The Liturgical Year with J.S. Bach, Vol. 7: Pentecost

Featuring

Georg Christoph Biller
Reinhard Decker
Martin Petzold
Conrad Zuber
Robert Pohlers
Matthias Weichert

Christoph Genz
Martin Deckelman
Gewandhausorchester Leipzig
Thomanerchor Leipzig
Anonymous
Johann Sebastian Bach

Did you know?

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Performer Biography

The Gewandhausorchester, founded in 1743 by Leipzig merchants, is one of the world's most famous and renowned symphonic ensembles with over 250 years of history.

Composer's Artistic Vision

Bach's cantatas, as noted by his first biographer Johann Nikolaus Forkel, contain such rich ideas that they continue to offer something new even after countless listenings.

Historical Context

The St Thomas Church in Leipzig, where the choir performs, was the site where Martin Luther preached during the installation of the Reformation.

Performer Biography

The St Thomas's Boys Choir Leipzig, founded in 1212, is only half a century younger than the city of Leipzig itself, making it the city's oldest cultural institution.

Compositional Technique

Bach often used number symbolism in his cantatas, such as employing three oboes in BWV 74 to represent the Holy Trinity.

Recording & Production

This recording is the first time in 30 years that the Leipzig-based St Thomas's Boys Choir has recorded these particular works by Bach.

Interpretation

The current cantor at St Thomas, Georg Christoph Biller, precedes each cantata recording with a hymn from the 1594 collection 'Florilegium selectissimorum Hymnorum,' a practice common in Bach's time.