French New Wave director François Truffaut (1932-1984) has often sought his inspiration in his own autobiography, like literary authors do. His first feature-length film, The 400 Blows, released in 1959, was based on his own troubled childhood and adolescence.
In the 1950s, Truffaut had already established himself as a vitriolic critic for the magazine Les Cahiers du cinéma and with the young colleagues at that magazine (Jean-Luc Godard, Claude Chabrol, Eric Rohmer) he would play a pivotal role in the French New Wave. Truffaut and his collaborators advocated that the director of a film should stand artistically speaking over and above any other person involved in the production - like the author of a novel. It was not a movement with a structured ideology, and in the 60s differences between the various proponents widened - for example between the politically engaged movies of Godard and Truffaut's autobiographical "comedies of manners." But there were also similarities, such as the lack of plot and use of non-professional actors and natural dialogues, not to speak of the low-budget productions.
Truffaut's most representative series of autobiographical films is the so-called Antoine Doinel series, that consists of four feature-length films and one short, and was made between 1959 and 1979. I will here discuss the first film The 400 Blows (made when there was no idea yet about a series).
First the title, because "400 blows" calls up a rather violent image, as of a British boarding school. Nothing could be farther from the truth, it is a wrong translation of the French title which is an idiom. "Faire les quatre cent coups," means "to live without respect for morals or conventions," "to lead a disorderly life." This refers ironically to the hero of the film, Antoine - it is how society wrongly sees him - , and a better title would have been something like "The Wild One," or "Wild Oats."
Antoine Doinel (Jean-Pierre Léaud) is a 13-year-old boy who lives with his parents in a small apartment in Paris. It is so small they are always in each other's way. His tight-sweater wearing mother (Claire Maurier) neglects him as she is too busy with her lover, his uncultured step-father (Albert Rémy) misunderstands the sensitive and artistic boy. Because his creativity is not acknowledged, Antoine starts to rebel against authority and gets into trouble at school, where the teachers are insensitive bores just droning up their lessons. Finally, Antoine runs away from home and goes into hiding at the place of his best friend, René.
The boys need money and steal a typewriter from the office where Antoine’s father works. But they can't sell the heavy machine (it is too obviously stolen and has a serial number) and not knowing what to do with this heap of iron, Antoine tries to smuggle it back into the office. There he is caught by the night watchman. The police is called, and the parents, anyway not very much interested in educating the boy, place him in an institution for delinquent teenagers. At the end of the film, Antoine manages to escape during a game of soccer, and runs and runs, until he comes near the sea, which he sees for the first time in his life, and which gives him a feeling of liberation.
Despite its serious theme, The 400 Blows is full of humor. The film was made on location in Paris, and fun is the shot where the class following the physical education teacher on a jog through the city gradually diminishes as more and more pupils peel off. Also the last long shot is fantastic: Truffaut's camera follows Antoine for several minutes without any cuts when he runs away, until he reaches the beach, does a few steps in the water and then comes running towards the camera. Only then follows a cut, after a zoom-in to freeze-frame of the boy, and this is the end of the film. This shot is famous for its ambiguity.
This charming film proved popular with both critics and the public at large. It won Truffaut Best Director Award at Cannes in 1959 and brought in enough money for Truffaut's own production company, Carosse d'Or (named after a Renoir film) to continue making films and even invest in films by other New Wave directors. It is dedicated to the man who became his spiritual father, André Bazin, who died just as the film was about to be shot. It was highly praised by filmmakers as Kurosawa, Buñuel, Satyajit Ray, Cocteau and Dreyer.
By the way, in 1962 Truffaut briefly continued the story about Antoine Doinel in Antoine and Colette, a short film that was part of a collection of four pieces by different directors called Love at Twenty. Antoine Doinel (again (Jean-Pierre Léaud, who acts as Truffaut's cinematic alter ego in the whole series) works in a factory which makes records. He has lost his wildness and loves music and books. At a classical concert, he sees a nice girl, Colette (Marie-France Pisier), and falls in love with her. But Colette sees him more as a "brother" with whom she can exchange books and records. Antoine in fact gets closer to her parents - surrogate for the real parents he never meets anymore after what happened in The 400 Blows - than to her and at the bittersweet end of the film she goes out with a real boyfriend while Antoine watches TV with her parents.
Feature length films about Antoine Doinel are: Stolen Kisses (1968), Bed and Board (1970) and Love on the Run (1979).
January 31, 2012
January 30, 2012
"He Knew He Was Right" (1869) by Trollope
He Knew He Was Right is the ironic title of one of Trollope's greatest novels, the story of the disintegration of a marriage. Strangely enough, there is no earthly reason why the marriage between Louis Trevelyan, a well-heeled English gentleman, and Emily Rowley, the eldest daughter of a British colonial governor, would not be successful. They love each other and the fruit of that love soon makes its presence felt in the form of a baby boy. Emily's sister Nora lives with the young couple in their London mansion and there only seem blue skies ahead.
But then a small thing happens, something which normally would not even be a bump in the road. Emily receives regular visits from Colonel Osborne, a friend of her father, with a reputation of a lady's man despite his advanced years. There are some rumors, the husband starts paying attention, he gets jealous. Though nothing improper ever occurs, Trevelyan overreacts by ordering his wife to avoid Colonel Osborne in the future. Emily strongly resents her husband's lack of trust and is angry that he dare doubt her innocence.
Normally, such a small matter would be cleared up in the evening, forgiven at night and forgotten the next day. But the chance for reconciliation passes, another small matter occurs which feeds Trevelyan's jealousy, and Emily is again strengthened in her stubbornness. And so the unreasonable (and totally unfounded) jealousy of Trevelyan, and the stubbornness of the willful Emily gradually escalate. Pride and vanity on both sides cut off the way back to happiness. Husband and wife start living apart; Trevelyan travels abroad to forget his shame; in his absence, Trevelyan has his wife watched by a detective. Colonel Osborne does not make things easier by paying some more visits to Emily, just to spite the husband and feed his own vanity. This gives Trevelyan reason for his jealousy and by and by he starts wallowing in his unhappiness, and slowly descends into insanity.
A butterfly moving its wings can lead to disaster.
This main story-line has been keenly observed by Trollope, who is the author of human behavior, especially of conflict and collision. Trollope is at his best when he describes people who try to manipulate each other, his dialogues are always wonderfully sharp. Usually the weaker party, like Emily, doesn't let herself be ordered around and stands up for her rights. This leads to delicious conflicts.
The subplots are also full of it. The whole world wants Nora, Emily's sister, to marry Lord Glascock (although of course a suitor with such a name can't be allowed to be successful), but she stubbornly perseveres in her love for the penniless Hugh Stanbury, a friend of Trevelyan. Hugh's sister Dorothy lives in Exeter with their aunt, the formidable Jemima Stanbury. The aunt wants her to marry a clergyman, the sly Mr Gibson. She refuses, for she loves Brooke Burgess, the heir to the Stanbury fortune and the last person in the world her aunt wants her to marry. And so on. Exquisite is also the predicament of Mr Gibson, who after being jilted, proposes to the vain Camilla French, who even before being sure of her prey reveals she is a harridan of the first order. Poor Mr Gibson escapes from the marriage, but has to pay for his sins by being coupled for life with Camilla's elder sister, Arabella.
Conflicts of course not only arise in lovemaking. Aunt Stanbury has quarreled with Hugh because he writes for a penny newspaper and has liberal views. When Emily and Nora are staying with Hugh Stanbury's relatives, vicious letters are exchanged between Aunt Stanbury and Dorothy's sister Priscilla about a perceived "immoral" visit of Mr Osborne, which first didn't take place but later does. Emily and Nora stay for a few months with an uncle, Mr Outhouse, a clergyman who has to receive them in his house, but does not really want them to come. Sir Marmaduke, the father of Emily and Nora, briefly returns to the U.K. and is grilled by a parliamentary committee. He also gives Trevelyan a dressing down. The old and the new worlds collide in the house of Mr Spalding, the American Ambassador to Florence, where several characters have traveled to, including Mr Glascock, who is caught by Caroline Spalding and educated in democratic principles.
My evaluation: He Knew He Was Right is 950 pages thick, but remains interesting to the last page. Despite some instances of 19th century redundancy, this is Trollope at his best. Read it as an Oxford Classic as I did, a Penguin Classic, or at Gutenberg.
Also see the Anthony Trollope website, the Trollope Society or the Victorian Web.
But then a small thing happens, something which normally would not even be a bump in the road. Emily receives regular visits from Colonel Osborne, a friend of her father, with a reputation of a lady's man despite his advanced years. There are some rumors, the husband starts paying attention, he gets jealous. Though nothing improper ever occurs, Trevelyan overreacts by ordering his wife to avoid Colonel Osborne in the future. Emily strongly resents her husband's lack of trust and is angry that he dare doubt her innocence.
Normally, such a small matter would be cleared up in the evening, forgiven at night and forgotten the next day. But the chance for reconciliation passes, another small matter occurs which feeds Trevelyan's jealousy, and Emily is again strengthened in her stubbornness. And so the unreasonable (and totally unfounded) jealousy of Trevelyan, and the stubbornness of the willful Emily gradually escalate. Pride and vanity on both sides cut off the way back to happiness. Husband and wife start living apart; Trevelyan travels abroad to forget his shame; in his absence, Trevelyan has his wife watched by a detective. Colonel Osborne does not make things easier by paying some more visits to Emily, just to spite the husband and feed his own vanity. This gives Trevelyan reason for his jealousy and by and by he starts wallowing in his unhappiness, and slowly descends into insanity.
A butterfly moving its wings can lead to disaster.
This main story-line has been keenly observed by Trollope, who is the author of human behavior, especially of conflict and collision. Trollope is at his best when he describes people who try to manipulate each other, his dialogues are always wonderfully sharp. Usually the weaker party, like Emily, doesn't let herself be ordered around and stands up for her rights. This leads to delicious conflicts.
The subplots are also full of it. The whole world wants Nora, Emily's sister, to marry Lord Glascock (although of course a suitor with such a name can't be allowed to be successful), but she stubbornly perseveres in her love for the penniless Hugh Stanbury, a friend of Trevelyan. Hugh's sister Dorothy lives in Exeter with their aunt, the formidable Jemima Stanbury. The aunt wants her to marry a clergyman, the sly Mr Gibson. She refuses, for she loves Brooke Burgess, the heir to the Stanbury fortune and the last person in the world her aunt wants her to marry. And so on. Exquisite is also the predicament of Mr Gibson, who after being jilted, proposes to the vain Camilla French, who even before being sure of her prey reveals she is a harridan of the first order. Poor Mr Gibson escapes from the marriage, but has to pay for his sins by being coupled for life with Camilla's elder sister, Arabella.
Conflicts of course not only arise in lovemaking. Aunt Stanbury has quarreled with Hugh because he writes for a penny newspaper and has liberal views. When Emily and Nora are staying with Hugh Stanbury's relatives, vicious letters are exchanged between Aunt Stanbury and Dorothy's sister Priscilla about a perceived "immoral" visit of Mr Osborne, which first didn't take place but later does. Emily and Nora stay for a few months with an uncle, Mr Outhouse, a clergyman who has to receive them in his house, but does not really want them to come. Sir Marmaduke, the father of Emily and Nora, briefly returns to the U.K. and is grilled by a parliamentary committee. He also gives Trevelyan a dressing down. The old and the new worlds collide in the house of Mr Spalding, the American Ambassador to Florence, where several characters have traveled to, including Mr Glascock, who is caught by Caroline Spalding and educated in democratic principles.
My evaluation: He Knew He Was Right is 950 pages thick, but remains interesting to the last page. Despite some instances of 19th century redundancy, this is Trollope at his best. Read it as an Oxford Classic as I did, a Penguin Classic, or at Gutenberg.
Also see the Anthony Trollope website, the Trollope Society or the Victorian Web.
January 29, 2012
Bach Cantatas (12): 4th Sunday after Epiphany (BWV 81 & 14)
This fourth and final Sunday after Epiphany does not occur every year (only when there is a late Easter), so there are only two cantatas for it. There was an Epiphany IV during Bach's first Leipzig cycle, so "Jesus schläft, was soll ich hoffen?", BWV 81, was written for January 30, 1724. The text refers to the day's reading from the Gospel of Matthew, the calming of the storm on the Sea of Galilee.
The second cantata, "Were God not with us this time," BWV 14, was premiered on January 30, 1735. As a chorale cantata, it is an addition to the chorale cantata cycle of 1724-1725 (in 1725, Easter came rather early, so there was no Epiphany IV). The cantata is based on a hymn by Martin Luther, which also evokes the storm on the Sea of Galilee.
Readings:
Romans 13:8–10, love completes the law
Matthew 8:23–27, Jesus calming the storm
Cantata Studies:
Bach Cantatas Website | Simon Crouch | Emmanuel Music | Julian Mincham | Wikipedia | Eduard van Hengel (in Dutch) | Bach Companion (Oxford U.P.) | Bach: The Learned Musician (Wolff) | Music in the Castle of Heaven (Gardiner)
The second cantata, "Were God not with us this time," BWV 14, was premiered on January 30, 1735. As a chorale cantata, it is an addition to the chorale cantata cycle of 1724-1725 (in 1725, Easter came rather early, so there was no Epiphany IV). The cantata is based on a hymn by Martin Luther, which also evokes the storm on the Sea of Galilee.
Readings:
Romans 13:8–10, love completes the law
Matthew 8:23–27, Jesus calming the storm
Cantata Studies:
Bach Cantatas Website | Simon Crouch | Emmanuel Music | Julian Mincham | Wikipedia | Eduard van Hengel (in Dutch) | Bach Companion (Oxford U.P.) | Bach: The Learned Musician (Wolff) | Music in the Castle of Heaven (Gardiner)
[The Storm on the Sea of Galilee by Rembrandt, 1632]
Cantatas:
- Jesus schläft, was soll ich hoffen? BWV 81, 30 January 1724
Aria (Alt, Blockflöten): Jesus schläft, was soll ich hoffen?
Recitativo (Tenor): Herr! warum trittest du so ferne?
Aria (Tenor): Die schäumenden Wellen von Belials Bächen
Arioso (Bass): Ihr Kleingläubigen, warum seid ihr so furchtsam?
Aria (Bass, Oboe d'amore): Schweig, aufgetürmtes Meer!
Recitativo (Alt): Wohl mir, mein Jesus spricht ein Wort
Choral: Unter deinen Schirmen
"Jesus sleeps, what hope is there for me?"
Text and translation
Scored for alto, tenor and bass soloists, a four-part choir in the chorale, two oboes d'amore, two recorders, two violins, viola, and basso continuo.
This cantata is based on Matthew 8:23-27, which tells the familiar story of the disciples on the lake who are afraid of the storm while Jesus sleeps peacefully. They wake him and he calms the waves. Life is compared to a voyage. The cantata plays with the contrast of Jesus being hidden (sleeping) and appearing (acting). This is a very operatic and theatrical cantata that concentrates on solo vocal movements (a type of music that was not popular with the gentlemen of the Leipzig Council, Bach's employers).
There is no opening chorus, so the alto gets right to the point: Jesus is sleeping, what can I hope for? The "sleeping" in the aria is illustrated by the recorders (in the Baroque period, the recorder was often used to suggest sleep or death), low strings, and long notes in the voice - at the same time, it forms a contemplation on the terror of death. A violent storm scene follows in the tenor aria, full of bravura passagework. The tenor is accompanied by a torrent of rapid notes from the strings. Bach's visualization of the storm and the movement of the waves is similar to scenes in contemporary operas.
The arioso is entrusted to the bass as the awakened Jesus. He recites a quotation from the Gospel: "Why are you afraid, you of little faith?" This is followed by a powerful bass aria as Vox Christi, in which Jesus calms the storm (unison runs in the strings, followed by a calmer movement in the oboes). The lesson follows in the following recitative and closing chorale: always have faith in Jesus.
The final chorale is the second stanza of the chorale Jesu, meine Freude, which we also know in motet form by Bach.
Video: Netherlands Bach Society - Interview with bass Stephan MacLeod /
J.S. Bach Foundation (St. Gallen) - Workshop (in German) - Contemplation (in German) - Wär Gott nicht mit uns diese Zeit, BWV 14, 30 January 1735
(Coro): "Wär Gott nicht mit uns diese Zeit" for choral and instrumental tutti.
Aria: "Unsre Stärke heißt zu schwach" for soprano, corno da caccia, strings, and continuo.
Recitativo: "Ja, hätt es Gott nur zugegeben" for tenor and continuo.
Aria: "Gott, bei deinem starken Schützen" for bass, oboes, and continuo.
Chorale: "Gott Lob und Dank, der nicht zugab" for choral and instrumental tutti colle parti.
"If God were not with us at this time"
Text and translation
Scored for three vocal soloists (soprano, tenor and bass), a four-part choir, corno da caccia, two oboes, two violins, viola, and basso continuo.
A cantata first performed on January 30, 1735 (making it one of his last surviving church cantatas), a few weeks after Bach's Christmas Oratorio. The cantata, in Bach's chorale cantata format, is based on Martin Luther's hymn "Wär Gott nicht mit uns diese Zeit". Its text paraphrases Psalm 124, focusing on the idea that the believer's life depends on God's help and is lost without it.
Bach composed the cantata as a late addition to his 1724/25 cycle of chorale cantatas. In 1725, Easter had come early and there was no fourth Sunday after Epiphany. The text may have been written at this time. Ten years later, as the first part of the cycle, Bach wrote an advanced, unusual chorale fantasia that combines elements of a motet with complex counterpoint. The chorale melody is played by instruments, allowing the soprano to interact with the lower voices. In the inner movements, sung by three soloists, Bach uses word painting to describe events such as floods, waves, and fury.
The inner movements deal with the consequences of sin: war and natural disasters from which God's protection is needed (echoing the protection from the storm in today's reading). The brilliant soprano aria, with its delightful orchestration (corno da caccia), comes like a breath of fresh air after the rather academic opening chorus. With the words "Our strength itself is too weak," it reflects the wrathful enemy - our own strength is not enough to withstand him. The bass aria with two obbligato oboes is also a beautiful showpiece, singing of God's intervention and the taming of the forces of evil. The middle section is word painting, depicting waves in octave leaps and rapid descending scales. The final chorale is similar in complexity to the chorales of the Christmas Oratorio.
Video: J.S. Bach Foundation (St. Gallen) - Workshop (in German) - Contemplation (in German)
January 28, 2012
"The Death of the Heart" (1938) by Bowen
"The Death of the Heart" (1938), by Elizabeth Bowen, is an extraordinary novel, written in dense Jamesian prose and excellently observed. It is also an almost plot-less book, everything in this psychological novel takes place between the ears. The theme is "innocence" - not only how innocence can be lost to experience, but even more so the effect of true innocence on experience and sophistication.
The story is simple. A sixteen year old orphan, Portia Quayne, has come to live with her prosperous half-brother Thomas and his reluctant wife Anna, who is also the embodiment of urbane cynicism. Raised by her mother in a series of hotels on the Continent, Portia is possessed of a sort of devastating innocence: she literally can not understand unkindness or false motives.
In the polite but cruelly sophisticated world that is the house of Thomas and Anna, Portia encounters the attractive, carefree Eddie, who just lives by the moment. While Eddie indulges himself in playing with the child-woman, to Portia he seems the only real person in the cold atmosphere enveloping her.
Contemporary readers might expect some sexual denouement (innocence lost), but nothing of the sort happens. Portia's childish love comes to grief in a much more subtle way, when she is vacationing in the windswept cottage of Anna's former governess at the seaside. Eddie has followed her for the weekend - of which Portia is proud -, they visit the cinema with a group of acquaintances and there, during the chance flash of a cigarette lighter, she sees him holding hands with another girl. That is all. But it is enough to end her state of innocence.
At the same time, Portia's real adversary is not the faithless Eddie, but Anna - worldly sophistication and childlike innocence don't go very well together. Anna will see herself reflected in the mirror of Portia's innocence and what she sees there is not very nice. In the end, we could well ask: whose heart has died?
The story is simple. A sixteen year old orphan, Portia Quayne, has come to live with her prosperous half-brother Thomas and his reluctant wife Anna, who is also the embodiment of urbane cynicism. Raised by her mother in a series of hotels on the Continent, Portia is possessed of a sort of devastating innocence: she literally can not understand unkindness or false motives.
In the polite but cruelly sophisticated world that is the house of Thomas and Anna, Portia encounters the attractive, carefree Eddie, who just lives by the moment. While Eddie indulges himself in playing with the child-woman, to Portia he seems the only real person in the cold atmosphere enveloping her.
Contemporary readers might expect some sexual denouement (innocence lost), but nothing of the sort happens. Portia's childish love comes to grief in a much more subtle way, when she is vacationing in the windswept cottage of Anna's former governess at the seaside. Eddie has followed her for the weekend - of which Portia is proud -, they visit the cinema with a group of acquaintances and there, during the chance flash of a cigarette lighter, she sees him holding hands with another girl. That is all. But it is enough to end her state of innocence.
At the same time, Portia's real adversary is not the faithless Eddie, but Anna - worldly sophistication and childlike innocence don't go very well together. Anna will see herself reflected in the mirror of Portia's innocence and what she sees there is not very nice. In the end, we could well ask: whose heart has died?
January 27, 2012
Kare-pan
Curry bread. カレーパン. A type of sozai-pan, buns with savory fillings ("sozai" is the term for the side dishes eaten with rice). It is a good and delicious example of "Japanese-style" bread.
[Curry bread]
Curry is so popular in Japan that it is even used as a filling for buns. A spoonful of curry is wrapped in dough, breaded in panko (bread crumbs), and deep-fried. Perhaps the idea came from the Russian pirozhki (pirozhki are also popular in Japan, both in their original form and with non-regular Japanese-style fillings. The Sogo department store in Kobe, for example, sells nice "piroshiki" in its depachika).
Curry buns are everywhere, from convenience stores to supermarkets and - freshly made - in bakery stores.
Other types of sozai-pan are: pizza toast (pizza-tostu), croquette bread (korokke-pan), fried noodle bread (yakisoba-pan), and toasted baguette with mentaiko (mentaiko-furansu). Foreign types (also available in Japan) are for example, besides the above mentioned piroshiki: salteña, panino, hamburgers and hotdogs, while also the Chinese baozi is related.
Curry buns are everywhere, from convenience stores to supermarkets and - freshly made - in bakery stores.
Other types of sozai-pan are: pizza toast (pizza-tostu), croquette bread (korokke-pan), fried noodle bread (yakisoba-pan), and toasted baguette with mentaiko (mentaiko-furansu). Foreign types (also available in Japan) are for example, besides the above mentioned piroshiki: salteña, panino, hamburgers and hotdogs, while also the Chinese baozi is related.
January 26, 2012
Caught by Max Ophuls
Caught (1949) is one of the two noir films Max Ophuls made in the U.S. and it is a concise, tense and mean little film, a criticism of capitalism run wild.
Then she happens to meet cynical control-freak millionaire Smith Ohlrig (Robert Ryan) - based on Howard Hughes, it is rumored - who marries her as a kind of joke, just to spite his psychoanalyst and to show her he controls her destiny. As a result, Leonora finds herself another piece of opulence stuffed in Ryan's Long Island mansion. On top of that, her husband has a psychotic streak and his manservant, Curt (Franzi Kartos) is almost menacing in his obsequiousness to his master.
To get away, Leonora trades richess for New York's East Side and lands a grind-house job as receptionist for struggling slum pediatrician Larry Quinada (James Mason). Although briefly returning to Ryan by his promises of change, Leonora is determined to stay in charge of her own destiny. During a dance in a chock-full cafe where they keep stepping on each other's toes, Larry proposes to her. But she is pregnant with Ohlrig's child and once more returns to her husband who proves more abusive than ever.
He wants his “possession” back, even calling her his "employee." Extreme capitalism cheapens human feelings. The very rich think their money buys everything, but although it goes far, Ophuls shows there is a limit to what money can do. Even pimp lackey Curt walks out in disgust. Leonora is saved from her Long Island prison by Larry, as she has a miscarriage brought on by Ohlig's violence. In the back of the ambulance they reaffirm their love.
The film's title "Caught" not only refers to the marriage trap Leonora walked into, but more broadly to the wrong ideas that entrapped her: the materialistic view that money would be the root of all happiness. Unfortunately, as the world is, too many people are "caught..."
January 24, 2012
Letter from an Unknown Woman by Max Ophuls
Max Ophuls was the director of romantic regret. His flowing, generous style of filming is like a Viennese waltz. His whole life on the move because of persecution (he was Jewish), Letter from an Unknown Woman (1948) was the second (and only major) film made by this German born, French citizen in Hollywood. The film already exudes the grace, beauty and sensitivity characteristic of the masterworks he would make in the 1950s in Europe.
The story is set in a nostalgic Vienna around 1900, and is loosely based on a story by Stefan Zweig. At night, a hurried man arrives at his apartment, telling his manservant that he will depart before the morning. This is Stefan Brand (Louis Jourdan), a failed concert pianist, planning to leave Vienna to avoid a duel. His servant hands him a letter, from one of the many women in his life - dissipation was the main reason for his stranded career -, a woman he cannot remember and who is therefore the "unknown woman."
Brand sits down to read the letter and in a long flashback we see the love Lisa Berndle (Joan Fontaine) felt for him: "By the time you read this letter, I may be dead…. If this reaches you, you will know how I became yours when you didn’t know who I was or even that I existed." In other words, Lisa dies, because her existence has been unacknowledged. The film is her posthumous plea for recognition.
There are three major episodes: as a girl, she was Brand's neighbor and dreamed secretly about the famous piano lion; as a young woman, she has a short affair with him and secretly bears his child; as a mature, married woman of high status she finally meets him again and abandons her husband Johann (Marcel Journet) for her youthful memories - only to discover that her philandering hero doesn't remember at all who she is. He has been completely blind to her lifelong love. She has written the letter in the hospital where she is dying of typhus. Brand spends the night reading her letter, instead of fleeing to save his life and in the morning, her husband who as a military man is an excellent marksman, arrives to get satisfaction in a duel.
This film is more straightforwardly melodramatic than Ophuls' later French films, and misses the irony of those works. That may have been due to the climate in the U.S. with its infamous Hays Code - the cynical La Ronde could never have been filmed in Hollywood. After this, Ophuls only made two minor noir films in Hollywood (Caught and The Reckless Moment) before returning to Europe.
That being said, even in Letter from an Unknown Woman Ophuls keeps enough distance from his characters to make a more critical reading of their actions possible, and laugh at the sardonic joke of Lisa taking revenge on Brand from the grave, as it were, for it is her long letter that keeps him from running away from a duel where he will surely be killed!
As Lisa herself says in the film: "The course of our lives can be changed by such little things. So many passing by, each intent on his own problems. So many faces that one might easily have been lost. I know now that nothing happens by chance. Every moment is measured; every step is counted."
Sake Files: The enjoyment of warm sake
There are so many types of sake today that should be drunk cold, that we almost end up thinking cold is the only way to drink sake. No: sake is a drink that can be enjoyed at a wide variety of temperatures, from 0 degrees Celsius ("ice sake") to 55 degrees. As such, it is probably unique in the world. Shaoxing wine from China is also delicious when warmed, but I do not know whether that can be drunk very cold. And there are some wines that can be had warm, but that are inferior types like Glühwein. The sake that is also delicious when warm, is high quality junmai sake.
What has made the image of warm sake bad, is the custom to drink cheap sake very hot. This not only happens abroad, but also in Japanese izakaya where piping hot sake ("tobikiri-kan") is served to hide the fact that it is rather tasteless stuff with lots of diluted brewing-alcohol added for volume plus sugar for taste. The result is a sort of jet fuel, of which the alcohol fumes blow in your face. Good sake should never be made really hot - just above body temperature, or lukewarm (40 degrees), is the best. In that case, it gives a very comforting feeling.
Where does the custom to drink sake warm come from? It has been recorded that when Emperor Saga (785-842) went out to hunt on a certain autumn day, the weather suddenly turned cold and the Minister of the Left, Fujiwara no Fuyutsugu (775-826), offered him warm sake. The Emperor was so delighted at this (according to the story) new way of drinking sake that he ordered that from then on in autumn and winter sake should be served warm in the palace. The idea may have come from China, where the custom to drink wine warm goes back to at least the Tang-period .
The best sake to drink warm is junmai, or a sturdy honjozo. Also Kimoto and Yamahai type sakes are delicious when warm. Perhaps not by coincidence, these are also the sakes that normally are better at room temperature than cold.
What has made the image of warm sake bad, is the custom to drink cheap sake very hot. This not only happens abroad, but also in Japanese izakaya where piping hot sake ("tobikiri-kan") is served to hide the fact that it is rather tasteless stuff with lots of diluted brewing-alcohol added for volume plus sugar for taste. The result is a sort of jet fuel, of which the alcohol fumes blow in your face. Good sake should never be made really hot - just above body temperature, or lukewarm (40 degrees), is the best. In that case, it gives a very comforting feeling.
Where does the custom to drink sake warm come from? It has been recorded that when Emperor Saga (785-842) went out to hunt on a certain autumn day, the weather suddenly turned cold and the Minister of the Left, Fujiwara no Fuyutsugu (775-826), offered him warm sake. The Emperor was so delighted at this (according to the story) new way of drinking sake that he ordered that from then on in autumn and winter sake should be served warm in the palace. The idea may have come from China, where the custom to drink wine warm goes back to at least the Tang-period .
The best sake to drink warm is junmai, or a sturdy honjozo. Also Kimoto and Yamahai type sakes are delicious when warm. Perhaps not by coincidence, these are also the sakes that normally are better at room temperature than cold.
January 23, 2012
Père Goriot, by Balzac
Le Père Goriot (1835; "Old Goriot" or "Father Goriot") is a fierce criticism of the money-and-greed dominated society that France had become in the 19th century. The hero is a social climber, the student Rastignac. The novel is set in the Paris of 1819, in the Maison Vauquer, a poor boarding house in Paris' rue Neuve-Sainte-Geneviève. Eugène de Rastignac lives here together with several other characters, of whom the most important are the elderly Goriot, a retired businessman who dotes on his two daughters who have married status and money and don't want to see him anymore; and Vautrin, a mysterious criminal in hiding.
The novel is filled with descriptions of corruption and greed. Balzac quotes the price for everything, from the room rents on different floors of the boarding house to the cost of a meal or a horse-drawn carriage. Money rules the world after the success of capitalism through the Industrial Revolution, and has also infiltrated aristocratic society.
Rather than studying his law books, Rastignac tries a shortcut to wealth by having himself introduced in high society by his cousin, Madame de Beauséant. There he meets Goriot's daughters, Anastasie (married to rank, a count) and Delphine (married to money, a banker) and falls in love with the second one. Vautrin, at the same time, pushes him to court a young woman in the boarding house, Victorine, whose family fortune is blocked only by her brother - of course, he offers to clear the way for Rastignac. The student balks at the idea of murder, but listens attentively to the lessons about the harsh realities of modern society that Vautrin teaches him.
Old Goriot is supportive of Rastignac's courtship of his daughter, but dies after suffering a stroke. Neither of his daughters visits him at his deathbed (ashamed as ;they are of their pauper of a father) and only Rastignac attends the funeral - before heading off to the apartment of Delphine for another rendez-vous. He sure is climbing the social ladder, and shouts out at the city of Paris: "It's between you and me now!"
Le Père Goriot is a "bildungsroman:" the initially naive Rastignac is tutored by Vautrin, Madame de Beauséant and others in the truth of society and the ruthless strategies required for success. First repulsed by these unpleasant realities, Rastignac eventually embraces them. The novel gave rise to the French expression "Rastignac" for a social climber willing to use any means to better his situation.
The novel is filled with descriptions of corruption and greed. Balzac quotes the price for everything, from the room rents on different floors of the boarding house to the cost of a meal or a horse-drawn carriage. Money rules the world after the success of capitalism through the Industrial Revolution, and has also infiltrated aristocratic society.
Rather than studying his law books, Rastignac tries a shortcut to wealth by having himself introduced in high society by his cousin, Madame de Beauséant. There he meets Goriot's daughters, Anastasie (married to rank, a count) and Delphine (married to money, a banker) and falls in love with the second one. Vautrin, at the same time, pushes him to court a young woman in the boarding house, Victorine, whose family fortune is blocked only by her brother - of course, he offers to clear the way for Rastignac. The student balks at the idea of murder, but listens attentively to the lessons about the harsh realities of modern society that Vautrin teaches him.
Old Goriot is supportive of Rastignac's courtship of his daughter, but dies after suffering a stroke. Neither of his daughters visits him at his deathbed (ashamed as ;they are of their pauper of a father) and only Rastignac attends the funeral - before heading off to the apartment of Delphine for another rendez-vous. He sure is climbing the social ladder, and shouts out at the city of Paris: "It's between you and me now!"
Le Père Goriot is a "bildungsroman:" the initially naive Rastignac is tutored by Vautrin, Madame de Beauséant and others in the truth of society and the ruthless strategies required for success. First repulsed by these unpleasant realities, Rastignac eventually embraces them. The novel gave rise to the French expression "Rastignac" for a social climber willing to use any means to better his situation.
January 22, 2012
Bach Cantatas (11): 3rd Sunday after Epiphany (BWV 73, 111, 72 & 156)
Here are the cantatas for the 3rd Sunday after Epiphany. There are four cantatas for this day, which all are based on texts inspired by the Gospel reading of the day: the healing of a leper. The first three cantatas are from the three complete Leipzig cantata cycles (1724, 1725 and 1726), the last one, "Ich steh mit einem Fuß im Grabe", BWV 156, is one of the cantatas to a libretto by Picander from 1729.
Readings:
Romans 12:17–21, overcome evil with good
Matthew 8:1–13, the healing of the leper
The Gospel reading for this day consists of two stories, the healing of the leper and the faith of the Centurion. The emphasis is on blind faith. Romans, in contrast, extols the virtue of charity towards one's enemy.
Cantata Studies:
Bach Cantatas Website | Simon Crouch | Emmanuel Music | Julian Mincham | Wikipedia | Eduard van Hengel (in Dutch) | Bach Companion (Oxford U.P.) | Bach: The Learned Musician (Wolff) | Music in the Castle of Heaven (Gardiner)
[Christ cleansing a leper by Jean-Marie Melchior Doze, 1864]
Cantatas:
- Herr, wie du willt, so schicks mit mir, BWV 73, 23 January 1724
Chorale e recitativo (Tenor, Bass, Soprano): Herr, wie du willt, so schicks mit mir
Aria (Tenor, Oboe): Ach senke doch den Geist der Freuden
Recitativo (Bass): Ach, unser Wille bleibt verkehrt,
Aria (Bass): Herr, so du willt
Choral: Das ist des Vaters Wille
"Lord, as thou wilt, so ordain it with me"
Text and translation
Scored for soprano, tenor and bass soloists, a four-part choir, horn (replaced by organ in the revised version), two oboes, two violins, viola, and basso continuo.
This is a short but very original cantata. It is inspired by the story of the leper, which contrasts human weakness with God's will, and by the leper's plea, "Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean". The oboe motif of the chorale transforms into the recurring "Lord, if Thou Wilt," a kind of leitmotif for the entire cantata. The chorale is interspersed with recitatives by each of the soloists.
The emotional center of the cantata is the tenor aria (again with oboe accompaniment), "O enter thou spirit of joy into my heart".
In movement 3 the will of man is described as "bald trotzig, bald verzagt" (quickly contrary, quickly dashed), illustrated in the melody.
The bass aria that follows describes the soul's readiness for death using the leper's words from the gospel. In the final verse, pizzicato strings suggest funeral bells.
The cantata ends with the usual quiet chorale, the final stanza of Ludwig Helmbold's hymn "Von Gott will ich nicht lassen".
Video: J.S. Bach Foundation (St. Gallen) - Workshop (in German) - Contemplation (in German) - Was mein Gott will, das g’scheh allzeit, BWV 111, 21 January 1725
1. Coro: Was mein Gott will, das g'scheh allzeit
2. Aria (bass): Entsetze dich, mein Herze, nicht
3. Recitativo (alto): O Törichter! der sich von Gott entzieht
4. Aria (alto, tenor): So geh ich mit geherzten Schritten
5. Recitativo (soprano): Drum wenn der Tod zuletzt den Geist
6. Chorale: Noch eins, Herr, will ich bitten dich
"What my God wills, that will always be"
Text and translation
Scored for four vocal soloists (soprano, alto, tenor, and bass), a four-part choir, two oboes, two violins, viola, and basso continuo.
This chorale cantata, based on the hymn "Was mein Gott will, das g'scheh allzeit" by Albert, Duke of Prussia (1490-1568), published in 1554, explores the theme of the Christian's acceptance of God's will, particularly in the wake of the Duke's wife's passing. Albert was a significant figure as the first German prince to embrace Protestantism and transform his duchy into a secular state. He chose a French chanson melody (Claudin de Sermisy, 1528) that was later associated with other chorales.
The elaborate opening chorus, with a soprano cantus firmus, is marked by its intensity and dynamism. It begins with a 16-measure instrumental statement that incorporates the melody in a unique combination of alternating two- and three-measure phrases. The vocal parts intertwine with an orchestral concerto of oboes, strings, and occasional continuo.
In the bass aria, the librettist retained the line from the hymn "Gott ist mein Trost und Zuversicht" and delivered a resolute exhortation.
The radiant duet for alto and tenor underscores the text's message of courageously following God's path. Sung in canon, their voices move together in 3/4 time, evoking a minuet with a strong, confident character. Bach often uses suite rhythms, such as the minuet and gavotte, to symbolize souls progressing toward heaven, reflecting the profound joy of salvation through death. This duet shines like a dazzling gem.
After a soprano recitative in which the final words "O blessed, desired end!" are emphasized in an arioso, the cantata concludes with a simple but powerful four-part setting of the final verse of the chorale.
Video: J.S. Bach Foundation (St. Gallen) / Workshop (in German) - Contemplation (in German) - Alles nur nach Gottes Willen, BWV 72, 27 January 1726
Coro: Alles nur nach Gottes Willen
Recitativo und Arioso (Alto, Violinen): O selger Christ, der allzeit seinen Willen
Aria (Alto, Violinen): Mit allem, was ich hab und bin
Recitativo (Bass): So glaube nun
Aria (Soprano, Oboe, Streicher): Mein Jesus will es tun, er will dein Kreuz versüßen
Choral: Was mein Gott will, das g'scheh allzeit
"All only according to God's will"
Text and translation
Scored for soprano, alto and bass, a four-part choir, two oboes, two violins, two obbligato violins, viola and basso continuo.
Bach composed Alles nur nach Gottes Willen in his third cantata cycle for the Third Sunday after Epiphany. The cantata text was written by Salomon Franck, who was Bach's librettist when they both worked for the ducal court in Weimar. Franck published it in his Evangelisches Andachts-Opffer in 1715. However, Bach composed the music much later. The cantata takes the readings about the healing of a leper as a testimony to the blind faith the believer should have in the Lord in good times and bad - it is about God's omnipotence and human trust in God.
The final chorale "Was mein Gott will, das g'scheh allzeit" was written by Albert, Duke of Prussia in 1547. The chorale theme by Claudin de Sermisy first appeared in 1528 in print in the collection of secular songs Trente et quatre chansons. Bach had previously used the chorale as the basis for his chorale cantata Was mein Gott will, das g'scheh allzeit, BWV 111, composed for the same occasion in 1725.
Although Franck had marked the first movement as an aria, Bach composed it as a chorus, opened by a ritornello dominated by two-bar runs in the violins and eventually in the continuo. It is a brilliant chorus in concertante style - the word "all" is repeated almost obsessively.
The first recitative for alto begins as a secco, but develops into an arioso on the words "Herr, so du willt," which are repeated nine times with a different continuo line, and culminate in "so sterb ich nicht. The following alto aria begins immediately with the voice, to ensure a connection between the recitative and the aria, then follows an unusual ritornello, a fugue with the two violins and the continuo.
The bass speaks in the recitative with the authority of the Vox Christi. The sweet soprano aria brings a balmy peace, more like song and dance, the instruments playing a ritornello and repeating it after a short sung passage: "Mein Jesus will es tun, er will dein Kreuz versüßen" (My Jesus will do it, he will sweeten your cross). In the main section that follows, the voice is embedded in the ritornello. This is followed by the short final chorale.
Video: J.S. Bach-Foundation (St. Gallen) / Workshop (in German) - Contemplation (in German) - Ich steh mit einem Fuß im Grabe, BWV 156, 23 January 1729
Sinfonia
Aria (Tenor) and Chorale (Soprano): Ich steh mit einem Fuß im Grabe
Recitative (Bass): Mein Angst und Not
Aria (Alto): Herr, was du willt, soll mir gefallen
Recitative (Bass): Und willst du, dass ich nicht soll kranken
Chorale: Herr, wie du willt, so schicks mit mir
"I stand with one foot in the grave"
Text and translation
Scored for three vocal soloists (alto, tenor, and bass), four-part choir, oboe, two violins, viola, and basso continuo.
Although it bears the hallmarks of a Weimar creation with its evocative language and intimate scoring, BWV 156 actually originated in Leipzig and features texts by the local poet Picander. It is believed to have premiered on January 23, 1729, making it Bach's fourth and final cantata for the third Sunday after Epiphany. The scripture readings for that Sunday were taken from Romans (offering guidance for life) and the Gospel of Matthew (recounting the healing of a leper).
Of Bach's extensive repertoire of over two hundred extant cantatas, thirty deal directly with themes of death, and many more touch on them indirectly. Like many of his contemporaries, Bach was intimately acquainted with the realities of death, having lost ten of his twenty-one children in infancy. This solo cantata shows Bach's mature cantata style at its most refined. The text reflects the biblical passage in which Jesus heals a leper, and presents the tension between two alternatives: pleading with God to end the sinner's suffering by welcoming him into heaven, while at the same time expressing the allure of the prospect of being healed. The central aria is the fulcrum between these two extremes.
The cantata begins with a deeply felt sinfonia dominated by a melancholy oboe solo, which Bach later reused in his Harpsichord Concerto BWV 1056. Compared to its later iteration for harpsichord, the melody remains straightforward and unadorned, strategically setting the tone for the following movement.
The following movement combines a tenor aria with a chorale cantus firmus. The structure of the aria is unconventional, with the tenor, embodying the sick individual from the Gospel, seemingly resigned to impending death as he boldly sings "Ich steh mit einem Fuß im Grabe" while the soprano interjects with Johann Hermann Schein's hymn "Machs mit mir, Gott, nach deiner Güt".
A bass recitative and arioso convey the anguish of those "who linger longer on earth, delaying their entrance into heaven". Once again, the tension between the desire for relief from suffering and the lure of healing is palpable.
The central alto aria serves as a focal point between these conflicting feelings. Alto solos alternate with a buoyant instrumental concertino of oboe, violin, and continuo. Structurally, the movement adopts the altered da capo aria form.
The cantata concludes with a chorale that features an original melody by Bach and ends with the affirmation, "Herr, wie du willt, so schicks mit mir" (Your will is the best). Throughout the piece there is a pervasive longing for the liberation of death.
Video: Netherlands Bach Society - Interview with conductor Lars Ulrik Mortensen /
J.S. Bach Foundation (St. Gallen) / Workshop (in German) - Contemplation (in German)
January 21, 2012
Witness for the Prosecution (1957) by Wilder
In Witness for the Prosecution (1957) a man, Leonard Vole (Tyrone Power), a former RAF sergeant and now inventor of kitchen appliances down on his luck, is accused of murder. There is only circumstantial evidence and that all points in his direction (DNA tests were not possible yet in 1957, otherwise this case would have soon be settled). Vole is accused of murdering Miss French, a rich, older woman who had become fond of him, even making him the beneficiary of her will. So he needs a good lawyer to get him off the hook: he does an appeal on master barrister Sir Wilfred Robarts (Charles Laughton).
The massively obese Robarts takes on the case although he has just left hospital after recovering from a heart attack and is engaged in various battles with his bossy private nurse Miss Plimsoll (Elsa Lanchester), for the desire for cigars, cognac and the adrenaline offered by a criminal case prove stronger than prudence. I like that mountain of a man - he is massively human. In real life, Laughton and Lanchester were married, which gives her mothering and his grumpiness some marital reality.
Another intriguing element that pulls Robarts into the case is Vole's German wife Christine (Marlene Dietrich), a very cold and self-possessed woman who has a nice surprise up her sleeve - when the case is heared, she appears for the prosecution and busts the alibi she had originally provided for Vole! True to her character in previous movies, she is a former cabaret dancer picked up by Vole in a bombed out German city.
Well, Sir Robarts has something to put his teeth into! I won't go into details for this is really a film where the plot and its final twists (and surprise ending) are important. But I would like to draw your attention to the atmosphere and the characters, which are well drawn and superbly acted. Marlene Dietrich gives one of the best performances of her career, even entertaining us with a cockney accent. Charles Laughton is, well, himself. He anchors the whole movie, childlike in his transgressions (substituting brandy for cocoa in his thermos bottle), garrulous, mischievous but also utterly charming. The dialogues, too, are smart and witty, as is to be expected of Billy Wilder. The courtroom dueling is fun, as is the beautiful recreation of the Old Bailey. The original story, by the way, is a play by Agatha Christie.
The massively obese Robarts takes on the case although he has just left hospital after recovering from a heart attack and is engaged in various battles with his bossy private nurse Miss Plimsoll (Elsa Lanchester), for the desire for cigars, cognac and the adrenaline offered by a criminal case prove stronger than prudence. I like that mountain of a man - he is massively human. In real life, Laughton and Lanchester were married, which gives her mothering and his grumpiness some marital reality.
Another intriguing element that pulls Robarts into the case is Vole's German wife Christine (Marlene Dietrich), a very cold and self-possessed woman who has a nice surprise up her sleeve - when the case is heared, she appears for the prosecution and busts the alibi she had originally provided for Vole! True to her character in previous movies, she is a former cabaret dancer picked up by Vole in a bombed out German city.
Well, Sir Robarts has something to put his teeth into! I won't go into details for this is really a film where the plot and its final twists (and surprise ending) are important. But I would like to draw your attention to the atmosphere and the characters, which are well drawn and superbly acted. Marlene Dietrich gives one of the best performances of her career, even entertaining us with a cockney accent. Charles Laughton is, well, himself. He anchors the whole movie, childlike in his transgressions (substituting brandy for cocoa in his thermos bottle), garrulous, mischievous but also utterly charming. The dialogues, too, are smart and witty, as is to be expected of Billy Wilder. The courtroom dueling is fun, as is the beautiful recreation of the Old Bailey. The original story, by the way, is a play by Agatha Christie.
January 20, 2012
The Shop Around the Corner (1940) by Lubitsch
The Shop Around the Corner (1940) rests on a wonderful premise, that has been borrowed by several other films and musicals (such as the inferior You've Got Mail): a man and a woman have come in contact via a newspaper ad and are exchanging letters which turn increasingly amorous, without having met yet; but when in real life they become co-workers, they are always quibbling and quarreling. Their personalities as letter writers seem totally different from their real life egos.
The story, written by Hungarian playwright Miklos Laszlo, is set in interwar Budapest, and stresses the insecurity of people's lives because of the 1930s crisis - today, we can feel again their fear of unemployment. Almost the whole film takes place in and around the upscale leather goods shop of Matuschek and Co. Here work eight people among whom the most important are: the owner, Mr Matuschek (Frank Morgan); chief salesman Alfred Kralik (James Stewart); Pirovitch (Felix Bressart), a family man, who keeps as much as possible in the background but who is also the moral centre; Vadas (Joseph Schildkraut), an aging dandy (the original of Mr. Humphreys in Are You Being Served, a TV series that also borrowed from this film); an errand boy, Pepi (William Tracey); and the newest member, Klara Novak (Margaret Sullavan), who when the film starts comes in begging for a job. She is Alfred Kralik's romantic pen pal.
This one of Ernst Lubitsch' best films (much better than Ninotchka), a combination of his famous wry humor and delicate sentiment. Himself from Germany and living since the 1920s in Hollywood, Lubitsch looks with nostalgia and idealism at the "Old Europe." The story is also very well written, with many important events (and even a whole person, the redoubtable Mrs Matuschek, whose infidelity is a major plot element) entirely kept off-screen.
The acting is faultless, and there is real chemistry between the two protagonists, Stewart and Sullavan. Yes, they get each other, but only after a bumpy ride during which Kralik is temporarily fired due to a festering disagreement about musical cigarette boxes, Matuschek has a detective spy on his wife and after receiving proof of her infidelity ("she doesn't want to grow old with me") tries to commit suicide, and Kralik and Novak continue verbally pestering each other. She tells him at one point: "I really wouldn't care to scratch your surface, Mr Kralik, because I know exactly what I'd find: instead of a heart, a handbag; instead of a soul, a suitcase; and instead of an intellect, a cigarette lighter that doesn't work." They even set up a date as letter writers, but when she sees him, Novak never believes Kralik can be her romantic pen pal.
The story, written by Hungarian playwright Miklos Laszlo, is set in interwar Budapest, and stresses the insecurity of people's lives because of the 1930s crisis - today, we can feel again their fear of unemployment. Almost the whole film takes place in and around the upscale leather goods shop of Matuschek and Co. Here work eight people among whom the most important are: the owner, Mr Matuschek (Frank Morgan); chief salesman Alfred Kralik (James Stewart); Pirovitch (Felix Bressart), a family man, who keeps as much as possible in the background but who is also the moral centre; Vadas (Joseph Schildkraut), an aging dandy (the original of Mr. Humphreys in Are You Being Served, a TV series that also borrowed from this film); an errand boy, Pepi (William Tracey); and the newest member, Klara Novak (Margaret Sullavan), who when the film starts comes in begging for a job. She is Alfred Kralik's romantic pen pal.
This one of Ernst Lubitsch' best films (much better than Ninotchka), a combination of his famous wry humor and delicate sentiment. Himself from Germany and living since the 1920s in Hollywood, Lubitsch looks with nostalgia and idealism at the "Old Europe." The story is also very well written, with many important events (and even a whole person, the redoubtable Mrs Matuschek, whose infidelity is a major plot element) entirely kept off-screen.
The acting is faultless, and there is real chemistry between the two protagonists, Stewart and Sullavan. Yes, they get each other, but only after a bumpy ride during which Kralik is temporarily fired due to a festering disagreement about musical cigarette boxes, Matuschek has a detective spy on his wife and after receiving proof of her infidelity ("she doesn't want to grow old with me") tries to commit suicide, and Kralik and Novak continue verbally pestering each other. She tells him at one point: "I really wouldn't care to scratch your surface, Mr Kralik, because I know exactly what I'd find: instead of a heart, a handbag; instead of a soul, a suitcase; and instead of an intellect, a cigarette lighter that doesn't work." They even set up a date as letter writers, but when she sees him, Novak never believes Kralik can be her romantic pen pal.
January 19, 2012
Bach Cantatas (10): 2nd Sunday after Epiphany (BWV 155, 3 & 13)
All three cantatas for this day deal with Jesus' response to his mother's plea for help. They also associate this day with the beginning of Christ's difficult journey, and thus with the journey of the soul. They are some of the saddest music Bach wrote.
Readings:
Romans 12:6–16, we have several gifts
John 2:1–11, the wedding at Cana and Jesus' miraculous transformation of water into wine.
Cantata Studies:
Bach Cantatas Website | Simon Crouch | Emmanuel Music | Julian Mincham | Wikipedia | Eduard van Hengel (in Dutch) | Bach Companion (Oxford U.P.) | Bach: The Learned Musician (Wolff) | Music in the Castle of Heaven (Gardiner)
Cantatas:
Readings:
Romans 12:6–16, we have several gifts
John 2:1–11, the wedding at Cana and Jesus' miraculous transformation of water into wine.
Cantata Studies:
Bach Cantatas Website | Simon Crouch | Emmanuel Music | Julian Mincham | Wikipedia | Eduard van Hengel (in Dutch) | Bach Companion (Oxford U.P.) | Bach: The Learned Musician (Wolff) | Music in the Castle of Heaven (Gardiner)
[The calling of Apostle John at the Marriage at Cana, c. 1530,
Jan Cornelisz Vermeyen]
Jan Cornelisz Vermeyen]
Cantatas:
- Mein Gott, wie lang, ach lange? BWV 155, 19 January 1716
Recitativo (Soprano): Mein Gott, wie lang, ach lange?
Aria (Alto, Tenor): Du mußt glauben, du mußt hoffen
Recitativo (Bass): So sei, o Seele, sei zufrieden
Aria (Soprano): Wirf, mein Herze, wirf dich noch
Choral: Ob sich's anließ, als wollt er nicht
"My God, how long, ah, how long"
Text & translation
Scored for soprano, alto, tenor and bass soloists, a four-part choir for the chorale only if at all, an obbligato bassoon, two violins, viola, and basso continuo.
Short solo cantata in chamber style, written in Weimar, but also performed in Leipzig on January 16, 1724. The wedding at Cana, the Gospel reading for this day, symbolically represents the marriage of Christ and the soul. It is also about transformation: water into wine, doubt into trust. The theme of the cantata is therefore the sorrow of separation from God, gradually transformed into the joy of reunion. The images are of water, wine and tears.
The cantata opens with an operatic recitative for soprano that speaks of longing and waiting, expressively extended over a throbbing pedal point of 11 bars. It conveys a feeling of extended suffering. This is followed by a very original duet between alto and tenor that calls for trust and hope. The voices sing most of the time in homophony. The duet is accompanied by a weeping bassoon that plays virtuoso figurations in a wide range of two and a half octaves, taking on the role of the troubled soul.
The bass recitative speaks in the voice of God about the wine of consolation. The cantata ends with a joyful soprano aria in a dancing rhythm. The melody of a 15th-century Easter chorale (stanza 12 of "Es ist das Heil uns kommen her" by Speratus) concludes the cantata in four voices.
The text of this cantata is by Salomo Franck (1659-1725), published in his Evangelische Andachts-Opfer, a book of "spiritual cantatas" for the entire church year. Franck was a high official and chief librarian in Weimar, much higher in rank than Bach. Between 1714 and 1716, Bach set at least fifteen of Franck's cantata texts to music, and while this may not have been entirely his own choice, it proved to be a good match.
Video: Netherlands Bach Society / J.S. Bach-Foundation (St. Gallen) - Workshop (in German) - Contemplation (in German) - Ach Gott, wie manches Herzeleid, BWV 3, 14 January 1725
Chorus: Ach Gott, wie manches Herzeleid
Recitative and Choral: Wie schwerlich lässt sich Fleisch und Blut
Aria for Bass: Empfind ich Höllenangst und Pein
Recitative for Tenor: Es mag mir Leib und Geist verschmachten
Duet for Soprano and Alto: Wenn Sorgen auf mich dringen
Choral: Erhalt mein Herz im Glauben rein
"Ah, God, how much heartache"
Text & translation
Scored for four vocal soloists, a four-part choir, horn (to double the cantus firmus in the closing chorale), trombone (to reinforce the bass in the opening chorus), two oboes d'amore, two violins, viola, and basso continuo.
A chorale cantata based on the eighteen-verse hymn "Ach Gott, wie manches Herzeleid" by Martin Moller (1587). It is a paraphrase of the Latin "Jesu dulcis memoria," a medieval hymn attributed to Bernard of Clairvaux, a meditation on Jesus as comforter and helper in distress. The song was sung in Bach's time to one of the two melodies used for "O Jesu Christ, my Life's Light."
After the intimate encounter with the manger child, the readings on Epiphany Sundays are marked by grief for the lost Jesus, with Baroque librettists transforming the search for the boy savior on his way to the temple into a symbol of the church awaiting the Savior's return. Note that neither Moller's chorale nor the cantata text has any connection with this Sunday's Gospel reading, the story (John 2:1-11) of the "wedding feast at Cana," whereupon, when the wine runs out, Jesus immediately transforms water into wine: his first miracle. All three of Bach's cantatas for this Sunday begin with the difficult journey that believers must take on this earth and end with the joy of the comfort and support that Christ offers them (according to Eduard van Hengel).
Composed during Bach's second season in Leipzig, BWV 3 belongs to the cycle of chorale cantatas that Bach began in June 1724: the text and music of the first and last chorale verses form the basis of a large opening chorus and a short closing chorale, while a lyricist, perhaps the Thomasschule's emeritus vice-principal Andreas Stübel, paraphrased the verses in between into texts for two recitative/aria pairs.
Note that although Bach composed the cantata BWV 58 two years later by basing the opening chorus on the same chorale - hence the name - the later cantata is very different because it is not a chorale cantata (the rest of the text is not based on the chorale).
The opening chorus begins with an orchestral ritornello of great beauty: a pair of oboes d'amore lead into one of Bach's excellent chorale fantasias, in which the chorale melody, which Bach usually assigns to the sopranos, is given to the bass, doubled by trombones and continuo. The chorus is very chromatic and complex, in a general mood of gentle lamentation. The four-note descending tetrachord is a Baroque symbol for "mourning," often used in chaconnes of the period. The mood of mourning is further supported by the elegiac sounds of the oboes d'amore and sighing motifs in the strings. As Julian Mincham writes, "The fantasia portrays the Christian’s grief throughout his journey on the narrow path to heaven - how difficult it is for flesh and blood to make this sorrowful journey."
The second movement is a recitative/chorale in which a line of chorale melody alternates with a line of recitative, each time by a different soloist. It is most effective. Harmonically, the chorale+recitative contrasts sharply with the opening chorus: instead of using the lamento figure with its characteristic semitone steps, leading to notes with many sharps, here all chromaticism has disappeared, and all harmonies are simple and straightforward.
This is followed by a sinuous bass aria full of writhing chromaticism, with the violoncello expressing the "fear of hell" mentioned in the text. This is a reminder of the uncomfortable, difficult path the Christian must walk. There is a change of mood, however, and the tenor recitative expresses trust in Jesus to overcome despair.
The duet for soprano and alto banishes human sorrow with joyful singing. It is the climax of the cantata, an almost cheerful expression of thanksgiving that Jesus helps us to carry our crosses. The sadness of the mortal world is largely absent from this music, which reflects the simple contentment of surrender to Jesus. The obbligato motif, played in unison by the oboes d'amore and the violin, provides a remarkable timbre. Bach refers to the cross mentioned in the text by using a cross motif in the melody and double sharps marked with a cross.
The cantata concludes with a simply harmonized chorale. The chorale melody is supported by a horn.
Video: J.S. Bach-Foundation (St. Gallen) - Workshop (in German) - Contemplation (in German) - Explanation "Bach Factory" (English) - Meine Seufzer, meine Tränen, BWV 13, 20 January 1726
Aria (Tenor): Meine Seufzer, meine Tränen
Recitative (Alt): Mein liebster Gott läßt mich annoch
Chorale (Alt): Der Gott, der mir hat versprochen
Recitative (Sopran): Mein Kummer nimmet zu
Aria (Bass): Ächzen und erbärmlich Weinen
Choral: So sei nun, Seele, deine
"My sighs, my tears"
Text & translation
Scored for four soloists, soprano, alto, tenor, and bass, a four-part choir (SATB) in the chorales, two recorders, oboe da caccia, two violins, viola, and basso continuo.
Intimate chamber cantata without chorus. Were the text not derived from the devotional works of Georg Christian Lehms - and clearly written for general purposes - the cantata could be mistaken for a votive composition undertaken for personal reasons, or for a commissioned funeral composition (in the style of Cantata 157). Perhaps, then, we can consider it a consolation cantata with an unusually personal character.
The cantata begins with a lament by the tenor as a vivid picture of the sinner's struggle. It is a noble and grave aria, beautifully accompanied by two recorders and the dark tones of the oboe da caccia, which together form an interesting instrumental texture. At the words "way to death" the music sinks deeper and deeper.
After a recitative, the chorale is interestingly sung not by a small choir, but by the alto - and at a vigorous tempo. This is the second stanza of Johann Heermann's hymn "Zion klagt mit Angst und Schmerzen". Mercy is not yet in sight ("My dear God lets me call in vain").
In the following bass aria, "Moaning and most piteous weeping," the first violin accompaniment is in unison with the recorder, which plays an octave higher, again creating a very special sound. The music also sighs and weeps.
Only the chorale, the final stanza of Paul Fleming's "In allen meinen Taten", sung to the melody of "O Welt, ich muss dich lassen" by Heinrich Isaac, brings some comfort, but it is brief compared to what has gone before. This may be the most desolate cantata Bach ever wrote, but the intimate, almost private scale keeps the outpouring of grief within bounds.
Video: J.S. Bach-Foundation (St. Gallen) - Workshop (in German) - Contemplation (in German)
January 18, 2012
Bach Cantatas (9): 1st Sunday after Epiphany (BWV 154, 124 & 32)
Depending on the date of Easter, in Lutheranism a variable number of Sundays (up to four) occurred between Epiphany and Septuagesima, the third Sunday before Ash Wednesday.
Readings:
Romans 12:1–6, the duties of a Christian
Luke 2:41–52, the finding in the Temple
(Bach's Lutheran church prescribed the same readings every year. They always consisted of a pair, a passage from a Gospel and a corresponding passage from an Epistle. A connection between the cantata text and the readings was necessary).
Cantata Studies:
Bach Cantatas Website | Simon Crouch | Emmanuel Music | Julian Mincham | Wikipedia | Eduard van Hengel (in Dutch) | Bach Companion (Oxford U.P.) | Bach: The Learned Musician (Wolff) | Music in the Castle of Heaven (Gardiner)
Readings:
Romans 12:1–6, the duties of a Christian
Luke 2:41–52, the finding in the Temple
(Bach's Lutheran church prescribed the same readings every year. They always consisted of a pair, a passage from a Gospel and a corresponding passage from an Epistle. A connection between the cantata text and the readings was necessary).
Cantata Studies:
Bach Cantatas Website | Simon Crouch | Emmanuel Music | Julian Mincham | Wikipedia | Eduard van Hengel (in Dutch) | Bach Companion (Oxford U.P.) | Bach: The Learned Musician (Wolff) | Music in the Castle of Heaven (Gardiner)
[William Holman Hunt (1860) - The Finding of the Saviour in the Temple]
Cantatas:
- Mein liebster Jesus ist verloren, BWV 154, 9 January 1724
Aria (tenor, strings): Mein liebster Jesus ist verloren Recitativo (tenor): Wo treff ich meinen Jesum an
Chorale: Jesu, mein Hort und Erretter
Aria (alto, oboi d'amore, strings, no continuo): Jesu, laß dich finden
Arioso (bass): Wisset ihr nicht, daß ich sein muß
Recitativo (tenor): Dies ist die Stimme meines Freundes
Aria (alto, tenor, oboi d'amore, strings): Wohl mir, Jesus ist gefunden
Chorale: Meinen Jesum laß ich nicht
"My dearest Jesus is lost"
Text & translation
Scored for alto, tenor and bass soloists, a four-part choir for the chorales only, two oboes d'amore, two violins, viola, and basso continuo.
A cantata without an opening chorus (although there are two chorales), but it compensates with three beautiful arias. Based on the readings for this Sunday about the finding of Jesus in the Temple. The cantata takes the parents' search for the lost infant Jesus as a symbol for the general situation of the soul that has lost Jesus. The first movement laments this loss, not in a chorus, but in a passionate tenor aria full of despair, accompanied only by sparse strings. This is followed by a simple chorale pleading for Jesus' return.
Next, the same plea is made in a gentle alto aria, the jewel of the cantata: "Jesus, let me find you. The bass, the voice of Christ, then responds in an arioso: "Do you not know that I must be in what is my Father's? An aria by the alto and tenor then expresses the joy of being found, followed by the final chorale.
Video: J.S. Bach Foundation (St. Gallen) - Workshop (in German) - Contemplation (in German) - Meinen Jesum laß ich nicht, BWV 124, 7 January 1725
Coro: Meinen Jesum laß ich nicht
Recitativo (tenor): Solange sich ein Tropfen Blut
Aria (tenor): Und wenn der harte Todesschlag
Recitativo (bass): Doch ach! welch schweres Ungemach
Aria (soprano, alto): Entziehe dich eilends, mein Herze, der Welt
Chorale: Jesum laß ich nicht von mir
"I shall not let my Jesus go"
Text & translation
Scored for four soloists, soprano, alto, tenor, and bass, a four-part choir, horn to play the cantus firmus with the soprano, oboe d'amore, two violins, viola, and basso continuo.
Bach composed this chorale cantata in Leipzig for the first Sunday after Epiphany, based on the hymn "Meinen Jesus laß ich nicht" by Christian Keymann. A year earlier, for the same occasion, Bach had written Mein liebster Jesus ist verloren, BWV 154, from the point of view of a person who had lost Jesus. The present cantata text is based on a chorale in six verses by Christian Keymann (1658). The text of the hymn begins, as in the earlier work, with an idea close to the Gospel: the Christian does not want to let go of Jesus, just as his parents did not want to lose their 12-year-old boy, but then the chorale pursues the idea of being united with Jesus after death.
The opening chorus is a gentle minuet, and the oboe d'amore takes a virtuosic concertante lead. The soprano and horn present the cantus firmus line by line, a melody by Andreas Hammerschmidt, who collaborated with Keymann on chorales. The lower voices are set mostly in homophony, while the orchestra plays its own themes in the introduction, interludes, and accompaniment.
A short secco recitative leads to a dramatic tenor aria, "And when the dreaded stroke of death," which has a violent staccato accompaniment - a persistent four-note drumming in the strings - but also a delicious oboe melody.
In another secco recitative, the phrase "after my completed course" is represented by an octave scale. A duet of soprano and alto, accompanied only by the continuo, moves like a dance in simple periods of four measures (with sparse accompaniment - mainly a solo cello - as it sings about withdrawing from the world). The cantata concludes with the final verse of the chorale in four-part harmony.
Video: Kay Johannsen / Mailander Kantorei - Liebster Jesu, mein Verlangen, BWV 32, 13 January 1726
Aria (soprano): "Liebster Jesu, mein Verlangen" for soprano, oboe, strings, and continuo.
Recitativo: "Was ists, dass du mich gesuchet?" for bass and continuo.
Aria (basso): "Hier, in meines Vaters Stätte" for bass, solo violin, and continuo.
Recitativo (dialogue): "Ach! heiliger und großer Gott" for soloists, strings, and continuo.
Duetto (soprano, basso): "Nun verschwinden alle Plagen" for soloists, oboe, strings, and continuo.
Chorale: "Mein Gott, öffne mir die Pforten" for choir, oboes, strings, and continuo.
"Dearest Jesus"
Text & translation
Scored for soprano and bass soloist, a four-part choir only in the chorale, oboe, two violins, viola and basso continuo.
The Dialogue Cantata (Concerto in Dialogo), composed by Bach for the first Sunday after Epiphany and premiered on January 13, 1726, as part of his third Leipzig cantata cycle, uses a text by Georg Christian Lehms, a court poet in Darmstadt, published in 1711. Lehms created a dialogue from the prescribed gospel, the Finding in the Temple. In contrast to the Gospel narrative of a parent missing a son, an allegorical soul (soprano) longs for Jesus (bass). This adaptation places the motifs of loss and anxious search in a broader context, allowing the listener to empathize with the Soul. In addition, the dialogue draws on medieval mysticism and imagery from the Song of Songs. Since Lehms did not provide a closing chorale, Bach chose the twelfth and final verse of Paul Gerhardt''s hymn "Weg, mein Herz, mit den Gedanken". This is sung to the melody of "Freu dich sehr, o meine Seele," which Louis Bourgeois codified when he arranged the Geneva Psalm 42 in his collection of Pseaumes octante trios de David (Geneva, 1551).
This delicate cantata opens with a poignant aria, featuring a prominent oboe solo, in which the soul expresses its longing for the absent Jesus. The accompanying Gospel text tells the story of the 12-year-old Jesus, who, after running away from his parents, is found several days later in the temple talking with the wise men. The first aria evokes an intense lament in which the soprano and oboe intertwine, conveying Mary's despair at her inability to locate her son - while symbolizing the wandering soul.
The response comes not from the young Jesus but from the mature Christ in a recitative followed by a lyrical bass aria. This extended aria is marked by a virtuoso violin accompaniment.
Jesus and the Soul are then reunited in a dialogic recitative, in which the Soul responds with a paraphrase of the opening line of Psalm 84, "Wie lieblich ist doch deine Wohnung," a text set by both Heinrich Schütz and Johannes Brahms, the latter as the central movement of Ein deutsches Requiem. Bach interprets the text as an evocative arioso with a pulsating string accompaniment, the two voices never singing at the same time.
The union of Christ and the soul is finally celebrated in a duet for soprano and bass, with significant oboe and violin accompaniment, structured as a dance, specifically a gavotte.
The hymn "Weg, mein Herz, mit den Gedanken" gracefully concludes the cantata.
Video: Netherlands Bach Society - Interview with soprano Monika Mauch and bass Stephan McLeod /
J.S. Bach Foundation (St. Gallen) - Workshop (in German) - Contemplation (in German)
January 17, 2012
Bach Cantatas (8): Feast of Epiphany (BWV 65, 123 & 248/VI)
January 6th is the Feast of the Epiphany, when the Three Wise Kings, the biblical Magi, visited the infant Jesus, the day of His first manifestation to the Gentiles. It is also known in some countries as "Three Kings Day.
Epiphany is the culmination of the Advent/Christmas season and the Twelve Days of Christmas, usually counted from the evening of December 25 to the morning of January 6, the Twelfth Day.
The term Epiphany means "to show" or "to make known" or even "to reveal. In Western churches, it commemorates the coming of the wise men with gifts to visit the Christ child, thus "revealing" Jesus as Lord and King to the world, the revelation of the incarnation of the Christ child.
There are three cantatas for this day, including the last part of the Christmas Oratorio.
Readings:
Isaiah 60:1–6, the heathen will convert
Matthew 2:1–12, the Wise Men From the East
Cantata Studies:
Bach Cantatas Website | Simon Crouch | Emmanuel Music | Julian Mincham | Wikipedia | Eduard van Hengel (in Dutch) | Bach Companion (Oxford U.P.) | Bach: The Learned Musician (Wolff) | Music in the Castle of Heaven (Gardiner)
Cantatas for this day:
Epiphany is the culmination of the Advent/Christmas season and the Twelve Days of Christmas, usually counted from the evening of December 25 to the morning of January 6, the Twelfth Day.
[The Adoration of the Magi by Edward Burne-Jones]
The term Epiphany means "to show" or "to make known" or even "to reveal. In Western churches, it commemorates the coming of the wise men with gifts to visit the Christ child, thus "revealing" Jesus as Lord and King to the world, the revelation of the incarnation of the Christ child.
There are three cantatas for this day, including the last part of the Christmas Oratorio.
Readings:
Isaiah 60:1–6, the heathen will convert
Matthew 2:1–12, the Wise Men From the East
Cantata Studies:
Bach Cantatas Website | Simon Crouch | Emmanuel Music | Julian Mincham | Wikipedia | Eduard van Hengel (in Dutch) | Bach Companion (Oxford U.P.) | Bach: The Learned Musician (Wolff) | Music in the Castle of Heaven (Gardiner)
[Adoration of the Magi by Bartolomé Esteban Murillo]
Cantatas for this day:
- Sie werden aus Saba alle kommen, BWV 65, 6 January 1724
Coro: Sie werden aus Saba alle kommen
Chorale: Die Kön'ge aus Saba kamen dar
Recitativo (bass): Was dort Jesaias vorhergesehn
Aria (bass, oboes da caccia): Gold aus Ophir ist zu schlecht
Recitativo (tenor): Verschmähe nicht, du, meiner Seele Licht
Aria (tenor, all instruments): Nimm mich dir zu eigen hin
Chorale: Ei nun, mein Gott, so fall ich dir
"All those from Sheba shall come"
Text & translation
Scored for two vocal soloists (tenor and bass), a four-part choir, two horns, two recorders, two oboes da caccia, two violins, viola, and basso continuo.
This is an impressive, festive cantata with a dance-like rhythm throughout. Bach composed it in 1724 for his first Leipzig cantata cycle. It concluded his first Christmas season, which had included five cantatas, the Magnificat, and a new Sanctus. The text, by an anonymous author, combines the prescribed readings from the prophecy of Isaiah and the Gospel of Matthew about the Magi. Bach emphasized their exotic origins with "oriental" sounds. He chose a colorful instrumentation: strings, horns, recorders, and oboes da caccia, and seems to enjoy the exotic sounds. It is as if a caravan is approaching in twelve-eight time. The opening chorus features a pair of dramatic horns and interesting fugal writing. The librettist begins with the final verse of the epistle reading, Isaiah's prophecy "All they from Sheba shall come: they shall bring gold and frankincense." He juxtaposes the prediction by a chorale, stanza 4 of the old anonymous Christmas carol "Ein Kind geborn zu Bethlehem" ("Puer natus in Bethlehem" 1543), which describes the arrival of the Kings from Sheba, related to the epistle.
The first recitative proclaims that it is the Christian's duty to bring his heart as a gift to Jesus, and this idea is also the subject of the following bass aria with two oboes da caccia, creating a pastoral rather than exotic atmosphere. The librettist also uses a verse from the early anonymous Christmas carol "A Child Was Born in Bethlehem" to show the fulfillment of prophecy.
The second recitative equates the gold given by the Magi with faith, their frankincense with prayer, and their myrrh with patience, which is again commented upon in the highly charged tenor aria that follows. The entire orchestra accompanies this aria.
The cantata ends with a chorale, verse 10 of Paul Gerhardt's hymn "Ich hab in Gottes Herz und Sinn".
Video: Netherlands Bach Society - Interview with conductor Hans-Christoph Rademann /
J.S. Bach Foundation (St. Gallen) - Workshop (in German) - Contemplation (in German) - Explanation "Bach Factory" (in English) - Liebster Immanuel, Herzog der Frommen, BWV 123, 6 January 1725
Coro: Liebster Immanuel, Herzog der Frommen
Recitativo (alto): Die Himmelssüßigkeit, der Auserwählten Lust
Aria (tenor): Auch die harte Kreuzesreise
Recitativo (bass): Kein Höllenfeind kann mich verschlingen
Aria (bass): Laß, o Welt, mich aus Verachtung
Chorale: Drum fahrt nur immer hin, ihr Eitelkeiten
"Beloved Emmanuel, Lord of the righteous"
Text & translation
Scored for three vocal soloists (alto, tenor, and bass), a four-part choir, two flauto traverso, two oboes d'amore, two violins, viola, and basso continuo.
This is a chorale cantata that Bach composed for his second Leipzig cycle. It is based on a hymn by Ahasverus Fritsch (1679). The unknown poet retained the first and last stanzas and paraphrased the inner stanzas into a sequence of as many recitatives and arias. The text has no specific reference to the readings, but refers to the naming of Jesus celebrated on January 1. The poet inserts "Heil und Licht" as a possible reference to the Epiphany and alludes to Christmas with "Jesus, der ins Fleisch gekommen". Otherwise, the text of the cantata follows the idea of the chorale: hatred and rejection in the world cannot harm those who believe.
The opening movement of this cantata is one of the most beautiful pieces Bach ever wrote, a graceful melody in a pastoral 9/8 rhythm, with prominent woodwinds, two flutes and two oboes d'amore. There is an extended orchestral ritornello before the chorus enters.
Also beautiful is the slow but expressive tenor aria with oboe d'amore accompaniment. It speaks of the "hard journey of the cross," illustrated by a four-bar chromatic ritornello in constant modulation. In the middle section, thunderstorms are depicted "allegro" in "exuberant passagework" of the voice, calming to "adagio" on "Heil und Licht".
The following aria for bass speaks of great loneliness. The voice is accompanied only by a single flute and a "staccato" continuo. The cantata concludes with an unusual four-part chorale; the last lines are sung softly: "My whole life be to Thee surrendered, 'til I am laid in the grave."
Audio: Koopman Herr, wenn die stolzen Feinde schnauben, BWV 248 VI, 6 January 1735 (Christmas Oratorio Part VI)
Chorus: Herr, wenn die stolzen Feinde schnauben
Recitative (Evangelist, tenor; Herod, bass): Da berief Herodes die Weisen heimlich
Recitative (soprano): Du Falscher, suchet nur den Herrn zu fällen
Aria (soprano): Nur ein Wink von seinen Händen
Recitative (Evangelist, tenor): Als sie nun den König gehöret hatten
Chorale: Ich steh an deiner Krippen hier
Recitative (Evangelist, tenor): Und Gott befahl ihnen im Traum'
Recitative (tenor): So geht! Genug, mein Schatz geht nicht von hier
Aria (tenor): Nun mögt ihr stolzen Feinde schrecken
Recitative (soprano, alto, tenor, bass): Was will der Höllen Schrecken nun
Chorale: Nun seid ihr wohl gerochen
"Lord, when our arrogant enemies snort with rage"
Text & translation
Scored for soloists SATB, chorus SATB, 3 trumpets, timpani, 2 oboes, 2 oboes d'amore, 2 violin parts, 1 viola part and continuo.
The sixth part of the Christmas Oratorio opens with a majestic chorus accompanied by trumpets and drums, setting a triumphant - and even martial - tone. This section continues the narrative focused on Herod's attempt to locate Jesus through the Three Kings, making up the second half of the story. The Three Wise Men, guided by a star from the east in search of a newborn king, inquire of Herod, the Roman ruler of Palestine. Herod, threatened by the prospect of a rival king, attempts to eliminate the infant. In the libretto of the cantata, Herod symbolizes the adversaries and challenges that Christians face and that they can overcome with divine help. The failure of Herod's plan serves as a paradigm for the triumphs of Christ's followers. As a result, the final Christmas cantata adopts a more assertive tone in its choral passages and arias.
The first recitative depicts Herod summoning the wise men and instructing them to find the Messiah so that he can worship him. The following recitative condemns Herod's insincere intentions. A graceful soprano aria in triple meter follows, effectively conveying the omnipotence of God.
In the following recitative, the wise men, guided by the star, begin their journey and find Jesus. They pay homage to him, followed by a chorale when they pray at the manger. Another recitative recounts the wise men's dream warning them to avoid Herod and flee.
A long and poignant recitative reflects on the bond between the soul and Jesus, leading into a tenor aria extolling the strength of faith. A final recitative, in which all the soloists take turns, precedes the magnificent final chorus, accompanied by jubilant trumpets and percussion. The final chorale is the fourth verse of Georg Werner's 1648 hymn, "Ihr Christen auserkoren." Bach sets the hymn to Hans Leo Hassler's melody, which he used in Part I for the opening chorale of the Christmas Oratorio, "Wie soll ich dich empfangen," thus creating a thematic unity throughout the oratorio.
Video: J.S. Bach Foundation (St. Gallen) - Workshop (in German) - Contemplation (in German)
January 16, 2012
Bach Cantatas (7): Sunday after New Year (BWV 153, 58 & 248-V)
We continue with cantatas written for the Sunday between New Year's Day and Epiphany, that is, between January 2 and January 5 - note that not every year has such a Sunday.
As the readings below show, the New Year's celebrations are already over, and instead we are talking about the suffering of Christians - based on the story of the flight to Egypt.
Including Part V of the Christmas Oratorio, there are 3 cantatas for this Sunday.
Readings for this day:
1 Peter 4:12–19, Suffering of Christians
Matthew 2:12–23, the Flight into Egypt
Cantata Studies:
Bach Cantatas Website | Simon Crouch | Emmanuel Music | Julian Mincham | Wikipedia | Eduard van Hengel (in Dutch) | Bach Companion (Oxford U.P.) | Bach: The Learned Musician (Wolff) | Music in the Castle of Heaven (Gardiner)
Cantatas written for this day:
As the readings below show, the New Year's celebrations are already over, and instead we are talking about the suffering of Christians - based on the story of the flight to Egypt.
Including Part V of the Christmas Oratorio, there are 3 cantatas for this Sunday.
Readings for this day:
1 Peter 4:12–19, Suffering of Christians
Matthew 2:12–23, the Flight into Egypt
Cantata Studies:
Bach Cantatas Website | Simon Crouch | Emmanuel Music | Julian Mincham | Wikipedia | Eduard van Hengel (in Dutch) | Bach Companion (Oxford U.P.) | Bach: The Learned Musician (Wolff) | Music in the Castle of Heaven (Gardiner)
[Flight into Egypt by Rembrandt, 1627]
Cantatas written for this day:
- Schau, lieber Gott, wie meine Feind, BWV 153, 2 January 1724
Chorale: Schau, lieber Gott, wie meine Feind
Recitativo (alto): Mein liebster Gott, ach laß dichs doch erbarmen
Arioso (bass): Fürchte dich nicht
Recitativo (tenor): Du sprichst zwar, lieber Gott
Chorale: Und ob gleich alle Teufel
Aria (tenor): Stürmt nur, stürmt, ihr Trübsalswetter
Recitativo (bass): Getrost! Mein Herz
Aria (alto): Soll ich meinen Lebenslauf
Chorale: Drum will ich, weil ich lebe noch
"Behold, dear God, how my enemies"
Text & translation
Scored for alto, tenor and bass soloists, a four-part choir, two violins, viola, and basso continuo.
This cantata was part of Bach's first Leipzig cycle. The unknown poet took Herod's massacre of the innocents and the flight to Egypt as a starting point to reflect in general on the situation of Christians faced with enemies. The cantata draws a contrast between life on earth, made miserable by the attacks of our enemies, and the peace of heaven, and prays for God's protection and guidance. There are 9 movements, all very short. It is structured around 3 chorales, but contains no virtuoso choruses (Bach may have wanted to ease the choir's workload during this busy period).
The cantata opens with the first stanza of David Denicke's chorale "Schau, lieber Gott, wie meine Feind". Movement 5 is stanza 5 of Paul Gerhardt's "Befiehl du deine Wege" (1656) (known as movement 44 of the St. Matthew Passion). The cantata ends with verses 16-18 of the chorale "Ach Gott, wie manches Herzeleid" (1587), attributed to Martin Moller.
Movement 3 is marked Arioso by Bach, but is almost an aria. The biblical text from Isaiah 41:10, "Fear not, for I am with you," is given to the bass as vox Christi. The opening ritornello of eight bars is present throughout most of the movement, transposed into various keys.
The cantata also contains two arias, No. 6 for tenor (depicting the "enemies" in fast violin passages and dotted rhythms played in unison) and No. 8 for alto, a minuet depicting eternal joy. Twice the instruments play a section of the alto aria, then repeat it with the voice interwoven. In the second vocal section, the words "Daselbsten verwechselt mein Jesus das Leiden mit seliger Wonne, mit ewigen Freuden" are presented on a new theme marked Allegro, then the instruments repeat their second section as a postlude.
Video: Amphion/Gesualdo - Ach Gott, wie manches Herzeleid, BWV 58, 5 January 1727
Duetto: "Ach Gott, wie manches Herzeleid" for soprano & bass soloists, oboes, strings, and continuo.
Recitativo: "Verfolgt dich gleich die arge Welt" for bass and continuo.
Aria: "Ich bin vergnügt in meinem Leiden" for soprano, violino and continuo.
Recitativo: "Kann es die Welt nicht lassen" for soprano and continuo.
Chorale: "Ich hab für mir ein schwere Reis" for soprano & bass soloists, oboes, strings, and continuo.
"Ah God, how many a heartache"
Text & translation
Scored for soprano, bass, two violins, viola, and basso continuo.
At the beginning of this cantata, Bach shifts from the joy of Christmas to a somber tone. It's the first Sunday after New Year's Day, and the sermon delves into the story of the Massacre of the Innocents. Fearing a threat to his throne from Jesus, Herod ordered the slaughter of all the children of Bethlehem. Fortunately, Joseph was forewarned and fled to Egypt with Mary and Jesus, while the others met a tragic end. The reading from the First Letter of the Apostle Peter updates this text: Christians should expect suffering and trials in the world, but they can count on God's support and reward.
According to the inscription "Dialogus," Bach placed BWV 58 in the genre of dialogue cantatas, which were popular in the seventeenth century and featured two allegorical characters in conversation with each other. In Cantata 58, the characters of the soprano and bass are not specified, but it is logical to interpret them as the soul and Christ.
Despite its brevity, Cantata 58 is a jewel of Bach's cantata art. There is a central aria in which the soprano confesses her confidence in God's support. The aria is flanked by the two secco recitatives. The corner movements are both duets. In them, the soprano sings verses from two different chorales that use the same melody, while the bass comments on the chorale texts with freely composed lines.
The text was attributed in 2015 to Christoph Birkmann, a theologian and student of Bach. He was also the librettist of the two famous, textually high-quality bass solo cantatas BWV 56 (Ich will den Kreuzstab gerne tragen) and BWV 82 (Ich habe genung), as well as several other cantatas that Bach composed in 1726/1727.
The sad theme is captured in the opening aria, a slow sarabande with simple instrumentation. The soprano, representing the suffering soul, sings the melancholy words of the first verse of the chorale, "Ach Gott, wie manches Herzeleid," accompanied by a descending, mournful bass line. Jesus, portrayed by the bass, interrupts with a more hopeful tone, urging patience on the difficult path to salvation. This is music of mysterious, otherworldly beauty.
The secco recitative for bass emphasizes the difficulties of the journey ahead to illustrate the need for God's helping hand.
The cantata takes a poignant turn with an exquisite soprano aria in which the tormented soul, now aware of Jesus' safety, reconciles herself to her suffering under God's hand: "I am cheerful in my grief".
The soprano recitative first laments the persecution of the world, but then melts into a gentle arioso sung over a walking bass line as she declares that God is leading her to paradise.
The final chorale is interestingly fused with soprano and bass solos so that it is again a duet, but now the mood is exuberant: the festive fanfare signifies the soprano's acceptance of devotion and anticipation of eternal comfort from Jesus.
We could also say that the text of this cantata traces the soul's journey through a life "full of sorrow" to the salvation of heaven. In an ongoing dialogue, one voice symbolizes the sadness of this world, while the other brings a message of consolation that gradually wins out throughout the cantata. The beauty of this 1727 masterpiece lies in Bach's skillful use of limited resources (again, to allow the performers to rest) and the solitude evoked by suffering.
Video: Netherlands Bach Society - Interview conductor Van Veldhoven /
J.S. Bach-Foundation (St. Gallen) - Workshop (in German) - Contemplation (in German) - Ehre sei dir, Gott, gesungen 2 January 1735 (Christmas Oratorio Part V)
Chorus: Ehre sei dir, Gott, gesungen
Recitative (Evangelist, tenor): Da Jesus geboren war zu Bethlehem
Chorus / Recitative (alto) / Chorus: Wo ist der neugeborne König der Juden
Chorale: Dein Glanz all' Finsternis verzehrt
Aria (bass): Erleucht' auch meine finstre Sinnen
Recitative (Evangelist, tenor): Da das der König Herodes hörte
Recitative (alto): Warum wollt ihr erschrecken
Recitative (Evangelist, tenor): Und ließ versammeln alle Hohenpriester
Trio (sopr., alto, ten.): Ach! wann wird die Zeit erscheinen?
Recitative (alto): Mein Liebster herrschet schon
Chorale: Zwar ist solche Herzensstube
"Let honor to you, God, be sung"
Text & translation
Scored for soloists SATB, chorus SATB, 2 oboes d'amore, 2 violin parts, 1 viola part and continuo.
The fifth cantata of the Christmas Oratorio, composed for the Sunday following New Year's Day, is a relatively less-known segment of the celebrated cycle. Departing from the traditional readings for the day, it delves into the journey of the Magi as depicted in the Gospel of Matthew 1-6. This narrative portrays the unwavering pursuit of the newborn child by the wise men as a poignant symbol of the human yearning for divine enlightenment. Their quest shines even more brightly when contrasted with the sinister schemes of King Herod. As a result, the cantata, characterized by chamber music accompanied by oboes d'amore and strings, evokes introspective themes subtly juxtaposed with the lively perpetual motion of the opening chorus, "Glory be to you, God."
Following the spirited opening chorus, the first recitative introduces the Wise Men. In the subsequent recitative/chorus, they inquire about the whereabouts of Jesus and receive the answer "in my bosom." After a simple chorale, a recitative leads into a bass aria accompanied by an oboe d'amore, pleading for the divine light of Christ as a shield against sin. This, along with the ensuing trio, forms the moral core of the cantata.
Two more recitatives ensue; the first reproaches the people for their fear, while the second recounts Herod's reaction to the birth of Christ. In the subsequent trio, the soprano and tenor inquire about the timing of salvation, with the alto asserting that it is now. A final recitative praising Jesus leads to the concluding, straightforward chorale setting, which features the ninth verse of Johann Franck's song "Ihr Gestirn, ihr hohen Lüfte" (1655).
Video: J.S. Bach Foundation (St. Gallen) - Workshop (in German) - Contemplation (in German)
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