Colorado Bach Ensemble: Bach’s Cantata 32, Liebster Jesu, mein Verlangen

"Cantata 32, Liebster Jesu, mein Verlangen (Dearest Jesus, My Desire) is a good example of a dialogue cantata. In this work, the dialogue is between Jesus (bass soloist) and the Soul (soprano soloist). Bach composed it during his third year in Leipzig, and it was first performed in January of 1726. Overall, this cantata is more intimate, scored for oboe, strings, continuo, and soprano/bass soloists. It is broken into six movements, first alternating arias and recitative, followed by a duet recitative/aria, and finally, a chorale. In the solo movements, Bach pairs the soprano with a plaintive oboe obbligato, and the bass sings along with a virtuosic violin solo."