"Nach dir, Herr, verlanget mich, BWV 150" (Bach) by VOCES8, Reaction/Analysis by Musician/Producer 

Andrea, Elinore, and Katie each have their own unique beauty to add to the ensemble. They work so well together it is amazing to hear.

Only when you hear Voces8 singing Bach can you fully understand how magnificent that group is. Absolutely incredible and a triumph to their talent and all their training to sing at this exhilarating level. The instrumental ensemble too were fantastic. Powerful stuff

And so, you found Elenore at 5:18!! Tis a gem I have listened to 100+ times. And yet, this incredibly versatile vocalist can sing without vibrato in choral performances with the VOCES8. She is a gem.

This performance is a most massive achievement - each and every performer somehow drenched in the glory of JS Bach and the breadth and depth and height of his devotional creative genius. Perfection, perfection.

Magnificent

The Theorbo belongs to the lute family. The “top” strings are open bass strings. The instrument is often used along side the harpsichord and cello, in playing the “continuo”, the continuous accompaniment of those instruments to the voices above them.

I think I've never listened to such a good Bach performance. Wow! Normally I'm definitely more the Valeriy Stepanov type of music fan, but this piece intrigued me as well, as I'm not only a Christian but also German, and the text (sung with beautiful elf like voices) says: "for you, Lord, I long", which really comes deep from the heart of every believer, of which Bach was one. Thank you, Jeff!

Bach wrote more than 200 Cantatas, plus St.Matthew, St. Johan's Passions, Christmas and Easter Oratorios, Magnificat and other vocal works that just blows my mind! His music is a pure Heaven! Thank you for this video and may God bless you and your loved ones!

Wow thanks for looking at this, voces8 is just a master at their interpretation. The chasing of the themes is why I think this piece really captures the attention. And you caught that lovely ascending line.

They are excellent musicians......would love to hear them in person....or even accompany them in an orchestra.

The Master of the Invention (literally) Counterpoint - Fugue etc. This is gorgeous. Thank you sir, for sharing this piece. 🥲😀

Sublime! Thank you for reacting to VOCES8 and J.S.Bach today. A beautiful piece and a gorgeous performance. Yeah, theorbo is the multi-stringed instrument that is sometimes part of the continuo in baroque music. More, please.

When I was a music major in college there was one class that I had a hard time with and that was counterpoint. It was not until I immersed myself into the music of J.S. Bach. Then all the counterpoint made sense, and why Bach's music always seemed so natural.

They don’t just bring in just any musician. They’re in another level or another realm. Thank you

I'm happy Baroque music is getting more attention when performed by period ensembles. The Academy of Ancient Music is a wonderful group. They compliment Voces8 beautifully. The cello bit is always a treat. In this period of time, singing was instrumental and well, musicians had chances to shine. Being ornamental in their performing. Johann Sebastian Bach opens the door to all of the Baroque. Cheers 😊

Hey Jeff. I am the other Dirty Loops t shirt owner. Going to see them in concert at The Electric in Brixton, London. Nice Bach by the way. Go well.

Leite mich at 6:51 - goosebumps...

This is the perfect combining of the pre-Baroque modal form (used by Palestrina for example), and Bach's use of his absolute mastery of counterpoint. Also note that this is generally considered Bach's earliest known cantata!

I have copied these paragraphs from the Voce 8 site as they convey more than I ever could. It is fascinating to me to see the rehearsal process that leads to such excellence! It premiered April 14, 2020. I believe this recording predates the premier. It is part of a recording entitled "After Silence". Some personnel notes: Eleonore Cockerham, (2017-2021), is the second soprano who caught your attention. She is prominent in many earlier recordings; Jonathan Pacey - Bass (2015-2022) is the bass on the far left, and supplied the wonderful low sounds in Carrisfurgus Blake Morgan - First tenor (2016-present is the wonderful arranger for so many Voces 8 songs and a fantastic tenor as well Barnaby Smith - Second alto/countertenor & Artistic Director (2005-present). Barnaby Smith is the musical director of Voces 8 and not heard often singing solo To hear more of Barnaby's beautiful voice check out his videos, with Katie Jefferies-Harris about Bach. From 1708 when Bach was just 23 years old. An astounding composition for that age and maturity. His early cantatas were very different than the later more formulaic ones (not a criticism of the mature cantatas) But his earlier cantatas have more variety and are less predictable from a musical and structural standpoint. Nach dir, Herr, verlanget mich, BWV 150, known only from secondary sources, is probably Bach’s earliest surviving cantata, written while he was organist at the Neue Kirche in Arnstadt (1703-7). The work’s modest scoring reflects the limited musical resources at his disposal; it is also an old- style Protestant cantata, untouched by the reforms of Erdmann Neumeister, who advocated the introduction of madrigalesque poetry, operatic recitatives and da capo arias. BWV 150 takes a more restrained Lutheran approach, setting texts from Scripture (verses from Psalm 25 in movements 2, 4 and 6) alongside interpretative stanzas by an unknown poet (in movements 3, 5 and 7). To understand the Psalms, Luther said, we must consider that David was a prophet, and unless he instructs otherwise, we must take the sacred poetry to refer to Christ. Accordingly, in BWV 150, the Psalmist’s entreaties to the God of the Old Testament find Christian meanings in the exegetical modern verse. Similarly, commenting on Psalm 25:15 (set in movement 6), Luther explains the image of the ‘foot’ being released from the ‘net’ as the redemptive power of God’s grace, delivering the faithful from worldly snares. Valuing sacred music as a divine gift, Luther also compared the harmonious singing of many voices to a ‘heavenly dance’, a point surely recalled by Bach in the final movement of Nach dir, Herr, which takes the form of a chaconne. Nearly two centuries later, Bach’s inviting little dance was famously reborn in the final movement of Brahms’ Fourth Symphony, premiered in October 1885.

Totally agree Jeff, really enjoy your reaction to VOCE8 & Bach ! Just thinking of all the time & effort that was put into this production !! Speaking of which....have you ever listened to Netherlands Bach Society ? I really would like to recommend them, even for your own private viewing, both their symphonic & choral performances are 2nd to none.....!!

Hi Jeff, the stringed instrument with the long neck is a theorbo. It’s used much like and often in addition to an organ or harpsichord In Baroque music, that is, as part of the continuo.

When the voices came in my freakin eyes rolled back in my head for a moment, a full on swoon at what Bach hath wrought.

Awesome! And their german is so good! I know they are professional singers, aber doch 🙂

One of the earliest cantatas by bach - written when he was only 22 or 23 years old!

These are among THE BEST chamber vocalist in the world. Their leader used to sing with the famed "The King's Singers". Eleonore Cockerham for example, sopranist at 5:15, beat out around 500...FIVE HUNDRED.. soloists when she attained her spot with Voces 8. These talented musicians are choral/vocal royalty. 👑

ive seen them live. they are the best of the best.

It's an archlute. Developed for larger public performances where the 'ordinary' lute did not have enough power or range to be heard.

Love Voces8 and Bach! Highly recommend Voces8 performance of Lully Lulla Lullay by Philip Stopford

Yeah man, Bach rocks...

That lute with a long neck is a theorbo.

Bach was expected, among his other duties as musical director at Leipzig, to produce a new cantata like this every week for TWO AND A HALF YEARS! (This particular cantata dates from before his Leipzig years). Only about half of them have been preserved; the rest were used to light fires or line greenhouse glass--they were strictly throwaway items.

Bach componía una de estas cada semana...Bach composed one of these every week...

That is called a Theorbo a kind of Lute.....used as a continuo instrument.....

If you are interested in the history of Voces 8 I can recommend a Wikipedia article found here: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voces8.

Very nice film! The string instrument is a Theorbe, very common at that baroque era. And sorry to disappoint you but this is most probably a work from JS Bach who used to agrement/ornment his scores and composd differently even in his early years; most probably it's his students or family's work and he might have of course directed ti and corrected; but it's a good indication of the level of mastering at the time that even a less known composer is able to make a huge impression on our present public... see Gilles Cantagrel comments on the work

If you are going to review Bach look for "BWV 75 Netherlands Bach Society". The acoustical environment has less reverb.