We begin the new year with one of Bach’s most dramatic cantatas from 1724, his first year in Leipzig. Drawing on themes of destruction, suffering and deliverance, an expansive orchestral palette features four trombones (including the rare soprano instrument) who innovatively develop their own independent voices beyond their traditional role of doubling the choir. At its heart are three arias, culinating in a profoundly soul-searching duet for the soprano and alto soloists.
Stephen Wilkins traces back 14 billion years to uncover how the first stars, black holes and galaxies emerged from the cosmic dark ages when space was filled with gas and dark matter. This distant epoch has long been out of reach, but the James Webb Space Telescope is now beginning to reveal it in unprecedented detail. Stephen Wilkins is Professor of Astronomy and Public Understanding of Science at the University of Sussex.
