Bach Cantata Series: UMD Choral Activities

J.S. Bach, known as the great master, wrote more than 200 cantatas, and UMD Choral Activities aims to sing them all in this series of short performances led by conductors in the graduate program.

While living in Leipzig, J.S. Bach provided music not only for the church but also for the community, where his works were often performed at Café Zimmerman, a local coffeehouse. It was only around the time of Bach’s birth that coffee had first arrived in Europe, but it quickly become a fashionable drink in European cities. Bach’s so-called “Coffee Cantata,” Schweigt stille, plaudert nicht (BWV 211), takes the form of a miniature comic opera, satirizing this coffee fad and the sanctimonious belief among many at the time that drinking it was a bad habit. In it, a disgruntled father, Schlendrian, argues with his coffee-obsessed daughter, Lieschen, about what he perceives to be her bad habit of indulging in too much coffee. Schlendrian unsuccessfully attempts to bribe his daughter into giving up the drink, while Lieschen cleverly evades his demands. Grab a cup of coffee from our own Applause Cafe and join us for a lightly-staged rendition of this unique work!