Voices of Connection: 11/13 Bach: “Et Incarnatus Est,” “Crucifixus,” and “Et Resurrexit” from Mass in B Minor
Today we arrive at the central core of Bach’s Credo. It is a three-movement unit of extraordinary choruses. The “Et incarnatus est” depicts, through descending vocal lines, the Son of God coming down to the earth in the humble form of a human child. The central “Crucifixus” is perhaps the most wonderful example in all of music of the use of an ostinato bass (a bass-line melody repeated over and over). This movement originally appeared as the opening chorus in Bach’s earlier cantata, Weinen, Klagen. Bach altered the original ending to depict Christ’s descent into the grave by the low register of the voices and at the same time, by a modulation to G Major, to suggest the hope of the resurrection, which bursts forth in the next chorus like a dance of joy! This transition between the end of the “Crucifixus” and the opening of the “Et Resurrexit” is one of the most remarkable single moments in all of music.
– Dennis Keene
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BACH “Et Incarnatus Est,” “Crucifixus,” and “Et Resurrexit” from Mass in B Minor
Voices of Ascension
Dennis Keene, Artistic Director
Recorded live in concert on February 27, 2014, at Church of the Ascension
The singers in this performance are represented by the American Guild of Musical Artists, AFL-CIO.