Cantata Collective Recording Initiative

Because the 2020-2021 Season of FREE Bach Cantata concerts proved impossible due to the pandemic, Cantata Collective, with generous support from its Board of Directors and Donors embarked on a major Bach Cantata Recording Initiative. This new enterprise has brought back the joy of the ensemble's live performances to you, our much-missed community, while extending the reach and reputation of Cantata Collective to an international audience. Many of your favorite artists have joined us for these Cantatas, which are being recorded with cutting edge audio. We intend that the Recording Initiative will continue in future seasons, even after the return of our live concerts.

The first recording sessions took place at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church in Belvedere during the surreal, smoky days of September 9-11, 2020. Joining Cantata Collective were three early-music superstars: our close friends Sherezade Panthaki, soprano, Reginald Mobley, alto, and very special guest Nicholas McGegan at the keyboard. With procedures in place to maintain coronavirus safety, we recorded three cantatas: BWV 84 Ich bin vergnügt mit meinem Glücke, BWV 170 Vergnügte Ruh, beliebte Seelenlust, and BWV 199 Mein Herze schwimmt im Blut. To celebrate the launch of the Recording Initiative, Reggie and Sherry also collaborated in a delightful encore, the effervescent duet “Wir eilen mit schwachen” from BWV 78. The project was recorded in full Hi-Def Surround Sound by David v.R. Bowles, head of Swineshead Productions and recipient of numerous GRAMMY and JUNO nominations and was released by Centaur Records (CRC 3930) in the fall of 2021. Early Music America wrote: “To the excellent musicians of Cantata Collective: More Bach Please!!”. American Record Guide wrote in its glowing review: “These are highly polished performances. Solo cantatas with accompaniment by one player to a part produce the intimate feel of chamber music…As an encore, this recording concludes with a delightfully lively performance of the well-known duet Wir eilen from Cantata 78. The vocal blend from Panthaki and Mobley is nothing short of astounding.”

 Video excerpts from the first sessions:

Next, the group collaborated in a virtual concert for SFEMS recorded at Berkeley's temple of early music, First Congregational Church, that featured BWV 54 and 159 with Reginald Mobley and Nicholas McGegan appearing in a starring role as organ soloist in the monumental BWV 35 Geist und Seele wird verwirret. This beautiful, full-length concert video can be watched below: