,f; SOUND CHOICE OF BEAUTIFIRMICES AND ELEGANT PLAYING MARKS A DISTINGWHED ISSUE

Sacred Cantatas

Fuga, BuxINV174. Ich babe Lust abzuscheiden, BuxWV47abc. Ich hake es

BuxWV48bc. Jesu ineine Freude, BuxWV60abe. Mein herz ist bereit, BuxWV73cd. Herr, wenn ich nur dich hab, BuxWV38b. Salve, Jesu, Patris gnate unigenite, BuxIVV94ab. Jesu dulcis memoria, BuxVV156ab. Cantate Domino, BuxWV12abc aEmma Kirkby, bSuzie LeBlanc sops

Teter Harvey bass dClare Salaman vn Purcell Quartet (Catherine Mackintosh vii/va Catherine Weiss rn Richard Boothby bvio Robert Woolley org) Chandos Chaconne CHAN0691 (76 minutes: DDD) Texts and translations included

The Purcell Quartet's trawl through the beauties of 17th-century German music continues with this selection of Buxtehude sacred pieces, half of them not currently available elsewhere. Setting various German and Latin texts for solo voices, violins and continuo, they are typical products of the late 17th century in their pragmatic approach to form.

Here are patchworks such as jes-it dulcis memoria and Salve, jesu, Patris gnate unigenite; chorale or song variations such as jesu, meine Freude; and others, like Ich halte es dafiir and Ich babe Lust abzuscheiden, which combine the two.

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BUSTE FIU Of Gamete Domino is liltingly halianate, Mein Herz ist 010 IMP P bereit is an agile showpiece for solo bass, while Herr, wenn ich nut-dich hub is a set of variations over a ground bass. Buxtehude's expertise as an instrumental composer, meanwhile, is shown in the little sonatas with which several of these works open and by the constant resourcefulness of the string-writing in general.

By drawing such elements together he was undoubtedly preparing the way for Bach's early cantatas, but these pieces are also well worth hearing in their own right. While they do not have the emotional punch and textural richness of the cantatas by Matthias Weckmann investigated by these performers in one of their previous releases (Chandos, 1/00), it is elegantly crafted, melodically appealing and earnest in message. The Purcell Quartet's essential string sound has always been sweet, airy and lucid, and it is interesting to hear how that has been transferred here from the instrumental sphere to the vocal. To this end the choice of singers is important, and on this occasion they could hardly have picked more shrewdly: Emma Kirkby and Suzie LeBlanc make an excellent pairing, distinguishable from each other in both voice and approach, yet at the same time superbly matched in duet; and Peter Harvey has the friendliest of bass voices, his alert account Suzie LeBlanc sings Buxtehude in a 'superbly matched' duet with Emma Kirkb of Mein Herz. bereit, set against the thrilk radiant background of three violins, being of the disc's highlights. An expert recordir an amenable acoustic completes a releas many refined pleasures. Lindsay Ki