Let’s not beat about the bush: this is an absol-utely stunning disc. Under Roland Wilson, La Capella Ducale and Musica Fiata elevate period performance to new heights. While the actual sound they produce, the textural authority and the musical conviction of their performances are of a standard which has long since been de rigueur, they add to these a fresh sense of character which makes for the most compelling listening, not least because of CPO’s terrific recording.

It is La Capella Ducale’s diction that I find most impressive in these performances. There is an unforced, totally unpretentious clarity about their words which has the intimacy of a cap-tivating story-teller. Texts and translations are provided, but they seem unnecessary when every word is so clear and the essence of the texts is so obvious in Pachelbel’s ingenious writing.

This is the only serious survey of Pachelbel’s sacred choral music on the Gramophone data-base. It shouldn’t be: the gloriously ebullient Halleluja! Lobet den Herrn, complete with delightful instrumental effects, is a particular delight. In his notes Peter Wollny describes the composer as ‘a trailblazer’ and certainly this music provides a dramatic bridge between the operatic style of the early 17th century and the full-blooded oratorios of the 18th century. But given performances of this quality the historical perspective of the music seems irrelevant; what comes across most vividly here is its vitality.