J.S. Bach: Christ lag in Todesbanden. Cantatas BWV 4, 106, 131

Featuring

Lucile Richardot
Raphael Höhn
Sebastian Myrus
Sébastien Daucé
Caroline Weynants
Ensemble Correspondances

Johann Sebastian Bach

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Interpretation

Ensemble Correspondances aims to bring its characteristic sound to Bach's music, focusing on rhetoric rather than drama, which aligns with their regular working methods for French repertoire.

Compositional Technique

In 'Christ lag in Todesbanden' (BWV 4), Bach demonstrates his artistry by varying compositional treatments for each verse of the chorale, despite using the same melody throughout.

Composition History

Bach's Easter Cantata, 'Christ lag in Todesbanden' (BWV 4), may have been composed as an audition piece for his organist position at St. Blaise's Church in Mühlhausen.

Composer Biography

The cantatas on this album are from Johann Sebastian Bach's brief eleven-month period in Mühlhausen (1707-1708), a time when he was a young prodigy of 22.

Critical Reception

The Mühlhausen council was reluctant to let Bach leave his post in 1708, with a contemporary witness recalling their 'great feelings of frustration' when he moved to Weimar.

Composition History

The cantata 'Aus der Tiefe rufe ich, Herr, zu dir' (BWV 131) was composed by Bach at the request of Dr. Georg Christian Eilmar, a pastor at St. Mary's Church in Mühlhausen who was also godfather to Bach's first daughter.

Performer Biography

Ensemble Correspondances, led by Sébastien Daucé, has developed a strong and recognizable sound identity since 2009, championing 17th-century French repertoire globally.