Radio 3
Record Review
15th June 2019
Record of the Week

Presto Recording of the Week
14th June 2019

Gramophone Magazine
August 2019
Editor's Choice

Vox Luminis, Lionel Meunier

Bach, J M I: Ach, bleib bei uns, Herr Jesu Christ
Bach, J C'ph: Die Furcht des Herren Kantate zu einem Ratswechsel
Bach, H: Ich danke dir, Gott Kantate zum 17. Sonntag nach Trinitatis
Bach, J M I: Herr, der König freuet sich
Bach, J C'ph: Herr, wende dich und sei mir gnädig Dialogue
Bach, J S: Cantata BWV4 'Christ lag in Todesbanden' (Easter Cantata)
Bach, J C'ph: Es erhub sich ein Streit Kantate zum Michaelissonntag

Having recorded the complete motets composed by the ancestors of Johann Sebastian Bach (RIC 347), Vox Luminis now tackles their complete spiritual concerts and sacred cantatas, in which the instruments – particularly the strings – play a highly important role. In the cantata for the Feast of St Michael the Archangel by Johann Christoph Bach, trumpets and drums are enlisted to evoke the battle of the archangels in heaven. To round off this programme, Vox Luminis presents the cantata Christ lag in Todesbanden by Johann Sebastian Bach, in its original version dating from his Arnstadt period, containing copious elements linking it to the music of his forebears.

"One of the key differences between Vox Luminis and many other such ensembles…is how homogeneity is challenged as the default priority…The strong identities within the ensemble allow for new lyrical dimensions to emerge…Throughout this beguiling programme, Vox Luminis inhabit a world from which you’ll need to drag yourself away." - Gramophone Magazine, August 2019.