The piece I chose to study for the Baroque period is Johann Sebastian Bach’s Cantata 198: The Trauerode.  This piece was written for the funeral of the Queen Christiane Eberhardine of Poland.  Her story is very intriguing.  She was placed in self-exile because she refused to convert to Catholicism when her husband,Fredrich August, Elector of Saxony was chosen as king of Poland and became August II king of Poland.  Although she was in exile, her life was still lavish with wealth and she was considered royalty, carrying the title of Queen until her death in September 5th, 1727.  In interesting fact, her son, August III King of Poland, was the only legitimate of the king’s 267 children!

The lyrical portion was written by Johann Christoph Gottsched, and Bach was asked to compose the musical portion.  The piece was preformed at the ceremony on October 17th, 1727 so the duo had roughly a month to bring it all together.  I enjoy the piece because, although it is lengthy, it does not become boring.  Nor does it seem repetitive. Although it is a funeral piece, the Trauerode does not carry a dark or depressing feel. This fact stood out to me the most, it seemed light, while leaning toward solemn. The wind instruments at the beginning keep the piece airy while the voices bring the serious tone.