Description

ATMA Baroque presents the third volume in its complete edition of Bach’s cantatas in collaboration with Montréal Baroque. Directed from the organ by Eric Milnes, the four solo singers and the musicians deliver an interpretation faithful to historical sources, on original instruments, and with the choir singing one voice to a part.

This recording brings together the cantatas dedicated to the cult of the Virgin Mary. The cantata BWV 1, Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern (How beautifully shines the morning star,), was written for the day of the Annunciation, and is one of Bach’s most well-known works; the cantata BWV 82, Ich habe genug (I have enough), for the feast of the Purification (Candlemas), and the cantata BWV 147, Herz und Mund und Tat und Leben (Heart and mouth and deed and life), for the feast of the Visitation.

ATMA’s Bach cycle incorporates the most recent research on performance practise, confirming that these cantatas were originally performed one singer to a part, including the choruses. This cycle marks the first complete recordings of the Bach cantatas performed one-on-a-part, and is also the first to be released in hybrid SACD format.