THE SONGBIRD: Judith Blegen is from Kentucky. Born in 1943, she attended high school in Montana and began studying voice and violin. Her operatic debut was as Olympia in Nuremberg in 1965, followed a Vienna State Opera debut as Rosina in 1968. The Met first hired her in 1970 as Papagena; she became a favorite there, singing over 200 performances of 19 roles, and several galas. She was very active in commercial recording in the 1970s and 80s, appearing as the soprano soloist in recordings of nearly all the popular concert works, as well as several operas, and at least three solo recital discs.

THE MUSIC: Johann Sebastian Bach's "Jauchzet Gott in allen Landen" BWV 51 is his only church cantata scored for a soprano soloist and trumpet. The first known performance was on September 17, 1730 in Leipzig. The work may have been composed earlier, possibly for an occasion at the court of Christian, Duke of Saxe-Weissenfels, for whom Bach had created the Hunting Cantata and the Shepherd Cantata. Bach structured #51 in five movements, with the solo voice accompanied by an instrumental ensemble of a solo trumpet, strings and continuo. The opening and closing movements call for elaborate virtuosity and interplay between the trumpet and soprano voice topping out at a few High Cs, while the long introspective central movement evokes spiritual depth and inner peace.

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