…each of these cantatas… contain strikingly expressive music of deep personal commitment and affecting poignancy. Phillippe Herreweghe and his accomplished band get their measure admirably, with eloquent phrasing, fervent declamation and appropriate gravitas. Choosing between the several fine performance currently available is difficult but, in one respect, at least, Herreweghe's recording reigns supreme. It is, for me, the oboe playing of Marcel Ponseele which tips the scales in favour of the newcomer.

'Jesu, deine Passion' represents one of Collegium Vocale Gent's most outstanding Bach projects for quite a while. Not least the power of the Quinquagesima (the start of the fasting before Easter) message – the preparation and prescience for all things 'Passion' – gathers Herreweghe into a contemplative world in which he feels most responsive.
The four works here are all masterpieces (sure, No 22 was probably composed in a hurry as a pre-Sermon accompaniment to No 23 as the dual audition pieces for Leipzig), rich in imagery and beguiling in the pure intricacy and invention of Bach's emotional world. Where does one begin? Du wahrer Gott is, at last, establishing itself as one of Bach's most profoundly crafted creations; Herreweghe asserts his luminous a cappella principles with an almost galant turn.
Elsewhere we hear Peter Kooy, mostly in good voice. Es ist vollbracht from No 159 is a restrained affair but effective nonetheless, especially with the exquisite oboe-playing of Marcel Ponseele. This aria would grace the St MatthewPassion with its Picander-esque sensibility (not least the setting of the words 'Welt, gute Nacht!', redolent of 'Mache dich').
This is, above all, a highly atmospheric programme, often overwhelming in content. HerrJesu Christ, wahr' Mensch und Gott (No 127) is another corker: the opening chorus sublime in its incandescent contrapuntal mastery and then the main aria, 'Die Seele ruht', whose funeral bells (through recorders and pizzicato) are beautifully portrayed in Dorothee Mield's brittle but awestruck delivery.

This is, above all, a highly atmospheric programme, often overwhelming in content. Herr Jesu Christ wahr' Mensch und Gott (BWV127) is another corker: the opening chorus sublime in its incandescent contrapuntal mastery and then the main aria, "Die Seele ruht", whose funeral bells (through recorders and pizzicato) are beautifully portrayed in Dorothee Mield's brittle but awestruck delivery.

What can you say except that Philippe Herreweghe and his Collegium Vocale Gent are the defining interpreters of Bach's vocal and choral works for our time? This is not just a function of skillful exploitation of modern recording
techniques or judicious application of recent scholarship, but largely owes to a particular quality of sound and a unique interpretive sensibility that pervades each performance, informed by this conductor and ensemble's nearly 40-year
collaboration focused predominantly on Bach.