Ars Nova Copenhagen . Paul Hillier

Johann Sebastian Bach not only composed an enormous religious oeuvre, but also often arranged music written by fellow composers. This was not due to a lack of creativity, but because the workload St Thomas' Lutheran Church in Leipzig imposed upon him was so arduous that he had no other choice. Bach saw this as a chance; an opportunity to learn from others. He used the motets by his uncle and gifted composer Johann Christoph Bach as a starting point. Or else he would arrange cantatas by Sebastian Knüpfer, one of his Thomas Cantor predecessors. But the most remarkable Bach revision is of a Missa Brevis by Palestrina. This demonstrates that Bach was well informed about music history. And that he held classical counterpoint from the sixteenth century in very high esteem. He was to incorporate this knowledge and reverence into his own motets in an unparalleled manner, creating unsurpassed expressive contrapuntal masterpieces.