Cantata no. 52 Falsche Welt opens with a reworking of the Sinfonia from the 1st Brandenburg Concerto...There is a period performance lightness to the phrasing, but the roundness of tone from the modern instruments categorically distinguishes it from the sounds of the baroque purists. Thornhill gives us some heartfelt recitatives, ‘False world, I trust thee not’ giving her an opportunity for some operatic passion.

Cantata no. 84 Ich bin vergnüngt mit meinem Glücke opens with the sort of flowing oboe obligato aria that you might expect to hear at a brisk pace these days. This slower reading emphasises timbral warmth over contrapuntal intrigue, and is no worse for that. The ensemble exposition to the central aria Ich esse mit Freuden is similarly voluptuous, and the balance of all these contrapuntal lines with the voice, when it enters, is exemplary, a demonstration of the advantages of taking Bach out of the church and playing him in the recording studio instead.


Canata no.199 Mein Herze schwimmt im Blut is the most sombre of the set, and benefits from Thornhill’s combination of operatic expression and baroque restraint. Long, impassioned phrases, with occasional discrete ornamentation and just a touch of vibrato, all add up to an attractive and convincing take on Bach’s vocal lines, whatever the purists might think.

Cantata no.51 Jauchzet Gott in allen Landen! is the best known of these cantatas, largely I suspect because of the interplay of voice and trumpet obligato. The skills of the balance engineers are again much in evidence here, especially in the way that the trumpet’s lines are always clearly distinguished, yet always subordinate to the singer...Thornhill projects enough energy through her phrasing to keep the momentum. Some very attractive singing it the other two arias as well...Thornhill is clearly tuned in to the aesthetic of the orchestra, and she does them full justice by matching their balance of baroque and modern sensibilities.