For anyone with a soft spot for Bach's motets, it must be a source of some disappointment that there are no more than five such works currently thought to be definitely by him. I say 'currently' because it's a situation that has changed quite a bit over the years and may yet change again. In 1802, the composer's first biographer Johann Nikolaus Forkel wrote that Bach had written ''many'' motets and that ''eight to ten'' still survived, but 192 years' subsequent research has suggested a more modest place for the genre in his output.
The six motets on this disc have all been attributed to J. S. Bach at one time or another (some of them were certainly performed by him), and consequently all have a place in the Anhang of the Schmieder Bach catalogue, the place reserved for works whose authenticity is either dubious or downright spurious. They range from pieces one could easily believe to have come from the master's pen (most notably Ich lasse dich nicht), to others which it is hard to imagine anyone ever being fooled by for long, either because of their sheer naivety (as in Merk auf, mein Herz, und sieh dorthin by the unidentified 'Bach of Eisenach') or because they are stylistically incompatible (for instance the rococo-tinged work by his pupil Altnickol). All are worth hearing though; I particularly enjoyed the touching Unser Wandel ist im Himmel by J. S. Bach's young cousin, Johann Ernst.
The Alsfeld Vocal Ensemble is, to judge from the insert-notes, an amateur group; certainly they do not have the intonational discipline and sharply focused tone of professional choirs in this country. But they are well-drilled, as well as sensitively conducted by their founder Wolfgang Helbich, and the sound they produce is warmly attractive, if a little lightweight and soprano-dominated. Most importantly, they offer us performances which show both affection for the music and a pleasingly musical realization of its varied qualities. If, like me, you've often wished there were more Bach motets, you could do worse than to make do with these six near-neighbours.'