"Bach, a life in music" I

"Bach, a life in music", first period: from Arnstadt to Mühlhausen

"Bach's early cantatas are often conceived for the very limited musical resources he had at his disposal. They are not monumental works, but rather vocal pieces for a few singers and an ensemble of soloists, which were probably performed with a similar number of musicians to the one gathered for this concert. (...) They are also - surprisingly, considering the youth and relative inexperience of the composer - some of his most beautiful and famous works." Paul Agnew

As a connoisseur of Johann Sebastian Bach's work, Paul Agnew invites us to dive into the musical universe of the "Leipzig Cantor". But by adopting an original angle to proceed to this rediscovery: that of the composer's biography, and of the places where he created his music...

This concert is the first step in the cycle "Bach, a life in music", and focuses on the first period of Bach's life, when the young musician began to compose in his first jobs, in Arnstadt (1703-1706) then in Mühlhausen (1706-1708).

This project also includes a participatory dimension: workshops will be proposed to the audience, so that they can sing one of the chorales of the program with the artists of Les Arts Florissants, during the concert of May 17 at the Philharmonie de Paris. Bach has never been so close!

To go further...

Listen to Paul Agnew's podcast produced by the Philharmonie de Paris (in French):

Listen to the podcast "Bach du dimanche" by France Musique radio: