Cantate Domino

ENSEMBLE BACHWERKVOKAL SAFARI

“Sing a new song unto the Lord!” What motto could be more fitting for this debut by the BachWerkVokal? Framed by Bach’s festive New Year’s Day Cantata and his double-choral motet on Psalm 98, this recording by the instrumentally and vocally multifaceted Salzburg ensemble presents works by Buxtehude, Telemann, and Handel – and as a special treat two previously undiscovered solutions to Mozart’s Puzzle Canon on the same text. Along with this premiere, two other recording firsts enrich this meticulously produced Super Audio album. Telemann’s cantata has never been released in recorded form- which is not at all understandable in view of his interpretation rendering the text with absolutely onomatopoetic Baroque splendor. Now the ocean surges, now the streams of water jubilate, and the harps, trumpets, and drums mentioned in the psalm also make themselves heard. Gordon Safari, the ensemble’s founder, has completed the Cantata BWV 190, a work transmitted in fragmentary form. This versatile conductor is now presenting this festive work for the first time. Truly a “new song!” As we gather from Buxtehude’s Latin psalm setting, both Handel and Bach learned from him. His Novum!-The Lord! seems to have been tailor-made for the BachWerkVokal. The remarkable room impression of this three-dimensional recording shines with Baroque splendor even in the secular setting of the home- and lends Bach’s double-choral motets the radiance of a live performance.

Price: $22.99