TÖLZER BOY BENEDIKT SIEWERT SINGS BACH ARIA WITH CONVINCING ARDOR AND DRAMA- BWV 147 MVT 5

The BACH ENTWURFF PROJECT Recorded 18 October 2025 Himmelfahrtskirche, Munich, Germany Boy Soprano Benedikt Siewert is emerging as the newest solo stalwart with the Tölzer Knabenchor. In this live concert video, Siewert performs the aria “Bereite dir, Jesu, noch itzo die Bahn” which is a projection of the Virgin Mary’s voice in the famous Visitation Scene with St. Elizabeth. Marissen and Melamed* translate the text by Salomo Franck as: Prepare the highway for you [into my heart],10 Jesus, even now; My savior, choose [for salvation] My believing soul And look upon me with eyes of grace. In their commentary the translators untangle the poetic interpretation of Bach/ Franck’s Pietistic theology: This is an adaptation of Isaiah 40:3, “Bereitet dem Herrn den Weg, machet auf dem Gefilde eine ebene Bahn unserm Gott” (“Prepare the way for the Lord; make in the desert plains a smooth highway for our God”). In Christian interpretation of this verse, Jesus is the God for whom the highway is made. Jesus is apparently being asked, in the cantata poetry, to prepare the “highway” himself, such that he can then travel into the believer’s heart. Though twelve year-old Benedikt Siewert brings a silvery, distinctly juvenile timbre to the aria – quite apt for the depiction of Mary’s self-effacing innocence– it’s also a deeply engaged, even an (unusually) passionate take on conventional Marian imagery. It’s also a deceptively large sound… earlier in 2025 Siewert sang the Waldvogel in Kent Nagano’s “period performance” of Wagner’s “Siegfried” and easily filled large concert halls. Dmitry Lepekhov’s baroque violin obligato sound complements young Siewert’s pious ardor; while the continuo group keeps the “walking rhythm” spry and inevitable, along the “Jesus highway” to Mary’s heart. Though he’s only been a member of the Tölzer Knabenchor for two years, Benedikt Siewert’s training as an accomplished violinist prepared him for Bach’s musical challenges. In March 2025, Siewert made his Bach Enwurff Project recording debut in BWV 11 (“Ascension Cantata). BWV 147 and 21 (“Ich hatte viel Bekümmernis”) are projected to be released in CD format during Winter-Spring 2026. Christian Fliegner is Artistic Director of the Tölzer Knabenchor; Ursula Richter is Chief Voice Pedagogue. ORCHESTRA Violine I Dmitry Lepekhov Violoncello Anderson Fiorelli Kontrabass Michael Schönfel Cembalo Pavao Mašić Orgel Johannes Berger CONDUCTOR Michael Hofstetter Video Producer: Christoph Engel (Projekt-Engel) Audio Engineers: Stefan Gawlick and Gaetan Christian Sauvageau *Text and commentary by Michael Marissen and Daniel R. Melamed. https://bachcantatatexts.org/BWV147.htm Please visit their website at BachCantataTexts.org The BACH ENTWURFF PROJECT The BACH ENTWURFF PROJECT produces Modern World Premieres of Bach Cantatas Performed to the Exact Specifications of JS Bach’s 1730 Memorandum (“Entwurff”) on the proper performance of his cantatas. Bach asks for a choir of men and boys, three or four on a part. Soprano and alto solos are sung by boys; and all soloists sing as part of the choir ensemble. The Entwurff orchestra consists of at least 18 instrumentalists playing baroque instruments, plus additional members (such as trumpets) as required in the score. Both harpsichord and positive organ share obbligato and continuo duties, though Bach did not describe this feature of his cantata orchestra in his Entwurff. The Bach-Lehman tuning is used in the Entwurff series of performances and recordings. Follow Us on social media at YouTube:    / @concertovocalepresents   Instagram:   / concertovocalefdn   Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?... Tik Tok:   / concerto.vocale.f   #Bach #JSBach #Bachcantatas #cantatas #BWV147 #choir #Tolzer #Tolser #Tolzor #HERZ UND MUND UND TAT AND LEBEN