Whit Sunday 2008

Pentecost, the fiftieth day after Easter with J.S. Bach and Alexander Sadoyan..

Painting by Alexander Sadoyan.

For today, Pentecost or Whit Sunday, we have BWV 172, "Erschallet, ihr Lieder, erklinget, ihr Saiten!" ("Ring out, you songs, resound, you strings!"), a favorite of mine, which concludes with a four part chorale with a wonderful violin obligato. It was written for Pentecost Sunday in May 1714, so is one of Bach's early cantatas. He also played it several times in Leipzig with some alterations.

Alfred Dürr says of this cantata: "All the various changes he made show how much trouble Bach took over a work which—as the number of documented performances (at least four) suggests—he seems to have particularly loved."

I have several performances of this cantata: Leusink, Leonhardt, Koopman, Suzuki, Rifkin, Gardiner and Rilling. The large number of performances available is another indication of the popularity and appeal of this cantata. The opening chorus is very festive; it puts me in mind of the opening movement of the Christmas Oratorio.

The six parts of the cantata are:
  opening chorus
  bass recitative with a low C at the end
  bass aria
  tenor aria
  alto-soprano aria with the chorale "Komm, Heiliger Geist, Herre Gott" in the instruments
  closing chorale with violin obligato.

As for the low C discussed at such great length on the Bach Cantatas Website, it is most audible on the Suzuki performance, but all the basses do well. The most joyous performance for me is Rifkin's. His choice of one voice and one instrument per part also allows the violin obligato to shine through on the final chorale.

  BWV 172 Complete cantata by Leusink

  Listen to the closing chorale with the soundfont JEUX, by John W. McCoy.
  The closing chorale by Leusink, BWV 172.6
  A discussion of the melody of BWV 172.6

Discussions of the Cantata
  Notes from the Bach Cantatas Website p. 1
  Notes from the Bach Cantatas Website p. 2
  Notes from the Bach Cantatas Website p. 3
  Notes from Craig Smith
  Translation by Craig Smith

Posted by on 05/11 at 11:51 AM


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JSBChorales.net

JSBChorales.net offers free midi, QT and PDF files of Bach's four-part harmonized chorales. They can be downloaded individually or in complete sets. Be aware that other sites offering files downloaded from this site in the past may not have current updates. Please see Chorale Editions, File Accuracy.

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