Here are lively and thought-provoking performances of three sacred vocal works by Bach. Broadly speaking, Andrew Parrott pursues the idea of one voice to a part; thus in the Magnificat—Bach's later version in D major—the five strands of the choral movements are each sustained by a single voice, and in the remaining two works a similar procedure is adopted. The result is seldom less than musical and sometimes considerably more than that but, as Burney once remarked of C. P. E. Bach's music, a little habit may be required for the enjoyment of it. Parrott, of course, is more concerned with achieving a satisfying musical result than in the pursuit of authenticity per se and so he allots the soprano and alto lines to women's voices, to which Bach can seldom if ever have had recourse in performing his sacred music. But whether or not Bach actually used boys as opposed to falsettists in the alto line is at least debatable, anyway, and boy trebles of today are a different age and tradition from those which Bach was able to use. Our lack of knowledge is a regrettable fact but one which we must accept, albeit reluctantly; Parrott's alto singers, Caroline Trevor and Margaret Cable, come as close to providing an ideal solution as any that I have encountered. Indeed, one might be forgiven for believing, at least momentarily, that Caroline Trevor was indeed a male falsettist so clear and pure is her delivery in the ''Esurientes'' of the Magnificat. Margaret Cable is a singer whose voice I have long enjoyed in this repertory and her account of the aria, ''Ach, bleibe doch, mein liebstes Leben'' (later adapted as the Agnus Dei of the B minor Mass) from Lobet Gott in seinen Reichen (the Ascension Oratorio) is a satisfying one. The third work here is a mighty eight-part chorus, Nun ist das Heil, a unique disposition among the cantatas, which probably belonged to a longer work for St Michael's Day. Bach's orchestra complements the awesome text from Revelations and consists of three trumpets, drums, three oboes, strings and continuo. Eight voices have to work hard against forces such as these and even when those voices belong to the accomplished Taverner Consort they fail always to convince.
In spite of some misgivings, these are enjoyable performances, full of sparkle and musical insight. The Taverner Players turn in some fine ensemble playing and individual obbligato contributions are generally secure. Good recorded sound and full texts are included.'