Grete Pedersen, Norwegian Soloists' Choir, Ensemble Allegria - Johann Sebastian Bach: The Motets (2017)
EAC | FLAC | Image (Cue & Log) ~ 327 Mb | Total time: 67:39 | Scans included
Classical | Label: BIS | # BIS-SACD-2251 | Recorded: 2015-2017
EAC | FLAC | Image (Cue & Log) ~ 327 Mb | Total time: 67:39 | Scans included
Classical | Label: BIS | # BIS-SACD-2251 | Recorded: 2015-2017
Bach's motets are surrounded by much uncertainty. To begin with, we do not know how many he actually composed, as some have been lost while others have been wrongly attributed to him. Although several of the motets were written for funerals, it is also uncertain if they were actually performed during church services: as a genre, the motet was established as early as the 13th century and by Bach's time it was considered to be old-fashioned and backward-looking. Even so, the motets are the only vocal works by Bach that have an unbroken performance tradition until the present time, which may serve as testimony to the powerful response that they induce in listeners and performers alike.