Cantatas after 1700, influenced by Italian opera, developed into compositions that presented bible passages in recitatives and expressed devotional responses in arias and German hymns.
Performer Biography
David Greco, the bass soloist, was the first Australian to be appointed a position with the Sistine Chapel Choir in the Vatican in 2014.
Interpretation
The Luthers Bach Ensemble, founded in 2006, performs Bach's cantatas in a historically informed style on period instruments.
Composer's Artistic Vision
The artist David Greco finds Bach's music romantic in the truest sense, believing the cantatas' universal themes of love, grief, impatience, and desire make Bach more relevant today than ever.
Composer Biography
Johann Sebastian Bach, the composer, was the Kantor (director of music) for the churches of St Thomas and St Nicholas in Leipzig from 1723, responsible for all church music.
Composition History
Bach was required to compose new music for each Sunday and feast day throughout the year, likely creating five full annual cycles of cantatas, though many have not survived.
Recording & Production
The new baroque organ in the Lutheran Church Groningen, completed in 2017, is used as a continuo instrument in this recording, following modern research recommendations.
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