Neil Wilson (Baritone)
Performances at Oregon Bach Festival

Neil Wilson met Helmuth Rilling in Stuttgart in 1969 and subsequently sang with him since when the University of Oregon started the Oregon Bach Festival through the decade of the 1970’s.

Below is a list of cantatas and major choral works in which Neil Wilson sang the bass solos at the Oregon Bach Festival with the conductor Helmuth Rilling. All of the works were recorded and are in the Music Library in the University of Oregon Library. It seems that currently they are not commercially available.

Bass soloist in Bach Cantatas at the Oregon Bach Festival: 1971-1980

BWV 4 Christ lag in Todesbanden
BWV 5 Wo soll ich fliehen hin?
BWV 7 Christ unser Herr zum Jordan kam
BWV 21 Ich hatte viel bekummernis
BWV 31 Der Himmel lacht! Die Erde jubilieret
BWV 40 Dazu is erchienen der Sohn gottes
BWV 47 Wer sich selbst erhöhet
BWV 56 Ich will den Kreuzstab gerne tragen
BWV 57 Selig ist der Mann.
BWV 66 Erfreut euch, ihr Herzen
BWV 68 Also hat Gott die Welt geliebt
BWV 70 Wachet, Betet
BWV 79 Gott, der Herr, ist Sonn’ und Schild
BWV 80 Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott
BWV 81 Jesus schläft, was soll ich hoffen?
BWV 82 Ich habe genug
BWV 88 Siehe, ich will viel Fischer aussenden
BWV 110 Unser Mund sei soll Lachen
BWV 121 Christum wir sollen loben schon
BWV 140 Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimmen.
BWV 147 Herz und Mund und Tat und Leben
BWV 150 Nach dir, Herr, verlanget mich
BWV 158 Der Friede sei mit dir
BWV 166 Wo gehest du hin
BWV 168 Tue Rechnung! Donnerwort
BWV 173 Erhöhtes Fleisch und Blut
BWV 192 Nun danket alle Gott
BWV 195 Dem Gerechten muss das Licht immer wieder aufgehen
BWV 201 Geschwinde, ihr wirbelnden Winde
BWV 203 Amore traditore
BWV 208 Was mir behagt
BWV 211 Schweigt still, plaudert nicht
BWV 212 Mer hahn en neue Oberkeet

Neil Wilson wrote:
“Some of these cantatas had only one recitative, others an aria or duet, and others had recitatives, arias and and duets for the bass. All in all, these were a wonderful learning experience for me. BWV 88 had a very long aria for the bass that took me weeks to prepare; where and when to breathe was the problem”.

Bach arias in Bach’s other vocal work at the Oregon Bach Festival

Johannes-Passion BWV 245: Two performances in 1973 and 1980
Matthäus-Passion BWV 244: One performance in 1975
Mozart Requiem: One performance in 1974
H Moll Messe BWV 232: Two performances in 1977 in Eugene and Portland, Oregon

Neil Wilson also sang the arias and rectitatives in two performances of Matthäus-Passion (BWV 244) with Helmuth Rilling in Frankfurt, Germany in 1973 and the bass arias in H Moll Messe (BWV 232) at the Alaska Music Festival in 1979.

Source: The Artist (February 2011)
Contributed by Neil Wilson (February 2011)

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