David Pohle was one of Heinrich Schütz's most talented pupils although, unlike his master, Pohle did not compose only sacred vocal works; he also created a substantial body of instrumental music, including some thirty sonatas for four to eight instruments and a number of ballet suites. Pohle was very much an heir to the polyphonic tradition and was certainly influenced by the playing of Italian violinists, and particularly so by Carlo Farina, who lived in Dresden at that time. Pohle not only made use of Italian influences but also adapted models from French dance music: this explains the great diversity of structures in these sonatas, which in some respects also herald the outbursts of the stylus fantasticus. This is a revelatory first recording of Pohle’s complete sonatas.

Hailed by the international music press and highly praised by music connoisseurs, the recordings of Bach’s entire body of vocal music made by the Bach Collegium Japan (BCJ), its conductor Masaaki Suzuki and numerous prestigious soloists, many of whom have remained remarkably loyal to the undertaking from the outset, are here brought together to form the only complete set of these works in high-resolution format.