Bach Cantatas
Ensemble
Instrumental ensemble of Les Arts Florissants
Musical direction
Cast
Rachel REDMOND, soprano
Reinoud VAN MECHELEN, tenor
Juliette PERRET, soprano - Juillet 2016
André MORSCH, bass - 2016 June
Andrew FOSTER-WILLIAMS, bass - 2016 July
Program
Johann Sebastian BACH - Weichet nur, betrübte Schatten - Cantate BWV 202
Johann Sebastian BACH - Sonate en sol majeur pour 2 violons et continuo BWV 1039 ( transcription de la Sonate pour viole de gambe et clavecin BWV 1027 )
Johann Sebastian BACH - Ich armer Mensch, ich Sündenknecht - Cantate BWV 55
Johann Sebastian BACH - Overture in F minor BWV 1067
Johann Sebastian BACH - Schweigt stille, plaudert nicht BWV 211
Where Johann Sebastian Bach in concerned, the term “cantata” is often associated with sacred music. However beyond that initial supposition, the reality is far more diverse. William Christie offers an panorama of Bach’s cantatas including, of course, a sacred cantata, Ich armer Mensch, ich Südenknecht (I Wretched Man, a Servant to Sin) (BWV 55), and also two secular cantatas, both very different in terms of their motivation and composition: Weichet nur, betrübte Schatten (Yield now, troubling Shadows) (BWV 202), written for a wedding and the so-called Coffee Cantata, Schweigt stille, plaudert nicht (Be Still, Stop Chattering) (BWV 211) forming a short opera buffa. As always, William Christie devotes special attention to the text, the keystone of the sacred German cantata and also the mainspring of the secular cantata with its recitativo secco. Finally, as a man of the theatre, he brings out the dramatic dimension of the cantatas through their pathos and comic situations.
Ever faithful to his wish to impart knowledge and promote young artists, William Christie has brought together a number of singers for this concert including two young talents from the 5th edition of the Jardin des Voix. The concert also features young instrumentalists from the Arts Flo Junior programme and the Juilliard School of New York where, since 2007, William Christie and the musicians of the Arts Florissants have regularly led masterclasses in the Department of Early Music.
Previous dates
Rotterdam / Pays-Bas
De Doelen
- Wednesday, September 28 2016, 8.15pm
Paris / France
Philharmonie de Paris / Cité de la Musique, Concert hall
- Tuesday, September 27 2016, 8.30pm
Ambronay / France
Abbaye
- Sunday, September 25 2016, 5pm, Festival
Beaune / France
Basilique Notre-Dame
- Friday, July 22 2016, 9pm
Girona / Spain
Auditori
- Tuesday, July 19 2016
Saint-Michel / France
Abbaye Saint-Michel en Thiérache
- Saturday, June 11 2016, 8.30pm, Festival
Angers / France
Collégiale Saint-Martin
- Thursday, June 9 2016, 8pm, Les Résonances Saint-Martin
Saint-Tropez / France
Château de la Moutte
- Thursday, August 13 2015, 8pm, Les Nuits du château de la Moutte
Kilkenny / Irlande
Cathedrale
- Sunday, August 9 2015, 8pm, Kilkenny Arts Festival
Lessay / France
Abbaye
- Friday, August 7 2015, 8pm, Les Heures musicales