Saturday, 23 September, 7 pm
Palace of the Grand Dukes, Katedros a. 4, Vilnius
Christ unser Herr zum Jordan kam
J. S. Bach: cantatas BWV 7, 17, 138
Director Alina Rotaru – harpsichord (Germany / Lithuania)
Anna Maria Wierød – soprano (Denmark)
Nora Petročenko – mezzo-soprano
Mikus Abaroniņš – tenor (Latvia)
Nerijus Masevičius – bass
Festival orchestra (Germany, Denmark, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia)
Johann Sebastian Bach’s Leipzig period started in 1722, being appointed as Johann Kuhnau’s successor as the cantor at the Church of St. Thomas, however, only after Georg Philipp Telemann refused this post. Among his duties, Bach had to deliver cantatas for every Sunday, as well as for additional church holidays during the liturgical year. Out of six years of prolific activity as a composer of church cantatas during the Leipzig period, Bach created more than three hundred cantatas, of which only two hundred have survived.
This concert will feature three Reformation cantatas: “Christ, unser Herr zum Jordan kam” (Christ our Lord came to the Jordan) BWV 7, written on a text by Martin Luther for the Feast of Nativity of St John the Baptist, “Wer Dank opfert, der preiset mich” (Whoso offereth praise glorifieth Me) BWV 17, written for the 14th Sunday after Trinity, and “Warum betrübst du dich, mein Herz?” (Why are you troubled, my heart?) BWV 138, written for the 15th Sunday after Trinity, which this evangelical year will take place on September 24, a rewarding closure for this year’s festival.
