Heart's Solace - Bach / Parrott, Taverner Consort & Players

Although the title of the disc is just a touch appalling -- Heart's Solace sounds as if it were aimed directly at the crossover market -- the music on the disc truly and deeply lives up to the title. Essentially a collection of two funeral motets and a mourning cantata by Bach, this is music composed to solace the heart torn by grief. Bach, like all good Lutherans, knew that death was not the end and his music sings of compassion and consolation. Amidst the vast number of Bach's sacred vocal works, these works form an aesthetic unity only in the sense that they form an emotional unity, but the strength and profundity of Bach's music make the collection utterly compelling. In this 1997 recording with Andrew Parrott leading the Taverner Consort and Players, Bach's mourning music is vividly brought to life. The performances are at once austere but expressive, warm yet severe, wonderfully musical and at the same time supremely spiritual. Through the clarity of Parrott's performance shines the luminosity of Bach's music as through the lucidity of Bach's music pours the pure light of infinity. Sony's sound is cool, clean, and serene.