On January 1, Lutheran churches celebrated the naming and Circumcision of Jesus (New Year's Day was not a religious holiday; the new church year began with the first Sunday in Advent!). According to Jewish custom, the male child was circumcised on the eighth day of his birth and given a name: Jesus, a name derived from Hebrew meaning "salvation" or "savior. The circumcision of Jesus was traditionally seen as the first time the blood of Christ was shed, and thus the beginning of the process of human redemption, as well as a demonstration that Christ was fully human. But because New Year's Day was a big day, church holiday or not, its meaning spilled over into the religious celebrations of the day, infusing the texts of the cantatas with praise and thanksgiving that called for the addition of trumpets and drums.
There are five cantatas for New Year's Day, including the fourth cantata of the Christmas Oratorio, "Fallt mit Danken, fallt mit Loben", which covers the naming of Jesus.
[Circumcision of Christ by Rembrandt van Rijn, 1661]
Readings for New Year's Day:
Galatians 3:23–29, By faith we inherit
Luke 2:21, Circumcision and naming of Jesus eight days after his birth
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)
[Bach's Thomaskirche in Leipzig]
The five existing cantatas written for the service on January 1 are:
- Singet dem Herrn ein neues Lied, BWV 190, 1 January 1724
Coro: Singet dem Herrn ein neues Lied
Chorale e recitativo (alto, tenor, bass): Herr Gott, dich loben wir
Aria (alto, strings): Lobe, Zion, deinen Gott
Recitativo (bass): Es wünsche sich die Welt
Aria (tenor, bass, oboe d'amore): Jesus soll mein alles sein
Recitativo (tenor, strings): Nun, Jesus gebe
Chorale: Laß uns das Jahr vollbringen
"Sing to the Lord"
Text & translation
Scored for alto, tenor and bass soloists, a four-part choir, three trumpets, timpani, three oboes, oboe d'amore, two violins, viola, and basso continuo including bassoon.
Unfortunately, this bright and fine cantata has not survived intact, as Bach later reused it for a Lutheran celebration, the "Augsburg Confession" (BWV 190a) - of the first two movements, only the vocal and violin parts have survived. However, based on the observation that in Bach's cantatas the instrumentation of the first movement is usually the same as that of the last movement, a reconstruction can easily be made.
The festive work, written for Bach's first New Year's Day in Leipzig in 1724, begins with grand trumpets and drums. The unknown librettist, possibly Picander, uses parts of Psalms 149 and 150. The opening chorus, based on three psalm verses and two lines from Luther's "Te Deum," is a complex architecture in three sections. A concerto, Singet dem Herrn, closes with the liturgical melody "Herr Gott, dich loben wir" in unison; a choral fugue, "Alles was Odem hat" closes with a similar "Herr Gott, wir danken dir"; the final section, Halleluja, is an abbreviated recapitulation of the first.
This chorus is followed by a chorale (based on Luther's Te Deum) with built-in recitative for alto, tenor, and bass. The following alto aria is dance-like and simple, and the next duet for tenor and bass is accompanied by an obbligato instrument, which may be oboe d'amore or violin. Neither movement has a da capo.
The unknown poet refers to the readings only in general terms: he mentions the naming at the end of movement 4, "Jesu Namen," and he begins each line of the following aria with "Jesus". Otherwise, the text emphasizes praise and thanksgiving for past gifts and prayer for future blessings.
The closing chorale is the second verse of Johannes Hermann's "Jesu, nun sei gepreiset" (1591). The trumpet chorus marks the end of each line in the closing chorale. It is attractive and powerful music, although the arias are more relaxed than the grand choruses.
Video: Neumeyer Consort - Jesu, nun sei gepreiset, BWV 41, 1 January 1725
(Coro): "Jesu, nun sei gepreiset" for choir, trombe, oboes, tamburi, strings, and continuo.
Aria: "Laß uns, o höchster Gott" for soprano, oboes, and continuo.
Recitativo: "Ach! deine Hand, dein Segen muss allein" for alto and continuo.
Aria: "Woferne du den edlen Frieden" for tenor, violoncello piccolo, and continuo.
Recitativo & Coro: "Doch weil der Feind bei Tag und Nacht" for bass, choir, and continuo.
Chorale: "Dein ist allein die Ehre" for choir, trombe, oboes, timpani, strings, and continuo.
"Jesus now be praised"
Text & translation
Scored for four soloists (soprano, alto, tenor and bass), a four-part choir, three trumpets, timpani, three oboes, two violins, viola, violoncello piccolo da spalla and basso continuo.
A large-scale work full of grandeur and majesty. This chorale cantata was composed for Bach's second edition of cantatas, for New Year's Day 1725 in Leipzig. Bach uses the chorale Jesu, nun sei gepreiset (1591) by Johannes Hermann (1515-1593), one of his predecessors as cantor in Leipzig. Its melody is by Melchior Vulpius, who first published it in his Ein schön geistlich Gesangbuch, printed in Jena (1609). Since this chorale has only three verses, and Bach, as usual, uses the first and last verses for the first and last movements of his cantata, the unknown librettist had to extract the arias and recitatives in between from only the second verse.
The opening chorale, a chorale fantasia that begins with a ritornello fanfare, is a joyous and powerful hymn of praise, one of Bach's finest chorales, lasting more than eight minutes. The hymn begins with the naming of Jesus, fitting for the celebration of his naming. Otherwise, it is more concerned with the beginning of a new year. Bach was faced with the problem of structuring the unusually long stanza of 14 lines and an additional repetition of the last two lines. The orchestral introduction is dominated by a syncopated fanfare motif in the trumpets. In the first four lines, repeated in the next four and the last two, the soprano sings the cantus firmus, with the lower voices in free polyphony. Lines 9 and 10, which speak of "in good silence," are marked adagio; the chorus sings in homophony in triple meter, accompanied by the orchestra without trumpets. Lines 11 and 12, repeated in 13 and 14, are a presto fugato, with the instruments playing colla parte, expressing "Wir wollen uns dir ergeben," an "enthusiastic rededication to spiritual values. The fugal theme is derived from the first phrase of the chorale melody.
After this huge opening chorus, the two arias that follow have the character of chamber music. The beautiful first aria (without recitative) is sung by the soprano accompanied by three oboes in pastoral 6/8 time, an intimate prayer for blessings in the New Year.
A short secco recitative leads to a tenor da capo aria dominated by a pleading violoncello piccolo (a five-string cello developed by Bach) in a very personal plea for divine blessings. This is the expressive heart of the cantata.
The bass recitative contains a line from Martin Luther's Deutsche Litanei, which Bach set for four-part choir, marked allegro, as if the congregation were joining the individual's prayer in a plea to crush evil. The final chorus is again a celebratory chorus, quoting the opening fanfare and bringing the cantata full circle.
Video: J.S. Bach Foundation (St. Gallen) - Workshop (in German) - Contemplation (in German)- Explanation "Bach Factory" (English) - Herr Gott, dich loben wir, BWV 16, 1 January 1726
Coro: Herr Gott, dich loben wir
Recitativo (bass): So stimmen wir bei dieser frohen Zeit
Aria (bass, tutti): Laßt uns jauchzen, laßt uns freuen
Recitativo (alto): Ach treuer Hort
Aria (tenor): Geliebter Jesu, du allein
Chorale: All solch dein Güt wir preisen
"Lord God, we praise you"
Text & translation
This cantata is scored for scored three vocal soloists (alto, tenor, and bass), a four-part choir, corno da caccia, two oboes, oboe da caccia, two violins, viola, violetta (alternative in a later performance) and basso continuo.
Another cantata that focuses on thanksgiving (the first 3 movements) and a prayer for blessings (the last 3 movements), to a libretto by Georg Christian Lehms. The opening chorus is a festive "archaic" choral melody, Martin Luther's German Te Deum, "Herr Gott, dich loben wir", but shorter than in the previous New Year's cantatas and more modestly scored. The soprano cantus firmus is underscored by a horn (corno da caccia).
After the basso secco recitative asks everyone to "sing a new song," the chorus immediately responds attaca (without pause) with "Laßt uns jauchzen, laßt uns freuen. The basso also joins the chorus, resulting in a rather experimental form, almost a basso da capo aria accompanied by the chorus.
As in BWV 41, the tenor aria is again a quiet and tenderly moving plea for divine blessings in the new year. It is the longest movement (about half the cantata!) and is accompanied by an oboe do caccia (an alto oboe with a curved tube and a brass bell).
The poet did not supply a closing chorale, but Bach chose the final stanza of Paul Eber's "Helft mir Gotts Güte preisen" (Help me to praise God's goodness) (c. 1580).
Audio: Brilliant Classics (Leusink) - Gott, wie dein Name, so ist auch dein Ruhm, BWV 171, 1 January 1729
Coro: Gott, wie dein Name, so ist auch dein Ruhm
Aria (tenor): Herr, so weit die Wolken gehn
Recitativo (alto): Du süßer Jesus-Name du
Aria (soprano): Jesus soll mein erstes Wort
Recitativo (bass): Und da du, Herr, gesagt
Chorale: Laß uns das Jahr vollbringen
"God as your name"
Text & translation
Scored for four vocal soloists (soprano, alto, tenor, bass), a four-part choir, three trumpets and timpani, two oboes, two violins, viola, and basso continuo.
This cantata to a text by Picander (Christian Friedrich Henrici, who also wrote the texts for the Matthaus Passion and the Christmas Oratorio) was intended for New Year's Day 1729. Since circumcision was not a Christian custom, the text focuses on the naming of Jesus ("As your name is, so is your praise to the ends of the earth").
Picander included a verse from Psalm 48 for the first movement. He used the second verse of Johannes Hermann's hymn "Jesu, nun sei gepreiset" as the final chorale. Picander's poetry focuses on the name of Jesus, similar to Bach's later cantata for the same occasion, Part IV of his Christmas Oratorio. The biblical quotation from the Old Testament already mentions the name of God. The first recitative adds the thought that the name of Jesus is a gift for the New Year. The second aria reflects that the name of Jesus, which is the first word in the New Year, should also be the last in the hour of death. The last recitative refers to John 16:23, where Jesus said: "If you ask the Father in my name, he will give you what you ask for". The final movement combines prayer and hope for the new year.
The lively, fugal opening chorus, with an independent trumpet, is both concise and exuberant. This impressive chorus is better known as the second chorus in the Credo of the B Minor Mass.
It is followed by a brilliant tenor aria, with two obbligato violins, singing of the glory of God spreading to the clouds - and fast-moving, northern European clouds they are!
The quiet alto recitative forms a reflection on the name of Jesus, close to the prescribed readings for the day. Then comes a joyful, pastoral soprano aria with a virtuoso violin solo about the sweetness of the Savior's name. This gentle aria, with its brilliant violin accompaniment, is one of the greatest soprano arias Bach wrote.
The final chorale,"Laß uns das Jahr vollbringen" (Let us complete the year), is taken from Jesu, nun sei gepreiset, BWV 41, written for the same occasion in 1725.
Audio: Koopman - Fallt mit Danken, fallt mit Loben, 1 January 1735 (Christmas Oratorio BWV 248 Part IV)
Chorus: Fallt mit Danken, fallt mit Loben
Recitative (Evangelist, tenor): Und da acht Tage um waren
Recitative (bass), Arioso (sopr./bass): Immanuel, o süßes Wort / Jesu, du mein liebstes Leben
Aria (soprano & 'Echo' soprano): Flößt, mein Heiland, flößt dein Namen
Recitative (bass), Arioso (soprano): Wohlan! dein Name soll allein / Jesu, meine Freud' und Wonne
Aria (tenor): Ich will nur dir zu Ehren leben
Chorale: Jesus richte mein Beginnen
"Fall with thanks, fall with praise"
Text & translation
Scored for three vocal soloists, a four-part choir (SATB), two natural horns, two oboes, two violins, viola and basso continuo.
This is Part Four of the Christmas Oratorio, BWV 248. It skips the usual thanksgiving and prayers for blessings, and instead focuses on the name of the Savior, in line with the Readings for this day. The opening chorus (a parody of BWV 213/1) is fine, but rather modest, with rustic horns but no trumpets. The horns do impart an otherwordly quality to the chorus, however.
The gorgeous tenor recitative introduces the theme of Jesus' circumcision, the following bass recitative about the transient nature of death is interestingly interspersed with a choral intoned by the sopranos.
This is followed by the beautiful and interesting echo aria (a parody of BWV 213/5) for soprano "Flößt, mein Heiland, flößt dein Namen." The echo stands for the voice of God, and would be sung by someone standing in an other part of the church, symbolizing the division between Heaven and Earth.
The tenor (a parody of BWV 213/7) pledges to lead a life to the glory of God, after which follows a fine choral finale (the 15th verse of Herr Jesu, laß gelingen by Johann Rist).
Video: J.S. Bach Foundation (St. Gallen) - Workshop (in German) - Contemplation (in German)
In Japan, people try not to use negative words or expressions on New Year's Day because they believe that it could have a bad effect on the following year. They believe in the power of words and say as many good things as possible. Bach did the same in his New Year cantatas, which are always of a celebratory nature.
[Circumcision of Christ, Menologion of Basil II, 979-984]
P.S. The Wikipedia article on circumcision reveals that it was once a feast celebrated in the Catholic, Greek Orthodox, Lutheran, and other churches. It has appeared in Western art since the Renaissance (as in the painting by Durer, where, as was customary in the synagogue, the high priest holds the baby while he or a mohel performs the operation). The representation always focuses on the penis of Jesus to show that he had become human, and sometimes looks quite cruel! Circumcision has also been versified, as here by Milton. And of course, at various times in history, relics of Jesus' foreskin, the holy prepuce, have appeared in precious reliquaries to entertain the gullible. As in the case of the Buddha's teeth in East Asia (which turned up in unbelievably large quantities as far away as Japan, and which together would make for a truly monstrous set of dentures), there seems to have been plenty of foreskin around to challenge the (baser) imagination... Most of these relics have now disappeared, perhaps not by accident...Bach Cantata Index
