Simply Baroque II

1	Cantata No. 75, "Die Elen
2	Goldberg Variations, for
3	Wachet auf, ruft uns die
4	Wer nur den lieben Gott l
5	Cantata No. 186, "Ärgre d
6	Meine Seele erhebet den H
7	Cantata No. 208, "Was mir
8	Cantata No. 76, "Die Himm
9	Ach bleib' bei uns, Herr
10	Cello Concerto in B flat
11	Cello Concerto in B flat
12	Cello Concerto in B flat
13	Cello Concerto in D major
14	Cello Concerto in D major
15	Cello Concerto in D major
Simply Baroque II
1.	Cantata No. 75, "Die Elenden sollen essen," BWV 75 (BC A94) 1:28
	Composed by Johann Sebastian Bach
	Performed by Ton Koopman and Yo-Yo Ma
2.	Goldberg Variations, for keyboard (Clavier-Übung IV), BWV 988 (BC L9): Aria 4:40
	Composed by Johann Sebastian Bach
	Performed by Ton Koopman and Yo-Yo Ma
3.	Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme, chorale prelude for organ (Schübler Chorale No. 1), BWV 645 (BC K22) 3:48
	Composed by Johann Sebastian Bach
	Performed by Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra and Yo-Yo Ma
	Conducted by Ton Koopman
4.	Wer nur den lieben Gott lässt walten (II), chorale prelude for organ (Schübler Chorale No. 3), BWV 647 (BC K24) 3:26
	Composed by Johann Sebastian Bach
	Performed by Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra and Yo-Yo Ma
	Conducted by Ton Koopman
5.	Cantata No. 186, "Ärgre dich, O Seele, nicht," BWV 186 (BC A108) 2:06
	Composed by Johann Sebastian Bach
	Performed by Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra and Yo-Yo Ma
	Conducted by Ton Koopman
6.	Meine Seele erhebet den Herren, chorale prelude for organ (Schübler Chorale No. 4), BWV 648 (BC K25) 2:28
	Composed by Johann Sebastian Bach
	Performed by Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra and Yo-Yo Ma
	Conducted by Ton Koopman
7.	Cantata No. 208, "Was mir behagt," (Hunt Cantata), BWV 208 (BC G1, G3): Schafe können sicher weiden (Sheep May Safely Graz 3:38
	Composed by Johann Sebastian Bach
	Performed by Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra and Yo-Yo Ma
	Conducted by Ton Koopman
8.	Cantata No. 76, "Die Himmel erzählen die Ehre Gottes," BWV 76 (BC A97): Es danke, Gott, und lobe dich das Volk in guten Ta 3:00
	Composed by Johann Sebastian Bach
	Performed by Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra and Yo-Yo Ma
	Conducted by Ton Koopman
9.	Ach bleib' bei uns, Herr Jesu Christ, chorale prelude for organ ("Schübler No. 5"), BWV 649 (BC K26) 2:15
	Composed by Johann Sebastian Bach
	Performed by Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra and Yo-Yo Ma
	Conducted by Ton Koopman
10.	Cello Concerto in B flat major, G. 482 16:35
	Composed by Luigi Boccherini
	Performed by Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra and Yo-Yo Ma
	Conducted by Ton Koopman
11.	Cello Concerto in D major, G. 476 16:34
	Composed by Luigi Boccherini
	Performed by Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra and Yo-Yo Ma
	Conducted by Ton Koopman

Barnes & Noble

If it ain't broke, don't fix it -- or so the saying goes. In 1999, Yo-Yo Ma decked out his cello with gut strings and other trappings of 18th-century performance practice to give us Simply Baroque, a gorgeous album that spent many months atop the classical charts. For this equally lovely sequel, Ma follows the same successful formula, balancing a rich bouquet of Bach transcriptions -- representing the intricate contrapuntal marvels of the high baroque -- with a pair of Boccherini concertos in the less complex, more melodically direct rococo style. The Bach selections include favorite tunes, such as the aria from the Goldberg Variations and the chorale prelude "Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme," as well as less familiar fare, all of which Ma plays with exquisite taste and a dark, sinewy tone. The Boccherini works are charmers, and Ma dispatches their virtuoso decorations with unfailing grace. As before, maestro Ton Koopman and his Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra provide superb accompaniment, supplying a silky-smooth surface on which the cellist etches his long, lyrical lines. With Simply Baroque II, Ma has earned yet another feather for his powdered wig. Andrew Farach-Colton

New York Times

The familiar "Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme" is delightful: simple and even playful. The Boccherini concertos (in B-flat and in D minor) are rendered with the virtuosity and musicality we've come to expect from this consummate cellist. Ira Rosenblum