Bach Cantata Vespers: BWV 156 featuring Kontras Quartet

Grace Lutheran Church, River Forest, IL

Free of charge and open to the public

Ich steh mit einem Fuß im Grabe, BWV 156 I am standing with one foot in the grave

Despite the uneasy image in the title, this is a beautiful cantata, a lyrical portrayal of the believer’s acceptance of death and joyful trust in God’s grace. The opening sinfonia for oboe, strings and continuo borrows a familiar minor-key melody from one of Bach’s keyboard concertos, setting a mood of serenity and peace for the arias that follow. The motet for the service is by Dieterich Buxtehude (1637—1707), a moving setting of the well-known chorale “Herzlich lieb hab ich dich, o Herr” (Lord, thee I love with all my heart). Grace’s string quartet in residence, the Kontras Quartet, will perform the prelude to the service and join us for the cantata.

3:00 p.m. Cantata Preview Lecture (in-person only) Mark Peters, Trinity Christian College, Palos Heights

3:45 p.m. Bach Cantata Vespers (in-person and online) Kontras Quartet: Eleanor Bartsch, François Henkins, Ben Weber, and Jean Hatmaker

Dieterich Buxtehude: Herzlich lieb hab ich dich, o Herr, BuxWV 41

David John Hailey, First Baptist Church, Oak Park, Illinois, homilist

Nathalie Colas, soprano Thomas Aláan, countertenor Ryan Townsend Strand, tenor Douglas Anderson, baritone