This does not mean everything is necessarily loud: the opening of BWV 228 achieves these qualities with soft, almost whispering execution, followed by a faster than usual segment (2’03”). Their meticulous attention to diction ensures not only textual clarity, but often adds a joyful, almost rambunctious percussion effect to the music. There is an audible sense of enjoyment that suggest these performers not only love the music, but also love performing together. In short, the choral sound is refined, refulgent and consistently beautiful.Įven more impressive is the potent energy brought to each performance. The polyphony is performed with a crystalline clarity and there is masterly control of dynamic shading.

The choral singing is exceptionally fine: balance within and between each section is unnervingly unanimous, and intonation is flawless. In this recording the choir numbers 23-28 singers, depending on the motet, accompanied by a six-player continuo group that includes theorbo and lute. They also demand extraordinary virtuosity from the singers, a requirement fully met in this new recording.Įnsemble Pygmalion and Raphaël Pichon have released few previous Bach albums, including excellent performances of the four Missae Breves (BWV 232-236) and the reconstructed “Köthener Trauermusik” Bach composed for Prince Leopold of Anhalt-Cöthen. Bach’s six authenticated motets are perfectly crafted, audacious, and mesmerizingly inventive, fully conveying the emotional and theological import of their text.

Raphael pichon