Music Web International
SDG124 Bach Cantatas Vol 7 (31 Jan 2008)
Sir John Eliot Gardiner’s splendid and ongoing series of Bach cantatas continues to stimulate and delight in equal measure. This set is the pick of the 2007 crop, especially the cantatas for the Feast of St. Michael and All Angels on the second disc. All of these cantatas are superb and receive vivid performances but the set is particularly notable for the stunning account of Es erhub sich ein Streit, BWV 19.This is a most exciting cantata but what makes this a desert island choice for me is the seraphic aria ‘Bleibt, ihr engel, bleibt bei mir.' This receives a spellbinding performance from James Gilchrist, which alone is enough to make this disc a mandatory purchase.

