Dunedin Consort - J.S. Bach: Christmas Oratorio - MusicWeb International

At the risk of becoming clichéd, John Butt and his team have once again opened my ears to a fresh crystal-clear interpretation of Bach. Other versions which I like have been incremental improvements on the first recording which I heard, but it's clear right from the wonderful opening chorus that the new Linn recording joins last year's revelatory Christmas Magnificat and Cantata No. 63  at the top of the tree. Were it not too late, this would have been one of my Recordings of the Year. Whatever your reservations about the small-scale approach, set them aside for this release. 

* I should have included this among my recommendations of recordings featuring Fritz Wunderlich in my recent Late Autumn Retrospective.