SUU students perform J.S. Bach’s Cantata No. 4
By Ashley Pollock
As part of SUU’s Festival of Excellence, SUU music students will perform J.S. Bach’s Cantata No. 4 on April 2. A performance and lecture will take place at 1 p.m. with a concert at 7:30 p.m. Both will be held in the Thorley Recital Hall of the music building on SUU’s campus. This concert is free and open to the public.
“Although intended for public worship, the church cantatas of Johann Sebastian Bach constitute one of the greatest artistic achievements of the Baroque, or any, era,” said Dr. Douglas Ipson, assistant professor of music theory and history at SUU. “In this performance-recital, Dr. Krystal McCoy will direct the Opus Chamber Choir and a group of instrumentalists in a performance of selections from one of Bach’s earliest masterpieces in the genre, “Christ lag in Todes Banden,” BWV 4. Throughout the performance, I will remark on the theological and historical context of the work and highlight its most important musical features.”
Written in 1707 as one of his first church cantatas, Bach’s Cantata No. 4 was intended to be performed for the first day of the Easter feast. The music is composed for sopranos, altos, tenors, and basses with accompaniment by instrumentalists.
“I love the 4th and 6th movements from Bach’s Cantata No. 4, mainly because they are challenging and beautifully intricate,” said Christopher Cheney, a music student. “These songs have pushed my abilities to the limits, and they’ve taught me how to overcome them and become a better musician and person. Preparing for this concert has helped me to develop new skills on how to sing, how to speak, and how to overcome obstacles. It’s led me to find help from others and become inspired by the past so that I can help grow the future of music.”
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