Mein Geist

Le Banquet Céleste continues its exploration of J.S. Bach’s cantatas, always with the aesthetic aim of bringing together singers and instrumentalists in a very ‘chamber music’-style approach to the music.

Having settled in Leipzig in 1723, Bach had to compose cantatas at a frenetic pace for the city’s two main churches. From this creative effervescence emerged masterpieces that have stood the test of time, bearing witness to the Kantor’s genius and revealing an exceptional mastery of counterpoint, as well as a spiritual and human depth unique to the composer. Each of these cantatas highlights two distinctive instruments: the piccolo cello and the oboe d’amore, which are also featured in the concerto included in the programme. Bach’s motets are reinterpreted here in the form of an instrumental sonata. This transcription (a common practice at the time) transforms the virtuosic vocal lines into an orchestral fresco that captures the poignant expressiveness and contrapuntal richness of this music.

Instrumentalists and singers well-versed in this repertoire breathe life into it through a chamber-music interpretation faithful to the spirit of Le Banquet Céleste.

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An album to be released in February 2026 on the Alpha Classics – Outhere Music label

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Concerto for oboe d’amore in A major BWV 1055R

‘Ein neues lied’, instrumental suite drawn from motets (transcription by Antoine Touche)