The bass voice (basso, encompassing both baritone and bass in our modern terminology) occupies a special place in Bach’s sacred vocal music. As the two great Passion settings testify, it was the solo bass that represented the vox Christi or ‘voice of Christ’, following an established tradition in church music.

Matthias Goerne is here at his most persuasive and beguiling in three of the Cantatas, with superb orchestral and choral support, and the recording includes two orchestral gems from the cantatas as well. Distinguished orchestral soloists include the oboist Albrecht Mayer.

'Profoundly beautiful singing from one of the finest baritones of his generation. A version of Ich habe genug to speak of alongside the greats. […] How this wonderful musician fills all Bachians with hope! This is the sort of mature, sophisticated, assured and boundless Bach singing which one hears so rarely these days […] beguiling and cultivated oboe playing from Albrecht Mayer […] the famous lullaby “Sclummert ein’ is fragrant, even and soft-spoken. Norrington’s hold on the modern-instrument Salzburg Camerata Academica provides an almost ideal palette for the Liederinspired communicative range of Goerne. […] A great Bach recording.’ - Gramophone (April 2000)