The Boston Globe,
September 19, 2003

Richard Dyer, critic

Catching up with CDs:

In 2001, mezzo-soprano Lorraine Hunt Lieberson and members of Emmanuel Music under the direction of Craig Smith toured Europe and America with two Bach solo cantatas staged by Peter Sellars. In May 2002, Lieberson returned to Emmanuel Church to record the two cantatas for Nonesuch -- "Ich habe genug" and "Mein Herze schwimmt im Blut." The CD has now been released.

This was a pivotal period for Lieberson, who was resuming her career after a battle with cancer. The way Bach addresses first and last things in these cantatas aroused a profound response in her, and in all those fortunate enough to see and hear her. Sellars's staging moved some, irritated others -- but the shattering, profoundly human, and ultimately triumphant effect of the music-making is preserved on the recording, which reverses the order Sellars chose for the staging.

Probably no microphone can capture the full depth of Lieberson's tone as it travels across space to the listener's heart, but every other aspect of her art is here -- the precision of tuning, the eloquence of phrase and line, the vividness of her personal response to the words, the complete candor and honesty. The 10-minute aria "Schlummert ein" ("Slumber now") is a sublimely calm affirmation of faith; the closing arias of affirmation are blissfully ecstatic.

In all this the singer is ably supported -- equaled, really -- by Smith and the instrumentalists of Emmanuel Music, most particularly the plangent oboe of Peggy Pearson (who has heart-stopping solos in both cantatas) and the compassionate viola of Betty Hauck. Listening to this recording is a musical experience, but what it records is the rarest kind of music making, the kind that becomes a spiritual experience too.