A Mighty Fortress is Our God – Concerts with Bach Cantatas Bach-Verein Chur

God's Time is the Very Best Time (Actus tragicus) BWV 106
Blessed is he who relies on his god BWV 139
A Mighty Fortress Is Our God BWV 80

The first weekend in November 2025 falls on both the Catholic holidays of All Saints/All Souls' Day and Reformation Day. The Bach-Verein Chur takes this into account with the Reformation anthem "Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott" BWV 80 and the funeral cantata BWV 106 "Gottes Zeit ist die allerbeste Zeit", also known as "Actus tragicus". This cantata by the composer, who was probably only 22 years old at the time of its composition, is one of his most important works. Alfred Dürr describes the cantata in his book as "a work of genius, such as even great masters rarely succeed in. The link between these two very contrasting cantatas is BWV 139 "Wohl dem, der sich auf seinen Gott".

The ensemble
Bach Choir Chur
Bach Orchestra Chur
Pieder Jörg, organ/harpsichord
Soloists: Manuela Tuena, soprano; Nora Bertogg, mezzo-soprano; Christoph Waltle, Tenor; Mattias Müller-Arpagaus, baritone


The Association
Committed musicians came together in Chur in 2019 to perform works by Johann Sebastian Bach. After successful first concerts, the Bach-Verein Chur was founded in the sense of a support association. This has set itself the goal of rehearsing concerts with music by J. S. Bach every year and, if possible, taking local musicians into account. From initial ripiano tasks, a 25-member choir of advanced amateur singers has been formed. The soloist and instrumental ensemble has been able to establish itself over the years. To date, the Bach-Verein Chur has performed 21 Bach cantatas. At the beginning of April 2022, the "St. John Passion", one of the most important works of church music, was on the program. In addition to the two usual concert weekends in Chur and the surrounding area, an engagement on October 27, 2024 also took our ensemble to Weiningen ZH - where a kind of "best-of" from our previous programs of recent years was heard.
www.bachverein-chur.ch/