Synopsis

In 1724, Feb. 20 fell on a Sunday, and at St. Thomas Church in Leipzig, Jesus nahm zu sich die Zwölfe, or, in English, Jesus Gathered the 12 to Himself, a church cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach, was performed as part of the Sunday service.

Meanwhile, on Feb. 20 in London that same year, audiences at the King’s Theater in the Haymarket heard the premiere of Giulio Cesare in Egitto or, Julius Caesar in Egypt, a new Italian opera by George Frideric Handel.

How interesting to find Bach in church and Handel in the theater, on the same date — but not, as it turns out, on the same day.

In 1724, Bach’s Germany kept track of time under the Gregorian calendar, but in Handel’s England, the older Julian calendar was still used, and so Handel’s calendar would say Feb. 20 was a Thursday, while Bach’s would say was it was a Sunday. It wasn’t until 1752 that England adopted the same calendar that Germany used — the Gregorian one we still use today.

In the 18th century, apparently, you didn’t need Albert Einstein to remind you that time is a very relative concept!

Music Played in Today's Program

J.S. Bach (1685-1750): Excerpt fr Cantata No. 22; Yo Yo Ma, cello; Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra; Ton Koopman, cond. Sony Classical 60680

George Frederic Handel (1685-1757): Excerpt, fr Giulio Cesare; Barbara Schlick, soprano; Concerto Cologne; Rene Jacobs, cond. Harmonia Mundi 90.1458