On the cantatas of j.s. bach : Trinity VIII-XVI: The Bach Cantatas, #2

Hypocrisy, spiritual weakness, and helping the distressed are among the manifestations of the human condition this book, on the 28 cantatas for Trinity VIII-XVI, the second book of the series on all the cantatas, considers. In addition, there are chapters on the Actus Tragicus and the five cantatas for the annual installation of the Leipzig city council. Bach practices adherence, but a pragmatic one, to his employers, the Lutheran church and the municipal and aristocratic authorities. In liberating actuality from the confines of theology, Bach's cantatas give an extensive presentation and interpretation of this freedom of thought. Considered by many the greatest composer of Western music, Bach, like many of us, contends with fundamental human concerns such as self-worth, the courage of trust, satisfaction with life, the hope found in joy, suffering amidst the essential beauty of the world, the misery of loss, and the majesty of redemption. In his more than 200 cantatas Bach interprets the human condition through musical assertion and examination of the relevance of the gospels and epistles of the Christian Bible. Every cantata is discussed in my six book series On the Cantatas of J.S. Bach. The epistle, which is essentially didactic, is from the Apostolic letters retained in Scripture. The gospel, which is concerned with the life and teachings of Christ, is effectively an exposition of His adherence to principles and the application of action. Guided by this context, Bach consistently propounds surpassing interpretations of the nature and spirit of life. Though the over-reaching principles are philosophical and ethical, how they apply is determined, ultimately, by the individual. Book Two of this series examines the 37 surviving cantatas for the Sundays and feast days of Trinity VIII to XVI. Bach, in these, affirms and explains such fundamental aspects as self-worth, the glorification that love brings about, suffering amidst the essential beauty of the world, and death as the fulcrum of existential necessity. It is a personal exploration, both his and mine.