Robin Johannsen reviews

Not an opera, but rather a festa teatrale or serenata, Parnasso in festa, per gli sponsali di Teti e Peleo (Festivities on Parnassus in Honour of the Nuptials of Thetis and Peleus) was written to celebrate the wedding of George II’s daughter Princess Anne to the Dutch Prince William IV. It was initially performed at the Haymarket Theatre the night before their wedding on March 13 1734.

This disc brings together Bach’s two great cantatas for solo bass together with another in which a soprano occupies a small role and three sinfonias from other cantatas. German baritone Michael Volle has just the kind of voice that serves the best interests of Bach’s music.