The Thirty Years’ War ravaged Germany in the early 17th century. The population, traumatised by the violence of the conflict, needed consolation and hope. The Protestant faith emerged as a bulwark against the constant presence of death in everyday life.
These political, economic and spiritual upheavals were reflected in the music of the time. The great polyphonies of the previous century gave way to a more intimate form of music making, inspired by the Pietist thought (a Protestant religious movement that encouraged a personal, individual faith rather than adherence to the formalism of the Church). Trostlieder (« songs of consolation ») began to appear, and music became the language of the soul, capable of soothing the deepest afflictions. The texts and melodies were designed to move the listener and edify the faithful.
These short pieces, whose very humility is paradoxically their greatest strength, are imbued with a rare emotional intensity. And yet, despite their themes of mourning, sorrow and tears, they radiate a luminous clarity and serene confidence in the future. Death is but the threshold of deliverance and eternal bliss. The young J. S. Bach was strongly influenced by these miniatures, as can be heard in his early cantatas.
