The Leipzig Bachfest invited its audiences to choose the works for two Bach cantata programmes filled with masterpieces: John Eliot Gardiner responded to the public’s preferences by composing two programmes based on these suggestions.

This second programme opens with a serious meditation on death, grief, and faith, gradually rising towards hope, joy, and the promise of spiritual awakening. A sonic and theological journey in which German sacred music of the 17^th and 18^th centuries reveals all its expressive power, between Lutheran tradition and Baroque genius.

The motet Christ lag in Todesbanden is one of Johann Sebastian Bach’s very first cantatas, written around Martin Luther’s Easter chorale. It combines contrapuntal rigour with striking dramatic fervour, evoking the victory of life over death in a series of choral variations of great intensity.

With Was betrübst du by Johann Hermann Schein, the atmosphere becomes more intimate. This motet sets a psalm of lament to music, expressing the believer’s anguish in the face of God’s apparent abandonment. Schein’s refined writing, influenced by the Italian madrigal, gives this text a poignant expressiveness.

First part : 1h05

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)

Christ lag in Todesbanden, BWV 4

Johann Hermann Schein (1586-1630)

Was betrübst du

Johann Sebastian Bach

Ich hatte viel Bekümmernis, BWV 21

Intermission

Second part : 50 minutes

Heinrich Schütz (1585-1672)

Selig sind die Toten

Johann Sebastian Bach

Gottes Zeit ist die allerbeste Zeit, BWV 106

Johann Hermann Schein

Ich freue mich

Johann Sebastian Bach

Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme, BWV 140

PRESTIGE VIP CATEGORY : Best seats in house, you will receive a complimentary programme and a glass of champagne.

PRESTIGE CATEGORY : Excellent seats, you will receive a complimentary programme and a glass of champagne.

REDUCED RATE : applicable to under 26s, Chateau de Versailles Spectacles card holders and groups of more than 10 people (excluding special company offer).

GROUP RATES : for more information, please refer to our page dedicated to works councils and groups.

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