Opéra Royal - Bach: CANTATES I "LE CHEMIN D'EMMAUS"

Thursday 11 June 2026

20:00 to 22:10

First half: 50 minutes Intermission Second half: 50 minutes

Location : Chapelle Royale

Destination

3 Pl. Léon Gambetta, 78000 Versailles

78000

Versailles

GPS coordinates

Latitude : 48.804798

Longitude : 2.120273

BY CAR
Motorway A13 - Versailles Notre-Dame exit
Motorway 186 - Versailles Centre exit
Free "Place d'armes" parking from 19:00

BY TRAIN

Gare Montparnasse > Gare Versailles Chantiers
Dreux, Mantes-la-Jolie, Rambouillet direction

Gare St. Lazare > Gare Versailles Rive Droite
Rive Droite direction

Paris RER C > Gare Versailles Rive Gauche - Château
Rive Gauche Château direction

Pont de Sèvres - Bus 171 > Versailles Château stop

Event Organizer

Château de Versailles Spectacles

Phone : +33 1 30 83 78 89

"Château de Versailles Spectacles"

Location

Chapelle Royale

3 Pl. Léon Gambetta, 78000 Versailles

78000

Versailles

Réservation

Presentation

The Leipzig Bachfest invited its audience to choose the works for two programmes of Bach cantatas, filled with masterpieces: John Eliot Gardiner met the audience's expectations by composing two programmes based on these recommendations

This first programme offers an illuminating dialogue between the tradition of the 17th-century German motet and the masterful artistry of Johann Sebastian Bach, a leading figure in Baroque music.

Michael Prætorius' motet Wie schön leuchtet opens the evening with an exclamation of joy: that of divine light personified by the morning star. This poetic and mystical image finds a striking echo in Bach's Cantata BWV 1, based on the same Lutheran chorale. Bach's rich writing magnifies the text with splendour and depth, setting the tone for this musical meditation.

Johann Hermann Schein's Ich bin die Wurzel returns to a more stripped-down form, rooted in sacred rhetoric. The work illustrates the art of the Germanic motet, where polyphony in the service of the word expresses an embodied spiritual truth.

The cantata Ich will den Kreuzstab gerne tragen, one of Bach's rare cantatas for solo voice, marks a moment of deep introspection: the acceptance of earthly suffering as a passage to eternal peace. The writing is poignant, almost operatic in its expressiveness.

The second part opens with another master of the German motet: Heinrich Schütz. His Ich bin eine rufende Stimme embodies the prophet's call in the desert, announcing the coming of Christ. The musical language is direct, but imbued with fervour.

With the cantata Bleib bei uns, denn es will Abend werden, Bach captures the anguish of twilight – both spiritual and earthly. This work of striking tenderness plunges us into the intimacy of the believer imploring the divine presence as night falls.

Schütz's motet Ich bin ein rechter Weinstock gently and clearly recalls the biblical image of Christ as the vine, source of life and spiritual fruitfulness.

Finally, Es erhub sich ein Streit brings the programme to a close with a triumphant fresco: the cosmic struggle between Good and Evil, in an exhilarating, jubilant, almost celestial musical language.

This musical journey, carried by the excellence of the Constellation Choir and Orchestra under the inspired direction of John Eliot Gardiner, highlights the theological and artistic inspiration that runs through more than a century of German sacred music.

Pics

Tarifs

GROUP RATES: for more information, please visit our page dedicated to works councils and groups.

The ticketing team is available by telephone on +33 (0)1 30 83 78 89 (Monday to Friday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.) or in person at our ticket office and shop (3 bis rue des Réservoirs, 78000 Versailles; Monday to Friday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., and on Saturdays when there are shows (excluding Grandes Eaux Musicales) from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m.).

For all PRM/PSH bookings, we recommend that you contact us directly at billetterie@chateauversailles-spectacles.fr or on 01 30 83 78 89.

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