Twenty-four essays on J.S. Bach's church cantatas, written by renowned conductor Craig Smith, founder of Emmanuel Music, the first American ensemble to complete a full cycle of Bach cantatas. The essays are accompanied by full libretti, numerous musical examples, the liturgical readings for the respective Sunday, and selected art works that illustrate the cantatas' themes.

With a unique relationship to Bach's works and their liturgical function,Smith engages the cantatas as living works of art, exploring how they work musically, emotionally, and theologically. Integrating spiritual, psychological, and compositional analysis, these vivid essays reveal Bach's power to communicate complex messages of faith, doubt, and the human condition.

The late CRAIG SMITH was the founder and first director of Emmanuel Music Inc., ensemble-in-residence at Emmanuel Church in the City of Boston since 1970.

PAMELA DELLAL, mezzo-soprano, is known for her work with Renaissance and Baroque chamber music, has enjoyed a distinguished career as an acclaimed soloist and recitalist. As an educator, she serves on the faculty atThe Longy School of Music of Bard College and the Boston Conservatory at Berklee.