Bach & Telemann: Himmelfahrt

Vox Luminis has teamed up with the Freiburger Barockorchester again, and together they celebrate music for Ascension Day. This topic inspired great composers such as Johann Sebastian Bach, four of whose Ascension cantatas have been preserved. The festive and colourful Cantata BWV 128 was composed towards the end of Bach's second year in Leipzig. The Ascension Oratorio BWV 11 was written for larger forces and ends with a triumphant chorus. In the case of Georg Philipp Telemann, more than thirty cantatas for Ascension Day alone have survived. The cantata Ich fahre auf zu meinem Vater (I ascend unto my Father) was composed in 1721. Lionel Meunier's ensemble and the FBO give a fervent rendering of this captivating music with its texts focusing on the afterlife.

Georg Philipp Telemann (1681-1767), Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)

• Bach, J S: Lobet Gott in seinen Reichen, BWV 11

• Telemann: Ich fahre auf zu meinem Vater, TWV 1:825

  Bach, J S: Cantata BWV128 'Auf Christi Himmelfahrt allein'

   

  June 2024

  The typical Vox Luminis sound is by nature soft-edged and resonant, yet while Lionel Meunier’s choir of 15 voices may not have the attack and presence of some in this repertoire, their approach is a satisfying alternative, deepening the texture and binding together the wider tonal picture.