The daring harmonization of Bach's chorale "Es ist genug" in Cantata BWV 60 so fascinated Alban Berg that he incorporated every note of it into his 1935 Violin Concerto.
Performer Biography
Maude Gratton, born in 1983, is a leading solo organist, harpsichordist, and pianist, who founded the chamber music group Il Convito in 2015, which later developed into an orchestra.
Instruments
The organ used for this recording, located in the Église réformée du Bouclier in Strasbourg, follows the peculiar style of 18th-century Thuringian instruments, specifically referencing an organ built by Heinrich Gottfried Trost in 1730.
Compositional Technique
Bach's Cantata BWV 60, "O Ewigkeit, du Donnerwort," features a chorale arrangement whose melodic line begins with three whole-tone steps, breaking from conventional tonal structures.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Bach's compositions can be seen as a demonstration of his artistic ideas and aesthetic ideals, much like Trinity Sunday is considered a 'Celebration of Ideas' by theologians.
Performer Biography
Damien Guillon, the countertenor and conductor, has been at the forefront of the French and international opera scene for over twenty years, having trained at the Maîtrise de Bretagne, Centre de Musique Baroque de Versailles, and Schola Cantorum at Basel.
Historical Context
For Johann Sebastian Bach, the Cantor of St. Thomas's Church in Leipzig, the period after Trinity Sunday offered an uninterrupted 27 weeks to systematically develop his cantata concepts.
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