Motets

"The present recording makes a first-rate impression in every category, from the thoughtful programming to the exemplary performances to the vibrant, clear, naturally balanced sound. Yes, there are many very good performances of these works, but Marcus Creed and his Vocalconsort Berlin go beyond most of those renditions to give us readings that look beneath the literal surface of both music and texts".

"Bach's motets are difficult as the dickens but among the most beautiful, uplifting, and refined works of a composer's output that is positively stacked with beautiful, uplifting, and refined works ... Now Raphaël Pichon and Pygmalion, one of the brightest period choirs and bands of the last few years, have thrown their hat into the ring. Naturally, expectations run high - and they are met. Pichon leads his chorus abetted by a generous-sounding, six-piece continuo band that provides extraordinarily pleasing support. There exist excellent recordings with no or far more minimal instrumental backing (Dijkstra, for example), but this approach (also Kuijken's on Accent) is my favorite way to listen to them ... The performances are full of neat phrasing and excellent singing ... As a set of the "standard six", Pichon is a great choice for modern ears".

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"Die sechs grossen Motetten von Johann Sebastian Bach sind Ausnahmewerke der Chorliteratur ... Das französische Ensemble Pygmalion hat diese Motetten nun neu eingespielt. Unter der Leitung von Raphaël Pichon gelingt dabei eine aussergewöhnlich emotionale Produktion ... Die Sängerinnen und Sänger folgen ihm auch in den virtuosesten Passagen scheinbar mühelos in grösstmöglicher Perfektion und präsentieren darüber hinaus eine exzellente Textverständlichkeit ... Ganz klar eine neue Referenzeinspielung!".

"Det flamske radiokor synger under ledelse af danske Bo Holten og gør det glimrende. Både fordi de 24 damer og herrer stammer fra barokbølgens hjemland og har fået den nymodens syngemåde ind med modermælken ... Og fordi komponisten Holten ligesom komponerer med, når han dirigerer. Lyden er gennemført naturlig - i hvert fald har sangerne ikke haft en mikrofon hver i halsen. Alligevel lyder alting forbløffende klart".

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"Mærkeligt nok holder de sig tilbage, hvor de burde være fremme i skoene. Bachs seks finurlige motetter har det bedst, når det går let og åndfuldt af sted. Rheinische Kantoreis nye udgaver slentrer tamt den modsatte vej. Bachs flammende, ekstatiske højder når de aldrig".

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"Vurdering: BBC music choral song choice" - "The Monteverdi Choir can turn from Rottweiler into lamb in the blink of an eye ... Some might find Gardiner's approach theatrical; he could persuasively counter that the motets engage unflinchingly with matters of life and death ... Gardiner trusts Bach's simplicity and inwardness as much as he relishes his complexity and drama".

"His singers are lively, though prone to weighty first-beats ... Intonation is impeccable, wrapping sustained chords in velvety richness".

"Det er Bach hørt forfra, med renæssancens kirketonale musik i ørerne ... Det Flamske Radiokor er et formidabelt godt kor på 24 sangere, der mestrer de mest komplicerede og virtuose passager med en selvfølgelig lethed ... Og Bo Holten holder dem i stramme tøjler ... Klangen er smuk og ustresset hele vejen, og ensemblet kan også fremvise en række gode solister".

"Stärker als andere arbeitet Hermann Max die Affekte dieser Musik heraus, wobei er nicht bloss vom Text, sondern auch und vor allem von der Figurenlehre der Rhetorik ausgeht ... Denkbar wäre, den Aspekt der seelsorglichen Geborgenheit atmosphärisch etwas stärker zum Tragen kommen zu lassen, doch auch so bietet deise Aufnahme viel Erhellendes".

"Vurdering: Empfehlungen des Monats" - "Diese Aufnahme mit Bach-Motetten wird mit ziemlicher Sicherheit der Kultur-Platte mit dem gleichen Werk von Cantus Cölln (1997) Konkurrenz machen".

"Vurdering: BBC choral song choice" - "The performance is, as you'd expect from his Collegium, excellent. Voices range from delicate soloists to a splendidly light and transparent 18-strong chorus".

"Pichon favours brisk tempos and draws lively and crisply articulated singing from his vocal ensemble. Textures are luminous and transparent, though just occasionally I found phrases a shade too clipped. But these are performances that are fullblooded and generously endowed with illustrative vocal gestures which enhance the text. Indeed, the attention afforded the texts is one of the great virtues of this singing".

"Herreweghe's fastidiousness threatens to smother spontaneity, but set alongside the larger forces of Masaaki Suzuki or the resolute one-to-a-part (a-cappella) consistency of the Hilliard Ensemble, Herreweghe's "inspired preaching" will nonetheless find ready converts".

"So gelingt dem erweiterten Hilliard Ensemble trotz exellenter Sprachbehandlung und einiger betörend schöner Momente ... keine in ihrer Gesamtheit zwingende Interpretation, die an Jacobs, Bernius oder Junghänel heranreichte".

"It works particularly well for the rich textures of the eight-part motets, and the expanded Hilliard Ensemble sings them superbly ... the intonation here is exemplary throughout ... Yet the textual evidence of the music itself strongly suggests the need for instrumental bass support ... Equally telling are the problems of balance ... though the Hilliard sound remains unique".