J. S. Bach: BWV 124 "My Jesus I will not leave"
Cantata for the 1st Sunday after Epiphany, for soprano, alto, tenor and bass, vocal ensemble, oboe d'amore, corno, strings and basso continuo.
In Bach's time, faith based on Jesus could hardly have been expressed more confessional than in Christian Keymann's powerful hymn. But it is not only the opening chorus of cantata BWV 124, set in a restrained, luminous E major, that dispenses with any triumphal gestures. The inner movements in particular embark on an internalized journey of the soul, which contains real touchstones in the form of overcoming the fear of death and coming to terms with the particularly painful disappearance of Jesus after the joy of Epiphany. However, heaven does not come for free - the soprano-alto duet gives a provocatively catchy form to what radically renouncing the world can mean.
With a reflection on the cantata text by Jean-Daniel Strub.
Performers:
Julia Doyle, soprano
Benno Schachter, alto
Werner Güra, tenor
Jonathan Sells, bass
Choir & Orchestra of the J. S. Bach Foundation
Rudolf Lutz, conductor
Program:
5.30 pm
Musical-theological introduction to the work with Rudolf Lutz and Rev. Niklaus Peter
19.00 - approx. 20.30 hrs
1st concert performance
Reflection
2nd concert performance
Note: This text was translated by machine translation software and not by a human translator. It may contain translation errors.
19:00 - 20:30
23 October 2026