30th April, 2023
Come and join St Anne's Lutheran Church on 30 April at 6.30pm in the church of St Mary-at-Hill (Lovat Lane, EC3R 8EE) for the first Bach Vespers after Easter. City Bach Collective will perform Bach’s poignant cantata BWV 108, Es ist euch gut, daß ich hingehe, on the theme of comfort in loss. Bach first performed this cantata in 1725.
Unusually, the text of the cantata was written by a woman, Christiana Mariana von Ziegler. Her literary career lasted only 19 years, between the death of her second husband and her marrying her third, but her family home became something of a salon for the arts, and she received encouragement from some of Leipzig’s most prominent figures. The text addresses themes of loss, departure and consolation, and the music features the oboe d’amore—a softer, lower pitched cousin of the oboe—as well as a virtuosic obbligato for solo violin.
The service will also feature other music by composers of the German baroque, performed on period instruments, including a little-known work for soprano soprano solo with violin obbligato: ‘Ich will den Herrn loben allezeit’, by Johann Nicolaus Hanff (1663-1711).
Everyone is welcome, and attendance is free. Do come along and bring your friends. We look forward to seeing you there to share Bach’s wonderful music!