There are three cantatas for this Sunday. A fourth possible cantata, Widerstehe doch der Sünde, BWV 54, has been discussed for Oculi.
Readings:
Romans 6:19–23, "The wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life"
Mark 8:1–9, "The Feeding of the 4000"
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)
[Feeding the multitudes by Bernardo Strozzi, early 17th c.]
- Ärgre dich, o Seele, nicht, BWV 186 (Leipzig, 1723)
1. Chorus: Ärgre dich, o Seele, nicht
2. Recitativo (bass): Die Knechtsgestalt, die Not, der Mangel
3. Aria (bass): Bist du, der mir helfen soll
4. Recitativo (tenor): Ach, daß ein Christ so sehr
5. Aria (tenor, oboe and violins): Mein Heiland läßt sich merken
6. Chorale: Ob sichs anließ, als wollt er nicht
after the sermon:
7. Recitativo (tenor): Es ist die Welt die große Wüstenei
8. Aria (soprano, violins): Die Armen will der Herr umarmen
9. Recitativo (alto): Nun mag die Welt mit ihrer Lust vergehen
10. Aria (soprano, alto, violins, oboes and taille): Laß, Seele, kein Leiden
11. Chorale: Die Hoffnung wart' der rechten Zeit
"Do not be vexed, O soul"
Text & translation
Scored for four soloists, four-part choir, two oboes, taille (tenor oboe), strings and basso continuo with bassoon.
This cantata was written in Leipzig in 1723 for the 7th Sunday after Trinity and is based on an Advent cantata BWV 186a from Bach's Weimar period. The text of this cantata was by Salomon Franck, Bach's regular cantata poet in his Weimar days. He used a somewhat old-fashioned structure: no ("modern") recitatives, and therefore only an opening and closing chorus and four consecutive arias in between. Since tempus clausum was observed in Leipzig during Advent and no cantatas were performed, Bach could not perform the work there during Advent. He reworked it into a cantata in two parts by adding recitatives, changing the texts of the arias slightly, replacing the final chorale with verse 11 of the chorale Es ist das Heil uns komm her (1523) by Paul Speratus and adding verse 12 of that chorale as the conclusion of the first part of the cantata. The new librettist is unknown. The eleven movements are divided into two parts, one before and one after the sermon. Thus a new cantata for Trinity VII was born. The old Weimar cantata was lost, but has been reconstructed on the basis of the Leipzig cantata and can now be performed again. The original cantata contained movements 1, 3, 5, 8 and 10 of the later work and a different final chorale by Ludwig Helmbold.
The text alludes to Jesus' miraculous feeding of the four thousand and dwells on the contrast between physical nourishment on the one hand and spiritual satiation on the other. In other words, the acceptance of earthly deprivation leads to the hope of heavenly rewards.
The somber opening chorus is based on the readings for the original cantata for Advent III: the Gospel of Matthew (11:2-10), where we read how John the Baptist, Jesus' predecessor, wonders in prison whether Jesus, who shows so few divine traits, is really the promised Messiah; and Jesus asks his disciples to tell John about the miracles they have seen him perform, and "do not be offended that I come in the form of a servant" - after all, this is how God's glory comes over the earth. The chorus focuses on the words "Do not be troubled.
The four recitatives all end in an arioso. The bass recitative was originally in the voice of John the Baptist, but was changed to reflect the thoughts of this Sunday, about hunger and food, and to connect with the miraculous food story. This is followed by an energetic bass aria that further develops these thoughts.
The scoring of the four arias shows increasing complexity and a progression from the lowest voice to the higher, with soprano and alto only appearing in the second part. The first bass aria is accompanied only by the continuo, the next two by a trio, and the final aria is a duet with orchestra.
The tenor aria, accompanied by violin and oboe, continues: "You can recognize the Redeemer by his works: he gives a new perspective to the spiritually paralyzed, and makes the spiritually blinded see light again". The basso continuo runs step by step with the singing voice, together with the radiant dark tone of the oboe da caccia.
The sixth movement is an upbeat chorale fantasy, "Es ist das Heil.
The second part of the cantata states that the suffering of the world can bring people closer to the Word of God. After a long accompanied recitative for tenor in which the focus shifts from nourishing the transient physical body to nourishing the spirit, there is a beautiful aria for soprano with a chromatic and tortured harmony. The text is about the living Word as the highest treasure of life; the Lord embraces the lowly and the poor.
In the fourth aria, the soprano and the alto sing in a sophisticated duet to the dance rhythm of a Siciliano, bouncing energetically along, about eternal faithfulness through all suffering and pain. This is the musical climax of the cantata.
The work concludes with the same chorale that ended the first part.
Audio (Leipzig version): Gardiner
Video (Weimar version): Kay Johannsen - Was willst du dich betrüben, BWV 107 (Leipzig, 1724)
Coro: Was willst du dich betrüben
Recitativo (bass): Denn Gott verlässet keinen
Aria (bass): Auf ihn magst du es wagen
Aria (tenor): Wenn auch gleich aus der Höllen
Aria (soprano): Er richts zu seinen Ehren
Aria (tenor): Drum ich mich ihm ergebe
Chorale: Herr, gib, daß ich dein Ehre
"Why do you want to distress yourself"
Text & translation
Scored for three vocal soloists (soprano, tenor and bass), a four-part choir, corno da caccia to support the chorale tune in the outer movements, two flauti traversi, two oboes d'amore, two violins, two violas and basso continuo.
Chorale cantata set "per omnes versus" on "Was willst du dich betrüben" by Johann Heermann (1630). The use of the choral text for all musical numbers in the cantata was old-fashioned - Bach used it only in four cantatas. The text does not literally refer to the reading, but has certain themes in common, such as trust in God, even when facing adversaries including the devil.
In the ephemeral opening chorus the instrumental accompaniment is emphasized rather than the voices; after a recitative by bass, there are four arias in a row: for bass, tenor, soprano and again tenor. The bass aria (with strings) depicts a "hunting scene," playing on the double meaning of the German word "erjagen" ("to achieve," but also "to hunt for").
The first tenor aria is accompanied by a snaking bass line that clearly symbolizes Satan slithering out of the depths. The mellifluous soprano aria has a lovely oboe d'amore accompaniment and the last one for tenor a lighthearted unisono flute accompaniment.
The cantata closes with a beautiful siciliano setting of the chorale.
Video: J.S. Bach Foundation (St. Gallen) - Workshop (in German) - Contemplation (in German) - Es wartet alles auf dich, BWV 187 (Leipzig, 1726)
Part I
1. Chorus: Es wartet alles auf dich
2. Recitativo (bass): Was Kreaturen hält, das große Rund der Welt
3. Aria (alto, oboe): Du, Herr, du krönst allein das Jahr
Part II
4. Aria (bass, violins): Darum sollt ihr nicht sorgen
5. Aria (soprano, oboe): Gott versorget alles Leben
6. Recitativo (soprano, strings): Halt ich nur fest an ihm
7. Chorale: Gott hat die Erde zugericht
"Everything waits for You"
Text: Chorale by Hans Vogel
The text of this cantata focuses on the power of the Lord to appease the hunger of all creatures. The expansive and complex opening chorus is based on Psalm 104:27–28, directly related to the reading. The alto aria praises God as the sustainer of life; it is accompanied by the full orchestra in a dance-like rhythm. Part two is opened by a striding bass aria as Vox Christi - with an obbligato of all of the violins - on Matthew 6:31–32 from the Sermon on the Mount. The ensuing soprano aria is the musical highlight of the cantata, with a falling octave that pictures God's forgiveness. The interplay of the voice with the accompanying oboe is very interesting. The cantata is closed by verses 4 and 6 of Hans Vogel's chorale "Singen wir aus Herzensgrund" (1563). Bach parodied the music of this cantata in his g minor Mass BWV 235.
Video: J.S. Bach Founation (St. Gallen) - Workshop (in German) - Contemplation (in German)
Bach Cantata Index