I have the CD to this, and it is a real curiosity the extent that Ma went to to get the sounds out of his cello that he did. He used authentic baroque strings, removed the endpin from his cello, and used a different bow. The results are fantastic! This is an album not to be missed.

These performances are amazing.

I'm befuddled that nobody has reviewed this absolute gem. With the opening piece (Sei Lob und Preis mit Ehren), the CD trasports your ears to a different time. Yo-Yo's cello is the velvet fabric that brings the piece together by balancing out the energetic string section. The arrangements are nothing short of lovely. The combination of Yo-Yo Ma, ABO and Ton Koopman is a match made in heaven. The emotions pour out of the cello in the Erbame dich in a way that makes this atheist feel the emotional pull of religion through the music. I think Bach would have cried to hear Yo-Yo Ma play. Jesus, bleibet meine Freude (Jesus, Joy of Man's Desiring) is personally not my favorite piece- I've been overexposed to it, but I cannot get enough of the recording here. It's absolutely sublime. An absolute must-have.