JS Bach

Motets: Komm, Jesu, komm!, BWV 229; Fürchte dich nicht,

BWV 228; Der Geist hilft unser Schwachheit auf, BWV 226; Jesu, meine Freude, BWV 227; Lobet den Herrn alle Heiden, BWV 230; O Jesu Christ, mein Lebens Licht, BWV 118; Singet dem Herr nein neues Lied, BWV 225

Norwegian Soloists’ Choir; Ensemble Allegria/grete Pedersen BIS BIS-2251 (hybrid CD/SACD)

67:39 mins

No doubt it’s interesting to learn that the publication of Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe is roughly contemporaneous with the composition of Jesu, meine Freude; and that the excavation of Herculaneum post-dated by a whisker O Jesu Christ, meins Lebens Licht: but the liner notes to this new disc of Bach motets struggle to join the dots. Indeed, there’s a whiff of defeat when observing that antique plates were becoming all the rage

‘at least in circles other than Bach’s’. Better to have been enlightened as to why three of the motets are sung at A=415 Hz, four at A=440; the rationale behind the instrumental underscoring – ranging from continuo to generous string doublings, not to mention oboes and a pair of cor anglais; and why the delectable O Jesu Christ, meins Lebens Licht is included, but not Ich lasse dich nicht? If attribution is the issue, BWV Anh159 isn’t the only motet with a question mark against its paternity.

The opening of Komm, Jesu, komm entices. The antiphonal pleas are so lovingly shaped and delectably blended it’s impossible not to surrender. But does beauty of sound and ‘finish’ become an end in itself ? There’s little biting anguish to the word ‘saure’ (bitter). The rhetorical f lourishes on BWV 228’s Ich erhalte dich are decidedly soft-grained, while Lobet den Herrn is robustly upholstered. After a hallowed account of O Jesu Christ, meins Lebens Licht, Grete Pedersen’s crack choir is champing at the bit, and takes ownership of Singet dem Herrn with infectious exuberance.

A real tour de force! Paul Riley

PERFORMANCE ★★★★ RECORDING ★★★★★