In 1723, three composers vied for the position as Thomaskantor in Leipzig, and every submitted a cantata written for the event as an audition. The outcomes have been pleasant: three German baroque cantatas by Telemann, Graupner and Bach, they usually make up this system for the Could 4 live performance by the award-winning Ottawa Bach Choir.
“In honour of the three hundredth anniversary of Bach’s tenure as Thomaskantor in Leipzig, we’re thrilled to current magnificent cantatas by the three principal candidates thought of for the place, Telemann, Graupner and Bach,” says OBC Founder and Creative Director, Lisette Canton in a press release.
Leipzig, 1723
Johann Kuhnau had served as Kantor at St. Thomas in Leipzig for 21 years. He died in 1722, leaving open the plum place, which included the position of head music trainer at a prestigious college, arranging music for 4 choirs, and performing his personal cantatas at two church buildings.
The position fell underneath municipal jurisdiction, and the native committee wished a status candidate that might elevate the town’s profile. Georg Philipp Telemann was the popular candidate. Town of Hamburg, nevertheless, his current employer, upped his wage, and he withdrew from the competitors.
Christoph Graupner was the town’s second alternative, however he was already kapellmeister on the Darmstadt court docket, and couldn’t get a launch from his contract with them.
It appears odd as we speak to suppose that Bach would have been third alternative for the place that basically cemented his place in Western artwork music historical past.
The Live performance
The Ottawa Bach Choir (OBC) received the 2020 JUNO Award for its album, Handel: Dixit Dominus; Bach & Schütz: Motets (Classical Album of the Yr: Vocal or Choral), and has toured throughout Canada and internationally. Their eighth album, Johann Sebastian Bach: Six Motets, was launched on the ATMA Classique label in April 2023.
For the live performance, they’re joined by Ensemble Caprice baroque orchestra and soloists and organist Matthew Larkin.
Based by flautist Matthias Maute some three many years in the past, Ensemble Caprice has earned a repute for innovation throughout the world of Baroque music. They’ve carried out extensively throughout the globe, together with excursions to China, Taiwan, Morocco, Tunisia, and South Africa, together with Europe and the Americas.
Matthew Larkin is acknowledged as one among Canada’s foremost organists and church musicians, as a conductor, composer and arranger, in addition to recording artist and educator. Amongst many different positions, he has served as Music Director of the Ottawa Choral Society, and at Toronto’s St. James Cathedral. He has carried out extensively all through North America, Europe, and China as a soloist, and with lots of Canada’s orchestras.
This system consists of:
- Telemann: Singet dem Herrn ein neues Lied, TWV 7:30;
- Graupner: Aus der Tiefen rufen wir, GWV 1113/23a;
- Bach: Die Elenden sollen essen, BWV 75.
BMV 75 is the primary cantata Bach composed after he was formally put in as Thomaskantor in Leipzig.
Particulars in regards to the Could 4 live performance at Ottawa’s St. Andrew’s Church, and tickets, [HERE].
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Anya Wassenberg is a Toronto Metropolis Editor at Ludwig Van. She is an skilled freelance author, blogger and writing teacher.