Christ lag en Todesbanden- ensemble orlando fribourg by Ensemble Orlando Fribourg. Cantata BWV #4 by J.S. Bach
Today is Good Friday. Translated “Christ lay in death’s bonds” this is a setting of the Easter Hymn by Martin Luther from Bach’s Cantata BWV 4. Listen in a quiet place. Take notice of Bach’s use of dramatic effects in the strings and voices. This performance by EOF is truly stunning.
Christ lag in Todes Banden is a chorale cantata, a style in which both text and music are based on a hymn. In this instance, the source was Martin Luther‘s hymn of the same name, the main hymn for Easter in the Lutheran church. The composition is based on the seven stanzas of the hymn and its tune, which was derived from Medieval models. Bach used the unchanged words of a stanza of the chorale in each of the seven vocal movements, in the format of chorale variations per omnes versus (for all stanzas), and he used its tune as a cantus firmus. After an opening sinfonia, the variations are arranged symmetrically: chorus–duet–solo–chorus–solo–duet–chorus, with the focus on the central fourth stanza about the battle between Life and Death. All movements are in E minor, and Bach achieves variety and intensifies the meaning of the text through many musical forms and techniques.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christ_lag_in_Todes_Banden,_BWV_4
Song a Day 2020 