This release combines three settings of the Magnificat by members of the Bach family. It’s a joyful text, and the music correspondingly bursts with good cheer – trumpets and drums abound. The most familiar is JS Bach’s setting, written in 1723 when he became Thomaskantor in Leipzig. It was a chance to show off how well he could write and is for a large ensemble (five soloists, five-part chorus and orchestra). Arcangelo revel in Bach’s inventive writing. Suscepit Israel, for instance, unwinds hypnotically between three high voices and trailing oboe.

Johann Christian Bach’s setting is far more compact, with the whole thing done and dusted in ten minutes. Written in Milan, it’s more like a Mozart opera than anything usually associated with the Bach name. The solos by soprano Joélle Harvey are particularly scintillating here.

CPE Bach’s setting is an interesting concoction. First written in...