Buxtehude: Membra Jesu Nostri – Vox Scaniensis

   in Choir & Organ (Mar, 2017)
Arguably, this cycle of seven cantatas on the limbs of the suffering Christ is Buxtehude’s finest and best-known work. Its power, intimacy and poignancy need to be captured, but the manner of realising these aspects lead to very different results in these recordings, one American and one Swedish. Both use baroque instruments, but Duke opt for larger resources, contrasting a 22-voice choir with solo voices, accompanied by an ensemble based on a 16ft violone at a pitch one semitone lower than the Swedes. Vox Scaniensis use solo voices and instruments throughout, based on an 8ftcello. This gives the ensemble greater focus, clarity and vibrancy, whereas the Duke choir sounds less immediate …