Johann Sebastian Bach "Christ lag in Todes Banden, BWV 4" - excerpt

Johann Sebastian Bach (21 March 1685, O.S.31 March 1685, N.S. -- 28 July 1750, N.S.) was a German composer, organist, harpsichordist, violist, and violinist whose sacred and secular works for choir, orchestra, and solo instruments drew together the strands of the Baroque period and brought it to its ultimate maturity. Although he did not introduce new forms, he enriched the prevailing German style with a robust contrapuntal technique, an unrivalled control of harmonic and motivic organisation, and the adaptation of rhythms, forms and textures from abroad, particularly from Italy and France.
Revered for their intellectual depth, technical command and artistic beauty, Bach's works include the Brandenburg Concertos, the Goldberg Variations, the Partitas, The Well-Tempered Clavier, the Mass in B minor, the St Matthew Passion, the St John Passion, the Magnificat, the Musical Offering, The Art of Fugue, the English and French Suites, the Sonatas and Partitas for solo violin, the Cello Suites, more than 200 surviving cantatas, and a similar number of organ works, including the famous Toccata and Fugue in D minor and Passacaglia and Fugue in C minor, and the Great Eighteen Chorale Preludes and Organ Mass.
Bach's abilities as an organist were highly respected throughout Europe during his lifetime, although he was not widely recognised as a great composer until a revival of interest and performances of his music in the first half of the 19th century. He is now generally regarded as one of the main composers of the Baroque style, and as one of the greatest composers of all time.
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"Christ lag in Todes Banden, BWV 4"
Christ lag in Todes Banden (Christ lay in death's bonds), also written Christ lag in Todesbanden, BWV 4, is a church cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach. He composed it for Easter, probably in 1707, and it is likely related to his move from Arnstadt to Mühlhausen. The chorale cantata is based on the chorale of the same name by Martin Luther. In this early work Bach used in all seven different vocal movements the unchanged words of the seven stanzas of the chorale and its tune as a cantus firmus.
Bach composed the chorale cantata on Luther's chorale for Easter Sunday early in his career, between 1707 und 1713 based on the style of the composition. He possibly composed it already as a part of his application for the post of the organist in Mühlhausen for Easter of 1707. He was then still in his twenties, seven years prior to his sequence of Weimar cantatas, begun in 1714 with Himmelskönig, sei willkommen, BWV 182, and 15 years before he started a complete annual cycle of chorale cantatas in Leipzig mid of 1724. As only copies from the Leipzig period are preserved, the date of the first performances is unknown. The cantata shows similarities to a composition of Johann Pachelbel based on the same chorale.
The prescribed readings for the day were 1 Corinthians 5:6--8, and Mark 16:1--8, the Resurrection of Jesus. Luther's chorale is important Easter hymn in German Lutheranism, similar to Gelobet seist du, Jesu Christ for Christmas. It stresses the struggle between Life and Death. The third stanza refers to the "Sting of Death", as mentioned in 1 Corinthians 15. The fifth stanza relates to the "Osterlamm", the Paschal Lamb. The final stanza reminds of the tradition of baking and eating Easter Bread.
Different from the Leipzig chorale cantatas, the text of the chorale is left unchanged. Introduced by an instrumental Sinfonia, the seven stanzas are set in seven movements.
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Versus III : Tenore
"Jesus Christus, Gottes Sohn"
Versus IV : Coro
"Es war ein wunderlicher Krieg"
Versus V : Basso
"Hie ist das rechte Osterlamm"
Versus VII : Choral
"Wir essen und leben wohl"
Performed :
Emily Van Evera, soprano
Caronline Trevor, alto
Charles Daniels, tenor
David Thomas, bass
Taverner Consort & Players
Dir : Andrew Parrott
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Image : stained glass window - from the East window of Balliol College Chapel, Oxford, c.1529.