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Ton Koopman Will Release Bach Cantata Series on His Own Label

27/12/2002 |

 

The Dutch keyboard player and conductor Ton Koopman, whose 22-volume edition of the complete Bach cantatas was dropped by Warner Classics in 2001, will start his own CD label to release the series. The new label will be called Antoine Marchand, the French translation of Koopman's name.

Koopman has been recording the Bach cantatas with the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra since 1994. When Warner's sub-label Erato decided to end the project in 2001, 12 volumes had been released; volumes 13 through 15 had already been recorded.

Since then, Koopman has discussed restarting the project with several record companies, but to no avail. "Major labels are in serious trouble," he said, "and smaller labels can't afford the investment. So now I have decided to proceed on my own."

According to Koopman, the long-awaited 13th volume of the Bach cycle will be available in March 2003. He is planning to release two new volumes per year, and says he is negotiating with several partners for worldwide distribution of his CDs.

Koopman has already reached an agreement with Warner that will allow him to release the earlier Erato recordings on the Antoine Marchand label. "They fulfilled the contract very neatly," he said, "and have returned all tapes, booklets and films of the first twelve volumes."

The complete Bach cantata series will be available in 2007. After finishing the Bach cyle, Koopman says, he intends to record all 110 cantatas of Dietrich Buxtehude (a composer Bach was known to admire), as well as the 17th-century Danish organist's keyboard music.

Guido van Oorschot
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