Hendrik Slegtenhorst
In his more than 200 cantatas Bach interprets the human condition through musical assertion and examination of the relevance of the gospels and epistles of the Christian Bible. Every cantata is discussed in my six book series On the Cantatas of J.S. Bach. The epistle, which is essentially didactic, is from the Apostolic letters retained in Scripture. The gospel, which is concerned with the life and teachings of Christ, is effectively an exposition of His adherence to principles and the application of action. Guided by this context, Bach consistently propounds surpassing interpretations of the nature and spirit of life. Though the over-reaching principles are philosophical and ethical, how they apply is determined, ultimately, by the individual. Book One of this series examines the 35 surviving cantatas for the Sundays and feast days of Trinity I to VII. Bach, in these, affirms and explains such fundamental aspects as the relationship of money to morality, and the correlation between personal identity and the need to understand others. It is a personal exploration, both his and mine.
