from:
http://www.victoriaadvocate.com/news/2009/jun/09/ab_bach_cantata_061009_53902/?entertainment
When you think of Johann Sebastian Bach's music, the phrase "musical
comedy" probably isn't the first thing to pop into your head.
However, in the 1730s, the composer wrote music to go along with a
satirical commentary written by Christian Friedrich Henrici (under his
pseudonym Picander). Called the "Coffee Cantata," the miniature comic
opera tells the story of Liesgen, a daughter whose father threatens to
deny her a husband if she doesn't stop her three-cup-a-day coffee
habit, according to Bach program annotator **David Mead**. The clever
daughter agrees to her father's demands, but then makes sure to only
marry a man who will allow her to drink coffee whenever she chooses.
"It's a delightful piece," festival conductor Craig Hella Johnson
said. "This was one of a small number of secular cantatas Bach wrote.
It's the great music of Bach in a light hearted fashion."
On Thursday evening, the cantata will be performed at the Musical
Feast concert at the Leo J. Welder Center as part of the Victoria Bach
Festival. Soprano Catherine Clark plays Liesgen and bass Jeremiah
Drake plays her father, Herr Schlendrian. Also featured are tenor Seth
Lafler, Adah Toland Jones on flute, Paula Bird and Beth Blackerby on
violin, Ames Asbell on viola, Christopher Haritatos on violoncello and
Joey Martin on harpsichord.
Also on the program for the evening are works by composers Felix
Mendelssohn and Franz Schubert.