Bach's Word of Thunder and Bliss of Heaven

Published August 14, 2022 at 6:00 AM EDT

View of the sky at sunset after a storm, with large clouds lit from behind — The sky at sunset after a storm

On The Bach Hour, Rudolf Lutz conducts the composer's Cantata 168, in which fearsome metaphors from the natural world are answered by allusions to eternity.

On the program:

Partita No. 5 in G, BWV 829 - Murray Perahia, piano

Cantata BWV 168 Tue Rechnung! Donnerwort (translation) - Noemi Sohn Nad, soprano; Antonia Frey, alto; Johannes Kaleschke, tenor; Peter Harvey, bass; Orchestra of J.S. Bach Foundation St. Gallen; Rudolf Lutz, conductor

Chorale Prelude: Herr Jesu Christ, du höchstes Gut, BWV 1114 - Gerhard Weinberger, organ (Trost organ at St. Walpurgis Church, Grossengottern, Germany)

Easter Oratorio, BWV 249 (selections) - German Brass