Wikipedia:Main Page history/2016 March 27

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From today's featured article

Christ risen in a Luther Bible from the 18th century

Christ lag in Todes Banden, BWV 4, is an Easter chorale cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach. Translated to "Christ lay in death's bonds" (pictured in an 18th-century Luther Bible), it is one of his earliest church cantatas, a genre to which Bach later contributed complete cantata cycles for all occasions of the liturgical year. The composition was probably intended for a performance in 1707, supporting his application for a post at a church in Mühlhausen. Both text and music are based on Martin Luther's Easter hymn of the same name. An opening sinfonia is followed by seven chorale variations per omnes versus: Bach used in each vocal movement the unchanged words and tune of a stanza of the chorale. The variations are arranged symmetrically: chorus–duet–solo–chorus–solo–duet–chorus, with the focus on the central fourth stanza about the battle between Life and Death. For his first Easter as Thomaskantor in Leipzig in 1724, Bach used the cantata again, and also for the following year as part of his cycle of chorale cantatas. In the extant score of the Leipzig performances, the four vocal parts are sometimes reinforced by a choir of trombones. (Full article...)

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In the news

Denis Sassou Nguesso

Denis Sassou Nguesso (pictured) is re-elected President of the Republic of the Congo for a third term.
The ICTY finds former Republika Srpska President Radovan Karadžić guilty of war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide during the Bosnian War.
The International Criminal Court finds former Congolese Vice President Jean-Pierre Bemba guilty of two counts of crimes against humanity and three counts of war crimes.
Mahamadou Issoufou is re-elected President of Niger amidst an opposition boycott.
At least 34 people are killed and more than 270 injured in attacks at Brussels Airport and Maelbeek metro station.

Ongoing events:
- Zika virus outbreak
- European migrant crisis
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On this day...

March 27: Easter (Western Christianity, 2016)

USS Constitution

1329 – Pope John XXII issued a papal bull declaring that some of the works of German theologian and mystic Meister Eckhart were heretical.
1794 – To protect American merchant ships from Barbary pirates, the United States Congress passed the Naval Act to establish a naval force, consisting of the USS Constitution (pictured) and five other frigates, which eventually became the United States Navy.
1941 – Encouraged by the British Special Operations Executive, a group of pro-Western Serb-nationalist Royal Yugoslav Air Force officers planned and conducted a coup d'état after Yugoslavia joined the Axis powers.
1976 – The Washington Metro, the second-busiest rapid transit system in the US, opened to commuters.
2009 – The dam holding Situ Gintung, an artificial lake in Tangerang District, Indonesia, failed, resulting in floods killing at least 100 people.

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Young Hare is a 1502 watercolour and bodycolour painting by German artist Albrecht Dürer. Painted in 1502 in his workshop, it is acknowledged as a masterpiece of observational art alongside his Great Piece of Turf from the following year. The subject is rendered with almost photographic accuracy, and although the piece is normally given the title Young Hare, the portrait is sufficiently detailed for the hare to be identified as a mature specimen. The painting is now held in Albertina, Vienna.

Painting: Albrecht Dürer

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