Baroque Period

Bach’s Sonata No. 3 in C Major, BWV 1005, Largo: Christian Tetzlaff

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When it comes to J.S. Bach’s six Sonatas and Partitas for Solo Violin (BWV 1001-1006), we are never done learning. Once you begin to play and study this timeless, awe-inspiring music, new details reveal themselves continuously, in unending layers. An intrinsic part of the violin repertoire, the collection includes Baroque dances, three fugues, and a monumental chaconne. Bach gave multi-voice counterpoint to an instrument that is primarily associated with single melodic lines. …

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Bach’s Cantata, BWV 140, “Wachet auf”: Boundless Imagination

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J.S. Bach’s Cantata, BWV 140, Wachet auf (“Sleepers Awake”) has been called “a cantata without weakness, without a dull bar, technically, emotionally and spiritually of the highest order, its sheer perfection and boundless imagination rouse one’s wonder time and time again.” (William G. Whittaker) German musicologist Alfred Dürr described it as an expression of Christian mysticism in art, with the uniting of “earthly happiness in love and heavenly bliss.” Bach composed this …

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Osvaldo Golijov’s “Tenebrae”: Melismatic Echoes of Couperin

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In Western Christianity, Tenebrae occurs in the final days of the Holy Week, and commemorates the sufferings and death of Christ. It involves the gradual extinguishing of candles, leading to a void of darkness. Metaphorical darkness, light, and space formed the inspiration for Tenebrae, a 2002 chamber work by Argentine composer, Osvaldo Golijov (b. 1960). (The piece was originally scored for soprano, clarinet, and string quartet, and later adapted for strings alone). …

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Handel’s “Stille Amare”: The “Poison” Aria from “Tolomeo”

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Handel’s opera, Tolomeo, HWV 25, was first performed at the King’s Theatre in London on April 30, 1728, and featured a spectacular and renowned cast, which the composer imported from Italy. Set in 108 BC, its plot is ripe for high drama: The story of Tolomeo is set in Ancient Egypt and follows Tolomeo, the son of a deposed king, who is forced to marry Seleuce, who is already married to his …

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Handel’s “Esther,” “Tune Your Harps”: Cheerful Pizzicato Strains

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Handel’s 1732 oratorio, Esther, tells the story of a Jewish orphan who becomes Queen of Persia. When the villainous Haman becomes enraged by a personal slight and, in retaliation, orders the extermination of all Jews throughout the Persian Empire, Esther saves her people from massacre. The work originated in 1718 as a semi-staged masque, performed for the Duke of Chandos, who employed Handel as resident composer for two years. Later, Handel expanded it …

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Bach’s Sinfonia from Cantata, BWV 21 (“Ich hatte viel Bekümmernis”): A Portrait of Greif

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J.S. Bach composed the Cantata, Ich hatte viel Bekümmernis, BWV 21 (“I had much grief”) in 1713 during his tenure as director of music at the court of Weimar. It was first performed a year later on the third Sunday after Trinity. Themes of suffering, grief, and mourning dominate the opening section of the Cantata, which, as conductor John Eliot Gardiner observes, is “set almost obsessively in C minor.” It is a …

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Bach’s “Herr Jesu Christ, dich zu uns wend”: Five Settings of a Lutheran Hymn

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First published in 1648, the Lutheran hymn, Herr Jesu Christ, dich zu uns wend (“Lord Jesus Christ, be present now!”), provided a fertile source for J.S. Bach. Bach created at least five wildly contrasting settings of the melody, each of which relates to a specific aspect of the text. The melody is by an anonymous composer. (It has been erroneously attributed to Wilhelm, Duke of Saxe-Weimar). Beginning with an ascending triad, the hymn …

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