Chandler Carter
Hofstra University
The Lutheran view of Christian death as a blessed relief from the tribulations of earthly life is a recurrent theme in J. S. Bach's church cantatas. Bach exploits a variety of rhetorical devices -- both literary and musical -- to dramatize the soul as world-weary, oppressed by the burden of earthly life or fearful of hell. Through the consoling grace of Christ, death comes as a welcomed relief- depicted as restful sleep, an easy ascent to heaven or an ecstatic arrival .
Bach was drawn to the bass voice as a particularly expressive vehicle for the personalized (as distinct from the collective choral) expression of these themes. Drawing from several different cantatas arias, I propose to demonstrate how Bach realizes two particular aspects of this "longing for death" theme -- 1 ) the eagerness to depart from the world; and 2) the "sleep of death" -- through characteristic harmonic structures and by exploiting qualities unique to the bass voice. In addition, I offer my own ideas on how the performer may underscore their interpretation through performance.
The recital portion of the presentation will include two arias featuring oboe obbligato, "Ich habe genug" from BWV 82 and the aria "Es ist vollbracht" from BWV 159.