No one, except perhaps Beethoven, has prized or dwelt on the word "joy" (Freude) so lovingly or so long as Bach. Gladness and rejoicing dominated last night's concert of four cantatas for Advent conducted by John Eliot Gardiner and performed by his peerless Monteverdi Choir.

In "Wachet! Betet!" (Watch! Pray!), the word had a haloed meditation all on its own. Its iteration thereafter, breaking through the solemnity of these musical wake-up calls for the Lutheran devout, acted as a motif for the entire evening.

In this opening cantata, terror and darkness threaten to vanquish sinners, with a chilling Day of Judgment bass recitative, stirringly delivered by Matthew Brook, in which strings play so fast and furious that Hell seems colonised by hornets.

Of the other three cantatas, "Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme" (Wake, arise the voices call us) is best known, and on the most elaborate, near dramatic scale, emphasised by performers moving around on stage according to musical prominence. Two duets for soprano (Julia Doyle) and bass were tenderly effective but the soaring chorales, punched out with magnificent attack and affirmation, made the greatest impact.

Instrumental soloists almost stole the evening, notably David Watkins (cello) and Michael Niesemann (oboe) and the English Baroque Soloists played with elegance and momentum.

This is the latest offshoot from the pioneering Bach Cantata Pilgrimage of 2000. A series of dazzling CDs on Gardiner's own Soli Deo Gloria label have refreshed a moribund recording industry with their seriousness and quality. Not content with all this, the Monteverdi team has joined BBC Radio 3 in recording last night's concert for online broadcast, the first classical event to be given the "hear it and watch it" privilege.

• To be broadcast on Radio 3, 22 December, and www.bbb.co.uk/radio3