Bach’s Yuletide cantatas tend to be trampled under the familiar treads of the six which comprise the Christmas Oratorio. This splendidly varied selection constitutes some of the last hurrahs of the Pilgrimage; Gardiner engagingly registers in his journal notes the marked contrast between the sober symbolism of a Weimar Christmas (where the journey began a year earlier) and New York’s baubled consumerism.

No excess tinsel impacts on these performances which relish, if occasionally over-exaggerate, the mesmerising imagery of expectation and illumination. I had never before considered the extent of Bach’s fascination with the juxtaposition of prophecy and fulfilment in these works. While Christum wir sollen (No 121) is a hymn of praise to the Son of Mary, there is still a nervous glance back to a time of darkness, reflected in the archaic scoring and modality.

Gardiner moves us delectably into a brighter landscape with one of the most alluring bass arias, ‘Johannis freudenvolles Springen’ (‘John leapt for joy in the womb’), in which Peter Harvey responds alertly to each melodic twist and detour – as he does with even more presence in his other arias, notably a ‘Wach auf’ from No 110 (which also celebrates the brilliance of Gabriele Cassone’s trumpet obbligato) and ‘Höllische Schlange’ (‘Hellish Serpent’) from No 40, an incandescent ‘rage aria’.

There are fine performances of Nos 40 and 91, full of vitality and with the sense of occasion which made the initial Pilgrimage releases so invigorating. No 110 is a grand work (whose first chorus reworks the Overture of the Fourth Suite) but fares less well. Even so, it contains the outstanding Bach tenor of the moment, James Gilchrist. He is quite melting in ‘Ihr Gedanken’ where the two flutes elide like celestial angels. Another fine addition in to this refreshingly varied and unpredictable series.