Bach: Cantatas BWV152, 199 & 202

For his biographer Philipp Spitta, Bach's period as organist and later Konzertmeister to the Duke of Weimar (1708-17) revealed his ''early mastery.'' Whether for the court chapel or for a joyful wedding celebration, nowhere is this more evident than in the small but highly distinguished body of cantatas he composed during this time. From the ravishing duets for soprano and oboe of BWV202 to the penitential strains of BWV199, the radiant voice of Carolyn Sampson and the virtuosos of the Freiburger Barockorchester do full justice to the composer's infinite variety.