Easter is the most important feast in the Christian liturgical year. According to Scripture, Jesus was resurrected from the dead on the third day after his crucifixion.
Easter marks the end of Lent, a forty-day period of fasting, prayer, and penance. The last week of Lent is called Holy Week, and it includes Good Friday, which commemorates the crucifixion and death of Jesus. Incidentally, in Bach's day, Lutheran churches did not perform cantatas on Good Friday, but in Leipzig, a Passion was performed at vespers.
Easter is followed by a fifty-day period called Eastertide or the Easter Season, ending with Pentecost Sunday.
Easter is a "movable feast," set by the First Council of Nicaea (325) on the first Sunday after the full moon following the vernal equinox. The date of Easter varies from March 22 to April 25.
In addition to the Easter Oratorio, there are two cantatas for Easter Sunday. Two other cantatas attributed to Easter Sunday are actually not by Bach: BWV 15 is by Johann Ludwig Bach, and BWV 160 is by Telemann.
Readings:
Epistle: 1 Corinthians 5: 6-8, "Christ is our Easter lamb";
Gospel: Markus 16: 1-8 "Resurrection"
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)
Easter marks the end of Lent, a forty-day period of fasting, prayer, and penance. The last week of Lent is called Holy Week, and it includes Good Friday, which commemorates the crucifixion and death of Jesus. Incidentally, in Bach's day, Lutheran churches did not perform cantatas on Good Friday, but in Leipzig, a Passion was performed at vespers.
Easter is followed by a fifty-day period called Eastertide or the Easter Season, ending with Pentecost Sunday.
Easter is a "movable feast," set by the First Council of Nicaea (325) on the first Sunday after the full moon following the vernal equinox. The date of Easter varies from March 22 to April 25.
In addition to the Easter Oratorio, there are two cantatas for Easter Sunday. Two other cantatas attributed to Easter Sunday are actually not by Bach: BWV 15 is by Johann Ludwig Bach, and BWV 160 is by Telemann.
Readings:
Epistle: 1 Corinthians 5: 6-8, "Christ is our Easter lamb";
Gospel: Markus 16: 1-8 "Resurrection"
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)
[Raffaellino del Garbo, Resurrección (1510)]
Cantatas:
- Christ lag in Todes Banden, BWV 4, probably 1707
1. Sinfonia: strings and continuo
2. Choral: Christ lag in Todes Banden
3. Duet S, A: Den Tod niemand zwingen kunnt
4. Choral T: Jesus Christus, Gottes Sohn
5. Choral: Es war ein wunderlicher Krieg
6. Aria B: Hier ist das rechte Osterlamm
7. Duet S, T: So feiern wir das hohe Fest
8. Choral: Wir essen und leben wohl
"Christ lay in the Bonds of Death"
Text and translation
Scored for four vocal parts (soprano, alto, tenor, and bass), 2 violins, 2 violas, basso continuo. The brass parts, a choir of cornetto and three trombones playing colla parte with the voices at times, may have been added in the 1720s.
Chorale cantata based on Martin Luther's Easter hymn. This early cantata is in an archaic style (the chorale text returns in each vocal movement, the orchestral accompaniment includes two violas). Its style suggests that it was composed between 1707 and 1713, probably during Bach's time in Mühlhausen (1707/1708). However, only copies from his Leipzig years in 1724 and 1725 have survived, so there is no certainty about the details of the original version. It may have been composed and premiered for Bach's application for the position of organist in Mühlhausen (Easter 1707). A cantata of the same name by Johann Pachelbel, based on the same chorale, bears a number of similarities to the composition, and it is possible that Bach was inspired by Pachelbel's work. It is likely that the cantata in its original Mühlhausen version had a different final movement than the surviving four-part version performed at Easter 1725. It concluded a series of chorale cantatas that Bach had begun in his second Leipzig cantata cycle after Trinity in 1724. Bach also performed this cantata at Easter 1724. The 1725 version differs only in the addition of a trombone chorus, consisting of brass and trombones, which amplifies the singing voices colla parte.
The text is based entirely on Martin Luther's 1524 Easter hymn of the same name. Its seven verses, together with a short introductory sinfonia, form the cantata's eight movements. All movements quote the chorale melody.
The cantata begins with a sinfonia for strings and continuo that establishes a somber mood. The first chorale is for full ensemble; the chorale melody appears as a cantus firmus in long notes in the soprano. This is a grand fugal setting of the chorale melody. The second movement is for soprano and alto singing over a walking bass line, the third is for tenor accompanied by a brilliant string line. The central movement is for the entire ensemble in motet style. This is followed by movement five for bass against the strings - it is a very rhetorical movement (low notes for "death", suspension on "haelt", etc.), a meditation on the meaning of Passover. The sixth movement is for soprano and tenor, sung in a more lively rhythm, and the cantata concludes with a four-part chorale for the entire ensemble, a fitting conclusion to this impressive work.
Video: Kulturkirken Fridalen (Bergen) / Ensemble Orlando Fribourg / Spiritato Baroque
Also listen to: Fantasia super: Christ lag in Todesbanden BWV 695 (Schouten) - Der Himmel lacht! Die Erde jubilieret, BWV 31, 21 April 1715
1. Sonata
2. Chorus: Der Himmel lacht! die Erde jubilieret
3. Recitative B: Erwünschter Tag!
4. Aria B: Fürst des Lebens, starker Streiter
5. Recitative T: So stehe dann, du gottergebne Seele
6. Aria T: Adam muß in uns verwesen
7. Recitative S: Weil dann das Haupt sein Glied
8. Aria S: Letzte Stunde, brich herein
9. Choral: So fahr ich hin zu Jesu Christ
"Heaven Laughs, the Earth Rejoices"
Text and translation
Scored for soprano, tenor and bass, a five-part choir (SSATB), three trumpets, timpani, three oboes, taille (tenor oboe), bassoon, two violins, two violas, two cellos and basso continuo.
This cantata was composed in Weimar for April 21, 1715, the first day of Easter, and was later performed several times in a different form in Leipzig. There is evidence of revivals in 1724 and 1731; another performance in 1735 is likely.
The text is taken from the Evangelisches Andachts-Opffer by the Weimar court poet Salomon Franck, who is known as the author of a total of nine cantata texts by Bach. The poems have been written in free verse, and, in keeping with the occasion, interpret the Easter message, combined with the call for believers to let Jesus rise in their souls. The final phrase, the last verse of the dying chorale "Wenn mein Stündlein vorhanden ist" by Nikolaus Herman, is a reference to the resurrection of the Christian after his death by Jesus.
Although Bach's cantatas for high feast days such as Easter usually had a large cast, the number of three trumpets and five reed instruments in this cantata is remarkable - no fewer than fifteen obbligato voices participate in the performance. The festive nature of the work is evident at the outset, when the resurrection of Christ is celebrated in the opening Sinfonia, an instrumental tour-de-force with its trumpet call.
This is followed by the opening chorus in the form of a five-part choral fugue, which takes up the jubilant basic mood (as do the trumpets) and carries it forward. This is followed by three recitative-aria pairs for bass, tenor, and soprano, the last of which contains a chorale cantus firmus. Textually, the cantata moves from the joy of Easter to the longing of the believer to be united with Jesus, and thus to look forward to the personal last hour.
The bass announces the resurrection of Jesus in a recitative and continues in an aria, both accompanied only by the continuo. The aria, marked Molto adagio, praises Jesus as "prince of life" and "strong warrior," accompanied by a vigorous dotted motif symbolizing Jesus' princely power. The higher tenor voice addresses the soul in a recitative to look to the "new life in the Spirit," which is followed by an attractive aria, accompanied by an undulating string ritornello, that speaks of "the new man," free from sin. The soprano sings in the first person as the soul in a recitative, convinced of her participation in the resurrection.
In the finale, the soprano and solo oboe contrast in echo effects with a deep string unison that anticipates the chorale melody of the final movement. The aria is a tender lullaby to death as sleep ("Last hour, break forth, to press closed my eyes"), almost a duet for soprano and oboe. The aforementioned chorale cantus firmus is played by the strings. The final hymn is a "deathbed chorale" scored for a four-part choir, crowned by a trumpet and first violin descant. This is one of the most majestic of the Weimar cantatas, a masterpiece of Bach's early maturity.
Video: J.S. Bach Foundation (St. Gallen) - Workshop (in German) - Contemplation (in German) - Easter Oratorio "Kommt, eilet und laufet", BWV 249, 1 April 1735
1 Sinfonia
2 Adagio
3 Aria Duetto tenor, bass: Kommt, eilet und laufet
4 Recitativo soprano, alto, tenor, bass: O kalter Männer Sinn
5 Aria soprano: Seele, deine Spezereien
6 Recitativo alto, tenor, bass: Hier ist die Gruft
7 Aria tenor: Sanfte soll mein Todeskummer
8 Recitativo soprano, alto: Indessen seufzen wir
9 Aria alto: Saget, saget mir geschwinde
10 Recitativo bass: Wir sind erfreut
11 Chorus: Preis und Dank
"Come, hasten and run"
Text and translation
Scored for three trumpets, timpani, two oboes, oboe d'amore, bassoon, two recorders, transverse flute, two violins, viola and continuo.
Although classified as an oratorio because of its narrative biblical text, the absence of an evangelist makes BWV 249 more akin to a "dramma per musica" than a traditional oratorio. In addition, the style of the work is primarily contemplative, with minimal action except for the discovery of the empty tomb on Easter morning, and no chorales. In style, length, and instrumentation, BWV 249 is similar to many of Bach's secular cantatas, but its festive instrumentation made it well suited for Easter celebrations.
The protagonists of the oratorio are Mary Magdalene (alto), Mary the mother of James (soprano), Peter (tenor) and John (bass). The narrative revolves around the discovery of the empty tomb, with Mary Magdalene encountering the risen Jesus and then informing the disciples, who rush to the tomb only to find it empty due to Jesus' resurrection.
The first performance of "Kommt, eilet und laufet" took place on April 1, 1725. It was originally a "parody" - that is, the same music was used with a new text - of the dramatic congratulatory cantata "Entfliehet, verschwindet, entweichet, ihr Sorgen" (BWV 249a), which Bach had performed five weeks earlier on February 23, 1725, for the 44th birthday of Duke Christian von Sachsen-Weissenfels.
Similarly structured as a dramma per musica, "Entfliehet, verschwindet" features acting characters - in this case, four shepherds - who temporarily leave their flock to congratulate the duke. For this reason, the cantata is commonly known as the Shepherds' Cantata. The libretto of this secular cantata, written by Picander, could easily be adapted into an Easter oratorio in which two female and two male followers of Jesus rush to the empty tomb and rejoice in Christ's resurrection.
It is plausible that Bach commissioned Picander in advance to write two libretti that were metrically and emotionally congruent, so that Bach only had to compose new recitatives for the Easter Oratorio. It has been speculated that the first three movements of both the Easter Oratorio and the Shepherds Cantata are adaptations of a lost instrumental concerto.
The work begins with an upbeat Sinfonia featuring trumpets and percussion. This is followed by an elegiac Adagio with a prominent flute, which paints the atmosphere of the peaceful cemetery where the action takes place. The chorus returns to the opening melody, describing the haste with which Jesus' followers run to his tomb.
In the subsequent SATB recitative, all four characters express their realization that embalming oil is unnecessary to soothe Jesus' body, suggesting instead a laurel wreath as more fitting. This is followed by a soprano aria accompanied by a graceful traverso line. In the ensuing SATB recitative, they make the discovery of the empty tomb, with the stone moved aside, and Jesus' shroud laid within. Then comes one of Bach's most exquisite compositions, the tenor aria "Gentle shall my death-throes be," a meditation by Peter on Jesus' shroud. With delicately evocative melody, it offers a comforting portrayal of death as a serene slumber, accompanied by the soothing interplay of recorders and muted strings. Here, the Christian soul celebrates Jesus' triumph over death, transforming its anguish into peaceful rest.For both Marys, the sight of the shroud is insufficient; they yearn to behold Jesus himself, as articulated in the poignant recitative for soprano and alto, followed by the more lively alto aria. "Tell me, tell me quickly, tell me where I can find Jesus whom my soul loves," draws inspiration from the Song of Songs. John's bass recitative confirms Jesus' resurrection, leading into the final chorus—a resplendent hymn of praise. The oratorio is a delightful amalgamation of uplifting melodies and dance-like rhythms.
Video: Netherlands Bach Society - Interview Van Veldhoven and Hobbs