Coupling two relatively late celebratory cantatas is a wonderful way to show off
Windsbacher Knabenchor's bright, ringing tone and longtime director
Karl-Friedrich Beringer's ardent and energetic conducting -- not to mention the polished playing of the Collegium Musicum des WDR. The choice of the secular Preise dein Glücke, gesegnets Sachsen (Praise now thy Blessings, Fortunate Saxon) BWV 215, and the sacred Dem Gerechten muss das Licht (For the Righteous, the Light Must be Ever-arising, aka, the "Copulations Cantata") BWV 195, was inspired. Both works feature similar orchestras -- pairs of flutes and oboes, three trumpets, two timpani, plus strings and continuo -- and expanded choral writing -- eight-part double choir in Preise dein Glücke and the four-part choir divided into soli and tutti in Dem Gerechten. And both works, unlike the vast majority of Bach's cantatas, are exceedingly cheerful -- a wonderful quality that ideally matches the joyfully exuberant performing style of the
Windsbacher Knabenchor. With soprano
Barbara Schlick, alto Klaus Haffke, tenor Paul Elliott, and bass Stephen Varcoe, this disc is as fine a recording of these cantatas as has been released. Though recorded early on in the digital era, Rondeau's 1986 sound is rich, deep, round, and detailed.