Marcel Bijlo reviewed our CD ‘Sleepers awake!’ in Klassieke Zaken. He writes as follows (in our translation from his Dutch text):

The Bach Players is a British ensemble dedicated, since its foundation in 1996, to the music – of course – of J.S. Bach. It is the aim of the group, which operates in changing formations, to put Bach’s music in a context. We won’t see a CD with only Bach cantatas from this ensemble. They prefer, as in this CD, to combine a well-known cantata by Bach with a lesser-known version of the same text. In this case the text is ‘Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme’. This is probably the very last cantata that Bach composed, but in the treatment of the chorale melody he goes back to his earlier period in which he was strongly influenced by his older relatives and by Dieterich Buxtehude. We hear two settings by Buxtehude of this same text. It is a brilliant combination in which it also becomes clear what Bach did not take from Buxtehude. Together with instrumental music by Buxtehude and Erlebach, it makes for a beautifully balanced programme. The singers and players of The Bach Players are well tuned in to each other and produce a beautiful, rich ensemble sound.

Klassieke Zaken, February 2017