Mira Fu-En Huang, soprano; with Stacey Pelinka, traverso; Elizabeth Campbell and Daniel Oliveira, Baroque violin; Devin Hough, Baroque viola; Melita Denny, viola da gamba; and William Storz, harpsichord. Performed on May 18th, 2019, for "Off the Beaten Path: a Senior Recital" (full performance available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xI_uf-jN4UY&t=). - Although J. S. Bach wrote many secular cantatas, only two of them—no. 203 and no. 209—feature Italian text. In the spirit of Italian music, these cantatas are two of Bach’s lightest and most lyrical. The latter, "Non sa che sia dolore" (“He does not know what sorrow is”), was first performed in 1729, most likely as a farewell to Johann Matthias Gesner, a scholar called to Ansbach. The cantata opens in mournful B minor as the orchestra and singer grieve over the loss of their friend. But soon, optimism in light of their friend’s upcoming adventures brings the performers to a bright G major for the final aria, “Ricetti gramezza e pavento.”