The art of introducing Bach's cantatas

If concert life had long been dominated by Bach cantatas, the SMZ has reported on three series of performances in recent years: in the church in Trogen under the direction of Rudolf Lutz (9/2009, p. 14 f.), in Basel's Predigerkirche, initiated by Jörg-Andreas Bötticher (9/2011, p. 24), and in Lucerne's Franziskanerkirche under Franz Schaffner with modern instruments (3/2011, p. 11).

A handsome volume with all the introductions to the works was published to mark the final concert in Basel. The initiator, who works as organist at the Predigerkirche, was able to perform concerts with a consistently soloistic line-up, as propagated by Joshua Rifkin. The highly readable texts combine historical expertise with emotional playing practice and therefore provide a more direct approach to the music than the certainly commendable books (by Alfred Dürr, Konrad Küster and Martin Petzoldt, among others). The introductions come quite close to the lively, well thought-out ones by Rudolf Lutz and Pastor Karl Graf, which can be followed on DVD. Two examples from Basel to illustrate this: the Weimar Christmas Cantata 63 is particularly richly scored, including four trumpets. Dagmar Hoffmann-Axthelm describes the performance venue, the castle church of Weimar, called "Die Himmelsburg" (with illustration). The location of the musicians around the organ on the third gallery was very limited, so that Bach scholars have already suggested that the performance was probably moved to another location. For soloists, however, the available space was sufficient. - For Advent Cantata 61, Bötticher describes not only the artistic musical arrangements but also Bach's response to the text: During the minimally scored da capo aria Open up For example, in the middle section the character changes completely, even the time signature, to portray the blissful mood of the heart.

How beautifully the morning star shines. Johann Sebastian Bach's sacred cantatas. Introductions to the works and documents of the complete performance in Basel, ed. by Albert Jan Becking, Jörg-Andreas Bötticher, Anselm Hartinger, 690 pp. hardback with 86 illustrations incl. photo documentation, Fr. 48.00, Schwabe Verlag, Basel 2012, ISBN 978-3-7965-2860-6