Bach was busy around Easter in 1725. After playing again his first passion, the St John Passion, on the Friday (it had been written and debuted the year before), on Sunday followed the oratorio 'Kommt, eilet und laufet.' This Easter oratorio is a substantial work of about 40 minutes, longer than the average cantata. The start is formed by a Sinfonia with leading roles for three trumpets and timpani - victorious music. But before the singers get going, Bach recalls Jesus’s death with a melancholy Adagio in B minor for solo traverso and strings.
Listen to this great performance by the Netherlands Bach Society in the Walloon Church in Amsterdam (Jos van Veldhoven, conductor; Maria Keohane, soprano; Damien Guillon, alto; Thomas Hobbs, tenor; Sebastian Myrus, bass).