Bach: Kothener Trauermusik BWV 244A – Raphael Pichon & Pygmalion

When Leopold of Anhalt-Cöthen died in 1728, his former Kapellmeister had not forgotten the five brilliant years he had spent in the prince’s service. He dedicated to his memory a mourning cantata almost entirely based on the music of two major works of the mid-1720s, the Trauer-Ode and the St Matthew Passion. Although the score is lost, the wordbook and other sources of information have now made it possible to reconstruct the work. In his first recording for harmonia mundi, Raphaël Pichon invites us on an exciting musical treasure hunt.