Masaaki Sukuki here brings us four more fine cantatas, of which Wachet! betet! betet! wachet! (No 70) stands apart as one of Bach's most graphically dramatic and cohesive choral achievements. The first movement is justly celebrated, its tautness, forbidding fanfares and diminished chords representing the coming of Christ and the Last Judgement. The apocalyptic backdrop fascinated early interpreters of Bach in the 1950s and '60s, notably Felix Prohaska with his menacing pacing and sepia-like textures offset against a Viennese elegance.
Suzuki's direction is more pressing and urgent in style; his less theatrical, more meticulous approach allows the filigree in the instrumental writing to emerge in a way too rarely heard.
Koopman (Erato) has the edge in conveying a more harrowing perspective to the first movement, but the remainder of the cantata is beautifully crafted by Suzuki, demonstrating the artistic conviction and vocal bravura of Robin Blaze in 'Wenn kommt' (though his soaring tones are heard to even better effect in No 60). The pivotal aria in No 70 is the radiant 'Hebt euer Haupt empor', a succinct piece whose openheartedness requires something more than Gerd Türk and Suzuki can give.
The most compelling performances on this disc are in the busy counterpoint, such as the opening chorus of No 40, 'Dazu ist erschienen', the vibrant tenor aria 'Christenkinder', which shows off BCJ's exemplary wind section, and (to return to the horror of Judgement) the peerlessly executed bass aria of No 90, where Peter Kooij and the obbligato trumpet of Toshio Shimada find the perfect synergy. But it's in the stirring and decidedly prescient Sturm undDrang quality of No 60, O Ewigkeit, du Donnerwort, that Suzuki's infectious grasp of pulse, biting accentuation and luminous textures take fullest flight: he entertains no half-measures in the opening chorus. All round, yet another prestigious addition to the series.