The Article of the day for March 27, 2016 is Christ lag in Todes Banden, BWV 4 . 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 Th