In this second part of the church year, there are no major feasts of the church. Instead, questions of faith and doctrine are explored. This Sunday explores the theme of the tormented sinner who can only be saved by God's grace.
Readings:
1 Peter 5:6–11, "Cast thy burden upon the Lord"
Luke 15:1–10, Parable of the Lost Sheep
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)
[Schlosskirche Weimar]
Cantatas:
- Ich hatte viel Bekümmernis, BWV 21, 17 June 1714, revised 1723
Sinfonia
Coro: Ich hatte viel Bekümmernis in meinem Herzen
Aria (soprano): Seufzer, Tränen, Kummer, Not
Recitativo (tenor): Wie hast du dich, mein Gott
Aria (tenor): Bäche von gesalznen Zähren
Coro: Was betrübst du dich
Recitativo (Dialogus soprano, bass): Ach Jesu, meine Ruh
Aria (soprano, bass): Komm, mein Jesu, und erquicke/Ja, ich komme und erquicke
Coro: Sei nun wieder zufrieden, meine Seele
Aria (tenor): Erfreue dich, Seele, erfreue dich, Herze
Coro: Das Lamm, das erwürget ist
"I had much affliction"
Text & translation
Scored for three vocal soloists (soprano, tenor and bass), a four-part choir SATB, three trumpets and timpani only in the final movement, four trombones (only in Movement 9 and only in the 5th version to double voices in the fifth stanza of the chorale), oboe, two violins, viola, and basso continuo, with bassoon and organ) explicitly indicated.
Originally composed in Weimar, this cantata has a complex history. The most detailed explanation comes from Eduard van Hengel, part of which I'll translate and paraphrase here:
"The cantata (parts 2 - 6 and 9) probably originates from a funeral service held on October 8, 1713, for the widow of a Weimar dignitary. The surviving memorial sermon discusses various biblical texts incorporated into the cantata, which explains the abundance of biblical quotations compared to other cantatas. It's likely that the lyricist was the Weimar court poet Salomon Franck. Presented as an eleven-part double cantata, before and after the sermon, Bach performed it again in Weimar on June 17, 1714, the third Sunday after Trinity. It also served as a farewell to the eighteen-year-old Prince Johann Ernst IV, who was musically talented and deeply devoted to Bach, before he left Weimar. Sadly, he would die the following year in Frankfurt".
Bach incorporates a Vivaldi melody, known to be a favorite of the prince, into the first chorus. According to the website of the Netherlands Bach Society, the prince returned from a long trip to the Netherlands in 1713, bringing with him new music, including Vivaldi's L'estro armonico, which had been printed in Amsterdam. These violin concertos and Vivaldi's Italian style were enthusiastically performed and arranged by Bach and Johann Ernst himself.
We continue with Eduard van Hengel: "Bach later performed the cantata in Hamburg in November 1720 when he applied for the position of organist at the Jacobikirche. This choice is significant not only because of its place among the 25 cantatas Bach composed, but also because it was the first cantata he performed after moving to Calvinist Köthen, where there was no church music. And less than three weeks after Bach's arrival in Leipzig on June 13, 1723, BWV 21 was the first of the cantatas already composed in Weimar that he performed, probably after some revision or expansion, to fulfill his weekly composition obligations. The cantata must have been performed several times in Leipzig".
As noted above, the text of the cantata has little to do with the Gospel reading for the third Sunday after Trinity (which focuses on the joy over the return of the lost sheep). It does, however, correspond to verse 6 of the Epistle reading (1 Peter 5:6-11): "Cast all your cares on him, for he cares for you." The inherent contrast between worry and trust also structures the cantata: the worrisome parts (1)-(6) are in minor keys, followed by the liberating parts (7)-(11) in major keys.
Stylistically and structurally, BWV 21 should be considered unbalanced: Bach is clearly at a historical crossroads. The arias and recitatives with free texts (3, 4, 5, 7, 8, and 10) are distinctly modern, while the large number of biblical texts reminiscent of the seventeenth-century motet tradition, the significant role of the chorus, and the structure of part six also reflects an older motet structure. There is also a certain imbalance, such as the presence of two arias for the tenor and none for the alto, and sudden the introduction of trumpets and timpani only at the end. None of these circumstances, however, diminish the cantata’s rigor and persuasive power.
The opening Sinfonia for violin and oboe features a sighing motif that sets the tone for the composition. The fugal opening chorus is followed by a poignant soprano aria with sighing motifs, followed by the tenor aria "Streams of salty tears," in which the swelling music evokes a flood of tears and a sense of hopeless loneliness. The first part ends, however, with a chorus that introduces a glimmer of hope.
The uplifting second part begins with a dialogue between the soul and Jesus, incorporating material from the Gospel reading - a common didactic device in Lutheran theology. Marked by a tripartite rhythm and a charming melody reminiscent of Mozart's "La ci darem la mano," this section evolves into a mood of joy and praise through trust in God's grace.
This transformation is reinforced by a magnificent chorus, "Be at peace again, my soul," in which the soloists intertwine their voices around the main melody. A lively tenor aria follows, leading to the final chorus, now augmented by trumpets and percussion, which exudes a powerful energy reminiscent of passages in Handel's "Messiah".
Video: J.S. Bach Foundation (St. Gallen) - Workshop (in German) - Contemplation (in German) / Netherlands Bach Society - Ach Herr, mich armen Sünder, BWV 135, 25 June 1724
Coro: Ach Herr, mich armen Sünder
Recitativo (tenor): Ach heile mich, du Arzt der Seelen
Aria (tenor): Tröste mir, Jesu, meine Gemüte
Recitativo (alto): Ich bin von Seufzen müde
Aria (bass): Weicht, all ihr Übeltäter
Chorale: Ehr sei ins Himmels Throne
"Ah Lord, me a poor sinner"
Text & translation
Scored for alto, tenor and bass, a four-part choir, cornett (to reinforce the soprano chorale tune in the last movement), trombone (to reinforce the bass chorale tune in the first movement), two oboes, two violins, viola, and basso continuo.
A chorale cantata based on the chorale "Ach Herr, mich armen Sünder" by Cyriakus Schneegass (1597), a rewriting of the 6th (penitential) psalm. The unknown librettist took the first and last verses of the chorale unchanged and transformed the verses in between into recitatives and arias, sticking as closely as possible to the chorale text and retaining one original verse in each movement. Each of the eight lines of the chorale is first presented instrumentally by two oboes and strings and then taken over by the voice. The reference to Sunday's biblical texts is found in the reading from the Gospel of Luke, the parable of the lost sheep, which concludes with the words: "I tell you, there is joy among the angels of God over a sinner who repents (Luke 15:10) - just as a shepherd rejoices when he finds his lost sheep". The repentance of the sinner is also the theme of the cantata.
The work begins with an impressive harmonization of Hans Leo Hassler's hymn "Herzlich tut mich verlangen" (1597 - originally a secular love song "My heart is confused, that makes a virgin tender"), the melody sung slowly by the basses to symbolize the "humbling" under the hand of God. This establishes a sense of desolation from the very beginning. The melody of this hymn will be familiar from "O Haupt voll Blut und Wunden" from the St. Matthew Passion. The melody is first heard in violin/viola unison, and to this beautiful foundation are added lines in the middle register - while the bass voices lay a foundation of longer lines below.
In the first cantata of the cycle, Bach placed the cantus firmus of the chorale melody in the soprano; in this fourth work, after the alto and tenor, it is the bass' turn. Christoph Wolff sees the opening choirs of the first four cantatas of the cycle as a group that consciously performs various forms of chorale fantasy. A French overture (BWV 20), a motet (BWV 2) and an Italian concerto (BWV 7) are followed by a web of vocal and instrumental polyphony, with all parts containing motifs from the chorale melody.
The first secco recitative by the tenor sketches the state of mind of the penitent sinner. Sin and sickness are interchangeable terms here. Rapid sequences of notes illustrate the “quick floods” of the repentant sinner’s tears. It ends with a line from the chorale that has been retained verbatim, “Oh, you Lord, how long?”
In the tenor aria, which is accompanied by two oboes, falling sevenths depict the sinking into death. The text “For in death everything is silent” is made clear by long pauses. All the same, this aria is a prayer for comfort which offers some relief from tension.
The alto recitative begins with a line of the chorale, “I am tired of sighing,” which is presented as a variation of the first line of the chorale melody.
The second aria is for bass and is a stirring, militaristic affair that would have fit in an opera by Handel. Like a believer who has regained his strength, the angry bass drives away the forces of evil: "Resist the devil that walketh about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour".
The final chorus is a more conventional harmonization than the opening of the cantata (you'll recognize the melody now if you didn't at first!), with the soprano being reinforced by the brass.
Video: J.S. Bach-Foundation (St. Gallen) - Workshop (in German) - Contemplation (in German) /
Netherlands Bach Society