New Chamber OperaBACH: Three Cantatas
Nach dir, Herr, verlanget mich BWV 150
Gottes Zeit ist die allerbeste Zeit “Actus Tragicus” BWV 106
Himmelskönig, sei wilkommen BWV 182
Musical Director: Rudyard Cook
New College Chapel
16t May 2025, 8:30pm
Tickets available from Ticketsource https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/
Our first cantata, Nach dir, Herr, verlanget mich (For Thee, O Lord, I Long) is often thought to be one of Bach’s earliest church cantatas (if not the earliest), possibly even being written as early as 1707 in Arnstadt. While the reason for the work’s composition remains unclear, the text would suggest that the cantata was penitential in theme. It is fairly unique both in the prominence of the chorus, and in its diverse and brief sections, making this cantata more in the style of Bach’s teacher Buxtehude than of his own more mature work.
Gottes Zeit ist die allerbeste Zeit (God’s time is the very best time), commonly known by the name ‘Actus Tragicus’ is another of Bach’s earlier cantatas, and one of his best known. While again the date is somewhat elusive, research has indicated that it was probably composed for the funeral of a mayor in Mühlhausen in September 1708. Curiously, the cantata is without violins – the recorders and violas taking centre stage eliciting a more sombre and mournful palette. After the opening sinfonia the cantata is through composed, although there are four clearly defined sections with text selected from both the Old and New testaments, as well as some funeral hymns written into the music.
Finally, Himmelskönig, sei wilkommen (King of Heaven, welcome) is a more joyous than the previous two, composed in Weimar for Palm Sunday, and first performed on the 25th of March 1714 which also happened to be the feast of the Annunciation. This was one of Bach’s first Weimar cantatas, after being promoted to Konzertmeister only a few weeks prior. In 8 sections, it opens with a lively sonata in the style of a French overture, as well as having a brief recitative from the bass as the “voice of Christ” and a closing choral in the style of Pachelbel as a sort of ‘chorale fantasia’ on the cantus firmus.