Tag: Johann Sebastian Bach

  • BACH: Fantasia Super: Komm, Heiliger Geist, Herre Gott, BWV 651

    FULL POWER!!! The overwhelming opening of Fantasia Super: Komm, Heiliger Geist, Herre Gott, performed by Leo van Doeselaar for All of Bach, refers almost literally to the opening lines of Acts 2 from the Bible, which say about Pentecost: “And when the day of Pentecost fully came, they were all with one accord in one…

  • BACH: Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott, BWV 80

    This sacred cantata by Bach is a combative cantata written for Reformation Day (October 31st) as a battle song of the Reformation. Military references are found not just in the words, but in the music as well, built up by Bach over the years. I love Bach’s masterful use of word painting in this cantata.…

  • Dawn of the Millennium: A Happy Reminiscence

    I awoke before dawn at 4:30 amOne cold December Monday mornTwas 5 days till the timeThat Christ was born I ventured outsideBefore morning’s lightI beheld a winter wonderlandOh what a sight The ground was coveredIn a foot of snowThe streetlights cascaded downCreating a warm glow I began my slow trek from my tiny apartmentIn Squirrel…

  • How should we worship God? RPW vs NPW

    Background The RPW (regulative principle of worship) is deeply flawed and problematic. It holds that everything which is not explicitly commanded or practiced in Scripture is forbidden. I believe it is overly restrictive, and the way many employ it is legalistic. I favor the NPW (normative principle of worship) over the RPW. Anything which is…

  • J.S. Bach: Sacred Cantata: Es ist euch gut, daß ich hingehe, BWV 108

    BWV 108 (29 April 1725) concerns itself with Jesus’ promise of the Holy Ghost It opens with Jesus himself explaining that he has to leave to make room for his Spirit. The bass (vox Christi) sings in a beautifully quiet, stepping rhythm. In the following tenor aria the violin jumps up and down to illustrate…

  • Jarvis and Bach

    Australian author Martin Jarvis starts with an astounding assertion, that Bach’s second wife Anna Magdalena Bach wrote not only the Solo Cello Suites, but other major works attributed to Bach as well.  He expects us to go along with him with basically no real evidence. The much ballyhooed handwriting analysis is a joke, and it…