5. Who now?! KUHNAU!

11/24/22 • 58 min

Composer, outstanding organist, choir trainer, lawyer, and formidable linguist, Johann Kuhnau was Thomaskantor in Leipzig for over 20 years, writing over 1,000 vocal works for church performance there. The few dozen that remain show a variety and ability to unlock the gamut of emotions from desperate sadness through to unbridled joy. This belies Kuhnau's conservative and anti-operatic stance handed down in his war of words with those loyal to the upstart Georg Philipp Telemann, with whom he competed for musical resources in Leipzig at the start of his tenure.
Beset by ill health and bruised from his jousting in these political culture wars, Kuhnau's legacy has been constructed largely in ignorance of his vocal music - which is immediate, moving, joyful, and dramatic. Thanks to David Erler, Nick Pfefferkorn, and Breitkopf Verlag, this music is becoming much more widely available.
Solomon's Knot artistic director discusses the man, his music, how he has been seen, and how we should see (and above all listen to) him today, with David Erler, Professor Bettina Varwig, and Professor Stephen Rose.
Solomon's Knot will perform 5 festive cantatas, including three UK premieres, by Johann Kuhnau in December 2022 in York and London.
Bettina Varwig: Rethinking Bach
https://global.oup.com/academic/product/rethinking-bach-9780190943899?cc=us&lang=en&
Stephen Rose: Musical Authorship from Schütz to Bach
https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/musical-authorship-from-schutz-to-bach/78337447485883F44C8B862462555DDC

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4. Bach Motets

Jonny, SK alto and musicology PhD Nathan Mercieca, Prof Stephen Rose and Dr Bettina Varwig get deep inside the Bach motets, including the context provided by the four Johann Christoph Bach pieces SK has selected for the upcoming tour and on-location CD recording (summer 2022), and the insights into the musical fabric and structure that can be gained by memorisation.

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6. Who is the Matthew Passion for?

Solomon's Knot Artistic Director Jonathan Sells gives his personal take on why JS Bach's St Matthew Passion continues to attract audiences every year, for whom it is 'for', and how we should best approach listening to or experiencing it.
Far removed from the era and context of the first performances of the Matthew Passion, our ritualised annual concert performances of the piece have become an object of worship in their own right.
As well as the beguiling music and compelling story, the Passion speaks to all of our failings as human beings and, through the devastating example of Christ's torture and death, inspires us to do better.