the late-1740s musical language sounds uncannily like that of Bach's sons. Listen out, too, for the wonderful effect of cascading flutes in a soprano recitative. At the other end of the scale ...

Many of them can sing along to the arias and recitatives of the "St. John Passion," which Bach composed in 1724, exactly 300 years ago. In 1774/75, he also composed 50 so-called "choral cantatas ...