Bach Collegium Japan (Choral & Instrumental Ensemble) - Short History

Bach Collegium Japan (Choral & Instrumental Ensemble)

Founded: 1990 - Tokyo and Kobe, Japan

The Bach Collegium Japan (= BCJ) was founded in 1990 by Masaaki Suzuki, who remains its music director, with the aim of introducing Japanese audiences to great works of the baroque era on period instruments. As the name of the ensemble indicates, its main focus has been the works of J.S. Bach and those composers of German Protestant music who preceded and influenced him, such as Dietrich Buxtehude, Heinrich Schütz, Johann Hermann Schein and Georg Böhm.

The BCJ comprises both Baroque orchestra and chorus, and its major activities include an annual four-concert series of J.S. Bach痴 cantatas and a number of instrumental programmes. In addition, the BCJ presents major works such as J.S. Bach痴 Passions, George Frideric Handel痴 Messiah and Monteverdi痴 Vespers, and smaller programmes for soloists or small vocal ensembles. The BCJ is based in Tokyo and Kobe but performs throughout Japan, and for many of the its projects it has been placed to welcome European artists such as Max von Egmond, Nancy Argenta, Christoph Prégardien, Peter Kooy, Monika Frimmer, Michael Chance, Kai Wessel, Gerd Türk, Michael Schopper and Concerto Palatino.

Members of Bach Collegium Japan Chorus:

Sopranos

Altos

Tenors

Basses

Hana Blažíková
Minae Fujisaki
Haruhi Fukaya
Megumi Fukuda
Yoshie Hida
Tamiko Hoshi
Mihoko Hoshikawa
Sophie Junker
Naoco Kaketa
Naho Kashiwabara
Yumiko Kurisu
Joanne Lunn
Aki Matsui
Dorothee Mields
Maria Mochizuki
Sachiko Muratani
Miki Nakayama
Rachel Nicholls
Yukari Nonoshita
Chiyuki Okamura
Carolyn Sampson
Eri Sawae
Kozue Shimizu
Midori Suzuki
Mikiko Suzuki
Kristen Witmer
Naoko Yamamura
Aki Yanagisawa

Yuko Anazawa
Hiroya Aoki
Kelly Baxter
Pascal Bertin
Robin Blaze
Naoko Fuse
Damien Guillon
Mutsumi Hatano
Maria Koshiishi
Tomoko Koike
Yumiko Kono
Noriyuki Kubo
Clint van der Linde
Kiyoko Masuda
Yoshikazu Mera
Yoko Nagashima
Toshiharu Nakajima
Yumi Nakamura
Claudia Schmitz
Hiromi Shimomura
Kirsten Sollek-Avella
Hiroko Suzuki
Tamaki Suzuki
Akira Tachikawa
Chiharu Takahashi
Yukie Tamura
Sumihito Uesugi
Masako Yui
Matthew White
Michael Wisdom
Makiko Yamashita

Charles Daniels
Yusuke Fujii
Christoph Genz
James Gilchrist
Hiroyuki Harada
Mattijs Hoogendijk
Hiroto Ishikawa
Eriya Itabashi
Takayuki Kagami
Koki Katano
Jan Kobow
Wolfram Lattke
Tadashi Miroku
Satoshi Mizukoshi
Katsuhiko Nakashima
Shinya Numata
Takanori Ohnishi
Nicholas Phan
Makoto Sakurada
Michio Shimada
Jun Suzuki
Yosuke Taniguchi
Akira Takizawa
Gerd Türk
Andreas Weller
Yasuo Uzuka
Zachary Wilder
Tai-ichiro Yasutomi

Daisuke Fujii
Jun Hagiwara
Yoshiya Hida
Christian Immler
Toru Kaku
Hirotaka Kato
Peter Kooy
Stephan MacLeod
Masumitsu Miyamomo
Jumpei Niimi
Tetsuya Odagawa
Yoshitaka Ogasawara
Tetsuya Oi
Yasunori Okumura
Kazuhiko Ono
Naoki Sasaki
Paul Max Tipton
Chiyuki Urano
Bart Vandewege
John Taylor Ward
Yusuke Watanabe
Roderick Williams
Dominik Wörner
Yukihiro Yamamoto
Seiji Yoshikawa

Members of Bach Collegium Japan Orchestra:

Violins: Makoto Akatsu, Mika Akiha, Yuko Araki, Akira Harada, Miho Hashizume, Paul Herrera, Shiho Hiromi, Makoto Itoh, Takeshi Kiriyama, Yoshiko Morita, Satoki Nagaoka, Luna Oda, Mari Ono, Azumi Takada [Leader], Yuko Takeshima, Ryo Terakado [Leader], Kaori Toda, Natsumi Wakamatsu [Leader], Amiko Watabe, Keiko Watanabe, Ayaka Yamauchi, Yukie Yamaguchi
Violino piccolo: Natsumi Wakamatsu
Violas: Makoto Akatsu, Mika Akiha, Mina Fukazawa, Akira Harada, Yoshiko Morita, Ryoko Moro'oka, Hiroshi Narita, Stephan Sieben, Azumi Takada, Ryo Terakado, Amiko Watabe, Keiko Watanabe
Viola d'amore: Ryo Terakado
Violoncellos: Norizumi Moro'oka, Hidemi Su[Principal], Shuhei Takezawa, Mime Yamahiro, Toru Yamamoto
Violoncello piccolo: Dmitry Badiarov
Violas da gamba: Hiroshi Fukuzawa, Masako Hirao, Kaori Uemua
Violones: Takashi Konno, Yoshiaki Maeda, Seiji Nishizawa, Shigeru Sakurai
Double-basses: Yoshiaki Maeda, Seiji Nishizawa, Shigeru Sakurai
Recorders: Koji Ezaki, Jun-ichi Furuhashi, Yoshimichi Hamada, Kazuo Hanaoka, Akimasa Mukae, Rika Shinohila, Shigeharu Yamaoka
Transverse Flutes: Kanae Kikuchi, Liliko Maeda, Kiyomi Suga
Flauto piccolo: Dan Laurin
Oboes, Oboes d'amore, Taille: Patrick Beaugiraud, Alfredo Bernardini, Koji Ezaki, Taka Kitazato, Yukari Maehashi, Thomas Meraner, Ayaka Mori, Atsuko Ozaki, Marcel Ponseele, Masamitsu San'nomiya, Tomofumi Shohji
Oboe da caccia: Koji Ezaki, Yukari Maehashi, Masamitsu San'nomiya
Bassoons: Kiyotaka Dohsaka, Sei'ichi Futakuchi, Takako Kunugi, Yukiko Murakami
Horns: Olivier Darbellay, Jean-François Madeuf, Claude Maury, Thomas Müller, Graham Nicholson, Olivier Picon, Gilles Rapin, Lionel Renoux, Toshio Shimada
Corno da caccia: Olivier Darbellay, Jean-François Madeuf, Thomas Müller, Yoshimitsu Osada, Jérôme Princé, Toshio Shimada. Munenori Yamagami
Corno da tirarsi: Toshio Shimada; Oboes: Masamitsu San'nomiya, Atsuko Ozaki;
Trumpets: Jean-Charles Denis, Guy Ferber, Philippe Genestier, Emiko Ikeda, Yoshio Kobayashi, Osamu Kumashiro, Jean-François Madeuf, Ayako Murata, Graham Nicholson, Yoshnnitsu Osada, Gilles Rapin, Hidenori Saito, Toshio Shimada [Principal], Munenori Yamalami
Tromba da tirarsi (Slide Trumpet): Toshio Shimada
Clarino: Toshio Shimada
Cornetts: Yoshimichi Hamada, Daisuke Hosokawa, Kuniko Ueno
Trombones: Wim Becu, Hirotsugu Fukujin; Katsumi Hagiya, Yoshio Kobayashi, Graham Nicholson, Harry Ries, Toshio Shimada, Charles Toet, Masaru Tonegawa
Timpani: Yoshihiro Ando, Shigemitsu Eiso, Thomas Holzinger, Takaaki Kondo, Shoichi Kubo, Toshiyuki Matsukura, Rizumu Sugishita, Maarten van der Valk
Lute: Shizuko Noiri
Organ: Naoko Imai, Itsuko Noto,Masaaki Suzuki, Masato Suzuki
Harpsichord: Mizuho Doi, Mamiko Nagahisa, Mamiko Nirgahisa, Naoya Otsuka, Masaaki Suzuki, Masato Suzuki

More Photos

Sources:
Liner notes to BIS CD CD-751 (Cantatas BWV 4, BWV 150 BWV 196, conducted by Suzuki, 1998)
Contributed by Aryeh Oron (April 2001, March-May 2015, September 2015, February-April 2016, February 2020)

Links to other Sites

Bach Collegium Japan (Official Homepage)
Viva! Bach Collegium Japan
24 Hours Bach - Bach Collegium Japan

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Last update: Saturday, January 04, 2025 23:32