Bach Cantatas: Monteverdi Choir, English Baroque Soloists

John Eliot Gardiner strikes again with an incredible recording of Bach's moving vocal works.

Composer: Bach
Repertoire: Bach Cantatas
Artists: Monteverdi Choir; English Baroque Soloists/Gardiner
Rating: 4/5
Genre: Choral
Label: Soli Deo Gloria SDG 110

Personal sins and their forgiveness are central to the cantatas performed live as part of the Monteverdi Choir’s epic Bach pilgrimage in Potsdam.

The message registers with heartbreaking force in bass Peter Harvey’s account of ‘Ich will den Kreuzstab gerne tragen’, emphasised by his unmannered, direct singing style. Gardiner, as ever, is alive to the correspondence between words and music. His bold strategy pays off here, irritates there, yet generally compels attention.