These days I buy almost nothing but CM and it is rare that I buy a CD that
I don't really enjoy.  However....lately I have been on a Bach kick and am
trying to get familiar with the Cantatas in particular.  After hearing John
Elliot Gardiner's wonderful recording of the Magnificat, I assumed that
JEG would be the guy for more recordings of the Cantatas.  I picked up a
FULL-PRICE CD of BWV 240 & BWV 247 ignoring the fact that this was only
about 45 minutes of music.  Part of the reason I picked this CD was that
apparently Archiv is about to get snuffed in the States and I figured I
had better snatch it now.

Expensive, short and just plain dreadfully awful IMHO.  I have listened
to it three times now and it just seems to get worse and worse.  My wife's
comment on this CD was "Is this the best that you could come up with?".
Not being into CM to begin with, I was afraid this disk might make her
opinion of CM plunge even further down, so I promptly turned it off.

I don't want to get into a debate about JEG and the merits of HIP versus
Non-HIP but my Karl Richter CD blows this recording away at a fraction
of the price.  I picked up a Nicholas Ward recording of Cantatas on Naxos
today which I have heard good things about and hope to listen to tomorrow.
Yes, this bad experience will not sway me from my quest to sample all the
Cantatas w/o having to fork out for a complete set.

FWIW this recording is my dog of the month CD and a real disappointment
compared to the aforementioned Magnificat on Phillips.

Steve M. (Northern Virginia)