There are two Bach cantatas for this day, both with the same title but different music, the first written in Bach's first year in Leipzig (1724), the other from Bach's second Leipzig cycle (1725). The lectionary readings for this Sunday are 1 Peter 4:8-11 "serve one another" and John 15:26-16:4 from Jesus' farewell discourse, the promise of the Holy Spirit as his help, and the announcement of persecution. Jesus tries to explain to his disciples that their lives will not always be easy, especially in a world where some people will reject them.
Readings:
1 Peter 4:8–11, "Serve each other"
John 15:26–16:4, "Farewell discourse, announcement of the Spirit of Truth and persecution"
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)
[Jesus Saying Farewell from the Maesta by Duccio, 1308–1311]
- Sie werden euch in den Bann tun, BWV 44, 21 May 1724
Aria (tenor, bass): Sie werden euch in den Bann tun
Coro: Es kömmt aber die Zeit, daß, wer euch tötet, wird meinen, er tue Gott einen Dienst daran
Aria (alto): Christen müssen auf der Erden Christi wahre Jünger sein
Chorale (tenor): Ach Gott, wie manches Herzeleid
Recitativo (bass): Es sucht der Antichrist
Aria (soprano): Es ist und bleibt der Christen Trost
Chorale: So sei nun, Seele, deine
("They will banish you")
Text & translation
Scored for four vocal soloists (soprano, alto, tenor and bass), a four-part choir, two oboes, bassoon, two violins, viola and basso continuo.
The text of this compact cantata by an unknown poet is Jesus' warning to his disciples that their task will not be easy after he has left them. In John 16, Jesus prophesies the persecution of his disciples by those who know not God or Himself: "They will banish you. But the time comes that, whoever puts you to death will think that in this way he is serving God."
The darkly colored piece begins with an urgent duet for tenor and bass (accompanied by two obbligato oboes) setting the theme - Bach supports these warnings with a strict canon, a method of composition in which the different voices follow each other very closely. This is well suited to the threatening tone of the words. This is followed without a break by an agitated chorus expressing fear of persecution - a frenetic chorus full of paranoia and anxiety that has been compared to the Turbae in Bach's St. Mark's Passion.
Note that Bach also used the quotation that forms the text of the first two movements of this cantata as the opening movement of BWV 183, written the following year - where he presented it quite minimally as an accompanied recitative!
The alto aria with obbligato oboe depicts the Christian's suffering journey on earth, but also offers a hint of release amid the darkness and turmoil. This is echoed in the strangely chromatic tenor chorale "Ach Gott, wie manches Herzeleid" by Martin Moller. As Julian Mincham notes, "There seems little doubt that the byzantine bass line represents the difficult road and the human effort needed to travel and surmount it".
In the bass recitative, which encourages the faithful to persevere, Christians are compared to the branches of palm trees, which grow higher and straighter when they are burdened. The lively and even dance-like soprano aria, with full orchestral accompaniment, finally brings comfort - persecution gives way to faith - which is confirmed in the final chorale. This chorale is well known, with versions appearing in both the St. Matthew and St. John Passions. This beautiful yet personal harmonization of "Innsbruck, ich muss dich lassen" is the only hint of a benediction in the piece.
This was the last new composition in Bach's first cantata cycle. For the remaining occasions, until the beginning of the second cycle on the first Sunday after Trinity, he reworked older compositions. This is not surprising: Bach must have been pressed for time, since seven works were required in the single month of May 1724. But there is more: Bach was only a few weeks away from beginning his cycle of chorale cantatas on the first Sunday after Trinity in 1724, and he must have already been planning this new cycle.
Video: Netherlands Bach Society - Also listen to bassoon player Benny Aghassi about the versatile role of the obbligato bassoon in this cantata.
- Sie werden euch in den Bann tun, BWV 183, 13 May 1725
Recitativo (bass): Sie werden euch in den Bann tun
Aria (tenor): Ich fürchte nicht des Todes Schrecken
Recitativo (alto): Ich bin bereit, mein Blut und armes Leben
Aria (soprano): Höchster Tröster, Heilger Geist
Chorale: Du bist ein Geist, der lehret
("They will banish you")
Text & translation
Scored for four vocal soloists (soprano, alto, tenor and bass), a four-part choir only in the closing chorale, two oboes d'amore, two oboes da caccia, two violins, viola, a violoncello piccolo and basso continuo.
In his second year in Leipzig, Bach had consistently composed chorale cantatas in his second cantata cycle from the first Sunday after Trinity to Palm Sunday, but at Easter he returned to cantatas on a freer textual basis. These included nine cantatas based on texts by the poet Christiana Mariana von Ziegler, including this cantata for Exaudi. Bach later reassigned it, along with most of the other nine, to his third cantata cycle.
This is one of the shortest cantatas in the cycle, probably again because this was a very busy time for Bach (he wrote 5 cantatas in only 3 weeks). But interestingly, Bach's inspiration didn't wane - on the contrary, this is one of his most "experimental" cantatas. Although it lacks a chorus, it has an unusual and rich instrumentation, such as three kinds of oboes (oboe, oboe da caccia, and oboe d'amore) and a violincello piccolo. And despite having the same title as the previous year's Exaudi cantata, it is somewhat more optimistic, emphasizing that the fear of persecution is allayed by the Holy Spirit - emphasizing the fearlessness that is possible for a person who relies on "the protecting arm of Jesus".
In contrast to the tempestuous chorus of the previous year, Bach set merely the two lines of the Gospel for bass recitative as Vox Christi. But what a bass recitative! As Julian Mincham writes: "Over a pedal note of "a", held until the final cadence, the bass vocalist authoritatively delivers his warning, uniquely accompanied by chords sustained by an almost unique combination of instruments, four oboes; two d′amore and two da caccia. This produces a sepulchral sound which is both unique and haunting in quality..."
Next comes a delicate tenor aria in an elegiac mood ("I do not fear the horror of death"). Although the voice sings that he is not afraid (a rebuttal to the words of the bass), the tortured melody actually expresses fear! The aria is accompanied by the piccolo cello and the continuo - the oboes are silent here. This aria is the longest piece in the cantata - longer than all four other movements combined, but it is so beautiful that no one will be sorry. As Mincham says, "This is Bach at his most humane and most profound, music to touch the soul with a personal and softly declaimed expression of trust and belief which cannot be adequately described in words."
After an alto recitative ("I am ready") accompanied by four oboes, the soprano aria follows with a beautiful oboe da caccia line. A florid prayer of confidence, it is the most exuberant part of the cantata, in the "striding rhythm" of a stately minuet, full of Bachian optimism. The simple but robust final chorale borrows the fifth stanza of a hymn by Paul Gerhardt.
It is a pity that this cantata is only seldom performed, in contrast to BWV 44 on the same subject - there is no video available.
Video: Workshop J.S. Bach Foundation (only Workshop due to the Corona pandemic)
Audio: Gardiner