Dr. Gott

To the glory of God and the Burgomaster: Bach's appointment as director musices of the city of Leipzig in 1723 brought with it, among his other functions, the duty of providing an annual liturgical cantata specifically intended for performance during the ceremony of the opening of the session of the new Municipal Council. At least twelve such cantatas were written during the long years he spent in the pious town, of which no more than a third have survived intact. The almost martial accents of Preise, Jerusalem, den Herrn, the invocation of prosperity and blessing of Gott, man lobet dich in der Stille and the astonishing parodies of the third Partita for solo violin in Wir danken dir, Gott - the three cantatas on this recording - are all somewhat unabashed combinations of the glorification of God and municipal pride.

The multi-award-winning Christoph Spering and his New Orchestra and Chorus Musicus Köln are devoting another instalment to Johann Sebastian Bach's cantatas from 1724 / 25. These cantatas were almost exclusively new compositions by Bach and are characterised by their particular originality and variety of form.

On the occasion of the 400. On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the death of Michael Praetorius, the Ensemble La Protezione della Musica has compiled a selection of vocal and organ compositions that are quite representative of Praetorius’ oeuvre.

It was literally "highly virtuosic" when the great composers of the 18th century brought together solo soprano and clarinet trumpet in glorious praise of God.

This superb album commemorating the 500th anniversary of the Reformation puts Martin Luther’s defiant act in musical context, celebrating some of his collaborators. Vox Luminis have made some excellent—and award-winning—albums, and this is one of their finest. Ambitious in scope, and imaginatively programmed, it finds the Belgian group with organist Bart Jacobs in top form. In addition to the obvious names, like Schütz, Praetorius, and Scheidt, we encounter some of the lesser-known composers of Luther’s time. This is not just historically important—it's also musically satisfying.

Christ lag in Todesbanden, BWV 4, Gott der Herr ist Sonn und Schild, BWV 79, and Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott, BWV 80. Written at different moments in the composer’s life and based to a large extent on the works of Martin Luther, these cantatas reflect a marked taste for dramaturgy, vivid word painting and an invariably astonishing use of instruments and voices. Herreweghe and Collegium Vocale Gent give us an accomplished version of these masterpieces, confirming, if further proof were needed, their stature as ardent champions of Bach.

Following a highly anticipated televised performance at the 2023 BBC Proms, Dunedin Consort and its director John Butt now release Mozart's 'Great' Mass in C minor and Carl Phillip Emmanuel Bach's Heilig ist Gott on Linn. Devised to celebrate his marriage to Constanze, but left unfinished at the composer's death, Mozart's Mass can clearly be traced back to the choral writing of Johann Sebastian Bach and his son, Carl Phillip Emmanuel.

In the soulful interpretation of tenor Georg Poplutz and the Telemann-Ensemble Frankfurt under Andreas Köhs on SPEKTRAL, widely unknown solo cantatas in small instrumental ensembles become precious jewels of sacred chamber music. An hour of the finest cantata art of the German Baroque with little-known works that will always give the inclined listener a joy of discovery.