rssYou know you have reached perfection of design not when you have nothing more to add, but when you have nothing more to take away. - Antoine de Saint Exupery
2010, August 04
Motet BWV 228
JS Bach Motet BWV 228: Fürchte dich nicht
(Fear thou not; for I am with thee)
Weimar Cantatas
Key: A Major
Scoring: Double choir
Soprano, Alto, Tenor, Bass
Words: Isaiah 41:10 and 43:1
BWV 225, 226, 227, 228, 229, 230, 118/231, Anh 165, 144, 38, 159a, deest BC C8
Conductor: Jörg Straube
Nord Deutscher Figural Chor, Baroque Brass of London, Bach-Orchester Hanover
Release Date: 9/30/2003
Thorofon CTH 2481/2
Nord Deutscher Figural Chor Website
The music
Discussion
A short piece, about eight minutes long, this energetic little motet is very pleasant listening.
Carol Traupman-Carr of Bach Choir of Bethlehem writes a very nice essay about this motet.
At this link you can download the score of the motet, with old clefs, soprano, alto, tenor, bass.
C.S. Terry vol 3 p 50 discusses the chorale, in its context in the Christmas Oratorio in this pdf excerpt. Here is BWV 422, a four part harmonization of the same chorale.
Melamed discusses this motet throughout his book. He is convinced that the original performance occurred in Weimar; custom had dictated that all the motets were written in Leipzig. Melamed is convinced that this motet was written earlier, probably in 1714. He offers evidence of the similarity of the style and the substance of the work to other works dated at that time, e.g. BWV 63.
Here is the list of recent recordings from the Bach Cantatas website.
Text references
King James Bible and Luther's German Bible
| Scripture | Text | |
|---|---|---|
| Isaiah 41:10 and 43:1 | Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness. But now thus saith the Lord that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel, Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine. |
|
| Isaiah 41:10 and 43:1 | Fürchte dich nicht, ich bin mit dir; weiche nicht, denn ich bin dein Gott! Ich stärke dich, ich helfe dir auch, ich erhalte dich durch die rechte Hand meiner Gerechtigkeit.
Und nun spricht der Herr, der dich geschaffen hat, Jakob, und dich gemacht hat, Israel: Fürchte dich nicht, denn ich habe dich erlöset; ich habe dich bei deinem Namen gerufen; du bist mein! |
2010, July 28
Cantata BWV 147
JS Bach Cantata BWV 147: Herz und Mund und Tat und Leben
(Heart and mouth and deed and life)
Fourth Sunday of Advent 12/1716 (147a)
Visitation of Mary 7/2/1723
Weimar Cantatas
Scoring: Trumpet, oboe I, II, bassoon, violin I, II, viola, violoncello, continuo
Soprano, Alto, Tenor, Bass
Key: C Major
Bärenreiter vol 11 p 499
Reading: Epistle Isaiah 11:1-5
Reading: Gospel Luke 1:39-56
Words: Salomo Franck
Bach Bibliography
Dürr p 670
Whittaker vol 1 p 134
C.S. Terry vol 2 p 415
Boyd p 219
I am jumping ahead to get some relief, and some fun, after the sombre music I have been listening to for about a month. BWV 147a was originally performed in 1716 on the Fourth Sunday of Advent, so it is preparing for the Christmas celebration. Only sections 1, 3, 5, 7, and 9 were used, concluded by a different chorale, Dein Wort laß mich bekennen. Thomas Braatz at Bach Cantatas.com gives us the history of the cantata, including a discussion of the chorales used in both versions. The German text of the original version is also presented. Here is C.S. Terry's discussion of the chorale in BWV 147. The cantata was changed and used in Leipzig for the Feast of the Visitation.
This cantata is the source of the famous Jesu Joy of Man's Desiring, known to so many in a multitude of permutations and arrangements. I think this cantata should be one of the favorites for everyone.
Recordings
The music
Here is a PDF of the cantata in old clefs.
1. Chorus: Herz und Mund und Tat und Leben
2. Recitativ tenor: Gebenedeiter Mund
3. Aria alto: Schäme dich, o Seele, nicht
4. Recitativ bass: Verstockung kann Gewaltige
5. Aria soprano: Bereite dir, Jesu
6. Chorale: Wohl mir, dass ich Jesum habe
7. Aria tenor: Hilf, Jesu, hilf
8. Recitativ alto: Der höchsten Allmacht Wunderhand
9. Aria bass: Ich will von Jesu Wundern singen
10. Chorale: Jesus bleibet meine Freude
1 Herz und Mund und Tat und Leben: Chorus
Right away, we know we are here for a celebration. The chorus is made up of two fugal sections, with entrance of the voices S A T B in the first section, then reversed B T A S in the second section. Nicholas Anderson in the Oxford Companion, p 220, says: The technique is masterly and the taut construction is a splendid example of the composer's skill in sensitive, affective deployment of vocal and instrumental resources to create a unified ensemble.
2 Gebenedeiter Mund: Tenor recitativ
A tenor editorial, with strings, decries people's resistance to salvation.
3 Schäme dich, o Seele, nicht: Alto aria
Nicholas Anderson vacillating rhythmic patterns and the warm tones of the oboe d'amore Dürr spends considerable time on the suspended rhythms of this movement in which normal 3/4 time and disguised 3/2 alternate in an irregular order and sometimes in different layers in the various parts. This rhythm heard at the very outset on obbligato oboe d'amore is taken up at the vocal entry to the words 'Schäe dich, O Seele, nicht' (Do not be ashamed O soul) and later to other lines of text.
I love the way the oboe opens the piece, then proceeds to wend its way through the music seeming very independent of the voice of the alto. Certainly they are connected, but they have a life of their own. This piece is quiet, meditative.
4 Verstockung kann Gewaltige: Bass recitativ
Only twenty-one measures, very short on paper, but very dramatic, a sudden wake-up after the aria, and for a recitativ, very melodic. I love the continuo part.
5 Bereite dir, Jesu: Soprano aria
The best violin obbligato, Whittaker finds a parallel to the d minor prelude in WTC I
6 Wohl mir, dass ich Jesum habe: Chorale
Dürr p 676 shows how the violin obbligato is derived from the chorale melody. I wonder why Bach did not include this chorale with the Schübler chorales. Perhaps because the vocal part is not a solo, but a four part setting. This piece is always included in Bach's greatest hits, nearly to the point of becoming a cliche. My favorite measures are 16 (31) and 59; this is a spot where the 9/8 time against 16th notes in the chorale make a very interesting rhythm which is more apparent if the piece is played on the piano.
7 Hilf, Jesu, hilf: Tenor aria
A wonderful cello part counterpoints the tenor.
8 Der höchsten Allmacht Wunderhand: Alto recitativ
Two oboes, frequently playing in parallel thirds and sixths, counterpoint the alto as she sings of the pregnant Mary's visit to the pregnant Elizabeth.
9 Ich will von Jesu Wundern singen: Bass aria
A trumpet opens this aria, with strings and oboes playing together as the bass sings in praise of the savior.
10 Jesus bleibet meine Freude: Chorale
A repeat of the chorale in movement 6 on a different stanza of the hymn.
Instruments and voices for each part
| Section | Instruments, voices |
|---|---|
| 1 Chorus | SATB, trumpet, oboes I, II, violin I, II, viola and continuo (NBA: bassoon, violone or violoncello and organ) |
| 2 Tenor recitative | Tenor, violin I, II, viola and continuo (NBA: bassoon, violone or violoncello and organ) |
| 3 Alto aria | Alto, oboe d'amore and continuo (NBA: bassoon, violone or violoncello and organ) |
| 4 Bass recitative | Bass and continuo (NBA: bassoon, violone or violoncello and organ) |
| 5 Soprano aria | Soprano, violin and continuo (NBA: violone or violoncello and organ) |
| 6 Chorale | SATB, trumpet, oboes I, II, violin I, II, viola and continuo (NBA: bassoon, violone or violoncello and organ) |
| 7 Tenor aria | Tenor, violoncello or bassoon or violone and continuo (NBA: organ) |
| 8 Alto aria | Alto, oboe da caccia or oboe d'amore I,II and continuo (NBA: bassoon, violone or violoncello and organ) |
| 9 Bass aria | Bass, trumpet, oboes I, II, violin I, II, viola and continuo (NBA: bassoon, violone or violoncello and organ) |
| 10 Chorale | SATB, trumpet, oboes I, II, violin I, II, viola and continuo (NBA: bassoon, violone or violoncello and organ) |
References
Excellent discussion by Carol Traupman-Carr
Emmanuel Notes BWV 147
Emmanuel Translation BWV 147
Discussion from Bach Cantatas Website
Recordingsfrom Bach Cantatas Website
Classical.net discussion, Simon Crouch
2010, July 20
Cantata BWV 21
JS Bach Cantata BWV 21: Ich hatte viel Bekümmerniss
(I had much Sorrow)
Third Sunday after Trinity between 1714 and 1723
Weimar Cantatas
Scoring: Trumpet I,II,III, Timpani, Trombone I,II,III,IV (in the 1723 version)
Oboe, Violin I,II, Viola
Bassoon, Violincello, Continuo
Soprano, Alto, Tenor, Bass
Bärenreiter vol 6; p 377-462
Reading: Epistle: 1 Peter 5:6-11
Reading: Gospel: Luke 15:1-10
Words: Unknown librettist
Bach Bibliography
Recordings
Ich Hatte Viel Bekümmernis
Conductor: Philippe Herreweghe
Ensemble: La Chapelle Royale Paris, Collegium Vocale
Soprano: Barbara Schlick
Alto: Gérard Lesne
Tenor: Howard Crook
Bass: Peter Harvey (21)
Bass: Peter Kooy (42)
Harmonia Mundi Musique D'abord 1951328
Date: 1990, 1999
Liner Notes - Nicholas Anderson
Early version, no trombones.
More information from Discogs.com
I have Suzuki's two versions, Harnoncourt's, Leusink's, Herreweghe's and Kuijken's. For me, the two best are Kuijken and Herreweghe, with Leusink third.
Discussion
Literature
Dürr p 405-412
Whittaker vol 1 p 110-121
Green p 49-53
Terry vol 2 p 184
Boyd p 131-133
Chafe p 42-71
Melamed p 56-58, 114,
Gardiner: liner notes for his second recording
Eric Chafe, a man who uses the words 'hermeneutics' and 'eschatological' (both words I have to look up every time I see them) in one sentence, uses this piece as an example of how to approach the analysis of a cantata. This work is well chosen because it is complex in every way, going through four versions over probably ten years in the composing. Everyone agrees that it is likely a composite work, but there is not agreement about the occasion for which it was originally written or which sections were written when. Some posit that sections 2 through 9 were an original cantata, with the sinfonia and sections 10 and 11 added later. Others think that Part One (1-6) and Part Two (7-11) were both separate independent cantatas, and then were combined. Alfred Dürr says perhaps the work was originally parts 1-9, then 10 and 11 were added from elsewhere (p 408). Chafe thinks perhaps parts 2-6 plus part 9 were an original cantata. I have listened to this set and it is more coherent. He states that parts 1, 7, 8 and 10 were added in 1714, and part 11 was added from elsewhere. Somebody somewhere said that perhaps parts 2, 6 and 9 were the earliest pieces.
It seems generally agreed that this is one of Bach's greatest works, perhaps a bit overwhelming for the beginner. I find that it combines older and newer styles of music, is very German in its outlook (this is not the sunny south, in spite of being influenced by Bach's growing knowledge of the Italian style). My favorite parts are the Sinfonia (1) and the tenor aria Erfreue dich, Seele, (10) with its wonderful cello part.
Versions:
1713: shorter
1714: c minor
1720: d minor
1723: c minor
1 Sinfonia (adagio assai)
The sinfonia presents an oboe and violin dialog with a fine walking bass; this could be the slow movement of an oboe and violin concerto. It opens the cantata in the same way as the sinfonia in BWV 12, written at about the same time.
2 Ich hatte viel Bekümmerniss: chorus
Dürr, p 405, and Whittaker vol 1, p 113, mention the relation between BWV 21.2 and an organ fugue, BWV 541.
BWV 21.2 mp3 Herreweghe
BWV 541 mp3 Herrick
Peter Williams (p 83) also notes that Spitta, Emery 1966 and Keller 1948 all wrote about this relationship.
The chorus is in two parts, a fugue-like section and a vivace separated by block chords. I swear that at one point in the vivace section I hear part of the melody of Handel's 'For Unto Us A Child Is Given'.
3 Seufzer, Tränen, Kummer, Not: soprano oboe duet
This part reminds me of some of the music written by Weckmann 75 years earlier. Dürr says of this aria that it is of such overwhelming expressive power that it might be considered one of the most moving arias that Bach ever wrote.
4 Wie hast du dich, mein Gott: tenor recitative
The tenor, lamenting God's turning away, accompanied by strings.
5 Bäche von gesalznen Zähren: tenor aria
Very long, repetitive motif representing waves, floods, tears very wearing, difficult to listen to. incessant, interminable, like a life that has gone on too long and seems likely never to end.
6 Was betrübst du dich, meine Seele: Chorus
A fantasia and fugue in the style of a motet, tiny and self-contained, about three and a half minutes. There is a wonderful independent part for the oboe. Dürr describes this part in detail, five sections in the first part, then a permutation fugue of remarkably logical structure.
7 Ach Jesu, meine Ruh: soprano bass recitive - 8 Komm, mein Jesu: soprano bass aria
The soprano starts the recitativ on measure 1 while the first violin plays an ascending Bb major scale, the bass comes in at the end of measure 3, then at the end of the phrase by the bass, the first violin drops suddenly a twelfth after holding the upper Bb for 7 beats, at the same time the second violin and viola drop a tenth. Oboe and cello then join the soprano and bass in an aria which Dürr compares to a secular love duet of contemporary opera.
9 Sei nun wieder zufrieden: chorus
Two stanzas of the chorale in voices, tenor, then soprano, at first, with trombones added in later version. The biblical text is set in counterpoint to the chorale, in motet tradition.
C.S. Terry vol 2, p 184 discusses the chorale 'Wer nur den lieben Gott läßt walten' in the ninth part.
Here is a thorough discussion of the chorale on cantatas.com
Here is the score of BWV 21.9, in old clefs.
Harnoncourt, Herreweghe and Kuijken add trombones in the second half of this section. I find Kuijken more emotionally expressive; Herreweghe takes the chorus at a quicker tempo, changing the quality of the music. Suzuki recorded this cantata twice, once in the 1720 version and once in the 1723 version. In the 1723 version he is joined by the Concerto Palatino on trombone in the ninth section.
10 Erfreue dich, Seele: tenor aria
One of my favorite sections, a joyful dancelike movement, with an especially nice cello part.
11 Das Lamm, das erwürget ist: final chorus
Opens with an eleven measure homophonic choral section followed by a 57 measure permutation fugue. Nicholas Anderson in the Oxford Composer Companion says that Bach suffuses his canvas in a radiance of color, unleashing three trumpets and timpani. Personally, I have some difficulty integrating this movement with the rest of the cantata. Somehow it does not seem to belong. Dürr speculates that this movement may have been borrowed from another piece. This seems more consistent to me.
Green, p 49, states that all oboe parts are exposed and difficult. The oboe plays in parts 1, 2, 3, 6, 9, 11.
Whittaker vol 1 p 110 provides us with an extensive analysis of the music and text, as well as hypotheses about the origin of the structure of the cantata.
I find this cantata filled with many small treasures, miniature pieces of music that stand on their own, not needing the support of the structure of the whole. Writing about it and listening to it, I have learned much: the music, cantata development, some history of the Thirty Years War. I am going to skip a little out of order to listen next to BWV 147, for some relief from the very grave music of this cantata.
The music
Sinfonia and Chorus, Part 1 and 2 Harnoncourt
Sinfonia, Part 1 Philippe Herreweghe
Das Lamm, das erwürget ist, Chorus, Harnoncourt
Chorus c oboe, Philippe Herreweghe
A link to download the score with old style clefs
Instruments and voices for each part
| Section | Text | Instruments, voices |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sinfonia, oboe, strings, continuo (NBA: bassoon and organ) | |
| 2 | Psalm 94:19 | Chorus, SATB, oboe, strings, bassoon, continuo (NBA: violoncello and organ) |
| 3 | Soprano aria, oboe, strings, continuo (NBA: violoncello and organ) | |
| 4 | Tenor recitativ, strings, continuo (NBA: bassoon, violoncello and organ) | |
| 5 | Tenor aria, strings, bassoon, continuo (NBA: violoncello and organ) | |
| 6 | Psalm 42:11 | Chorus SATB, oboe, strings, bassoon, continuo (NBA: violoncello and organ), permutation fugue in second section |
| Part 2 | ||
| 7 | Recitativ duet Soprano, Bass, strings, continuo (NBA: bassoon, violoncello and organ) | |
| 8 | Aria duet, soprano, bass, continuo (NBA: violoncello and organ) | |
| 9 | Psalm 116:7 | Chorus and chorale, SATB, oboe, strings, trombones (in a later version), bassoon, continuo (NBA: violoncello and organ) |
| 10 | Tenor aria, continuo (NBA: violoncello and organ) | |
| 11 | Revelation 5:12-13 | Chorus trumpets, timpani; oboe, strings; SATB, bassoon, continuo (NBA: violoncello and organ) |
Biblical references for each part
References for the text: King James Bible
| Scripture | Text | |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | Psalm 94:19 | In the multitude of my thoughts within me thy comforts delight my soul. |
| 6 | Psalm 42:11 | Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God. |
| 9 | Psalm 116:7 | Return unto thy rest, O my soul; for the Lord hath dealt bountifully with thee. |
| 11 | Revelation 5:12-13 | Saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing. And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever. |
References for the text: Luther's German Bible
| Scripture | Text | |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | Psalm 94:19 | Ich hatte viel Bekümmernisse in meinem Herzen; aber deine Tröstungen ergötzeten meine Seele. |
| 6 | Psalm 42:11 | Es ist als ein Mord in meinen Beinen, daß mich meine Feinde schmähen, wenn sie täglich zu mir sagen: Wo ist nun dein Gott? |
| 9 | Psalm 116:7 | Sei nun wieder zufrieden, meine Seele; denn der Herr tut dir Gutes. |
| 11 | Revelation 5:12-13 | Und sprachen mit großer Stimme: Das Lamm, das erwürget ist, ist würdig, zu nehmen Kraft und Reichtum und Weisheit und Stärke und Ehre und Preis und Lob. Und alle Kreatur, die im Himmel ist und auf Erden und unter der Erde und im Meer, und alles, was drinnen ist, hörete ich sagen zu dem, der auf dem Stuhl saß, und zu dem Lamm: Lob und Ehre und Preis und Gewalt von Ewigkeit zu Ewigkeit! |
References
Emmanuel Notes BWV 21.
Emmanuel Translation BWV 21.
Discussion from Bach Cantatas Website.
Recordingsfrom Bach Cantatas Website.
Comparison of versions
Wikipedia article.
Answers.com article
Classical.net discussion, Simon Crouch.
London Bach Society Database entry BWV 21
Bach 101 BWV 21 from Bach Choir of Bethlehem
Bach 101 article, page 2
2010, July 13
The Thirty Years War - Wilson
Thirty-five years before Bach was born, the Thirty Years War ended.
Still working on Cantata 21, I came across this book, apparently the first "definitive" history written since 1938. Here are a few quotes from the book:
p 5 The Thirty Years War became the benchmark to measure all later wars.
p 6 Public opinion surveys carried out in the 1960s revealed that Germans placed the Thirty Years War as their country's greatest disaster ahead of both world wars, the Holocaust and the Black Death.
p6 ...even in the twenty-first century, German authors could assert that 'never before and also never since, not even during the horrors of the bombing during the Second World War, was the land so devastated and the people so tortured' as between 1618 and 1648.
In the last two chapters, Wilson threads his way through the controversies regarding the effects of the war on population, culture and the economy, and the changing perspectives of people who experienced the war versus those who wrote about the war during later eras.
p 480 War, and its accompanying horrors of plague and famine, encouraged a sense of living in what one contemporary called an 'iron century' of exceptional hardship. The Silesian poet Gryphius wrote of the pointlessness of human existence. The human body was just a 'house of grim pain' and an 'arena of bitter fear filled with keen sorrow.'
I hear echos of these sentiments in the language of many parts of the cantatas.
References
Reviews on Amazon.com
Peter Wilson's Thirty Years War on GoogleBooks
Thirty Years War, 1618-1648
A political picture of the war, with a great interactive map
