JS Bach: Solo Cantatas for Bass

With a new disc given over to three cantatas for bass by JS Bach, Christian Senn gives valid voice to that ever-continuing need of bringing the Kantor’s scores alive in fresh recordings. The career of the Chileanborn baritone Senn currently sees him having a strong – and much-applauded – affinity for music of the Baroque, be it in Vivaldi operas, or the Passions and other choral masterpieces by Bach; this is in addition to him impressing greatly in bel canto repertory – notably in Mozart. On this new release from Glossa (where Senn is operating with a rich and deep bass-baritone colouring to his voice) there are not just the two principal Bach cantatas for solo bass – Ich will den Kreuzstab gerne tragen, BWV 56 and Ich habe genug, BWV 82 – but also the third and more rarely aired work, Der Friede sei mit dir, BWV 158, in which the soloist is joined by a chorus of sopranos. In his exploration of the mystery of these sacred cantatas, Senn is beautifully supported by Ruben Jais and his Milan-based laBarocca. This is not the period ensemble’s first recording for Glossa – Jais directed it on a previous occasion when accompanying Sonia Prina in her Gluck recital, Heroes in love – and more releases can be expected from this combination in the near future. There is space also for Marc Trautmann to contribute a wry and lively booklet essay placing the three Bach cantatas – and Senn’s recording of them – in an illuminating context.