The twentieth Sunday after Trinity. The cantatas for this day are based on the parable of the king's son's wedding, to which invitations are sent but largely ignored because people are too busy; when the guests finally arrive, one lacks a wedding garment and is severely punished. This parable can be mixed with the more practical message of Ephesians to avoid bad company and bad habits.
There are three cantatas for this Sunday.
Readings:
Ephesians 5:15–21, Avoid bad company: "walk circumspectly, ... filled with the Spirit"
Matthew 22:1–14, parable of the great banquet (marriage of the king's son)
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)
[Parable of the Great Banquet by Brunswick Monogrammist (circa 1525)]
Cantatas:
- Ach! ich sehe, itzt, da ich zur Hochzeit gehe, BWV 162, 3 November 1715 or 25 October 1716
Aria (bass): Ach! ich sehe, itzt, da ich zur Hochzeit gehe
Recitative (tenor): O großes Hochzeitfest
Aria (soprano): Jesu, Brunnquell aller Gnaden
Recitative (alto): Mein Jesu, laß mich nicht
Duet aria (alto, tenor): In meinem Gott bin ich erfreut
Chorale: Ach, ich habe schon erblicket
"Ah! I see, now, when I go to the wedding"
Text & translation
Scored for a small ensemble, four soloists, corno da tirarsi (likely added in Leipzig), two violins, viola, and basso continuo, including bassoon in movement 1. Only the chorale is set for four voices.
Bach wrote the cantata for the 20th Sunday after Trinity when he was concertmaster at the court of Johann Ernst von Saxe-Weimar in Weimar, where it was first performed in the castle church on November 3, 1715 (according to Alfred Dürr) or October 25, 1716 (according to Christoph Wolff and others). The text of the cantata is by the court poet Salomon Franck and was published in 1715 in Evangelisches Andachts-Oper. It emphasizes the importance of responding to God's loving invitation. The final chorale is the seventh verse of "Alle Menschen müssen sterben" by Johann Rosenmüller (1652). Bach performed the cantata again in Leipzig on October 10, 1723, in a revised version, this time with a corno da tirarsi, a rare Baroque wind instrument thought to be similar to the slide trumpet (tromba da tirarsi).
Although the narrative of this cantata is based on the notion of a wedding, it is not joyful at all, but focuses on the concerns of the invitees that they may be unworthy (lacking proper clothes to attend a wedding). The cantata begins with a sturdy bass aria accompanied by three instruments in polyphony, two violins and a viola, later joined in Leipzig by the slide trumpet, which adds a haunting note to the contemplative music. The bass expresses the existential doubt of the believer who, on his way to the banquet, wonders whether his life's path will pass the host's test. The characteristic motif of the opening words runs through the entire movement.
In his secco recitative, the tenor is astonished that God should send his Son to earth and that this Son should choose unworthy humanity as his bride. Not all parts for the embellished soprano aria have come down to us, so in some performances parts for flauto traverso and oboe d'amore have been reconstructed. As a faithful soul, the soprano confesses her weakness and humbly asks Jesus for help in a pastoral 12/8 time.
After a long recitative for the alto about the proper bridal gown, the consoling duet for the alto and tenor joins in a little dance music, happy in the certainty of being welcomed by Christ. This duet is accompanied only by the continuo, but seems complete. The cantata concludes with a short chorale based on a beautiful melody by Johann Rosenmüller from 1652.
Video: J.S. Bach-Foundation (St. Gallen) - Workshop (in German) - Contemplation (in German)
- Schmücke dich, o liebe Seele, BWV 180, 22 October 1724
Chorus: Schmücke dich, o liebe Seele
Aria (tenor): Ermuntre dich, dein Heiland klopft
Recitative and chorale (soprano): Wie teuer sind des heilgen Mahles Gaben! – Ach, wie hungert mein Gemüte
Recitative (alto): Mein Herz fühlt in sich Furcht und Freude
Aria (soprano): Lebens Sonne, Licht der Sinnen
Recitative (bass): Herr, laß an mir dein treues Lieben
Chorale: Jesu, wahres Brot des Lebens
"Adorn yourself, o dear soul"
Text & translation
Scored for four vocal soloists (soprano, alto, tenor, bass), a four-part choir, two recorders, flauto traverso, two oboes, two violins, viola, violoncello piccolo and basso continuo.
Based on the popular chorale melody "Schmücke dich, o liebe Seele" by Johann Franck and its associated melody by Johann Crüger, a hymn for the Eucharist. It matches the Sunday's prescribed reading, the Parable of the Great Banquet from the Gospel of Matthew. A joyful cantata with a swinging rhythm - all movements are set in the major mode, in keeping with the festive text, and several movements resemble dances.
The opening chorus, "Schmücke dich, du liebe Seele" (Adorn yourself, beloved soul) is an orchestral concerto with the vocal parts embedded, the soprano singing the cantus firmus of the tune by Johann Crüger. Two recorders plus oboe and cor anglais dance lightly over a gigue-like figure in the strings.
The ensuing tenor aria is accompanied by a virtuoso transverse flute, while the knocking of the line "Arouse yourself: your Savior knocks" is humorously depicted in the bass line.
In the soprano recitative and arioso, a violoncello piccolo (now often played on viola) plays a lively figuration under an ornamented version of the chorale.
The two recorders reappear in the alto recitative, followed by a beautiful dancing soprano aria with the full instrumental ensemble, celebrating the joy of communion with Christ.
The bass then calls for a rekindling of the fire of faith before a final chorale, one of Bach's greatest chorale harmonizations, brings this wonderful cantata to a satisfying close.
Bach composed the cantata subsequent to his chorale prelude of the same name, BWV 654, part of his Great Eighteen Chorale Preludes.
Video: J.S. Bach Foundation (St. Gallen) - Workshop (in German) - Contemplation (in German)
- Ich geh und suche mit Verlangen, BWV 49, 3 November 1726
Sinfonia
Aria (bass): Ich geh und suche mit Verlangen
Recitative (soprano, bass): Mein Mahl ist zubereit
Aria (soprano): Ich bin herrlich, ich bin schön
Recitative (soprano, bass): Mein Glaube hat mich selbst so angezogen
Aria (bass) + Chorale (soprano): Dich hab ich je und je geliebet – Wie bin ich doch so herzlich froh
"I go and seek with longing"
Text & translation
Scored for soprano and bass soloists, oboe d'amore, two violins, viola, violoncello piccolo, organ and basso continuo.
A solo cantata for soprano and bass, an intimate dialogue between the Soul and Jesus, her Bridegroom, based on the parable of the wedding feast. It uses the love lyrics of the Old Testament Song of Songs to articulate the union of soul and Savior.
Bach composed this cantata during his fourth year in Leipzig, for the 20th Sunday after Trinity, as part of his third cantata cycle. The poet Christoph Birkmann was inspired by the wedding feast in the Gospel to portray the soul as the bride invited by Jesus to her wedding, while other characters from the pericope are not mentioned. The poet makes several biblical allusions, comparing the bride to a dove (Song of Songs 5:2; Song of Songs 6:9), referring to the Lord's Supper (Isaiah 25:6), the bond between the Lord and Israel (Hosea 2:21), faithfulness until death (Revelation 3:20), and concluding with "Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love; therefore with loving kindness have I drawn thee" (Jeremiah 31:3). Instead of a concluding chorale, Bach combines this idea, sung by the bass, with the seventh verse of Philipp Nicolai's mystical wedding hymn, "Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern," given to the soprano.
The opening Sinfonia for concertante organ and orchestra, which Bach later included as the final movement of the Concerto for Harpsichord and Orchestra in E major BWV 1053, complements the cantata beautifully.
The bass, as vox Christi, then sings the words of Jesus, based on a passage from the Song of Songs, in an opening aria full of longing, accompanied by an organ obbligato.
This is followed by a duet recitative and a soprano aria, the latter accompanied by oboe d'amore, viola and continuo. In this aria, the bride reflects on her beauty with the words "I am glorious, I am beautiful," making it one of Bach's most impressive arias.
After more dialog in a recitative, the cantata ends with a duet. While the bass expresses happiness at the consummation of the marriage, the soprano intones a verse of the chorale "Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern". The mood of this cantata has been described as "religious-erotic".
Video: J.S. Bach Foundation (St. Gallen) - Workshop (in German) - Contemplation (in German) / Netherlands Bach Society
Bach Cantata Index