[imagesource:wikimediacommons]

Johann Sebastian Bach, the composer of chart-topping masterpieces, was so enamoured with coffee that he composed a mini-opera to it.

‘Schweigt stille, plaudert nicht’, better known as the ‘Coffee Cantata‘, was Bach’s love letter to a rumoured 30 cups a day habit, and although that might be a tad excessive, the rich aroma of coffee is as much a muse today as it was back when Bach was vibrating his way through the Air on the G String.

The miniature comic opera was composed somewhere around 1733 and tells the story of a father attempting to save his daughter from her ‘dependence’ on coffee. We all know what a foolish request that can be, but thankfully her father relents and she is allowed to include three cups of coffee daily in her marriage contract.

“Coffee, I have to have coffee, / and, if someone wants to pamper me, / ah, then bring me coffee as a gift!”

Bach was also known to perform many of his cantatas in a local coffee shop called Zimmerman’s coffee house in Leipzig, and it is most likely the stage where the ‘Coffee Cantata‘ was first played.

Zimmerman held these concerts free of charge, easily making up the expenses with sales of coffee. The concerts went on until he died in 1741.

Our local Deluxe Coffeeworks is probably the only coffee shop with good enough coffee for Bach and his homies, but I can’t help but wonder what would have happened if he downed 30 cups of Deluxe’s freshly ground Tanzania Malipo Maalum.

He would have gotten a lot more Air on that G String, you can be sure of that.

Alas, Bach is no longer around to soothe our souls with his tunes, but we still have Deluxe Coffeeworks. Perhaps next time you smell the symphony of aromas as you step through their doors, you could raise a roast to Johann and his ‘Coffee Cantata’.

In the meantime, have a cup and enjoy ‘Schweigt stille, plaudert nicht‘:

[sources:classicalmusic&wikipedia]