Of all the Bach cantatas Richter recorded, none have appeared in so many different releases (I have four with different covers) as the two famous bass-solo works with Fischer-Dieskau. Ich habe genug is a totem for all aspiring and established basses from Hans Hotter's legendary account to Matthias Goerne's recent version under Sir Roger Norrington (Decca, 4/00). Quite where Fischer-Dieskau's 1967 recording sits in this pantheon needs, perhaps, to be viewed alongside the recent DG Originals release of an early recording Dieskau made of these works in 1953. The later ones, which are included in the Edition, are not so instantly magical and, comparatively speaking, they are less vocally assured. I miss the dreamy unselfconscious legato singing and spontaneous reaction of the young artist: each new mountain bravely conquered, each new vista declaimed with freshness, immediacy and infectious vitality. Ich will den Kreuzstab, arguably the greater of the two pieces, is a case in point. No other performance, though perhaps Goerne comes the closest, can touch it for poetic ardour. Vocally, it is better too. There is, however, no less a commitment in the second versions of Nos 56 and 82, where texts are conveyed with a measured and acute consideration to their sense; there is a maturity in the supple vocalisation which is especially moving in 'Schlummert ein' from No 82. Also in its favour, the Munich Bach Orchestra provides a rather more consistent bedrock than the participants in the earlier version, and the oboe playing of Manfred Clement is outstanding (for the first time, he is not listed anywhere).
The surprises here are two Buxtehude cantatas, recorded in 1957, and both with texts taken from the Song of Solomon. They provide yet another reminder that great interpretations of baroque music existed well before its annexation by 'authenticists'. Such cultivated expressive engagement, in what is still inexcusably regarded as pretty arcane stuff, comes as a rude (and wonderful) shock. How Buxtehude's innate lyricism leaps from the page in Ich bin eine blume zu Saron, and when joined by Helmut Krebs in the duets of Ich suchte des Nachts - noble sentiments and an irresistible warmth. Don't hesitate!
'