Bach was such a prolific composer and wrote so much chamber music that it can be difficult to know where to start, and good arguments can be made for any number of starting points: his violin sonatas, his solo keyboard partitas, his trio sonatas. Two particularly good points of entry, though, are these monumental studies in the art of counterpoint, of which Bach was perhaps Europe’s greatest ever exponent. Shifting between various combinations of instruments, Musica Antiqua Köln present both the Musical Offering and Art of the Fugue with a perfect blend of German precision and emotive intensity, demonstrating not only Bach’s technical mastery but also his unique ability to touch the heart while expounding a set of rules.

– Rick Anderson