This disc makes a valuable contribution towards a fuller understanding of this highly gifted but complex member of the Bach clan. In the mid-1740s Wilhelm Friedemann was appointed Director of Music and organist at the Liebfrauenkirche at Halle. He remained in the post for almost 20 years, a period which witnessed the composition and performance of all the cantatas represented here. Among the many delights to be found in this music are those occasioned by Friedemann's disparate, even opposing terms of reference. In other words the stylistic vocabulary is both rich and varied, often harking back to a strong paternal influence – what better one has there ever been? JS Bach's idiom, for instance, is startlingly apparent in the opening chorus of the Advent cantata, F80 ('Let us cast off the works of darkness'). Both the arias of this fine cantata are of high quality, the first, for soprano with obbligato flute ably demonstrating how carefully Friedemann thought out his declamation.
For the most part the performances are excellent.
The four soloists are first-rate, Barbara Schlick and Wilfried Jochens in particular; and the singing of the Rheinische Kantorei is effective, though just occasionally its component 16 voices sound under threat from Bach's sometimes exacting requirements.
Imaginative programming and sympathetic performances add to this musical revelation.