Back in 2013 the Elm Ensemble, run by Sally and Josh Messner, asked if I'd join them to sing in the Bach Cantata BWV 125 "Mit Fried und Freud ich fahr dahin." And they asked me back to sing the same cantata with them again this season, so I was up in Minneapolis on February 2.
When I opened up the score to start practicing in late 2024, I realized I had no recollection of having sung it with them before. There were a few markings in my score, but not much, and it was like getting to know the piece all over again. It was odd. Until we were actually in-rehearsal last month, and Josh reminded me of when we'd performed it once before: in February of 2013.
Ah.
No wonder I had no recollection of it--my dad had passed away only weeks prior and I had a serious lung infection. It didn't prevent me from singing, but I was run down, on a lot of medication, and deep in grief. And shock. It's shocking when your dad dies, especially because life continues on, even when you want to yell, "Stop the rotation of the earth! I want to get off!"
That explained the few markings in my score. But I did remember having driven home after that service in 2013 and on the way home I stopped at bought groceries. Deep and grief and with a lung infection, on loads of medication. And the next morning I got up again and went to work. Beyond that I have very few memories of 2013.
This time was different. Sally had made a smart choice and programmed the same cantata for the morning service at her church job at Hennepin Avenue United Methodist Church AND for the afternoon service at Christ Church Lutheran. That's a good idea in any case, and turns out it was the exact 300th anniversary of the premiere of the piece. 300 years ago, on February 2, 1725, Bach premiered the piece and performed it at two churches the same day.
And so did Sally. And so did I, because the soloist for Hennepin Avenue Methodist was ill and couldn't sing. (It pained me for the other soloist, getting sick when you have such a beautiful piece is such a bummer!) So Sally conducted, and a bunch of other choir members and I sang both services. We sang downtown in the morning and then again in South Minneapolis in the afternoon.
You can watch the video of the cantata (my solos are in movements 2 and 5; there are 6 movements total) here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fdXr5S8_0co
We have now officially joined the ranks of the great Johann Sebastian Bach! This meme I made to mark the occasion is proof:
