La Petite Bande - JS Bach: Motets BWV225-230 on CD

Description

The debate surrounding Bach's vocal scoring has mostly focused on the cantatas and Passions. The evidence for Joshua Rifkin's hypothesis of single voices is found among the sources of these works. Bach's motets have featured rather less in the debate. La Petite Bande and Sigiswald Kuijken present on their recording ,from the early 1990s, something between the 'authentic' early performance style and a general choral sound, with 3 voices per part. Review 'The interesting thing about Kuijken s performances of the Bach motets is that he gives us the version with orchestral accompaniment ... The extra instrumental layer gives the choral line extra support that I found very enjoyable ... The strings provide a warm cushion, and they blend well with both the organ and the voices. The real treat comes when there are winds too, though, as there are in three of the motets, and those oboes deserve the most credit of all. They add an extra air of plangency to the penitential Komm, Jesu, komm, and they add a fruity, almost aristocratic air to Der Geist hilft Unser Schwacheit an. They then veritably chuckle their way through the opening of Singet dem Herrn, and they are, on the whole, a huge gain. The choral singing is excellent throughout' --Simon Thompson MusicWeb International, 21st June 2017