Erbarme dich!

Description

Winner of the 2024 York Early Music International Young Artists competition, the trio Ayres Extemporae makes its recording debut on Linn Records. Their programme explores the full sonic and textural palette offered by the unusual combination of a violin, a five-string cello, and a cello unique to this trio. Erbarme dich! evokes a spiritual journey towards redemption, presenting instrumental transcriptions of arias and sonatas by J. S. Bach interwoven with works by Biber and Locke. It offers a reflection on those universal themes of anger, guilt, acceptance, and ultimately, peace. The aria from cantata BWV55 lends its name to the programme: a plea for mercy, the beginning of a path towards absolution.