J.S. Bach: BWV 8 (1) „Liebster Gott, wenn werd ich sterben“ | Tölzer Knabenchor

Описание: The BACH ENTWURFF PROJECT

Recorded: 11 March 2025- Himmelfahrtskirche, Sendling, Munich

Bach sets the text here to woodwinds playing a beguiling tune, supported by delicate string pizzicati. The texture is patent and irresistible. But the text belies the alluring surface: Liebster Gott, wenn werd ich sterben? (Dearest God, when shall I die?). The next line tells us time is passing. We, the heirs of Adam’s defiant sin (consuming Forbidden Fruit), have little time on earth. Just as Adam was molded from the earth by the Creator, so we shall return to earth: Ashes to ashes; dust to dust.

The instrumental tropes now make sense. The piping flute ticks away seconds on a clock alternating with tropes that resemble undulating pendulums. The woodwinds suggest celestial harmonies while the strings pluck away the passing hours the way the solo flute also marks the inexorable passing of time “ for a short while…[before] poor and wretched on earth…themselves become earth.”

What sounds on first impression to be a Garden of Delights is a premonition of death and an uncertain fate in eternity.

Video Producer: Christoph Engel (Projekt-Engel)
Audio Engineer: Christian Jaeger

The BACH ENTWURFF PROJECT

The BACH ENTWURFF PROJECT produces Modern World Premieres of Bach Cantatas Performed to the Exact Specifications of JS Bach’s 1730 Memorandum (“Entwurff”) on the proper performance of his cantatas. Bach asks for a choir of men and boys, three or four on a part. Soprano and alto solos are sung by boys; and all soloists sing as part of the choir ensemble. The Entwurff orchestra consists of at least 18 instrumentalists playing baroque instruments, plus additional members (such as trumpets) as required in the score.The Bach-Lehman tuning is used in the Entwurff series of performances and recordings.

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