Bach Listening Lab: 6 Early Cantatas (6 sessions)
Tuesdays 12:00-1:30 pm ET | April 14-May 19
The vast majority of Bach's works are cantatas: short works for voice and orchestra, usually between 20 and 40 minutes long, written for church services or special occasions like festivals or funerals. These cantatas are little gems of musical composition, and often contain surprising moments. In this group, we'll listen to six of Bach's cantatas from his first decade as a composer, starting from what John Eliot Gardiner calls his "first-known attempt at painting narrative in music" when he was 22. No prior understanding of music theory is required.
Text: Bach, Cantatas sheet music
Seminar Leader: Jeff Johnston is a piano player and database programmer whose postgraduate degree focused on political science in medieval Islam.