Cantata No. 4: Christ Lag in Todesbanden, Bwv 4: Choral Octavo

The CANTATA No. 4: CHRIST LAG IN TODES BANDEN, BWV 4, is one of the earliest church cantatas by J.S. Bach (1685-1750). Bach wrote it for an application to a job opportunity at a Lutheran church in Mulhausen. It is the first of his cantatas to construct its textual and melodic material on a chorale. His first cantata for Easter Sunday, it was later revised in Leipzig in 1724 and 1725 with additional instrumental parts in order to harness the rich musical resources available to the composer. ...