Bach: Cantatas BWV 4.2, 66.3, 37, 104 | Ton Koopman & Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir

The Bachfest Leipzig is marking a special anniversary in 2023: in the year 1723, so exactly 300 years ago, Johann Sebastian Bach (1685 – 1750) took up his post as cantor of St. Thomas Church in the Saxon city. His job involved planning the music for worship in several churches on around 60 days of the year, as well as teaching pupils at the St. Thomas School. To fulfil this mammoth task, Bach composed cantatas at a rate of almost one a week throughout his first year in office alone. The compositions, which later became known as Bach’s first cantata cycle in Leipzig, astonished people at the time for their reworking of traditional musical forms and the further creative development of the genre – in the space of just one year. Despite their technical challenges these cantatas, which were written around 1723/24, are among the Baroque composer’s most popular and frequently performed works. Bach expert and global early music star Ton Koopman has chosen four favorites from Bach’s first cantata cycle in Leipzig, which he is performing with the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir at the St. Thomas Church in Leipzig: Christ lag in Todes Banden, BWV 4.2 (Christ lay in death’s bonds) Erfreut euch, ihr Herzen, BWV 66.3 (Rejoice, you hearts) Wer da gläubet und getauft wird, BWV 37 (He who believes and is baptized) Du Hirte Israel, höre, BWV 104 (You Shepherd of Israel, hear) Performers: Elisabeth Breuer | SOPRANO Maarten Engeltjes | ALTUS Tilman Lichdi | TENOR Klaus Mertens | BASS AMSTERDAM BAROQUE ORCHESTRA & CHOIR Ton Koopman | CONDUCTING & ORGAN Dutch conductor, organist, harpsichordist and university lecturer Ton Koopman is one of the leading interpreters of early music with a particular accent on historically informed performance practice. Koopman founded the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra in 1979 and the Amsterdam Baroque Choir in 1992, both now performing as the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir. Together with this ensemble, which specializes in early music, Koopman has recorded all Bach’s cantatas. Ton Koopman has been President of the Leipzig Bach Archive (Bach-Archiv Leipzig) since 2019. © 2023 Deutsche Welle/Bachfest Leipzig Thumbnail photo: © Foppe Schut Watch more concerts in your personal concert hall: and in our Bach playlist: Subscribe to DW Classical Music: #bach #cantata #baroquemusic