Farewell from Leipzig
Scholars debate the occasion for this secular cantata, and in some cases even Bach’s authorship, although this matter seems to be settled favorably by now. One unusual element pertaining this cantata is its libretto in Italian, one of only two such librettos set by Bach. Its author is anonymous and there are no surviving autographs […]
WTC II – F sharp minor & G major
Let’s resume our exploration of the second book of the Well-Tempered Clavier. In today’s session we’ll go back to Christine Schornsheim playing a Ruckers harpsichord of 1624, which we first heard when starting this series back in January. F sharp minor The F sharp minor prelude is in three voices. A very ornamented line on […]
On the way to the Passion
This cantata is one of several that Bach composed for the Sunday before Lent, the 40-day period that leads to Holy Thursday. Given that there was no music in church during Lent, this cantata was probably the last one presented in Leipzig before the performance of St. Matthew Passion on Good Friday of 1729. The […]
