Not only are these fine performances, but the disc itself is a stroke of good programming, pairing the familiar--Johann Sebastian Bach's majestic, brilliantly conceived setting of the Magnificat--with the unfamiliar--son Carl Philipp Emmanuel Bach's intriguingly lean, preclassical setting of the same text, a masterpiece of the "galant" style just as his father's is a masterpiece of the Baroque. Leading a well-trained chorus of ideal size (approximately 25) and a crack period-instrument band, conductor J. Reilly Lewis imparts energy and dramatic point to the readings of both works. Textures are full yet transparent, with an excellent balance between voices and orchestra. The work of the four soloists is elegant and expressive, and the chorus sings radiantly in both pieces. The recorded sound is excellent. --Ted Libbey