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 Storm on the Sea of Galilee by Rembrandt, 1632]


Cantatas:
  1. 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)



  2. 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)