English Baroque Soloists

“Another treasure chest of refreshment and musical surprises...Highlights include the exploratory BWV 150, the jazzy duet from BWV 97, Paul Agnew and David Watkins’s tenor aria with cello accompaniment (BWV 183), and the final Johann Christoph Bach motet – to die for.” The Times, 4th July 2008 ****

“There is a genuine pilgrim’s humility about this recording that contrasts tellingly with the magnificence of the achievement. Gardiner has made history.” The Times

“This latest volume from Gardiner's 2000 Bach Pilgrimage exudes the now-familiar sense of urgent, excited discovery. None of these cantatas is well known. Yet the power and fertility of Bach's invention are spellbinding... As ever, Gardiner and his crack forces combine dramatic flair (the turba chorus in No 44 has a shocking ferocity), rhetorical subtlety and a profound feeling for Bach's unique vein of morbid inwardness.” The Telegraph, 9th August 2008

“This is Bach at a very high level - a match for anything else that is currently available on disc.” BBC Music Magazine, August 2008 *****

“Once again, Gardiner’s Monteverdi Choir is the jewel in the crown of each cantata performance. Add to that Gardiner’s dramatic, electric response to music he clearly loves and you have a set that rivals his Gramophone Record of the Year Award-winning disc that launched this amazing series.” Gramophone Magazine

“The second Sie werden (BWV183) is the pick of the crop… From the most theatrical of openings, the committed Paul Agnew navigates his way expertly through one of Bach's most extended and contemplative testaments of faith, "Ich fürchte nicht".” Gramophone Magazine, 2008 Awards Issue

“These performances do full justice to such genius.” (George Pratt, BBC Music )

“Nothing better captures Bach's endless capacity for exuding inner succour than the luminous, gentle melodic contours of "Was des Höchsten" (from BWV194).” Gramophone Magazine, May 2008

“Each new arrival in John Eliot Gardiner’s massive Bach Cantata Pilgrimage series is still, unapologetically, worth trumpeting…Pure pleasure.” (Metro)

“Once again, Gardiner’s Monteverdi Choir is the jewel in the crown of each cantata performance. Add to that Gardiner’s dramatic, electric response to music he clearly loves and you have a set that rivals his Gramophone Record of the Year Award-winning disc that launched this amazing series.” (Gramophone)

“As the fruits of Gardiner’s Millennium Bach Pilgrimage emerge on his own Soli Deo Gloria label, one begins to comprehend just what a remarkable achievement the project was... There is eloquent inventiveness at every turn... Excellent and atmospheric readings from Gardiner, the Monteverdi Choir and the English Baroque Soloists” (Stephen Pettitt, Sunday Times)

“Elin Manahan Thomas gives an intimate and clear-headed performance.” Gramophone Magazine

“The first release in Gardiner's 2000 Bach Cantata Pilgrimage, an extraordinary undertaking - a deeply moving experience that swept up the Record of the Year Award in 2005.” Gramophone Magazine, October 2008