A turning point for modern western music. There is no greater transformative turning point for classical and modern western music than the resurrection of Jesus Christ, and the music written to celebrate it. This Lenten-themed concert includes Johann Sebastian Bach’s Cantata No. 4, which he wrote for Easter in 1707. Cantatas were written for church services, and in honor of Christian holidays, and are marked by an emphasis on vocal presentation, with an instrumental accompaniment. Bach wrote more than 200 cantatas in his lifetime, which were critical in the development of both vocal and instrumental music, and are considered to be some of his best work.

WHAT'S INTERESTING ABOUT THIS CONCERT

  • THE TURNING POINT: The compositions of Johann Sebastian Bach have remained a foundation of Western music for more than three centuries. Every serious composer of instrumental or vocal music since Bach uses his compositions as a major reference point.
  • His set of Six Brandenburg Concertos are among the most famous and important instrumental concertos of all time. Each of them features a different group of solo instruments. Bach presented them to Christian Ludwig, the Margrave of the Brandenburg region in Germany, as part of his application for a job in 1721. The envelope with the scores was never opened and Bach was not awarded the position – but the fame of Christian Ludwig mainly rests with Bach’s dedication.
  • Employed all of his life as a church organist, Bach composed mostly sacred music and was obliged to provide new cantatas for every major religious celebration. He composed over 150 cantatas (some with secular themes). Christ Lay in Bonds of Death was written for Easter services in Arnstadt, Germany, in 1707.
  • Johann Joachim Quantz (1697 – 1773) was a German composer, flutist and flute maker of the late Baroque period. Much of his professional career was spent in the court of Frederick the Great. Quantz composed hundreds of flute sonatas and concertos, and wrote On Playing the Flute, an influential treatise on flute performance. His works were known and appreciated by Bach, Haydn and Mozart.