Masaaki Suzuki

After a recent heavy diet of Rachmaninov, Bruch, Bruckner, Brahms and Achron, I reached serendipitously this evening for a disc of three Johann Sebastian Bach cantatas -- and alighted on Masaaki Suzuki and his Bach Collegium Japan. The complex music was a breath of fresh air. Suzuki seemed to me admirable in these three works: tempi quite acceptable, balance between instrumentalists and vocalists absolutely fine, singing and playing of a high standard. I chanced upon Volume I and was so pleased I went online and ordered the latest issue - Volume 50. A Bach series that is sane, serious and avoids all the various extremists.

And the other good news is that I found a new and superior source of neck of lamb (a butcher in Cirencester). I slightly over-salted the lamb stew this time round (new and unfamiliar salt pot). But very high quality meat.