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           Christ lag in Todes Banden, BWV 4 , is an Easter chorale cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach . Translated to "Christ lay in death's bonds" (pictured in an 18th-century Luther Bible), it is one of his earliest church cantatas , a genre to which Bach later contributed complete cantata cycles for all occasions of the liturgical year . The composition was probably intended for a performance in 1707, supporting his application for a post at a church in Mühlhausen. Both text and music are based on Martin Luther 's Easter hymn of the same name . An opening sinfonia is followed by seven chorale variations

per omnes versus : Bach used in each vocal movement the unchanged words and tune of a stanza of the
chorale . The variations are arranged symmetrically: chorus–duet–solo–chorus–solo–duet–chorus, with the focus on the central fourth stanza about the battle between Life and Death. For his first Easter as
Thomaskantor in Leipzig in 1724, Bach used the cantata again, and also for the following year as part of his cycle of chorale cantatas. In the extant score of the Leipzig performances, the four vocal parts are sometimes reinforced by a choir of trombones. (Full article... )