We regret that due to the coronavirus, the Good Friday, April 10 Knox Music Series program was canceled. We look forward to announcing a Knox Music Series Christmas concert in December 2020.
March your calendar for Good Friday, April 10, at 7:30 p.m. when the Knox Music Series presents James MacMillan’s Seven Last Words from the Cross and J.S. Bach’s Cantata No. 4- Christ lag in Todesbanden,(Christ lay in death¹s bonds).
This 70-minute non-intermission program will be at Knox Presbyterian Church, 3400 Michigan Avenue, in Cincinnati’s Hyde Park neighborhood. There is no admission charge.
About MacMillan’s Seven Last Words from the Cross
Rightly regarded as Scottish composer James MacMillan’s masterpiece as well as a masterpiece of contemporary classic religious music, the composer’s conviction in this music, stemming from his deep faith, is passionately obvious and could not leave anyone unmoved by this experience. There are so many extraordinary and powerful effects in this work that it is invidious to single any out, but the final sighs from the violins at the end of the orchestral postlude with which the work ends actually bring to life the last breaths of the dying Christ. It is mesmerizing and deeply, deeply moving.
This 40-minute work follows Christ’s final utterances at the Crucifixion, meditating on each to form a dramatic and emotional sequence. Both the vocal and instrumental parts draw on characteristic models: Lutheran baroque techniques for the chorus, and the sophisticated British and Polish 20th century traditions of writing for the string orchestra.
The work was commissioned by BBC Television and broadcast in seven nightly episodes during Holy Week of 1994.
About J.S. Bach’s Cantata No. 4 - Christ lag in Todesbanden
J.S. Bach’s Cantata No. 4 is his best-known cantata. Composed for Easter Sunday 1707 in Mülhausen, it is based on a chorale of the same name by Martin Luther, which is used by Bach as a cantus firmus (melody) throughout the entire twenty-minute cantata.
About the Knox Music Series
The Knox Music Series is an Outreach Program of Knox Church. Recognized for its outstanding contributions to the quality of life in Cincinnati, Cincinnati Magazine has cited the Knox Music Program as the “Best Church Music” in Cincinnati.
