J.S. Bach: Cantata 182, at Palm Sunday – Hope Returns to Rejoice

Cantata 182, composed in 1713, is for Palm Sunday, which is the first day of Holy Week and the Sunday before Easter, and commemorates Christ’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem. As the day is associated in several ecclesiastical rites with the blessing and procession of palms, processional characteristics feature strongly in the music. The Gospel for […]

J.S. Bach, Cantata 1 – Feast of the Annunciation of Mary

March 25th is the feast of the annunciation of Mary, for which Bach composed his cantata BWV 1. I am reminded of a moment in August several years ago when I was riding the bus along Jasper Avenue in Edmonton. The middle-aged man in the last seat by the window, holding his prayer beads in […]