Of the 27 instruments used in this ‘mixed­media’ programme‚ six are held by the Musical Instrument Museum of Leipzig University. Four of these were made by Johann Christian Hoffmann from whom Bach ordered several instruments‚ and the organ used was tested by Bach when it was located in Freiberg. Most of the others either date from times within or close to Bach’s lifespan or are copies of appropriate instruments. The choir does not provide the only link with the Thomaskirche‚ four of whose church bells frame the joyous psalmkonzert of Johann Schelle‚ Bach’s predecessor there. Bach would certainly have heard them and may well have heard some of the instruments too. The overall object is that of reproducing the sounds of instruments from Bach’s time in a variety of settings. The instruments are played with a fluency that never evokes any feeling of cliff­hanging unease and their sounds are gentle and rounded. Only in the opening movement of the First Brandenburg Concerto does this create a soft­edged (but not impenetrable) babel of sound. Of particular interest is the duet from Cantata No 140 in which the violino piccolo obbligato is played on an instrument (1729) of the type Bach is known to have favoured and which remained in occasional use until 1756 when Leopold Mozart declared it to be redundant. The quest for authenticity is both fascinating and frustrating. We can approach it only asymptotically and can never know when‚ if ever‚ we fully achieve it. In the meantime these wonderfully intimate and beautifully recorded performances add up to an experience that all lovers of the Baroque should share.