For the arch-Protestant Bach Family – as for German musicology in the 19th and early 20th centuries – through his conversion to Catholicism and his turning to Italian opera Johann Christian Bach was considerd the “black sheep” of the family.

Prior to his brilliant career as an opera composer and impresario in London, from 1757 to 1760 he held the position of organist at the Milan Cathedral. During this period he composed numerous sacred works which are least well-known among the works of the...