Cantata 4:
Christ lag in Todesbanden
In the pantheon of Bach's music, a handful of pieces have risen to the top.
These works have become beloved for their beauty and life-changing message.
Cantata 4, "Christ lag in Todesbanden," is one of those rare and
highly-esteemed works. I believe that it owes its popularity to the
exhilarating way in which Bach concludes each section of the work with a
fast and highly rhythmic setting of the word 'hallelujah.'
Notes on Bach in Weimar
T. Herbert Dimmock