Concert Claudio Marino Moretti (CANCELLED)

Claudio Marino Moretti conduct Bach and Schnittke

Jesu, meine Freude, BWV 227, is a motet composed by Johann Sebastian Bach. It is also known as Motet No. 3 in E minor. The work takes its title from the hymn “Jesu, meine Freude”, with its chorale melody by Johann Crüger. Movements based on the hymn are interspersed with others based on passages from the Epistle to the Romans. Bach’s choral writing is in five parts, as only few other compositions. The idea of writing a requiem first came to Schnittke when he was writing his Piano Quintet (1972-76). The Quintet was dedicated to his mother, who died in 1972, and he wanted one of the movements to be a small instrumental requiem. The composer had already made sketches for all the major themes of the requiem, but they seemed to be more vocal than instrumental in character so they were not used in the Quintet.