Compiled here for the first time are all of Elly Ameling's Bach recordings for both Decca and Philips - an 'original jackets' treasury of cantatas, Passions and oratorios which would make a first-rate introduction to the composer's sacred music, but which for the more experienced listener holds vocal glories in store.

Described by Gramophone magazine as 'the most perfect Bach soprano', Elly Ameling's collected Bach recordings for Decca and Philips, are released in the year of her 90th birthday.

Includes complete performances of the Passions - St Matthew and St John, the B minor Mass, and two recordings of the Christmas Oratorio (Münchinger and Jochum), 13 cantata performances, conducted by Ernest Ansermet, Raymond Leppard, Karl Münchinger and Helmut Winschermann. The rare recording of two of the Missae breves BWV 235 and 236 are also included with notes by René Seeghers and by Elly Ameling herself.

'Radiance, then, radiance of tone and personality, that is Elly Ameling's gift, and as she smiles, sweetly, we hear the smile in the voice.' So John Steane wrote in his essay on the Dutch soprano in 'Singers of the Century', and her recordings of Bach preserve and communicate that radiance as much as her celebrated albums of Schubert Lieder.

The earliest recording here is the St Matthew Passion conducted by Karl Münchinger from 1964, in which Ameling sings all the arias (no double-soloist division to match the double choir and orchestra) as well as the smaller parts such as Pilate's wife, and she does so with not only a poise but a communicative urgency that seized the attention of countless listeners hearing her for the first time.

Münchinger brought a lighter touch to this music than other German Bach conductors, and his graceful rhythmic feeling paired well with Ameling's voice, but then so did the more clipped and extrovert, French style of Ernest Ansermet (a single tantalising album of cantatas), the pacier, punchy but compact approach of the oboist-turned-conductor Helmut Winschermann (three albums of cantatas, including a legendary account of 'Jauchzet Gott in allen Landen', and finally the warmer, more relaxed legato cultivated by Raymond Leppard (two cantata albums).

Both of her Christmas Oratorio recordings feature, dating from 1966 and 1972 respectively, and in both she sings with an ideal voice for the part. As another critic remarked, one can no more tire of Elly Ameling in her most congenial repertoire than complain about the regularity of the return of spring: 'Sure, it's the same as last time, but the response (like Ameling's to her songs) is always new.'

This set features a new appreciation of Elly Ameling's artistry in Bach by the Dutch critic René Seghers, based on a new interview with her, which he conducted at her home in July 2022. Ameling herself contributes an introduction to the set, which will enhance its appeal to all lovers of great (Bach) singing.