Johann Christoph Altnickol: Sanctus I: Chœur Mixte et Ensemble

Ultimately, he is a pupil for whom I need not feel embarrassed, wrote J. S. Bach, summarizing the qualities of his son-in-law to be, J. C: Altnickol. Altnickol's two settings of the Sanctus, based on a Gregorian cantus firmus, are among his few works which have survived. While in the second of these compositions he chose to write a polyphonic choral setting, in the present Sanctus he allows all four voices of the choir to sing unisono, accompanied by a polyphonically treated string ensemble. In both compositions, however, he proves himself to be a contrapuntalist fully worthy of Bach's appraisal.