWV 56: III. Recit. “Mein Wandel auf der Welt”
14. Cantata “Ich will den Kreutztab gerne tragen”, BWV 56: IV. Aria “Endlich, endlich wird mein Joch”
15. Cantata “Ich will den Kreutztab gerne tragen”, BWV 56: V. Recit. “Ich stehe fertig und bereit”
16. Cantata “Ich will den Kreutztab gerne tragen”, BWV 56: V. Choral “Komm, o Tod, du Schlafes Bruder”
17. Aria “Warum willst Du so zornig sein” (From Cantata “Nimm von uns, Herr, du treuer Gott”, BWV 101)