Fast Tracks

August, 1997

J.S. Bach is, of course, the greatest composer. Three recent releases demonstrate his transcendent genius. Ton Koopman's ambitious 36-volume project of Bach's Complete Cantatas (Erato) has reached its fourth volume. This three-CD set of secular cantatas will become the new standard. Violinist Andrew Manze is already known as a baroque master. But his vital recordings of Bach's Violin Concertos (Harmonia Mundi) are surprisingly vigorous. Valery Afanassiev's two-volume Well-Tempered Clavier (Denon...