Bach Cantatas: The Ascent

Ascend to new heights with joyful and dynamic music by J.S. Bach in this dazzling celebration of the composer’s works, featuring EMV 2025 Artist-in-Residence Magali Simard-Galdès and fellow soloists alongside the Pacific Baroque Orchestra. Aïga-Faros by Canadian composer Grégoire Jeay and J.S. Bach’s Triple Concerto – BWV 1044 – complement the programme.

Bach’s music was deeply tied to Lutheran theology, making him less directly influenced by Enlightenment philosophy. However, his work still resonated with certain rationalist and humanist ideas explored by enlightenment thinkers of the time such as Voltaire who believed that the “ascension” of man was not about a literal rise to heaven but about the intellectual and moral elevation of humanity.

In this concert, two contrasting Bach Cantatas on the theme of the Ascension are complemented by Bach’s Triple concerto and Grégoire Jeay’s Aïga-Faros (Waters of the Lighthouse), a piece that uses the same instrumentation as Bach’s concerto, (violin, flute, and harpsichord) with string orchestra and which captures the interplay between nature’s forces and invites the listener on a journey evoking fluidity, and the timeless power of water.

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