Bach's Cantatas for the New Year find John Eliot Gardiner and his valiant forces in Berlin's neo-Gothic Gethsemanekirche. The soloists are Ruth Holton, Lucy Ballard, Charles Humphries, Sally Bruce-Payne, James Gilchrist and Peter Harvey.
SDG150 95 minutes 23 seconds (2 discs)
'Splendid New Year cantatas from the very earliest days of the Pilgrimage. Most stirring perhaps is the bold canvas of Jesu, nun sei gepreiset, whose energetic climbs … are negotiated with except ... 'Soloists are superb throughout, Ruth Holton (soprano) specially striking for her transparent almost boy-like tone (BWV 58), and James Gilchrist (tenor) matching instrumental agility while a trio weav ... 'All [cantatas] are beautifully performed by the Monteverdi Choir and the English Baroque Soloists, with the tenor James Gilchrist outstanding for his stylish grace' (The Sunday Times)