Nun danket alle Gott (BWV 192): opening chorus
Welcome to Season 4! Thanks so much to all our listeners! Today we give thanks -- not just for all of you wonderful listeners, but for Bach's creativity in the opening chorus of this cantata, which he based on the classic Lutheran chorale "Now Thank We All Our God". We explore the origin of the poetry by Martin Rinckart, a man who, like Job from the Old Testament, lost everything dear to him, but still remained faithful -- and grateful -- to his God. Then, we dive into the music and the clever text painting, and, after hearing so many hundreds of Bach's works, we delight in the way he continues to surprise us. We can always find something new. And that, wonderful listeners, is something we can all be thankful for. Video link: Shunske Sato conducts the Netherlands Bach Society in a performance of BWV 192 Even MORE thanks to Netherlands Bach Society for the permission to use audio examples from their high-quality recordings, and also to Syndey LaCom for our delightful artwork.