Hunting Cantata and Orchestral Fireworks

When Johann Sebastian Bach set aside the strict conventions of sacred music, a more playful and worldly master emerged. The programme centres on the famous Hunting Cantata – a work full of vitality, horn calls and pastoral beauty. It includes one of Bach’s most beloved melodies: the soprano aria Schafe können sicher weiden (“Sheep may safely graze”).

Together with a hand-picked group of vocal soloists and Orfeus Barock, led by the Italian harpsichordist Luca Guglielmi, we experience Bach painting nature in sound. Particularly striking are the natural horns (corni da caccia): with their raw, radiant tone, they evoke the drama of the hunt. Complementing the cantata are sparkling orchestral works that reflect Bach’s most extrovert side.

Orfeus Barock Stockholm was founded in 2015 and has established itself as one of the leading Nordic ensembles for early music. Orfeus Barock consists of musicians from the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra alongside distinguished freelance Baroque specialists. Its artistic directors are the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra’s principal cellist Johannes Rostamo and lutenist Jonas Nordberg.

Luca Guglielmi is a valued guest who has collaborated with the ensemble on several previous occasions, and also appears on their Grammy Award-winning recording devoted to music by Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach.