Come, Sweet Death . . .

“Komm, Sußer Tod” – “Come, sweet death.” So begins one of Bach’s most memorable sacred songs. Many love it for its exquisite music—a slow, contemplative movement through 21 measures in C minor that includes all twelve chromatic tones. The music alone reminds us that we cannot hasten the last things, but must, as Shakespeare puts it, endure our going hence even as our coming hither. The lyrics are sobering. Some even find them disturbing, as a friend of mine did... Read more