"Kristallklar"

KRISTALLKLAR. In 1726, Johann Sebastian Bach broke new ground: alongside his own cantatas, works by his relative Johann Ludwig Bach were heard in Leipzig for the first time. Musica Viva dedicates this programme to that remarkable year, pairing three solo cantatas by Johann Sebastian Bach with the festive cantata "Mache dich auf, werde Licht" by Johann Ludwig Bach.

The year 1726 - falling between the St John Passion and the St Matthew Passion - marks a particularly fertile and intriguing creative phase. Rather than completing a full annual cantata cycle, Bach turned the spotlight on music by other members of his far-reaching family, bringing fresh sound worlds to Leipzig's musical life.

The programme features "Ich geh und suche mit Verlangen" (BWV 49) for soprano and bass, "Ich armer Mensch, ich Sündenknecht" (BWV 55) for tenor, and "Ich will den Kreuzstab gerne tragen" (BWV 56) for bass - three solo cantatas of crystal-clear structure, where every voice remains distinct yet everything coheres into a perfect whole. Rounding out the evening is "Mache dich auf, werde Licht" by Johann Ludwig Bach, a cantata for SATB soloists and choir.

The soloists are Dorothee Mields, Elvira Bill, Georg Poplutz, and Thilo Dahlmann, accompanied by the period-instrument ensemble L'Arpa festante under the direction of Stephan Lutermann.