Listener HG drew our attention to a similarity between the Courante of this cello suite and the "Cum Sancto Spiritu" from the Mass in B minor. We talk about these dance forms and how they affect the affect, so to speak. Nowadays, it's easy to think of Bach as old-fashioned, and certainly some composers in the late 1700s thought the same; however he shows here that he was ahead of his time.

The "shoulder cello" (violoncello da spalla) makes another appearance here, smaller than the typical cello. The instrument sacrifices the deep warmth of the cello for nimbleness and an extra string which allows for higher notes.

Performance of Cello Suite no. 6 (BWV 1012) by Sergey Malov for the Netherlands Bach Society

"An understated overture" is the description Christian arrives at to describe the humility of the micro-regal sonata which opens the Weimar cantata "Himmelskönig, sei willkommen." Is this thing, marked "adagio, grave," actually a triumphant French Overture? The performance suggests so, in some ways, and not in others. Experienced musicians of baroque music will know the subtleties, which we discuss in this episode. Indeed, it is a march of kingly victory, but not in pomp and circumstance; it is the small and gentle arrival of a humble king of Heaven and Earth, arriving to the world as a helpless baby, and arriving to Jerusalem on a donkey on Palm Sunday.

Also, featuring Rage Against the Machine and a very unsettling "Shepard Tone"!

BWV 182 cantata "Himmelskönig, sei willkommen" as performed by the Netherlands Bach Society, directed by Johanna Soller

This cantata has an unusual run of three arias in a row -- and the last one of the three is the most remarkable. In deleting a note, creating a rest where there should be music, Bach breaks all the rules -- and creates a stunning effect.

See the performance of BWV 182 by the Netherlands Bach Society, Johanna Soller, artistic director