Bach Cantata Series: UMD Choral Activities
Bach Cantata Series: UMD Choral Activities
About the Event
Julie Huang Tucker, conductor
Meghan Nelson, soprano
Madison Hoerbelt, alto
Max Alexander Cook, tenor
John Solomon Collins, bass
J.S. Bach, known as the great master, wrote more than 200 cantatas, and UMD Choral Activities aims to sing them all in this series of short performances led by conductors in the graduate program. This performance will feature Ach wie flüchtig, ach wie nichtig (Ah how fleeting, Ah how insignificant), BWV 26.
Bach wrote BWV 26 in Leipzig for the 24th Sunday after Trinity in the Fall of 1724, capturing the “fleeting” and “insignificant” nature of human life just as the autumn leaves were falling from the trees, and the liturgical year was coming to a close. He used the 1652 hymn Ach wie flüchtig, ach wie nichtig by Michael Franck as the basis for his work, bookending it with a vigorous chorale fantasia opening, and a traditional, stately chorale ending. Despite the desperate, even frantic despondence that characterizes this cantata, the chorus clings to the few final words offering a hint of comfort: “Fear thy God, and live forever.”
About UMD Choral Activities
Led by choral conducting alumnus Jason Max Ferdinand D.M.A. ’15, UMD's choral program is internationally regarded and offers students a wide array of choral experiences with music encompassing all styles and eras. In addition to on campus performances, the UMD Concert Choir participates in collaborations with both the National Symphony Orchestra and the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra at premier venues including the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Carnegie Hall and Meyerhoff Symphony Hall.
