Johan van Veen wrote:

>...my point is that the native language of a composer also influences his
>instrumental writing.  Therefore whoever wants to play an instrumental
>piece by Bach has to have a good knowledge of the German language.

Does this mean that I can't play Bach on my piano anymore? This is a sad
day.

Johan also wrote concerning Rifkin's Bach Mass:

>Although that recording isn't bad, the problem with Rifkin is his almost
>'neutral' approach of Bach's music.  There is a complete lack of passion.
>
>He has recorded some Bach cantatas later, and they sound even more bland.
>He may have interesting ideas, but he will never win people over with his
>style of performance.

Rifkin won me over without any problem.  I consider his Bach cantata
recordings better than Suzuki and Koopman, and not far off from the
standards set by Herreweghe.  No passion, bland? Hardly.  I bought Rifkin's
recordings before they were reissued at lower price, and I think of them
as among the best cd's in my collection, and I do love my collection.

Johan has been providing us with negative perceptions of Bach recordings
from Rifkin, Herreweghe, and others.  He's also indicated that he has not
yet found a fully satisfying recording of the B minor Mass, a work which
has been recorded with much frequency.  Maybe he just doesn't like Bach
very much, or else he's the fussiest Bach fan I've heard of.

>Well, for a start I have problems with mixed choirs singing Bach. I prefer
>choirs of boys and men, and the Teldec recordings with Bach's cantatas are
>unsurpassed in that respect.

Johan and I don't seem to agree on anything concerning performances of
Bach's music.  I think that boys and Bach sound bad together.  Why? They
sound to me like small children totally out of place.  Further, what's
wrong with the singing of women? I love the sound of women - and the smell,
look, carriage, and thought processess of women as well.

Don Satz
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