Programme notes: JS Bach Cantatas 50 and 80
J.S. BACH 1685 - 1750
Cantata no. 50 'Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott'
Cantata no. 80 'Num ist das Heil und Kraft'
Bach's output of cantatas was enormous. 295 were written, mostly at Leipzig, of which no less than 202 survive, three of which are incomplete. No tradition of performance of these works survived the composer's death; indeed, no. 80 was not published until 1821, when it aroused little interest. Even today, performances of these works are relatively infrequent.
Nothing is known of the composition of cantata no. 50, "Now is the Grace and Strength";- whether it is part of an otherwise lost or incomplete cantata, or even if it is a cantata at all. It survives as a single superb eight part chorus of total mastery, scored for the same instrumentation as the great "Sanctus" in the B minor mass, beside which it stands in sublimity.
No. 80, "A Stronghold Sure", was written in 1730 for the important celebration of the Reformation Festival, using Luther's original words with some extra material by Franck. The monumental opening chorus of rugged and unshakable faith is this evening followed by the closing chorale only.
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