Palladian Ensemble - Bach - The Herald

Two months ago I bumped into a group of people at the Perth Festival who were emerging from a morning recital by the Palladian Ensemble which had included much of the music on this CD, their latest. The folk had stars in their eyes, and, as one of them said to me - rather memorably - 'balm in the soul'. What the wonderful Palladian group had played included a perhaps unlikely set of transcriptions of some of Bach's chorales, superbly and effectively arranged for recorder, violin, viola da gamba and guitar. These featured several of the best-known chorales, including Wachet Auf and the Leipzig. The discreet intimacy that is evoked in this music, and in the Trio Sonatas that feature on the disc, makes for the most exquisite private listening experience and outlines, with indisputable clarity, why the Palladian Ensemble is just about peerless in this repertoire.