Pastoral invocations

Bach composed three cantatas for Misericordias Domini (the second Sunday after Easter), on the subject of Jesus as the “Good Shepherd”. Cantata 104 is the first of them, belonging to the first Leipzig cycle, and received its first performance on April 23, 1724. The Gospel of this Sunday is John 10: 12-16, a segment of […]

Goldberg Variations VII

With this installment, let’s close out our exploration of the Goldberg Variations. We’re starting out at Variation 25, for two manuals. It’s marked “adagio”, in 3/4, and the third and last one of the set in minor mode. It consists of an intricate and lyrical melody over slower moving harmonies provided by the bottom two […]

The bringer of peace

After several weeks of presenting pieces that reused music from pre-Leipzig periods, which allowed Bach to focus his energies on the masterful St. John Passion, Cantata 67 is entirely comprised of new music, composed for the first Sunday after Easter, also known as Quasimodogeniti. The Gospel for this Sunday is John 20: 19-31, which narrates […]