FULL BACH CANTATAS BWV 20, 2, 7 Moscow 2024 COLLEGIUM MUSICUM Oleg Romanenko, Anastasia Bondareva, Mikhail Nor, Vladimir Krasov
Information on the Performance
- Work Title: BACH CANTATAS BWV 20, 2, 7
- Composer: Bach Johann Sebastian
- Libretto: various
- Venue & Opera Company: EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN CATHEDRAL OF SAINTS PETER AND PAUL, Moscow, Russia
- Recorded: October 2024
- Type: Concert Live
- Singers: Anastasia Bondareva, Mikhail Nor, Vladimir Krasov
- Conductor: Oleg Romanenko
- Orchestra: COLLEGIUM MUSICUM
- Stage Director:
- Costume Designer:
Information about the Recording
- Published by: COLLEGIUM MUSICUM
- Format: Streaming
- Quality Video: 4 Audio:4
- Subtitles: nosubs
- Video Recording from: YouTube FULL VIDEO
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON THIS PERFORMANCE
The Collegium Musicum ensemble under the direction of Oleg Romanenko continues a grandiose project, within the framework of which all Bach cantatas are performed on historical instruments in the space of the cathedral. The eighth season of the cycle continues the idea of the previous one: listeners, together with the musicians, continue to follow in Bach’s footsteps in Leipzig and — with a difference of 300 years — listen to the sacred works of the great master, which transformed the musical landscape of the city and, ultimately, the entire future history of music. Comments by the greatest expert in early sacred music, associate professor of the Moscow Conservatory Roman Nasonov help listeners to comprehend the meaning of Bach’s masterpieces.
The 2024/25 season will feature cantatas created by J. S. Bach in the second year of his work in Leipzig. This is, first of all, Bach’s testament to the city and the School of St. Thomas, where the parts of the cantatas were kept. Bach wanted them to continue to be performed as part of the church service after his death, which they did, albeit irregularly, until 1789.
The cantatas form the second annual cycle, that is, they cover the entire liturgical year. They are based on German Lutheran songs (chorales), which Bach loved very much. A thoughtful approach to each song, the desire to reveal its spiritual potential as fully as possible largely determine the theological content of his works. In Leipzig, the tradition of Lutheran songs was especially strong, and Bach ends almost every cantata of the second cycle with a simple chorale, which theoretically could be sung by the entire congregation.
The libretto of the cantatas follows the Lutheran song, determining their unique form. The first and last numbers were created on the text of the first and last stanzas of the chorale, with the first part usually composed in the form of a chorale fantasy. In the remaining parts, the chorale stanzas were combined with free poetry or presented in the form of a poetic paraphrase, enriching the content with new images and reflections.
In the program:
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750)
Cantata BWV 20 O Ewigkeit, du Donnerwort (“O Eternity, a Word Stronger Than Thunder”)
Cantata BWV 2 Ach Gott, vom Himmel sieh darein (“Ah! Look down, O Lord, from Heaven”)
Cantata BWV 7 Christ unser Herr zum Jordan kam (“Christ the Lord Has Come to the Jordan”)