May 22
Erschallet ihr Lieder, erklinget ihr Saiten! BWV 172
Ring forth, you songs, resound, you strings!
Erschallet, ihr Lieder, the first of Bach’s four cantatas for Pentecost, was written in 1714 in Weimar and was first performed at the famous Himmelsburg Chapel. Bach seems to have particularly loved this work; he performed it again in Cöthen and several times in Leipzig, including in 1724 and 1731. The exuberant opening chorus is scored for a full complement of three trumpets, timpani, flute, oboe, strings, continuo, and choir. The bass aria that follows features virtuosic trumpet passages. A closing duet for soprano and alto depicts a mystical dialogue between the Soul and the Holy Spirit. The cantata provides a celebratory finish to our 51st year of Bach Cantata Vespers at Grace.
3:00 p.m. Cantata Preview Lecture
Mark P. Bangert, Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago
3:45 p.m. Bach Cantata Vespers
Molter: Sonata Grossa in D Major
Paul Bouman: Peace I Leave with You
Ingrid Schalk, Shepherd of the Lake Lutheran Church, Loudon, Tennessee, homilist
Susan Nelson, soprano
Thomas Aláan, countertenor
Ryan Townsend Strand, tenor
Douglas Anderson, baritone
Bach Cantata Vespers Chorus and Orchestra
Grace Cantor Michael D. Costello, conducting