Reviewed by Steven Whitehead

One of the glories of Johann Sebastian Bach was his amazing productivity: music flowed from him like a never ending stream. Thus even after many happy years of reviewing choral and classical music there are still works that are new to me. I think that had I heard this album before I looked at the extensive and helpful booklet notes I would have guessed that the music was by Bach but would have struggled to identify it. I would have been partly right: the music is indeed by Bach but not Johann Sebastian or any of his accomplished sons. Instead this collection, compiled by J. S. himself, goes back in time: this is the musical testament of the ancestors of J. S. Bach, known since the 18th century as the "Altbachisches Archiv" but published only in 1935. The composer who appears most frequently is the Eisnach organist Johann Christoph Bach (1642-1703), eldest son of another organist, Heinrich Bach (1615-1692), as well as Johann Michael, Georg Christoph, Johann Bach (just plain Johann with no other names!) and a concluding motet by Johann Sebastian himself. I could list all their dates and try to untangle the Bach family tree but if you are that interested I strongly suggest you buy the CD. The music is sung and played very well indeed and students of Bach (J. S.) will be most grateful to have this definitive collection back in print at a very fair price. As a listener I enjoyed the two and a half hours but confess that by the end of it I was struggling to remember what I had just heard. Next time I play it I will read the liner notes as I listen and get the music into its context. I would be most surprised if ever I sing any of this myself. We like Bach in our choir but I do not think we like him enough to want to sing works by his lesser known relatives. They do not deserve to be forgotten and hopefully this release will keep their memories alive but, really, there is only one immortal Bach.

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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