Readings:
Galatians 5:16–24, works of the flesh, fruit of the Spirit
Luke 17:11–19, Cleansing ten lepers
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)
Cantatas:
- Es ist nichts Gesundes an meinem Leibe, BWV 25, 29 August 1723
Coro: Es ist nichts Gesundes an meinem Leibe
Recitativo (tenor): Die ganze Welt ist nur ein Hospital
Aria (bass): Ach, wo hol ich Armer Rat?
Recitativo (soprano): O Jesu, lieber Meister.
Aria (soprano): Öffne meinen schlechten Liedern
Chorale: Ich will alle meine Tage
("There is no soundness in my body")
Text & translation
Scored for three vocal soloists (soprano, tenor and bass), a four-part choir, cornetto, three trombones, three recorders, two oboes, two violins, viola, and basso continuo.
As the website of the J.S. Bach Foundation mentions: "With its medical metaphors, this cantata is a reminder of the pervasiveness of illness and disease in the Baroque period; their notorious equation with guilt and sin, and the consequent ostracism of the sick, was not merely a theological notion of the era."
The text of the cantata was written by Johann Jacob Rambach and published in Halle in 1720. The poet refers to the Gospel and compares the situation of people in general with that of the lepers. The disease is first expressed in words from Psalm 38. At the end of the third movement, Jesus is asked to heal. The final aria expresses the hope of singing thanksgiving in the choir of angels. The cantata concludes with the 12th and final stanza of Johann Heermann's hymn "Treuer Gott, ich muss dir klagen" (1630).
The Lutheran predilection for sin, decay, and "rotting of the bones" infuses the somber opening chorus with off-beat violin. But the trombones and recorders, playing a dirge-like chorale melody, and the fugal chorus add enough elements of grandeur to make this a superb chorale fantasia-a double fugue that incorporates a chorale melody and features a large instrumental ensemble. A tour de force in which Bach conveys a vivid sense of the mental and physical illness that is the subject of this cantata.
In contrast, the following three movements are deliberately stripped down, accompanied only by the continuo. The tenor recitative compares the disease to human weaknesses such as lust, pride, and greed. The bass aria asks where help can be found and then gives the obvious answer: Jesus, the physician of souls.
The soprano recitative that follows is a plea for mercy and spiritual healing, and this is followed by an aria, again for soprano, that is a thanksgiving for the answers to the previous prayers. It is quite delightful, a sort of dancing concerto for strings and oboes, echoed by the recorders, as if the soul were already joining the chorus of angels.
The cantata concludes with a four-part version of the final verse of Johann Heermann's chorale Treuer Gott, ich muss dir klagen (1630).
Video: J.S. Bach Foundation (St. Gallen) - Workshop (in German) - Contemplation (in German) - Jesu, der du meine Seele, BWV 78, 10 September 1724
Chorus: Jesu, der du meine Seele
Aria (soprano, alto): Wir eilen mit schwachen, doch emsigen Schritten
Recitativo (tenor): Ach! ich bin ein Kind der Sünden
Aria (tenor, flute): Das Blut, so meine Schuld durchstreicht
Recitativo (bass, strings): Die Wunden, Nägel, Kron und Grab
Aria (bass, oboe): Nur du wirst mein Gewissen stillen
Chorale: Herr, ich glaube, hilf mir Schwachen
("Jesus, Thou who [has rent] my soul")
Text & translation
Scored for soprano, alto, tenor and bass soloists, a four-part choir, flauto traverso, two oboes, two violins, viola, violone and basso continuo including organ and horn in the opening chorus.
A chorale cantata based on a hymn by Johann Rist (1641), Bach's composition loosely follows the readings for the day (the story of the cleansing of the ten lepers), focusing on themes of redemption and the Passion of Jesus, symbolizing the purification of the faithful. The poet subtly expands on these themes, touching on illness and healing, as seen in lines such as "Du suchst die Kranken" (You seek the sick).
The opening chorus takes the form of a chorale fantasia structured as a passacaglia, evoking a lament of meditative depth. With the soprano carrying the cantus firmus alongside the slide trumpet and baroque flute, the melancholy theme recurs 27 times, creating a noble and tender movement.
An expressive duet for soprano and alto joyfully imitates the hurried steps described in the text, portraying the eager disciple following Jesus. Accompanied by an energetic basso continuo of organ, cello, and violone, the duet exudes vitality.
The tenor recitative, marked by a series of dissonances, fervently pleads for forgiveness, while the ensuing aria for tenor with obbligato flute focuses on the cleansing of faith. Remarkable word-painting occurs in "makes my heart light again," as the music unexpectedly shifts to a major key, giving the image a serene radiance.
In a dramatic accompagnato recitative accompanied by the strings, the bass first contemplates the agony of the cross before his vivid aria with oboe obbligato pleads for a calm conscience. The cantata concludes with the chorale, which presents the original melody in four parts.
Video: Netherlands Bach Society - Interview with bass Matthew Brook /
J.S. Bach Foundation (St. Gallen) - Workshop (in German) - Contemplation (in German) - Wer Dank opfert, der preiset mich, BWV 17, 22 September 1726
Part I
1. Coro: Wer Dank opfert, der preiset mich
2. Recitativo (alto): Es muss die ganze Welt ein stummer Zeuge werden
3. Aria (soprano): Herr, deine Güte reicht so weit
Part II
4. Recitativo (tenor): Einer aber unter ihnen, da er sahe
5. Aria (tenor): Welch Übermaß der Güte schenkst du mir
6. Recitativo (bass): Sieh meinen Willen an
7. Chorale: Wie sich ein Vatr erbarmet
("He who offers me thanks, honors me")
Text & translation
Scored for four vocal soloists (soprano, alto, tenor and bass), a four-part choir SATB, two oboes, two violins, two violas and basso continuo.
In his fourth year as Thomaskantor in Leipzig, Bach performed 18 cantatas composed by his relative Johann Ludwig Bach, a court musician in Meiningen. Bach seems to have been impressed also by the texts of those cantatas, as he set some of the texts himself, including this cantata, written probably by Ernst Ludwig, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen. They follow a pattern: seven movements are divided in two parts, both beginning with biblical quotations, Part I from the Old Testament, Part II from the New Testament.
In this cantata the two corresponding biblical passages are Psalm 50 and the story in Luke of the Samaritan who, of the ten lepers healed by Jesus, was the only one who returned to give thanks from Luke. The main theme of the cantata is therefore gratitude.
The opening chorus, a single large choral fugue, is preceded by an instrumental sinfonia. All of the recitatives in this short cantata are secco. The first aria, for soprano and two obbligato violins, illustrates the rising clouds of the text, which is based not on original poetry but on quotations from the Bible ("Thy righteousness standeth like the strong mountains"). The aria is in the form of a baroque concerto movement.
The second part of the cantata begins with a simple recitative, a simple biblical narrative. The ensuing tenor aria can be seen as setting to music the words of the grateful Samaritan and has an interesting violin phrase. The concluding chorale, the third verse of Johann Gramann's hymn "Nun lob, mein Seel, den Herren" (1525), does some word painting on "wind" and "fallen leaves.
Video: J.S. Bach Foundation (St. Gallen) - Workshop (in German) - Contemplation (in German)