Bach Collegium Japan celebrates its 35th anniversary this year, having earned wide acclaim, particularly for its performances of J.S. Bach’s works as a historically informed ensemble. Building on this trajectory, our performances have reached audiences not only across Japan but also internationally, including Europe, the Americas, and beyond, and we are delighted to continue this journey with our debut in Shanghai. For this occasion, I have carefully selected three works that allow audiences to fully experience the rich and varied charm of Bach’s music.

 

Program
J.S. Bach: Orchestral Suite No. 3 in D major, BWV 1068
J.S. Bach: Concerto for 2 Violins in D minor, BWV 1043

- intermission -

J.S. Bach: Der Streit zwischen Phoebus und Pan BWV 201

J.S. Bach: Orchestral Suite No. 3 in D major, BWV 1068
This work exudes the elegance and splendor of Baroque music, opening with a grand overture and followed by the “Air,” later arranged for solo violin as the famous Air on the G String. The interplay between strings and winds highlights Bach’s intricate structural beauty, while the rhythms and lively character of the dance movements naturally lift the listener’s spirits.

 

J.S. Bach: Concerto for 2 Violins in D minor, BWV 1043
This concerto is one of Bach’s most exciting, with all voices intricately woven through complex counterpoint, highlighting a brilliant dialogue between the two violinists. The first movement opens with a lively, playful theme and spirited counter-melodies. The second movement is marked by poetic beauty, and the third movement culminates in an interwoven, ecstatic finale – each requiring both high technical skill and rich emotional expression.

 

J.S. Bach: Der Streit zwischen Phoebus und Pan BWV 201
This secular cantata, demonstrating Bach’s characteristic humor and wit, depicts the gods of Greek mythology competing over the “superiority of music.” Featuring operatic elements, the drama unfolds through a variety of arias and choruses, blending narrative and musical appeal.

 

Prompted by Momus, the god of satire, the shepherd god Pan and the sun god Phoebus hold a singing contest to determine whose music is superior. Pan sings lively but earthy songs, while Phoebus performs noble and graceful arias. The mountain god Tmolus favors Phoebus’s refined music, whereas King Midas sides with Pan’s earthy songs – and, according to the famous story, is punished with donkey’s ears for his poor judgment. Through the colorful singing and spirited interplays of these mythological characters, listeners can experience Bach’s witty and inventive compositional techniques.

 

 

Masaaki Suzuki
Since founding Bach Collegium Japan in 1990, Masaaki Suzuki has established himself as a leading authority on the works of J. S. Bach. He has remained their Music Director ever since, taking them regularly to major venues and festivals in Europe and the USA, building up an outstanding reputation for the expressive refinement and truth of his performances. 2018 marked the triumphant conclusion of Bach Collegium Japan’s epic recording of the complete sacred and secular cantatas initiated in 1995 and comprising sixty-five volumes. The ensemble has recently recorded the Grammophone awarded Bach’s St. John’s Passion and St. Matthew’s Passion. Suzuki’s impressive discography on the BIS label, featuring all Bach’s major choral works as well as complete works for harpsichord, has brought him many critical plaudits. The Times writes, “it would take an iron bar not to be moved by his crispness, sobriety and spiritual vigour”. In 2012 Suzuki was awarded with the Leipzig Bach Medal and in 2013 the Royal Academy of Music Bach Prize. In April 2001, he was decorated with ‘Das Verdienstkreuz am Bande des Verdienstordens der Bundesrepublik’ from Germany.

 

Bach Collegium Japan was founded by Masaaki Suzuki in 1990. With Suzuki as music director and Masato Suzuki as principal conductor, the ensemble aims to perform ideal interpretations of the musical heritage – especially the works of Johann Sebastian Bach – performed on period instruments by early music specialists from around the world. Bach Collegium Japan has established a formidable international reputation through its acclaimed recordings on the BIS label of the major choral works of Bach. In 2014, the ensemble celebrated the triumphant conclusion of its recorded cycle of the complete Church Cantatas – a monumental project begun in 1995 and comprising over fifty CDs. This achievement was recognized with the 2014 ECHO Klassik ""Editorial Achievement of the Year"" award. Their recording of Bach's Motets received the German Record Critics’ Award (Preis der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik), the Diapason d’Or de l’Année in 2010, and the BBC Music Magazine Award in 2011. More recently, the ensemble has released a box set of the Secular Cantatas, a first disc of Harpsichord Concerti led by Masato Suzuki, and a new recording of the St Matthew Passion, which won a Gramophone Award in 2020.