William Christie sets two visions of the French sacred grand motet side by side, Rameau’s erudite and meticulously built writing against Mondonville’s.

Philharmonie de Paris, Philharmonie Luxembourg and the Chapelle Royale, Versailles

Leipzig, 1723. The city needs a Thomaskantor, and Bach is not on the shortlist. Laurence Cummings and the Academy of Ancient Music hear the candidates, Telemann and Graupner among them, largely through their own audition cantatas.

Milton Court, London, and West Road, Cambridge

Bach’s six cantatas for the Christmas season, with Andrea Marcon and La Cetra Barockorchester Basel, broadcast on Swiss radio.

Stadtcasino Basel, Konzerthaus Freiburg and La Chaux-de-Fonds