Association Rayonnement du Festival Mission

This program plunges us into Bach?s early vocal works, imbued with Lutheran fervor and influences from the North. The cantatas BWV 131 and 4, both written without recitative, adopt a continuous form inspired by Buxtehude?s Abendmusiken, where music, theology and prayer become one. The first meditates on the penitential psalm De profundis, while the second paraphrases the Easter chorale from the Victimae paschali laudes, illustrating how Christ, by taking our sins upon himself, raises us from the abyss through his death and resurrection. This spiritual journey concludes with the exultation of the motet Lobet den Herrn.
Founded in 2017 and directed by Rogatien Despaigne, Ch?ur Éphata is a remarkable vocal ensemble made up of some thirty young singers aged 18 to 24, brought together to spread sacred music of yesterday and today. Éphata means "open up": the ch?ur?s name is intimately linked to its mission: to passionately disseminate, notably through concerts, the riches of this great repertoire of sacred music, making it accessible to all.