Bach's motets, most of them composed during the 1730s, occupy a rather special position in his output. Never did the Cantor of St. Thomas's devote such meticulous attention to the musical expression of the word, never did he exploit so great a variety of tone-colours, texture and effects. It is as if the entire panoply of Baroque 'expressionism' were concentrated in the settings of the scriptural texts. And once again, in perpetuating a religious genre inherited from his own forefathers, Bach bears it to its highest degree of perfection.
