Cantata No.140: Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme This is the best known of the 5 cantatas written by Bach. ( The baroque period ..yes I've been doing my reading ) It was written for a special feast day in the Lutheran calendar.... the 27th Sunday after Trinity. Easter varies in date each year. Dates affected by this moveable feast are Ash Wednesday, the start of Lent, Easter, Pentecost and Holy Trinity. And so, this feast occurs only when Easter is very early. Otherwise the new lithurgical year begins ( the first Sunday of Advent ) before the 27th Sunday is reached. So maybe because it occurs so rarely, Bach decided to go really big and summon up all his older works, recycle bits of it...and give us this really lovely Cantata. When you hear it, you'll stare for a while without realising your soul is being touched. That's the power of Bach for you:)
Click HERE for a link to hear a sample of this song.
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