Acknowledging salvation

Cantata 147 was performed in Leipzig three times, first in 1723 and twice more in the 1730’s. It is based on a Weimar work, catalogued as 147a, whose music has not survived. We do, however, have the text of this early cantata, which is by Salomo Franck, a frequent collaborator of Bach in Weimar. An […]

A Weimar first

We don’t know much about this Fugue for violin and basso continuo, catalogued as BWV 1026. It dates from Bach’s Weimar years, and it’s his earliest piece of chamber music that we know. Up until that time, Bach had composed organ and harpsichord music, as well as cantatas. In Weimar, he met two very influential […]

Praise in virtuosity

Among the cantatas that Bach composed for solo voice, BWV 51 is probably one of the best known and most often performed. It’s a small-scale work in terms of forces required (soprano, trumpet, strings and basso continuo) but it certainly makes up for it in virtuosity and skill required on the part of the singer […]