Wikipedia:Main Page history/2015 February 7

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Jesus nahm zu sich die Zwölfe (Jesus gathered the Twelve to Himself), BWV 22, is a church cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach, written for the last Sunday before Lent. He composed it as an audition piece for the position of director of church music in Leipzig, and first performed it in a church service there at St. Thomas (pictured) on 7 February 1723. The work begins with a scene from the Gospels in which Jesus predicts his suffering in Jerusalem. The unknown poet of the cantata text took the scene as a starting point for reflections in which the contemporary Christian takes the place of the disciples who do not understand what Jesus is telling them. The closing chorale is a stanza from Elisabeth Cruciger's "Herr Christ, der einig Gotts Sohn". The work, structured in five movements, shows that Bach had mastered the composition of a dramatic scene, an expressive aria with obbligato oboe, a recitative with strings, an exuberant dance, and a chorale in the style of Johann Kuhnau, his predecessor in Leipzig. According to the Bach scholar Richard D. P. Jones, elements such as a "frame of biblical text and chorale around the operatic forms of aria and recitative" became standards for Bach's Leipzig cantatas and even his Passions. (Full article...)

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From Wikipedia's new and recently improved content:

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In the news

At least 35 people are killed when TransAsia Airways Flight 235 (aircraft pictured) crashes shortly after takeoff from Taipei Songshan Airport, Taiwan.
In American football, the New England Patriots defeat the Seattle Seahawks to win the Super Bowl.
The Australian Open tennis tournament concludes with Serena Williams winning the women's singles and Novak Djokovic winning the men's singles.
Sergio Mattarella is elected President of Italy.
In association football, the AFC Asian Cup concludes with host nation Australia defeating South Korea in the final.
Attacks by Islamist militants in the Sinai Peninsula, Egypt, kill 32 people.

Ongoing: Boko Haram – Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant – War in Ukraine
Recent deaths: Charlie Sifford – Richard von Weizsäcker – Carl Djerassi

On this day...

February 7

457 – Leo I (pictured on solidus) was crowned Byzantine emperor, and went on to rule for nearly 20 years.
1795 – The Eleventh Amendment to the United States Constitution, limiting the ability of U.S. citizens and foreign nationals to sue U.S. states in federal courts, was ratified in order to overrule the Supreme Court decision in Chisholm v. Georgia.
1907 – More than 3,000 women in London participated in the Mud March, the first large procession organized by the National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies, seeking women's suffrage in the United Kingdom.
1940 – Walt Disney's Pinocchio, the first animated motion picture to win a competitive Academy Award, was released to theaters by RKO Pictures.
1995 – Ramzi Yousef, one of the main perpetrators of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing and the bombing of Philippine Airlines Flight 434, was arrested in Islamabad, Pakistan.

More anniversaries: February 6 – February 7 – February 8

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It is now February 7, 2015 (UTC) – Reload this page

Today's featured picture

The Old Town of Prague, Czech Republic, is a medieval settlement. The wall and moat that once surrounded it were dismantled in the 14th century; the remains of the moat now lie under several streets. The Old Town is home to Old New Synagogue, Old Town Square (pictured here), the Astronomical Clock, Malá Strana ("Lesser Quarter"), and Josefov.

Photograph: David Iliff

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