Motet: Schütz' "Turbabor" from the Latin language motet collection "Cantiones Sacrae" begins with a surprisingly pure madrigal-like gesture on its first word. The beginning is somewhat misleading, for this brief work is one of the most sober of all of the Cantiones Sacrae. The style does not preclude an extraordinary depth of penetration of the text however.

Cantata: Cantata BWV 93 has always been one of the most beloved of the cantatas from Bach's first Leipzig cycle. It opens with an expressive chorus dominated by an almost monmaniacal exploration of a little half-step figure that is drawn from the chorale. While the tune is sung in long notes by the sopranos, each phrase is introduced by long free passages first by the sopranos and altos, then the tenors and basses and finally from all four voices. The solo bass then takes the tune in the chorale with recitative second movement. Here each verse is is separated by recitative comentary, After two complex and dense movements the sunny tenor aria seems almost simple. Its melodiousness comes as a relief. The centerpiece of this cantata is the great chorale prelude for soprano and alto with the tune being played by the strings. The solo tenor then sings the chorale with recitative comentary. The lilting soprano aria has a wonderful upward swing that is an enormous contrast to the dense "stuck" quality of the opening chorus. The four-voice harmonization of the chorale is one of the great ones and a fitting close to this very grand and ambitious cantata.

©Craig Smith

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