No 26 Best of the Annual Cycle of Cantatas 1

Philippe Herreweghe presents Appealing to the senses in operatic fashion, Soli deo Gloria: When, on 1 January 1724 Bach greeted the New Year in truly thrilling fashion with »Singet dem Herrn« (»Sing to the Lord«) and a short time later, in BWV 81, had Jesus calming a mighty storm before the listeners’ very ears, everyone down to the last inhabitant of Leipzig must have realised that this cantor had an inexhaustible supply of ideas for praising God in music in ever ›new‹ ways. And of delivering true balsam to the soul with soulful sounds – as in the ›oriental‹-sounding cantata BWV 65, or in his version of the Good Shepherd Gospel reading (BWV 104). In short, diversity all round. That the Bach giants, Philippe Herreweghe and Ton Koopman, and their ensembles will provide a consummate demonstration of this is as sure as amen.