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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. 

The 1724/25 annual cycle of cantatas is one of J.S. Bach’s most ambitious Leipzig church music projects. However, this unified cycle was broken off prematurely during Lent in 1725 for a reason as yet unknown. Over a long period of time, Bach composed chorale cantatas for the Sundays that were still missing in the chorale cantata cycle; the first of these being the present cantata: Lobe den Herren, den mächtigen König der Ehren (BWV 137). 

In the case of this cantata, Bach allows not only the text but the chorale melody an unusually clear degree of prominence. With the cantata being scored for large forces, including oboes, trumpets, timpani, strings, soloists and continuo group, the melody usually lies at the very top of the dense texture in the choir soprano. With each subsequent movement, the melody becomes increasingly more obscure, with the second aria merely quoting motives of the melody, and the third aria including it only instrumentally. 

About UMD Choral Activities

Choral conducting alumnus Jason Max Ferdinand D.M.A. ’15 makes his season debut as the new director of choral activities. 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 this season’s on campus performances, the UMD Concert Choir participates in annual 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.

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