Septuagesima (Latin for "seventieth") is the third Sunday before Ash Wednesday and the ninth Sunday before Easter in the Lutheran Church. The next two Sundays are called Sexagesima and Quinquagesima, the latter sometimes called Shrove Sunday. The earliest date on which Septuagesima Sunday can occur is January 18 (Easter falls on March 22 in a common year) and the latest is February 22 (Easter falls on April 25 in a leap year). The 17-day period beginning on Septuagesima Sunday was intended to be observed as a preparation for Lent, which is itself a period of spiritual preparation for Easter. In many countries, however, Septuagesima Sunday marked and still marks the traditional beginning of the carnival season, which culminates on Shrove Tuesday, sometimes known as Mardi Gras.
Bach wrote three cantatas for this Sunday. "Nimm, was dein ist, und gehe hin", BWV 144 (1724, first cantata cycle), and "Ich bin vergnügt mit meinem Glücke", BWV 84 (1727, fourth Cantata cycle "Picander") are both based on the parable of the workers in the vineyard, which urges Christians to be content with what God gives them. "Ich hab in Gottes Herz und Sinn", BWV 92, is from Bach's chorale cantata cycle, and is based on a hymn from 1647 by Paul Gerhardt.
Readings:
1 Corinthians 9:24–10:5, race for victory
Matthew 20:1–16, the parable of the Workers in the Vineyard: be content with your lot - the first will be the last.
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 wrote three cantatas for this Sunday. "Nimm, was dein ist, und gehe hin", BWV 144 (1724, first cantata cycle), and "Ich bin vergnügt mit meinem Glücke", BWV 84 (1727, fourth Cantata cycle "Picander") are both based on the parable of the workers in the vineyard, which urges Christians to be content with what God gives them. "Ich hab in Gottes Herz und Sinn", BWV 92, is from Bach's chorale cantata cycle, and is based on a hymn from 1647 by Paul Gerhardt.
Readings:
1 Corinthians 9:24–10:5, race for victory
Matthew 20:1–16, the parable of the Workers in the Vineyard: be content with your lot - the first will be the last.
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)
[Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard, by Rembrandt (1637)]
Cantatas:
- Nimm, was dein ist, und gehe hin, BWV 144, 6 February 1724
Coro: Nimm, was dein ist, und gehe hin
Aria (alto): Murre nicht, lieber Christ
Chorale: Was Gott tut, das ist wohlgetan
Recitativo (tenor): Wo die Genügsamkeit regiert
Aria (soprano, oboe d'amore): Genügsamkeit ist ein Schatz in diesem Leben
Chorale: Was mein Gott will, das g'scheh allzeit
"Take what is yours and go"
Text and translation
Scored for soprano, alto and tenor soloists, a four-part choir (SATB), two oboes, oboe d'amore, two violins, viola, and basso continuo.
One of the shortest of Bach's cantatas, and one that became particularly well known after his death. The theme is contentment. The archaic opening chorus in strict fugal style ("Take what is yours and go") is based on that Sunday's reading - about the discontented workers in the vineyard in the parable in Matthew 20:1–16. The opening chorus gets right to the point: "Don't complain and go away," is the stern message in a fugue given to the men who think they've been underpaid. Bach repeats the lively "and go away" motif sixty times in 68 bars.
We indeed should accept what we have and be satisfied, as in the famous Zen saying carved on a stone basin at the Ryoanji Temple in Kyoto: "Ware tada taru wo shiru," or "I am content with what I have."
In the aria that follows, an expressive minuet, a gentle alto encourages contentment, though the grumbling can still be heard in the accompaniment. The first chorale, "Was Gott tut, das ist wohlgetan," marks the turning point, where the message is "Have a little faith." Bach used this chorale in no fewer than seven cantata arrangements. He must have been deeply moved by the optimism and faith in God that it exudes. The tenor and soprano take this wise lesson to heart. In the soprano aria, accompanied by the oboe d'amore, the word "contentment" is repeated almost obsessively. The final chorale announces the cantata's conclusion: "What my God wills, may it always be done."
Video: Netherlands Bach Society - Interview conductor Van Veldhoven /
J.S. Bach Foundation (St. Gallen) - Workshop (in German) - Contemplation (in German) - Ich hab in Gottes Herz und Sinn, BWV 92, 28 January 1725
Choral: Ich habe in Gottes Herz und Sinn
Chor und Rezitativ Bass: Es kann mir fehlen nimmermehr!
Arie Tenor: Seht, seht! wie reißt, wie bricht, wie fällt
Choral Alto: Zudem ist Weisheit und Verstand
Rezitativ Tenor: Wir wollen uns nicht länger zagen
Arie Bass: Das Brausen von den rauhen Winden
Choral und Rezitativ: Ei nun, mein Gott, so fall ich dir
Arie Soprano: Meinem Hirten bleib ich treu
Choral: Soll ich den auch des Todes Weg
"I have unto God’s heart and mind"
Text and translation
Scored for four vocal soloists—soprano, alto, tenor and bass—a four-part choir (SATB), two oboes d'amore, two violins, viola, and basso continuo.
This cantata is loosely based on the Sunday lectionary readings, and its primary purpose is to urge the congregation to trust in God through the ups and downs of life. It is based on the 1647 hymn "Ich hab in Gottes Herz und Sinn" by Paul Gerhardt, written toward the end of the Thirty Years' War, that expresses a heartfelt trust in God in all circumstances. The anonymous librettist adapted Gerhardt's 12 stanzas into a nine-movement cantata, retaining much of the original text. There are five chorales. Bach manages to make the parts, which quote the hymn in text and melody, very different from one another.
In the expansive first chorale, "Was mein Gott will, das g'scheh allzeit," the soprano sings the melody as a cantus firmus in sustained notes, accompanied by a pair of oboes. Embedded in an orchestral concerto, motifs from the instruments are echoed by the lower voices. There is a shimmering, transparent beauty to this movement that conveys a sense of confident joy.
In the bass recitative, the singer alternates between singing the melody and free recitative, with rich word-painting elements in the accompaniment. The fast-paced tenor aria features aggressive ascending lines in the strings, evoking images of crashing waves and the raging and thundering of Satan of which the text sings.In the bass recitative, the singer alternates between singing the melody and delivering free recitative, with rich word-painting elements in the accompaniment. The fast-paced tenor aria features aggressive ascending lines in the strings, evoking images of crashing waves and the raging and thundering of Satan of which the text sings.
The ensuing choral verse, sung by the alto over an independent trio of oboes and continuo, accentuates the word "sad" with chromatic turns, calmly proclaiming God's wisdom.
A recitative is followed by an equally agitated bass aria, which vividly describes the roaring and storming winds as symbols of the Christian's tumultuous journey, portrayed through incessant movement in the voice and continuo.
In the chorale that follows, song and recitative again alternate, with the chorus singing the lines that lead into the soloists' recitative, progressing from bass to tenor to alto to soprano.
The soprano aria "I remain faithful to my Shepherd" is based on a delightful dance-like melody and is accompanied by oboe d'amore and pizzicato strings. The work concludes with a chorale in simple four-part harmony.
Video: J.S. Bach Foundation (St. Gallen) - Workshop (in German) - Contemplation (in German) - Ich bin vergnügt mit meinem Glücke, BWV 84, 9 February 1727
Arie Soprano: Ich bin vergnügt mit meinem Glücke
Rezitativ Soprano: Gott ist mir ja nichts schuldig
Arie Soprano: Ich esse mit Freuden mein weniges Brot
Rezitativ Soprano: Im Schweiße meines Angesichts
Choral: Ich leb indes in dir vergnüget
"I delight in my good fortune"
Text and translation
Scored for soprano soloist, a four-part choir only in the chorale, oboe, two violins, viola, and basso continuo.
Bach composed the work during his fourth year as Thomaskantor in Leipzig. The text is similar to a cantata text published by Picander in 1728, but it is not certain that he also wrote the cantata text. It is related to the Gospel in the general way that the Christian should be content with his share of good fortune without envying others who may seem more fortunate (the parable of the laborers in the vineyard). His thoughts on contentment are in the spirit of the early Enlightenment, a praise of frugality, of modesty with what God has given us, of contentment, of lack of envy towards others, expressed in simple language. The final chorale is the 12th stanza of the hymn "Wer weiß, wie nahe mir mein Ende" by Ämilie Juliane von Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt.
This is one of three cantatas Bach wrote for solo soprano and the music features a variety of casts and characters to provide variety despite the single voice. The first aria, "I am content with the fortune that my dear God bestows upon me," is slow and reflective, accompanied by all the instruments, and reminiscent of an oboe concerto. The aria is full of delicacy and elegance, a magical world beyond human greed.
The first recitative is secco, the second accompanied by strings. The second aria, "I eat my little bit of bread with joy," is dance-like and playful, with a beautiful accompaniment by the violin and oboe, almost like a trio sonata. It all speaks of childlike faith. The aria has been said to depict a pastoral idyll with a rustic musical scene – a tribute to the Enlightenment utopia of simple, happy country life. The violin figuration suggests the drone of bagpipes or hurdy-gurdy.
The chorale is a four-part setting of the tune "Wer nur den lieben Gott lässt walten" by Georg Neumark.
Video: Netherlands Bach Society - Interview with conductor and organist Fabio Bonizzoni /
J.S. Bach Foundation (St. Gallen) - Workshop (in German) - Contemplation (in German)