Bach Family: Magnificats

No fewer than three Bachs—father and two sons—and three wonderful versions of the Magnificat written over the course of the eighteenth century: one setting very familiar, the other two much less so. These vibrant performances are based on live concert recordings made at the 2015 Tetbury Festival in Gloucestershire. 

Featured works

• J.S. Bach: Magnificat in D Major BWV243
• J.C. Bach: Magnificat a 4 in C Major W. E22
• C.P.E. Bach: Magnificat in D Wq. 215 (H772)

Press & Praise

BBC MUSIC MAGAZINE

“You would be hard-pressed to find a more illuminating disc than this latest offering from Arcangelo…There’s nothing overfamiliar about the captivating freshness and buoyancy that both chorus and instrumentalists bring to a much-loved warhorse…Cohen plays the theatricality of the JC Bach to the hilt, while acknowledging the homage to JS in the opening of CPE’s setting.”

GRAMOPHONE

“For [J.S. Bach’s] perennial masterpiece, Jonathan Cohen and Arcangelo snap into their festive sparklers with grand authority and lithe ebullience, sweeping effortlessly from verse to verse with considerable purpose…Arcangelo’s voyage into the sons’ Magnificats is no less well paced or astutely textured…Cohen and Arcangelo bring us an illuminated Bachian constellation of three canticles colliding in captivating relief.”

THE TIMES
“Each Magnificat is different in length, tone and emphasis, although with enough common echoes to underline the family tree and the sense of musical history progressing. That’s one reason to buy the album. The other is the unfettered vivacity of Jonathan Cohen’s group Arcangelo. These are no shrinking violets.”