I'm in Taipei off and on the next few weeks. Last week, riding back from out of town, I noticed a poster for the Taipei Bach Festival, and realized that I'd be in town for part of it. Rilling's complete Bach cycle has been at the top of the playlist recently, and so I checked the website (http://www.tpf.org.tw/bachfestival/en/about.html). This year, they're rehearsing and performing the St. John Passion (BWV245), and Rilling himself will be here for part of it. Had to sign up.
I didn't know BWV245; it's not got to the top of the pile of CDs to get ripped for my MP3 player. But I found an MP3 version for sale online.
BWV10, a setting of the Magnificat, on the other hand, is one of my favorite cantatas; the soprano aria is especially wonderful. It begins with a "Herr (Lord)" repeated three times in a rising major sequence. Was struck today by the opening chorus of BWV245: also "Herr", repeated three times, but descending, against a nervous and dissonant background. I checked the dates of the works – the St John Passion dates from 1724, and so does BWV10, just a few months later (at least according to the extensively peer-reviewed material on the Internet.) Bach, I'm sure, was conscious of the echo. It's a nice effect, whether in the minor of BWV245 or in the major of BWV10.
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