The Bach Cantatas Website is celebrating its First Year's Anniversary

Exactly a year ago, on December 30, 2000, I sent the following message:

Present for the New Year - A New Archive Site
I have a special present for the New Year for you, in the form of a new
Site for 'Bach Cantatas Recordings Review and Mailing List Archive'.  The
address is simple:  http://www.bach-cantatas.com

The new Archive Site has better look & feel and its content has been
largely expanded.  [snip] Reading the Introduction page and looking at the
content of the other Index Pages, you will know what to look forward to.
I am managing the new site all by myself.  Therefore, I shall be able to
update it more often than it used to be.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank Simon Crouch (of our group)
for his co-operation, patience, generosity and unstinting help with hosting
the Archive in his site in its previous stage.  I look forward to receiving
your comments (corrections, suggestions, improvements, etc.) about the new
Site.

Where do we stand a year after?

Name
The name of the site was shortened from 'Bach Cantatas Recordings Review
and Mailing List Archive' to 'Bach Cantatas Website'.

Some Statistics
When the Bach Cantatas Website was launched, it included about 200 pages
and a few pictures.  The site has now more than 2,000 pages, more than
2,100 pictures, and more than 50,000 internal links.

When the site was launched the number of visits per day was about 20.  Now
it is about 150, and the total number of visits in the past year is more
than 23,000.

The Bach Cantatas Website today includes:

[a] 108 cantatas: http://www.bach-cantatas.com/IndexBWV.htm
The information about each cantata, which has already been discussed in the
Bach Cantatas Mailing List, is split into two pages (at least).  The first
includes a detailed list of all the known recordings of the complete
cantata or of individual movements from it.  Where there are many
recordings of the cantata, such as the case of BWV 147, the page of
recordings is split into sub-pages.  The second page all the discussions
about the cantata are compiled more or less chronologically.  I added
inter-links from the page of the discussions to the page of the recordings.
So, when you read about a recording in the discussion page, and you want to
know more about it, you only have to click on the relevant link.  In the
cantatas which have been lately discussed I also added pictures of the
covers of the CD's (or LP's).  The most popular cantatas in terms of length
of discussions are:  BWV 4, BWV 21, BWV 51, BWV 82, BWV 106, BWV 147, BWV
170, and BWV 199.  It is interesting to note that many of them are solo
cantatas.  The most recorded cantatas are BWV 51 (40 complete recordings)
and BWV 82 (41 complete recordings).

[b] 191 pages about Bach's Great Vocal Works:
http://www.bach-cantatas.com/IndexVocal.htm
The pages include for each of Bach's Other Vocal Works, a list of its
recordings and discussions.  Where individual recordings is discussed (such
as SMP conducted by Harnoncourt) it has a special page.  The pages are
inter-linked.  The most recorded Bach's vocal work is the Mass in B minor
BWV 232 with at least 80 complete recordings (additions to the list of
recordings is an on-going research).

[c] 197 pages about Performers of Bach Cantatas & Bach's Other Vocal Works:
http://www.bach-cantatas.com/IndexPerformers.htm
There is a page (or pages) for each conductor, who has recorded at least 3
recordings of Bach's vocal works. The page lists all the known recordings by
this conductor. All the discussions dedicated to individual performers are
also compiled in this section. The pages are inter-linked. The most popular
conductor in terms of dedicated discussions is John Eliot Gardiner. The most
prolific conductor in terms of number of recordings is Helmuth Rilling.

[d] 139 pages of General Topics:
http://www.bach-cantatas.com/IndexTopics.htm
This section includes discussions about general topics related to the
cantatas and Bach's other vocal works, which do not directly belong to any
of the above sections.  You can find in this Section topics such as Bach
and Religion, Bach and Opera, Books, Bach and Numbers, Trumpets in Bach
Cantatas, etc.  The most popular subject is OVPP (One-Voice-Per-Part).

[e] 1032 Short Biographies:
http://www.bach-cantatas.com/IndexBiographies.htm
This section includes Short Biographies of singers, conductors, chorus
masters, choral and instrumental groups, who have recorded Bach's vocal
works.  Each bio of a conductor includes link to the page of his recordings
in the Performers Section.  Each bio of other performers includes a list
of the performer's recordings of Bach's cantatas and other vocal works.
Each entry of a recordings in the Sections of Cantatas, Bach's Great Vocal
Works and Performers, include links to the relevant entries in the Short
Biographies Section.  When applicable, the bio includes also pictures and
links to other sites about the performer.

[f] 181 Reviews of Bach's Non-Vocal Works:
http://www.bach-cantatas.com/IndexNonVocal.htm
Most of the reviews are by Donald Satz, but there are also some by other
contributors.

[g] Scores: http://www.bach-cantatas.com/IndexScores.htm
This section is based mostly on the contribution of the knowledgeable
Thomas Braatz and includes examples from the score (and some commentary) of
16 cantatas.  I hope that Tom will continue to contribute to this section.
Of course, other contributors are also invited.

[h] Texts and Translations: http://www.bach-cantatas.com/IndexTexts.htm
This section includes some translations of the cantata texts into languages
such as English, Dutch and Hebrew.  It also includes links to the relevant
entries in other cantata sites, such as Walter F.  Bischof (original German
texts and some French translations) and Z.  Philip Ambrose (English
translations).  This section should be largely expanded, as translations
of many cantatas into other languages are missing.

[i] Special Pages
Introduction, Lutheran Church Year, Order of discussion, Table of
Cantata Recording by Major Conductors according to BWV Number, Terms &
Abbreviations, New and Upcoming Recordings, How to contribute, and more.

[j] Links: http://www.bach-cantatas.com/Links.htm
This section includes hundreds of Links:  Sites about Bach Cantatas and
other Bach Sites, Sites with Reviews of Recordings, Sites of Performers,
Sites of Record Labels, General Classical Music Sites, Sites of Members
in the Bach Cantatas Mailing List, and more.

I am encouraged by the positive feedback the Bach Cantatas Website is
getting from all over the world.  Many of the feedback messages can be
read in the following page:  http://www.bach-cantatas.com/Topics/About.htm

The enterprise of the Bach Cantatas Website is an international collective
project, dedicated mainly to the vocal works of the greatest composer who
has ever lived.  I want to use this opportunity to thank everybody who has
contributed to the material compiled in the Bach Cantatas Website, either
through the Bach Cantatas Mailing List (BCML) and the Bach Recording
Mailing List (BRML) or by writing directly to me.  The name of each
contributor is mentioned in the relevant place.  Kirk McElhearn deserves
special gratitude for his managing of both lists.

I hope to see many of you contributing to the weekly cantata discussions in
the BCML.  These discussions are the main source for the material compiled
in the Bach Cantatas Website.  I continue to look forward to receiving your
comments (corrections, suggestions, improvements, etc.) about the Website.
The instructions how to join the BCML, how to contribute, and how to send
me comments, appear in the following page:
http://www.bach-cantatas.com/How.htm

I wish you all another Great and Happy Bach Year,

Aryeh Oron
Bach and Jazz Music Fan
WebMaster of Bach Cantatas Website: http://www.bach-cantatas.com