Bachkantaten: Broken Eyes

Featuring

Alois Mühlbacher
Franz Farnberger
Ensemble Pallidor
Johann Sebastian Bach

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Composer Biography

Johann Sebastian Bach, as Thomaskantor and Municipal Director of Music, had to compose and perform approximately seven cyclical vocal works each month, an almost unimaginable workload.

Performer Biography

Alois Mühlbacher, the countertenor on this recording, gained international attention as a soprano soloist with the St. Florian Boys' Choir and debuted at the Vienna State Opera at age 15.

Compositional Technique

In Cantata BWV 82, 'Ich habe genung', Bach uses a 'dialogue' between oboe and soloist, with numerous variations on the central 'Ich habe genung' motif.

Compositional Technique

Bach's Cantata BWV 170, 'Vergnügte Ruh, beliebte Seelenlust', features an obbligato organ, which was later replaced by a transverse flute in a revival after 1746.

Album & Artwork

The ensemble PALLIDOR, founded by Alois Mühlbacher and Franz Farnberger, is named after Georg Christian Lehms, a poet who authored many texts for Bach's cantatas.

Recording & Production

For works on this recording requiring an obbligato organ, a large church organ, specifically the Nelson organ in Schärding, was used.

Composition History

Bach's Cantata BWV 125, 'Mit Fried und Freud ich fahr dahin', was first performed on February 2, 1725, for the Feast of the Purification of Mary and was revived after 1735.