The theme of death and dying was one of the favourite themes of Bach and his contemporaries in their cantatas Ð that 'musical theology' which was held in such high esteem in deeply Lutheran Northern Germany. Composed between 1723 and 1725, the three cantatas on this record treat the subject from different angles: the expectation of a 'marvellous dawn', the final departure in peace and joy, and the vanity of earthly existence. There is 'no consolation on earth', but only in heaven Ð what other composer, what other artist succeeded in expressing this consolation with such depth, or with such obviousness as Bach?