![]() ![]() The church cantata took its lead from Italian models, which in many ways amounted to sacred mini-operas.įollowing the new fashion for dramatic religious music, Bach first turned his hand to the church cantata in Easter 1707 with Christ lag in Todesbanden, BWV 4. He raised his already superior game to produce cantatas for Sundays, feast days, weddings and funerals, stamping his particular genius on a new form of dramatic religious music popular with Germany’s Lutheran congregations. They lie at the heart of his output, capturing an astonishing range of expression and musical styles.ĭuring his time as concert master at the Weimar court (1714-16) and again in his years as Cantor at Leipzig’s St Thomas Church (1723-29), Bach was expected to supply short, multi-movement choral works to accompany regular and occasional church services. ![]() Bach’s 200 or so surviving sacred cantatas contain some of his greatest music, forged with a consistency of invention and inspiration that comes as close to perfection as it’s possible to achieve. But don’t be deterred by the barriers of unfamiliarity or the sheer number of pieces. ![]()
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