Bach Cantatas
Sundays at 12:03pm
During the 18th century, the musical centerpiece of Lutheran worship services was the cantata, a multi-movement piece featuring chorus, orchestra, and vocal soloists. Johann Sebastian Bach composed over 200 cantatas during his long career as a Lutheran church musician. Listen to a complete Bach cantata every Sunday afternoon on Discover Classical.
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7/5
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First performed on July 21, 1726, this cantata is a setting of the account from Luke 5 of Jesus calling Peter and some of the first disciples. Fishermen by trade, Christ tells Peter, James, and John that he will make them "fishers of men."
Siehe, ich will viel Fischer aussenden (Behold I Will Send Out Many Fishers), BWV 88
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7/12
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Aside from direct quotations of scripture, Bach regularly used libretti from leading German poets for his cantata texts. This week's cantata is a setting of a libretto by Georg Christian Lehm, who Bach discovered while in Weimar, and whose works he continued to use in Leipzig.
Vernugte Ruh, beliebte Seelenlust(Delightful Rest, Beloved Pleasure of the Soul), BWV170
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7/19
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The Bach family was filled with musicians; Bach's father and his twin brother were both professional musicians, and Bach studied under his older brother after his father died. His cousin, Johann Ludwig Bach, was Kappellmeister in Meiningen, and Bach performed several of his cantatas in 1726, where he discovered the anonymous librettist that wrote the text for this week's work.