The organ used for this recording, located in the Église Réformée du Bouclier in Strasbourg, was built in the style of 18th-century Thuringian instruments, referencing a 1730 organ by Heinrich Gottfried Trost.
Composer's Artistic Vision
In September 1726, Bach's compositional style shifted from opulent forces to solo voices with smaller instrumental ensembles, focusing on finely elaborated arias and expressive poems with a subjective 'first-person' protagonist.
Composition History
The poet for Bach's impressive series of solo and dialogue cantatas, including the two on this album, was identified as Christoph Birkmann, a Leipzig theology student who also had poetic and musical talent.
Composer Biography
Bach was so convinced of the quality of Cantata BWV 82, 'Ich habe genug,' that he performed it at least six times in different versions, even trying various vocal scorings.
Compositional Technique
The Sinfonia to Cantata BWV 169, like its sister work Cantata BWV 35, likely originated from a lost solo concerto and was later reused by Bach as the opening movement of his Harpsichord Concerto in E major BWV 1053.
Composition History
Johann Sebastian Bach's first creative period in Leipzig, which ended in February 1727, was exceptionally hectic and industrious, with him composing a new cantata almost every week.
Composer Biography
Bach's wife, Anna Magdalena, was deeply moved by Cantata BWV 82, 'Ich habe genug,' and transcribed an arrangement of its second aria for soprano into her music book, likely singing it often at home.
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