Christ lag in Todesbanden

"This timely disc reveals Pachelbel not simply as a strong influence on Bach but as a fine composer in his own right." BBC Music Magazine, May 2008 ****

The tricentenary of Johann Pachelbel's death went almost unnoticed in 2006.The present recording of Cantatas thus fills an important gap in the discography related to the history of religious music in Germany in the Baroque period. One happily discovers a composer immersed in the polyphonic practice of central Germany, close to the ancestors of J.S. Bach and well aware of new influences from Italy.These compositions are organically linked to the melodies of Luther's chorales and by their shape and size constitute an obvious link between the XVIIth century and the first cantatas of Johann Sebastian Bach.