The cantata ‘Du Hirte Israël, höre!’, performed by the Netherlands Bach Society for All of Bach, is filled with what sounded to eighteenth-century ears like pastoral music. Besides being a question of style, this was mainly a liturgical choice, as Sunday 23 April 1724 was Bach’s first ‘Misercordias Domini Sunday’ in Leipzig. This was the second Sunday after Easter, when the risen Christ is presented as the good shepherd. The best-known psalm on that theme, ‘The Lord is my shepherd’, rings out clearly in the words of the final chorus.
Recorded for the project All of Bach on 10 February 2018 at Walloon Church, Amsterdam. If you want to help us complete All of Bach, please subscribe to our channel http://bit.ly/2vhCeFB and consider donating http://bit.ly/2uZuMj5.
In memory of Joost Mulder (1 October 1978 – 2 February 2020). Joost was an ardent lover of early music and, above all, he loved the performances by The Netherlands Bach Society, which he liked to visit together with Cissy Pater.
For the interview with conductor Jos van Veldhoven and bass Matthew Brook on cantata ‘Du Hirte Israël, höre!’ BWV 104 go to https://youtu.be/2LxCBdYc88s
For more information on BWV 104 and this production go to http://allofbach.com/en/bwv/bwv-104/
All of Bach is a project of the Netherlands Bach Society / Nederlandse Bachvereniging, offering high-quality film recordings of the works by Johann Sebastian Bach, performed by the Netherlands Bach Society and its guest musicians. Visit our free online treasury for more videos and background material http://allofbach.com/en/. For concert dates and further information go to https://www.bachvereniging.nl/nederlandse-bachvereniging.
Netherlands Bach Society
Jos van Veldhoven, conductor
Daniel Johanssen, tenor
Matthew Brook, bass