J. S. BACH (1685–1750):
Nach dir, Herr, verlanget mich – cantata, BWV 150
Jesus schläft, was soll ich hoffen? – cantata, BWV 81
Warum betrübst du dich, mein Herz – cantata, BWV 138
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Brich dem Hungrigen dein Brot – cantata, BWV 39
Das neugeborne Kindelein – cantata, BWV 122

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It has become a tradition that the Haydneum’s final orchestral concert of the year, held in the Grand Hall of the Liszt Academy of Music, offers, under György Vashegyi and his ensembles, a special kind of musical and spiritual nourishment for the Advent season. This year we hear five cantatas by Johann Sebastian Bach, each possessing distinctive features that demonstrate the inexhaustible variety of his music.
The opening work, catalogued as BWV 150, is among the composer’s earliest surviving cantatas, possibly dating from 1706, though its liturgical occasion remains uncertain. First performed in Leipzig on 30 January 1724, Cantata BWV 81 explores the theme of faltering faith; its closing chorale is the second verse of the hymn Jesu, meine Freude. Cantata BWV 138, composed the previous year, also quotes a chorale from 1561, and Bach later reused its sole aria in the Mass in G major. Cantata BWV 39 belongs to the third Leipzig cantata cycle, while BWV 122 is associated with the Christmas season and was first performed on the last day of 1724.
With its musical, textual and theological richness, this Advent concert invites us to step outside the pressures of daily life and, in keeping with Bach’s intentions, to prepare inwardly for the feast to come.