Hyperion Records
Click album cover image to view the sleeve notes
CDA67247

Buy? £13.99

Recording details: December 2000
St Jude-on-the-Hill, Hampstead Garden Suburb, London, United Kingdom
Produced by Mark Brown
Engineered by Julian Millard
Release date: March 2002
Total duration: 59 minutes 45 seconds
Available for download on iTunes: Yes

View sleeve notes/artwork

'GRAMOPHONE' CRITICS' CHOICE

'A beguiling and brilliantly conceived programme, brilliantly performed. A special recommendation for a most delightful and unusual disc' (Gramophone)

'An engaging programme' (BBC Music Magazine)

‘the Sinfonia to Cantata 29 is vibrant and exhilarating … this is certainly an interesting addition to the Bach catalogue’ (Cathedral Music)

‘splendid performances … all done with taste and affection’ (Early Music Today)

‘The playing and singing are of course very good indeed’ (Scotland News)

‘the instrumental tone is very attractive and the standard of playing simply splendid’ (American Record Guide)

‘This disc is a unique journey through some of Bach’s sacred music, with, as guides, an ensemble which takes an original approach to the music and comes out a winner … This is certainly one of the most interesting ‘derivative’ Bach albums I have heard in a long time’ (musicweb.uk.net)

Bach J S: A Bach Album
His Majestys Sagbutts & Cornetts
Wir danken dir, Gott, wir danken dir, BWV29  Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
1
Movement 1: Sinfonia  [3:36]
2
Aus tiefer Not schrei ich zu dir  [1:07]  Anonymous - traditional
Robert Macdonald (bass)
3
Aus tiefer Not schrei ich zu dir, BWV686  [3:56]  Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
Aus tiefer Not schrei ich zu dir, BWV38  Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
4
Movement 1: Aus tiefer Not schrei ich zu dir  [3:49]
Julia Gooding (soprano), Ashley Stafford (countertenor), Angus Smith (tenor), Robert Macdonald (bass)
5
Aus tiefer Not schrei ich zu dir, BWV687  [4:20]  Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
Aus tiefer Not schrei ich zu dir, BWV38  Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
6
Movement 6: Ob bei uns ist die Sünden viel  [1:05]
Julia Gooding (soprano), Ashley Stafford (countertenor), Angus Smith (tenor), Robert Macdonald (bass)
7
Allein Gott in der Höh sei Ehr, BWV715  [2:10]  Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
8
Verschiedene Canones, BWV1087  [7:03]  Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
9
Meine Seele erhebt den Herrn, BWV648  [2:19]  Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
10
O Jesu Christ, mein Lebens Licht, BWV118  [8:23]  Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
Julia Gooding (soprano), Ashley Stafford (countertenor), Angus Smith (tenor), Robert Macdonald (bass)
11
Wenn wir in höchsten Nöten sein, BWV432  [1:24]  Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
Julia Gooding (soprano), Ashley Stafford (countertenor), Angus Smith (tenor), Robert Macdonald (bass)
12
Wenn wir in höchsten Nöten sein, BWV641  [2:02]  Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
13
Wenn wir in höchsten Nöten sein, BWV431  [0:55]  Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
14
Vor deinen Thron tret ich, BWV668  [4:11]  Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
15
Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland  [0:32]  Martin Luther (1483-1546)
Julia Gooding (soprano)
16
Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland, BWV659  [4:42]  Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
Schwingt freudig euch empor, BWV36  Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750), arr. Timothy Roberts (b?)
17
Movement 8: Sein Lauf kam von Vater her  [0:36]
Julia Gooding (soprano)
18
Trio super Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland, BWV660  [2:28]  Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland, BWV62  Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
19
Movement 6: Lob sei Gott, dem Vater, g'tan  [0:35]
Julia Gooding (soprano), Ashley Stafford (countertenor), Angus Smith (tenor), Robert Macdonald (bass)
20
Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland, BWV661  [2:49]  Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
Wir danken dir, Gott, wir danken dir, BWV29  Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
21
Movement 7: Sei lob und Preis mit Ehren  [1:43]
Julia Gooding (soprano), Ashley Stafford (countertenor), Angus Smith (tenor), Robert Macdonald (bass)
Bach's own transcriptions of his works are, on the whole, well known and well documented, but His Majestys Sagbutts and Cornetts perform here their own arrangements that have proved very successful in the concert hall.

This disc opens in a blaze of glory with the Sinfonia from the cantata Wir danken dir, Gott, wir danken dir, (BWV29), itself a transcription by Bach of the familiar strains of the opening movement of his E major Violin Partita (BWV1006). This triumphant introduction sets the standard for the rest of this very special collection. Other highlights include an ingenious set of canons based on a theme from the 'Goldberg' Variations, discovered in 1974 on a blank page inside Bach's own working copy of the Goldbergs, and the lovely chorale O Jesu Christ, meins Lebens Licht performed here in its original guise before Bach himself arranged it for strings, oboes and continuo.

To hear all these works in such unfamiliar, yet extraordinarily beautiful, rich and rare sonorities can only be described as pure luxury.