Bach, the Universe and Everything

This month’s cantata is the first of two composed in late 1715 for the court in Weimar – where Bach compiled the Brandenburg Concertos.

At the time Bach was about a year into his employment there and the Court was just emerging from a period of mourning for Prince Johann Ernst, a keen and skilled musician. Speaking to the concerns of the court, the cantata takes as its inspiration the story of the Pharisees laying a trap for Jesus by questioning him about the legality of paying tax to Caesar.

We often see glorious images from deep space at Bach, the Universe and Everything… but how are they created? Astrophotographer Chris Baker will talk to us about how his work capturing these images and turning them into art.

We continue our focus on the music of the Flemish composer Jacobus Clemens (c. 1510 – 1556) with the seven-part motet Ego flos campi (I am the rose of Sharon).