The music on this album is in turn dark, poignant, humane and witty. It features choral music (motets) as well as solo arias and laments, and two dialogues. The live concert was billed “Six funerals and a wedding”: the pieces evoke the dark theme of grief, as was fashionable in 17th century Lutheran Germany, though the last track “Meine Freundin” is a lighter, amorous dialogue.

Johann Christoph Bach (1642-1703) - not to be confused with Johann Christian Bach, was Johann Sebastian Bach’s older cousin. A respected composer in his lifetime, he greatly influenced J S Bach’s music making.

Press acclaim for the live performance at Cadogan Hall:
“JC Bach’s brand of sober pietism really draws you in. The uncompromising honesty of the word setting, and its dense, dark fabric of gambas, cellos and basses, creeps into the nerves system in a rather delicious way.” - The Times

“Such is the individuality – even quirkiness – of his settings, with their expressive melody, distinctive harmony and often strikingly interventionist obbligato violin parts, that they absorb rather than repel.” - The Guardian

“A rewarding exploration of the little known music of Johann Christoph Bach” - The Sunday Telegraph