Bach Cantatas (5): Sunday after Christmas (BWV 152, 122 & 28 )

Not every year has a Sunday after Christmas, because in some years New Year's Day falls on that Sunday. When there is a Sunday after Christmas, it falls between December 28 and December 31.

There are three cantatas for this Sunday. "Tritt auf die Glaubensbahn", BWV 152, is a dialog cantata composed in Weimar in 1714 to a text by Salomo Franck. It is scored as chamber music. Note that there was no Sunday after Christmas in 1723. "Das neugeborne Kindelein, BWV 122, is a 1724 chorale cantata based on a hymn celebrating the birth of Jesus. "Gottlob! nun geht das Jahr zu Ende," BWV 28, from 1725 (the third cantata cycle), celebrates the passing of the old year and the coming of the new, without reference to the readings for the day. The second movement of this cantata was used for the motet "Sei Lob und Preis mit Ehren," BWV 28/2a, which may also date from 1725.


Readings for the Sunday after Christmas:
Galatians 4:1–7, Through Christ we are free from the law
Luke 2:33–40, Simeon and Anna with Mary in the temple

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)

[The Nativity of Christ (Byzantine icon)]

Cantatas:

• Tritt auf die Glaubensbahn, BWV 152, 30 December 1714
  
  Sinfonia
  Aria (bass): Tritt auf die Glaubensbahn
  Recitative (bass): Der Heiland ist gesetzt
  Aria (soprano): Stein, der über alle Schätze
  Recitative (bass): Es ärgre sich die kluge Welt
  Duet (soprano, bass): Wie soll ich dich, Liebster der Seelen, umfassen?
  
  ("Step upon the path of faith")
  Text & translation
  
  Scored for two soloists—soprano and bass—and four solo instruments: recorder, oboe, viola d'amore, viola da gamba and basso continuo.
  
  Dialogue cantata composed in Weimar in 1714 on a text by Salomo Franck. It is one of Bach's early cantatas; Bach was employed at the Weimar Court from 1707 to 1717 and in 1714 he had been promoted from violinist to concertmaster, with the obligation to compose a cantata on a monthly basis. The chamber work features an exotic orchestration, including viola d’amore (an instrument with sympathetically resonating strings), viola da gamba, recorder and oboe d’amore.
  
  The gospel text for this Sunday is about the Presentation in the Temple (which is also central to the feast of Mary Purification on February 2), but Franck was inspired by other passages in the Bible that characterize the Messiah as a stone spurned by the builders; God, however, makes it into the corner stone. While playing with the symbolism that God laid "the stone of foundation" and that Jesus is a "stone beyond all gems," the text is an allegorical dialogue between Jesus and the Soul about faith as the Rock of the Ages which never fails, and concludes with a rejection of the world.
  
  The cantata starts with an attractive sinfonia which has some resemblance to Bach's Prelude and Fugue in A Major for organ BWV 536. The first aria is for the bass as Vox Christi, who invites the Soul to "step upon the path of faith," accompanied by purposeful music. In the ensuing recitative the bass introduces the symbol of the corner stone, which is taken up in the soprano aria, featuring an elegant accompaniment from the recorder and viola d'amore.
  
  The final duet (there is no chorale) unites Jesus and the Soul (and the upper instruments in unisono). This cantata is the earliest extant example of a dialogue. Bach chose not to re-use this cantata in Leizig, perhaps because it was too much a chamber work and difficult to alter considering its instrumentation.
  
  Audio: Koopman
  

• Das neugeborne Kindelein, BWV 122, 31 December 1724
  
  Chorale: Das neugeborne Kindelein
  Aria (bass): O Menschen, die ihr täglich sündigt
  Recitative (soprano): Die Engel, welche sich zuvor
  Aria (soprano, alto, tenor): Ist Gott versöhnt und unser Freund
  Recitative (bass): Dies ist ein Tag, den selbst der Herr gemacht
  Chorale: Es bringt das rechte Jubeljahr
  
  ("The new-born infant child")
  Text & translation
  
  Scored for four vocal soloists (soprano, alto, tenor, and bass), a four-part choir, three recorders, two oboes, taille, two violins, viola, and basso continuo with organ.
  
  Chorale cantata from Bach's second Leipzig year, based on a hymn by Cyriakus Schneegaß (1597), celebrating he birth of Jesus, who was brought into the world to protect and offer salvation to mankind. In the Middle Ages, the birth of Jesus was also considered the beginning of the New Year. But instead of offering sweet "pastoral" scenes of peace and goodwill, or showing the gentleness of the child, Bach saw it as a time for his congregation to reflect on their sins and resolve to do something about them in the New Year!
  
  The opening chorus is a chorale fantasia with a long opening and closing ritornello surrounding a chorale theme with four entries and long interspersed episodes. It is, however, rather muted and, like the rest of the cantata, very concise. The text simply states that the Christ Child has once again renewed the year. There is no call to celebrate: Bach states this fact with a minimum of embellishment.
  
  But then comes the longest movement of the cantata: a chromatic bass aria, accompanied only by the continuo, that focuses mainly on "people who sin daily" and therefore face damnation. The vocal line here has been described as "tortuous and chromatically convoluted". Apparently it is time for some Lutheran fire and brimstone - it is as if the wrathful voice of God himself is addressing us: O Menschen, die ihr täglich sündigt (O humanity, you who sin daily).
  
  In the next recitative, the chorale melody is played by three recorders to evoke the aura of angels: "The angels who once shunned us as the damned, now rejoice in our salvation". In the trio for soprano, alto, and tenor that follows, the alto sings the chorale line with the strings, while the soprano and tenor sing an aria in duet. The Sicilian rhythm finally brings a sense of relaxation: "If God is reconciled and is our friend, what can the spiteful enemy do to us?"
  
  In the penultimate movement, a recitative for the bass, accompanied by the violins and violas sustaining transparent chords above the voice, the text dwells on the joyful message of Christmas (trying to break free from the melancholy of the opening movements, without quite succeeding - the serious message about sin is, after all, the heart of the cantata). The cantata ends with the usual chorale, this time very short: "Now is the time to sing, for Jesus removes all sorrow".
  
  Video: J.S. Bach Foundation (St. Gallen) - Workshop (in German) - Contemplation (in German) - Explanation "Bach Factory" (in English)
  

• Gottlob! nun geht das Jahr zu Ende, BWV 28, 30 December 1725
  
  Aria (soprano): Gottlob! nun geht das Jahr zu Ende
  Chorale: Nun lob, mein Seel, den Herren
  Recitative and arioso (bass): So spricht der Herr
  Recitative (tenor): Gott ist ein Quell
  Duet aria (alto and tenor): Gott hat uns im heurigen Jahre gesegnet
  Chorale: All solch dein Güt wir preisen
  
  ("Praise God! The year now draws to a close")
  Text & translation
  
  Scored for four vocal soloists (soprano, alto, tenor, bass) and four-part choir, cornetto, three trombones, two oboes, taille, two violins, viola and continuo.
  
  Part of Bach's third Leipzig cycle. The Sunday after Christmas is the last Sunday of the year, and the main theme of this cantata is the passing of the old year and the coming of the new, without reference to the readings for the day. The text of the cantata is by Erdmann Neumeister. The virtuosic and melismatic opening soprano aria exhorts us to remember and give thanks for God's gifts in the past year.
  
  This thanksgiving is then represented (and expanded from the individual to the collective) by Johann Gramann's hymn "Nun lob, mein Seel, den Herren," here in the rare second position for a chorale. This movement (in its combined sobriety and complexity the most interesting part of this short cantata) is in the style of a motet; motets were traditionally part of Christmas music in Germany.
  
  The theme of God's generosity is continued in the arioso for bass (quoting Jeremiah 32:41) and the tenor recitative. The duet for alto and tenor then summarizes the themes of gratitude. The cantata ends with a simple chorale harmonization, "Helft mir Gotts Güte preisen," of unknown authorship.
  
  Video: J.S. Bach Foundation (St. Gallen) - Workshop (in German) - Contemplation (in German)
  
  
  Sei Lob und Preis mit Ehren, BWV 28/2a / 231, 1725?
  
  Sei Lob und Preis mit Ehren
  
  "May there be Praise"
  Text & translation
  
  BWV 28/2a is an arrangement of the second movement of Bach's cantata Gottlob! nun geht das Jahr zu Ende, BWV 28, with a different text, but taken from the same Lutheran hymn, Johann Gramann's "Nun lob, mein Seel, den Herren" (1530).
  
  This motet is deeply buried in the sources. As the website of the Netherlands Bach Society explains, it was included as the middle section of a three-part piece entitled Jauchzet dem Herrn, alle Welt (BWV Anh.160). This complete motet was originally attributed to Bach, but because the last section was taken from Telemann's cantata Lobt Gott, ihr Christen allzugleich, and the first section was probably also by Telemann, the complete motet was classified as "probably not by Bach". In 1983, however, musicologist Klaus Hoffman discovered that the middle section - Sei Lob und Preis mit Ehren - is based on the second movement of Bach's cantata Gottlob! nun geht das Jahr zu Ende (BWV 28). This gave the piece its own BWV number: 231, which was later changed to 28/2a.
  
  The motet has SATB parts. It is based on Johann Gramann's hymn "Nun lob, mein Seel, den Herren" (1530), the melody of which provides a cantus firmus. In some editions of this motet, a basso continuo is added to support the bass part, doubling it exactly.
  
  Video: Netherlands Bach Society - Interview with conductor Jos Van Veldhoven
  
  

Bach Cantata Index

Bach Cantatas (4): Third Day of Christmas (BWV 64, 133, 151 & 248-III)

The third day of Christmas (December 27) in the Lutheran, Anglican, and Catholic calendars is the feast of St. John the Evangelist (St. John's Day), one of the first disciples and later one of the "pillars" of the Jerusalem Church. Traditionally considered the author of the Gospel of John, the Epistles of John, and possibly the Book of Revelation, he lived to a ripe old age. Most modern scholars, however, doubt these attributions and even consider him to be a composite of several persons.

[St John by Rubens, 1611 - Wikipedia - Public Domain]

Traditionally identified with "the beloved apostle," John has played a prominent role in art. In the Western tradition, he is often depicted as a beardless youth, since it was believed that he became an apostle at a young age (he is sometimes even depicted as androgynous). One of John's familiar attributes is the chalice or cup of wine. This comes from a legend in the (apocryphal) Acts of John in which John was challenged to drink a cup of poisoned wine to demonstrate the power of his faith. Because he had blessed the wine before drinking it, he suffered no harm. (Other common attributes include a book, symbolizing the writings attributed to him, and an eagle, expressing the soaring, inspirational quality of his thought.) It should be noted that of the four Gospels, Bach was particularly interested in the Gospel of John.

There are four cantatas for this holy day: three from 1723-25, plus the third cantata of the Christmas Oratorio ("Herrscher des Himmels, erhöre das Lallen", a description of the adoration of the shepherds). "Sehet, welch eine Liebe hat uns der Vater erzeiget", BWV 64 (1723), is based on the idea from John's gospel that the believer no longer has to worry about "the world" if he or she is loved by God in the way that Christmas shows. "Ich freue mich in dir", BWV 133, is from the following year, 1724, and is part of the choral cantata cycle. It celebrates the Christmas story on a personal level for believers. "Süßer Trost, mein Jesus kömmt, BWV 151, from 1725, is a short cantata with beautiful arias for soprano and alto. It has no opening chorus, probably to spare the boys of the St. Thomas Boys Choir during this busy season.


Readings for the Third Day of Christmas:
Hebrews 1:1–14, Christ is higher than the angels, or
Eccles. 15:1-8, Wisdom embraces those that fear the Lord;
John 1:1–14, Prologue, also called Hymn to the Word, or
John 21:15-24, Jesus commands Peter to feed his lambs.

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)

[Adoration of the Shepherds, Giorgione, 1500-10]

Cantatas:

• Sehet, welch eine Liebe hat uns der Vater erzeiget, BWV 64, 27 December 1723
  
  Chorus: Sehet, welch eine Liebe hat uns der Vater erzeiget
  Chorale: Das hat er alles uns getan
  Recitative (alto): Geh, Welt, behalte nur das Deine
  Chorale: Was frag ich nach der Welt
  Aria (soprano): Was die Welt in sich hält
  Recitative (bass): Der Himmel bleibet mir gewiß
  Aria (alto): Von der Welt verlang ich nichts
  Chorale: Gute Nacht, o Wesen
  
  "Behold, what a love has the Father shown to us"
  Text & translation
  
  Scored for soprano, alto and bass soloists, a four-part choir, zink and three trombones, oboe d'amore, two violins, viola, and basso continuo.
  
  The text of this cantata from the first Leipzig cycle is a revised version of a libretto by J.O. Knauer published in 1720. The aphorism underlying the first movement (and, theologically, the entire cantata) is taken from I John 3. Bach emphasizes that the believer no longer has to worry about "the world" if he or she is loved by God in the way that Christmas shows.
  
  The opening chorus is in fugal motet style, with an archaic-sounding trombone chorus doubling the voices. "Sehet" is set as a block homophonic exclamation by all four voices before various imitative entrances begin. In addition to this chorus, the cantata contains three chorales in simple four-part harmony, all of which would have been familiar to Bach's Leipzig congregation. The first (stanza 7 of Luther's hymn Gelobet seist du, Jesu Christ) is a hymn of thanksgiving for what God has done.
  
  It is followed by an alto recitative that addresses the transience of earthly riches, accompanied by scales in the continuo that "rise up to heaven. The second chorale (stanza 1 of the hymn Was frag ich nach der Welt by G.M. Pfefferkorn) questions worldly values and is followed by a soprano aria on the same theme, in the style of a gavotte, in which a virtuoso solo violin represents the "worldly things" that must vanish like smoke.
  
  The bass recitative makes a firm statement about the certainty of heaven, after which the alto aria, accompanied by the oboe d'amore, emphasizes that the believer "desires nothing of the world" (but the complex rhythm of the aria may convey "the difficulty of staying on the path to heaven").
  
  The cantata closes with the third and final chorale, a setting of the fifth verse of Johann Frank's "Jesu, meine Freude," which bids farewell to all things material and thus neatly sums up the entire cantata. All in all, a great contrast to the materialistic frenzy of contemporary Christmas...
  
  Video: Concerto Copenhagen
  
  
  

• Ich freue mich in dir, BWV 133, 27 December 1724
  
  Chorus: Ich freue mich in dir
  Aria (alto): Getrost! es faßt ein heil'ger Leib
  Recitative (tenor): Ein Adam mag sich voller Schrecken
  Aria (soprano): Wie lieblich klingt es in den Ohren
  Recitative (bass): Wohlan, des Todes Furcht und Schmerz
  Chorale: Wohlan, so will ich mich
  
  "I rejoice in you"
  Text & translation
  
  Scored for four vocal soloists (soprano, alto, tenor, and bass), a four-part choir, cornett to double the chorale melody, two oboes d'amore, two violins, viola, and basso continuo.
  
  Chorale cantata from the second Leipzig cycle of 1724-25, based on the four-stanza chorale "Ich freue mich in dir" (1697) by Caspar Ziegler. The text makes only passing reference to that Sunday's readings; rather than focusing on the feast of St. John the Evangelist, it celebrates the Christmas story on a personal level for believers.
  
  The cantata begins with a concerto-like movement of considerable rhythmic vitality, in which the eight lines of Ziegler's hymn are interspersed with captivating orchestral interludes and oboe d'amore melismas. It's a pity that these captivating opening phrases are not better known!
  
  The captivating alto aria, again accompanied by oboes d'amore, here used almost like trumpets, sings of the joy of seeing God face to face. Its central textual motif is encapsulated in the word "Getrost," which means "be confident".
  
  The tenor recitative concludes in an arioso style, quoting the chorale in both words and music: "Wird er ein kleines Kind und heißt mein Jesulein". The soprano da capo aria, accompanied by a delicate string arrangement and a gentle lullaby-like lilt, continues to express joy in a similarly gentle way. This aria serves as the tender heart of the entire cantata.
  
  The cantata concludes with a four-part arrangement of the final chorale stanza, which could almost be mistaken for a Christmas carol.
  
  Video: Concerto Copenhagen
  
  
  

• Süßer Trost, mein Jesus kömmt, BWV 151, 27 December 1725
  
  Aria (soprano): Süßer Trost, mein Jesus kömmt
  Recitative (bass): Erfreue dich, mein Herz
  Aria (alto): In Jesu Demut kann ich Trost
  Recitative (tenor): Du teurer Gottessohn
  Chorale: Heut schleußt er wieder auf die Tür
  
  "Sweet comfort, my Jesus comes"
  Text & translation
  
  Scored for four vocal soloists (soprano, alto, tenor, and bass), a four-part choir, flute, oboe d'amore, two violins, viola, and basso continuo.
  
  Miniature cantata without opening chorus from 1725. Bach chose a text by the Darmstadt poet and court librarian Georg Christian Lehms (1684-1717), who was inspired by the Christmas Epistle (Hebrews I:1-14), "Christ is higher than the angels." There is no opening chorus. The mellifluous opening aria for soprano features the traverse flute. It is a gently swaying lullaby expressing joy at the birth of Jesus; the flute part is highly embellished, weaving playful arabesques around the lyrical vocal cantilena - it is almost like the flute concert Bach never wrote! This is truly angelic music, one of Bach's most sublime creations for the solo voice.
  
  The bass recitative moves from celebration to a recognition of Jesus' meekness and humility. The melancholic, chromatic alto aria (finding comfort in Jesus' humbleness) with prominent oboe d'amore expands this idea.
  
  In contrast to the bass, the tenor recitative again moves back from humility to celebration. The final movement is a setting of the final stanza of "Lobt Gott, ihr Christen alle gleich", a chorale with words and melody by Nikolaus Herman published in 1560.
  
  Video: Netherlands Bach Society - Interview with soprano Maria Keohane /
  J.S. Bach Foundation (St. Gallen) - Workshop (in German) - Contemplation (in German)
  
  


• Herrscher des Himmels, erhöre das Lallen 27 December 1734 (Christmas Oratorio Part III) BWV 248/3
  
  Chorus "Herrscher des Himmels, erhöre das Lallen"
  Recitative (Evangelist, tenor) "Und da die Engel von ihnen gen Himmel fuhren"
  Chorus "Lasset uns nun gehen gen Bethlehem"
  Recitative (bass) "Er hat sein Volk getröst't"
  Chorale "Dies hat er alles uns getan"
  Duet (soprano, bass) "Herr, dein Mitleid, dein Erbarmen"
  Recitative (Evangelist, tenor) "Und sie kamen eilend"
  Aria (alto) "Schließe, mein Herze, dies selige Wunder"
  Recitative (alto) "Ja, ja! mein Herz soll es bewahren"
  Chorale "Ich will dich mit Fleiß bewahren"
  Recitative (Evangelist, tenor) "Und die Hirten kehrten wieder um"
  Chorale "Seid froh, dieweil"
  Chorus "Herrscher des Himmels, erhöre das Lallen"
  
  "Ruler of Heaven, hear our babbling"
  Text & translation
  
  Scored for four vocal soloists (soprano, alto, tenor, and bass), a four-part choir (SATB), three trumpets, timpani, two traversos two oboes also doubling as oboes d'amore, two violins, viola and basso continuo.
  
  The third part of the Christmas Oratorio sees the shepherds eventually arriving in Bethlehem. It starts with a fine, glorious chorus, borrowed from BWV 214/9, with trumpets and drums. The first recitative by the Evangelist sets the scene and this is followed by a lively chorus "Let us now go towards Bethlehem."
  
  A further recitative is followed by a contemplative chorale and then a gentle duet (taken from BWV 213/11) for soprano and bass accompanied beautifully by a pair of oboe's d'amore.
  
  The evangelist continues telling of the shepherds finding the child and spreading the news. The alto then sings "Mary's aria" (the only original aria in the Christmas Oratorio), a gentle reflection on the miracle that has just taken place, accompanied by solo violin.
  
  The cantata then draws to a close with the pattern recitative-chorale-recitative-chorale, after which the opening chorus is repeated.
  
  Video: J.S. Bach Foundation (St. Gallen) - Workshop (in German) - Contemplation (in German)
  
  
  

Bach Cantata Index

Bach Cantatas (3): Second day of Christmas (BWV 40, 121, 57 & 248-II)

On the second day of Christmas, Leipzig celebrated both Christmas and St. Stephen's Day. St. Stephen has nothing to do with the Christmas story, he was a deacon in the early church in Jerusalem who aroused the enmity of members of various synagogues with his teachings and was stoned to death according to the Acts of the Apostles (somewhere in or around the year 34), making him the first martyr of the church. St. Stephen's Day is a holiday in many nations that were historically Catholic, Anglican, or Lutheran. St. Stephen is a symbol for all who suffer for their faith.

[Saint Stephen, by Carlo Crivelli, 1476,
with three stones (used to kill him) and the palm of the martyr]

Thus the second day of Christmas has two different readings: the shepherds coming to Bethlehem from the Christmas story and Jesus' description of the persecution of the prophets by Jerusalem, seen in the light of the story of the stoning of St. Stephen from the Acts of the Apostles.

Of the four Bach cantatas for this day, only the second part of the Christmas Oratorio deals exclusively with the Christmas story ("Und es waren Hirten in derselben Gegend", the annunciation to the shepherds). "Darzu ist erschienen der Sohn Gottes", BWV 40, from 1723, links the Christmas story to the stoning of St. Stephen by presenting Jesus as coming to earth to destroy the works of the devil. "Christum wir sollen loben schon", BWV 121, a cantata based on a Luther chorale from the following year, refers to John the Baptist and the Visitation of Mary. The opening chorale fantasy is in an archaic style. "Selig ist der Mann", BWV 57 from 1725, is a dialogue between Christ and the soul, again inspired by the story of the stoning of St. Stephen.


Readings for Second Day of Christmas and St. Stephen's Day:

(Christmas)
Titus 3:4–7, God's mercy appeared in Christ
Luke 2:15–20, The shepherds at the manger

(St. Stephen's Day)
Acts 6:8–15 and 7:55–60, Martyrdom of Stephen
Matthew 23:35–39, Jerusalem killing her prophets

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)

[Medieval miniature painting of the Nativity by the Master of Vyšší Brod, c. 1350]

Cantatas:

• Darzu ist erschienen der Sohn Gottes, BWV 40, 26 December 1723
  
  Chorus: Darzu ist erschienen der Sohn Gottes
  Recitative (tenor): Das Wort ward Fleisch
  Chorale: Die Sünd macht Leid
  Aria (bass): Höllische Schlange, wird dir nicht bange?
  Recitative (alto): Die Schlange, so im Paradies
  Chorale: Schüttle deinen Kopf und sprich
  Aria (tenor): Christenkinder, freuet euch!
  Chorale: Jesu, nimm dich deiner Glieder
  
  "For this the Son of God appeared"
  Text & translation
  
  Scored for three vocal soloists (alto, tenor and bass), a four-part choir, two horns (corno da caccia), two oboes, two violins, viola and basso continuo.
  
  In just fifteen minutes, this cantata contains three beautiful chorale settings, two attractive arias, two recitatives, and an upbeat opening chorus. The text links the Christmas story to the stoning of St. Stephen by presenting Jesus as coming to earth to destroy the works of the devil. The cantata therefore finds Bach in a militaristic mood, full of battle cries. This begins with the opening music, which, with its two heroically blaring horns, is a great example of Bach's military music. The triumphant flourish recalls the jubilant trumpets of the first cantata of the Christmas Oratorio. The choir enters in unison, followed by a fugue, and then the piece ends homophonically again. Bach clearly wanted to make an impression during his first Christmas season as cantor in Leipzig. The cantata is clearly divided into three parts, each of which concludes with a chorale: the celebration of the coming of Christ (parts 1-3), the struggle against evil embodied in the serpent (4-6), and the joy at its defeat (7-8).
  
  The tenor recitative invites the faithful to contemplate the implications of the Incarnation in the expression "the Word became flesh". According to the website of the Netherlands Bach Society, "The victorious Christ of this cantata is closer to the regal figure of the St John Passion than the hesitant Jesus of the St Matthew Passion." 
  
  Movement 3 of the cantata is the third verse of Kaspar Füger's "Wir Christenleut" (1592), which refers to the defeat of evil (from this hymn Bach used the verse "Seid froh, dieweil" at the end of Part III of the Christmas Oratorio). The chorale is set to an earlier melody by an anonymous composer (1589).
  
  The bass aria, with a highly rhythmic accompaniment, develops the theme of Satan's destruction in the form of an operatic "rage aria," addressing the evil one as a slithering serpent. The "twisting lashes of the violins" are said to represent the "snake's tail.
  
  After the alto recitative (reminding us that this is the same serpent that tempted Adam and Eve), we get the second chorale, "Schüttle deinen Kopf und sprich," in a four-part setting. This is stanza 2 from is the fourth (final) stanza from Christian Keymann's "Freuet euch, ihr Christen alle" (1646).'s "Schwing dich auf zu deinem Gott" (1648). The vivid bass line illustrates the crushing of the serpent's head.
  
  The tenor interestingly compares Jesus to a hen protecting her chicks (an image based on this Sunday's readings). The horns and oboes are not used here for military music, but for a joyful melody, playing a fine fanfare. The internal chorales that separate these arias are folksy in style and content. The cantata closes with "Jesu, nimm dich deiner Glieder," the fourth (final) stanza from Christian Keymann's "Freuet euch, ihr Christen alle" (1646), which asks Jesus for continued support in the new year. It is a surprisingly restrained conclusion after the bravura of the tenor aria.
  
  Video: Netherlands Bach Society - Interview conductor (Rademann)
  
  

[Nativity of Jesus by Botticelli, 1473-75]

• Christum wir sollen loben schon, BWV 121, 26 December 1724
  
  Chorus: Christum wir sollen loben schon
  Aria (tenor): O du von Gott erhöhte Kreatur
  Recitative (alto): Der Gnade unermesslich's Wesen
  Aria (bass): Johannis freudenvolles Springen
  Recitative (soprano): Doch wie erblickt es dich in deiner Krippe
  Chorale: Lob, Ehr und Dank sei dir gesagt
  
  "We should already be praising Christ"
  Text & translation
  
  Scored for alto, tenor and bass vocal soloists with four-part choir. The instrumental parts are cornett, three trombones, oboe d'amore, two violins, viola, and basso continuo.
  
  Chorale cantata based on the Luther chorale motet "Christum wir sollen loben schon” (itself derived from the famous 5th c. Latin hymn A solis ortus cardine (430), and used for the Lauds during the Christmas season), treated in an archaic manner in the opening chorale fantasia. With its primitive root, this is the oldest-feeling of all Bach's cantatas. The opening chorus is its first verse and the closing chorale is its eighth verse, both unchanged. The hymn's other verses are freely adapted as madrigalian recitatives and arias by an unknown poet.
  
  Bach sets the opening verse in motet-style, the voices doubled by a cornet and three trombones besides the usual strings and oboes. This tune which starts in Dorian but ends in the Phrygian mode has a wonderful mystical quality. The text dwells on the wonder of the Incarnation, with only a vague relationship to the readings of the day, but the archaic music is perfectly attuned to that content.
  
  The first tenor aria, accompanied by a delightful obbligato oboe d'amore, develops the theme. It has been called "off-kilter," expressing confusion and wonder. After a recitative, the bass aria with string accompaniment celebrates Jesus' coming. Text and music apparently reflect "John the Baptist's jumping in his mother's womb during the Visitation of Mary" (Mary visits her relative Elizabeth, at the time they are both pregnant: Mary is pregnant with Jesus and Elizabeth is pregnant with John the Baptist). I can't help it, but two babies jumping up and down in the swollen bellies of their proud mothers, strikes me somehow as farcical, like a Japanese manga...
  
  This is followed by an arioso recitative, with an almost impossible extended range for a boy soprano. The work closes with a beautiful chorale.
  
  Video: J.S. Bach Foundation (St. Gallen) - Workshop (in German) - Contemplation (in German) / Concerto Copenhagen
  
  

["Visitation", from Altarpiece of the Virgin by Jacques Daret, c. 1435]

• Selig ist der Mann, BWV 57, 26 December 1725
  
  Aria (bass): Selig ist der Mann
  Recitative (soprano): Ach! dieser süße Trost
  Aria (soprano): Ich wünschte mir den Tod, den Tod
  Recitative (soprano, bass): Ich reiche dir die Hand
  Aria (bass): Ja, ja, ich kann die Feinde schlagen
  Recitative (soprano, bass): In meinem Schoß liegt Ruh und Leben
  Aria (soprano): Ich ende behende mein irdisches Leben
  Chorale: Richte dich, Liebste, nach meinem Gefallen und gläube
  
  "Blessed is the man"
  Text & translation
  
  Scored for soprano and bass soloists, two oboes, oboe da caccia, two violins, viola, and continuo.
  
  This cantata (called a "concerto in dialogo" by Bach) has nothing of the Christmas spirit, but is a rather austere dialogue between Christ (bass) and the soul (soprano), inspired by the story of the stoning of St. Stephen. As in operas of the period, the discourse is carried forward in recitative, while the arias expand on the thoughts and feelings of the protagonists.
  
  The first bass aria is dominated by long vocal phrases - in fact, it is more like an arioso. In the first soprano aria, the longing for death is expressed by an ascending line followed by a wide downward interval. Here the soul sings of the torments to be endured without Christ's love. It is a tragic dance, a dance of death, and at the same time one of the warmest, most moving, most mystical pieces of music that Bach wrote.
  
  The central recitative duet, though very short, provides a "pivot point" (Jesus promises to sustain the soul and destroy its enemies), after which the music becomes slightly more upbeat.
  
  The third aria depicts Jesus as the victor with fanfare-like broken triads, calling on the soul to stop crying. Whereas in the first aria the soul wanted to die because it lacked Jesus' love, in the second aria it wants to enter the tomb to be with Jesus... This is another striking example of the Lutheran "longing for death" to be in heaven.
  
  It has been said that the florid line of the solo violin in the last aria can be interpreted as "the passionate movement of the soul into the arms of Jesus". The aria ends with the question "Was schenkest du mir?" which is answered by the final four-part chorale to the tune of "Lobe den Herren, den mächtigen König der Ehren.
  
  Video: Netherlands Bach Society - Interview conductor Bonizzoni /
  J.S. Bach Foundation (St. Gallen) - Workshop (in German) - Contemplation (in German)
  



• Und es waren Hirten in derselben Gegend, 26 December 1734 (Christmas Oratorio Part II) BWV 248/2
  
  Sinfonia
  Recitative (Evangelist, tenor) "Und es waren Hirten in derselben Gegend"
  Chorale "Brich an, o schönes Morgenlicht"
  Recitative (Evangelist, tenor; Angel, soprano) "Und der Engel sprach zu ihnen"
  Recitative (bass) "Was Gott dem Abraham verheißen"
  Aria (tenor) "Frohe Hirten, eilt, ach eilet"
  Recitative (Evangelist, tenor) "Und das habt zum Zeichen"
  Chorale "Schaut hin! dort liegt im finstern Stall"
  Recitative (bass) "So geht denn hin!"
  Aria (alto) "Schlafe, mein Liebster, genieße der Ruh'"
  Recitative (Evangelist, tenor) "Und also bald war da bei dem Engel"
  Chorus "Ehre sei Gott in der Höhe"
  Recitative (bass) "So recht, ihr Engel, jauchzt und singet"
  Chorale "Wir singen dir in deinem Heer"
  
  "And there were shepherds in the same country"
  Text & translation
  
  Scored for four vocal soloists, a four-part choir (SATB), two traversos, two oboes d'amore, two oboes da caccia, two violins, viola and basso continuo.
  
  The second cantata of the Christmas Oratorio cycle opens with a beautiful pastoral sinfonia. The evangelist relates the story of the shepherds which is followed by the lovely chorale "Brich an, o schönes Morgenlicht."
  
  The Evangelist then describes the infant Jesus in the manger and tells the shepherds to have no fear. The bass states that this is the fulfillment of the old testament promise.
  
  In a gentle aria the tenor urges the shepherds to seek the child. This urging is repeated by the evangelist, after which follows the chorale tune "Vom Himmel hoch."
  
  Next comes a gorgeous berceuse for alto, flute, and strings, the center piece of this cantata. Parodied from BWV 213/3, it is transformed into a beautiful and gentle lullaby to the child in the manger.
  
  After the evangelist has filled in one more biblical text, the chorus sings the energetic "Ehre sei Gott in der Höhe," an original composition for this cantata. The work ends with a straightforward setting of the final chorale, accompanied by motives from the opening sinfonia.
  
  Video: J.S. Bach Foundation (St. Gallen) - Workshop (in German) - Contemplation (in German) / Rene Jacobs
  
  

Bach Cantata Index

Bach Cantatas (2): Christmas Day (BWV 63, 91, 110, 248-I, 197a & 191)

The Christmas season in Leipzig was celebrated for 12 days, from Christmas Day to Epiphany. Christmas itself was celebrated on three consecutive days, not two, with a Christmas cantata performed each day. Although there is some exuberant music, Christmas in Bach's day was not as "oppressively cheerful" (let alone commercialized) as it is today - in fact, much of the music Bach wrote for Advent and Christmas is profoundly introspective.

In fact, there is no reliable historical information about Jesus, and the date of his birth is unknown. In the early to mid-4th century, the Church arbitrarily placed this event on December 25, a date marked by the Romans as the winter solstice, the shortest and darkest day of the year (and therefore the time when the days would begin to lengthen again, symbolizing that Jesus is the light of the world), as well as the date exactly nine months after the Annunciation, when the conception of Jesus was celebrated.

[Gerard van Honthorst, Adoration of the Shepherds, 1622]

For the Christmas season of 1734, Bach composed the Christmas Oratorio in six parts to be performed consecutively on the three days of Christmas, New Year's Day, the Sunday after New Year's Day, and Epiphany. We will discuss the six parts on their respective days. The first part for Christmas Day is the wonderful "Jauchzet, frohlocket".

In addition to the first part of the Christmas Oratorio, there are five cantatas for this day: "Christen, ätzet diesen Tag, BWV 63, a beautiful and festive cantata that Bach probably first performed on December 25, 1713, which was not only Christmas Day but also the birthday of the musically talented Prince Johann Ernst (1696-1715), the son of Bach's employer in Weimar. It was later included in the first Leipzig cantata cycle. "Gelobet seist du, Jesu Christ, BWV 91, was performed on Christmas Day 1724 and is part of the chorale cantata cycle. It is based on Luther's hymn of the same name. "Unser Mund sei voll Lachens (Our Mouth is Full of Laughter), BWV 110, written a year later, is part of the third cantata cycle. It has an opening chorus based on the ouverture of the Orchestral Suite BWV 1069, which Bach wrote in Köthen. 

The music of "Ehre sei Gott in der Höhe", BWV 197a, was lost, but can be partially reconstructed (the last four movements) from BWV 197. It belongs to the fourth cycle of Picander cantatas of 1728-29.

A "strange bird" is BWV 191, a Latin cantata written to celebrate the Peace of Dresden (which ended the Second Silesian War) and performed on Christmas Day 1745. The music of its three movements was copied by Bach from the great B Minor Mass.

These cantatas don't exhaust the music Bach wrote for this important liturgical day. In 1723 (when he was eager to prove himself as the newly appointed Thomaskantor), he also performed the Christmas version of the Magnificat, BWV 243a, a work originally written for the Feast of the Visitation (July 2), but with the addition of four voices, now suitable for Christmas Day. Finally, Bach composed the Sanctus in D major, BWV 238, for this festive day.


The readings for Christmas Day:
Titus 2:11–14, God's mercy appeared (or Isaiah 9:2–7, Unto us a child is born)
Luke 2:1–14, Nativity, Annunciation to the shepherds and the angels' song

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:

• Christen, ätzet diesen Tag, BWV 63, 1713-1716 or 1723
  
  Chorus: Christen, ätzet diesen Tag
  Recitative (alto): Oh, selger Tag! o ungemeines Heute
  Aria (soprano, bass): Gott, du hast es wohl gefüget
  Recitative (tenor): So kehret sich nun heut
  Aria (alto, tenor): Ruft und fleht den Himmel an
  Recitative (bass): Verdoppelt euch demnach
  Chorus: Höchster, schau in Gnaden an
  
  "Christians, engrave this day"
  Text & translation
  
  Scored for four vocal soloists (soprano, alto, tenor, and bass), a four-part choir, four trumpets, timpani, three oboes, bassoon, two violins, viola, organ (in a later version), and continuo.
  
  Bach's earliest surviving Christmas cantata, of somewhat mysterious origin. It may have been composed as early as 1713-1716, when Bach was working in Weimar; but it was certainly not composed for the Weimar Schlosskirche "Himmelsburg," since the high organ balcony in that church was so small that it could only accommodate chamber music forces, while this cantata uses unusually lavish forces. Another fact is that this cantata, although it has an appropriately festive character, lacks the usual Nativity themes such as a cradle song, shepherd music, or Christmas chorales.
  
  There has been much speculation about the origins of BWV 63. In my opinion,  Eduard van Hengel has given the correct interpretation: he says that Bach probably wrote the cantata for December 25, 1713, which was not only Christmas Day, but above all the birthday of the musically gifted Prince Johann Ernst (1696-1715), the son of Bach's employer in Weimar. It was also a prayer for the health of the young prince, who was seriously ill. This occasion explains the extremely large instrumentation of the cantata, which is suitable for major holidays such as those celebrated by the ducal family in one of Weimar's large churches (St. Peter and Paul). It also explains the cantata's somewhat ambivalent character as a Christmas cantata.
  
  Van Hengel adds that the cantata was performed again in a slightly modified form on October 31, 1717, at the celebration of the bicentennial of the Lutheran Reformation in Halle - and it is to this version that we owe the opening text "Engrave this day": it fits well into a one-time commemoration. The long-suspected connection between this piece and Bach's application for the position of organist in Halle can thus be dispelled.
  
  "Engrave this day in metal and marble" also refers to the director of the Weimar Mint, Salomo Franck, who wrote most of the librettos that Bach used in Weimar. Although there is no proof, it is likely that the text was written by him.
  
  Of course, it is not so strange that Bach returned to this festive and grand Weimar work for his first Christmas in Leipzig in 1723, which he wanted to celebrate with especially bright music.
  
  The cantata does not contain the usual sermon or stern words; it is a long song of praise and thanksgiving for the blessings of Christmas, presented as the long-awaited fulfillment of God's promise. The cantata begins in an energetic and confident mode, with a festive chorus accompanied by a large orchestra, four trumpets announcing the mercy of Jesus' coming, and rapid entrances imitating one another, as if the choir and orchestra could not wait for the great event.
  
  The accompanied alto recitative is more introspective than the exuberant opening chorus. There are some tortuous passages as the voice struggles to free itself from "Satan's slavish chains".
  
  Next we find two duets separated by another recitative. The first - austere - duet is for soprano and bass with oboe obbligato; the second - dancing, a menuet - is for alto and tenor. This is a rare cantata that contains no solo arias, but only duets.
  
  A bravura bass recitative with brass and winds introduces the glorious final C major chorus (not chorale), which begins with an energetic double fugue. Incidentally, the central recitative (movement four by the tenor) contains the word "Gnaden," "grace," at its midpoint; Bach deliberately made this concept, God's mercy, leading to salvation and deliverance from death, fear and sin, the fulcrum around which the entire cantata turns.
  
  Video: Netherlands Bach Society /  J.S. Bach Foundation (St, Gallen) - Workshop (in German) - Contemplation (in German)
   
  
  
  

[Bernardo Daddi 1325-50]

• Gelobet seist du, Jesu Christ, BWV 91, 25 December 1724
  
  Chorale: Gelobet seist du, Jesu Christ
  Recitative (and chorale, soprano): Der Glanz der höchsten Herrlichkeit
  Aria (tenor): Gott, dem der Erden Kreis zu klein
  Recitative (bass): O Christenheit! Wohlan
  Aria (soprano, alto): Die Armut, so Gott auf sich nimmt
  Chorale: Das hat er alles uns getan
  
  "Praise be to you, Jesus Christ"
  Text & translation
  
  Scored for soprano, alto, tenor, and bass, a four-part choir, two horns, timpani, three oboes, two violins, viola and basso continuo.
  
  Chorale cantata from Bach's second Leipzig year, based on the famous Christmas hymn "Gelobet seist du, Jesu Christ" (1524) by Martin Luther (and going back at least to the tenth-century sequence Grates omnes reddamus). The text emphasizes the contrast between the majesty of Christ's heavenly state and the lowliness of his birth for the salvation of mankind. The hymn melody is brilliantly scored for horns, timpani, three oboes, and strings, with the sopranos singing the melody in long notes against jubilant counterpoint. As John Eliot Gardiner says in Music in the Castle of Heaven (p. 326), "The opening ritornello has that special sense of expectation that is the hallmark of Bach in the Christmas mode: fanfares for the horns and running G major scales in the oboes suggesting the dancing of angels".
  
  The soprano recitative that follows is contrasted with chorale phrases from the second verse of the hymn. The expressive tenor aria begins with a plaintive chorus of three oboes. It has an interesting dotted rhythm, which was the usual symbolic representation of royal majesty in French Baroque music.
  
  After the slow, chromatic accompagnato bass recitative deals with the theme of "this vale of tears" (Bach wouldn't be Bach without at least a reference to such a theme!), the final aria, a soprano and alto duet sung in close imitation over a Corelli walking bass, deals with the poverty God takes upon Himself for the salvation of mankind. This is contrasted with the "overflowing store of heavenly treasures" he gives to the faithful.
  
  The horns and drums return for the final chorale, restoring the jubilant tone of the opening chorus. This chorale cantata, part of Bach's second round of cantatas in Leipzig, was performed by Bach at least five more times in the 1730s and 1740s after 1724, so Bach himself must have been pleased with it.
  
  Video: J.S. Bach Foundation (St. Gallen) - Workshop (in German) - Contemplation (in German)
  
  

• Unser Mund sei voll Lachens, BWV 110, 25 December 1725
  
  Unser Mund sei voll Lachens (Chorus)
  Ihr Gedanken und ihr Sinnen (Aria Tenor)
  Dir, Herr, ist niemand gleich (Recitative Bass)
  Ach Herr! was ist ein Menschenkind (Aria Alto)
  Ehre sei Gott in der Höhe (Duet Soprano and Tenor)
  Wacht auf, ihr Adern und ihr Glieder (Aria Bass)
  Alleluja! Gelobt sei Gott (Chorale)
  
  "May our mouth be full of laughter"
  Text & translation
  
  Scored for four vocal soloists (soprano, alto, tenor, bass), a four-part choir, three trumpets and timpani, two transverse flutes, three oboes (also oboe d'amore and oboe da caccia), two violins, viola, and basso continuo including bassoon.
  
  Festive Christmas cantata composed by Bach in his third year as Thomaskantor in Leipzig, to a text by Georg Christian Lehms. The text does not have the usual recitatives alternating with arias, but instead has three sections with biblical quotations.
  
  The opening chorus is a very clever arrangement of the Overture to the Fourth Orchestral Suite in D, BWV 1069 - it fits like a glove. Bach takes the slow-fast-slow structure of the French overture and uses the solemn outer sections to frame the fast fugal section, with a four-part chorus woven into the instrumental fabric. This enormous movement is easily the center of gravity of the cantata. The "laughter" mentioned in the text is often graphically audible (in the central fugue).
  
  The feathery tenor aria that follows, with two obbligato flutes, is a musical gem. The poet's invitation to his thoughts to leave earthly concerns and rise to the contemplation of higher things is represented by rising flute figures. The second aria for alto benefits from the presence of an oboe d'amore, which vividly frees itself from the singer, portraying the stubborn folly of humanity. The aria is in F sharp minor, a dark key, very fifferent from the jubilant opening, stressing instead human mortality and need of salvation - in Lutheran theology in Bach's time, Christmas was closely linked to the Passion. It was a time of reflection, rather than of dining and drinking.
  
  The fifth movement is a duet for soprano and tenor, both playing angels greeting the shepherds with the text "Glory to God in the highest". The music is based on the "Virga Jesse floruit" from the Magnificat BWV 243A. It is a pastoral expression of goodwill toward mankind.
  
  Next comes a heroic bass aria with trumpets and woodwinds, a stirring call to wake up and join in the angels' praise. Note that when the text refers to "devotional strings," the winds rest and the violins play long ornamental melismas.
  
  The final harmonized chorale, taken from Caspar Füger's "Wir Christenleut," is set in the plainchant style.
  
  Video: Netherlands Bach Society - Interview with conductor Jos van Veldhoven / J.S. Bach Foundation (St. Gallen) - Workshop (in German) - Contemplation (in German)
  
  

[Rose window of the cathedral of Strasbourg]

• Jauchzet, frohlocket 25 December 1734 (Christmas Oratorio Part I) BWV 248/I
  
  Chorus "Jauchzet, frohlocket, auf, preiset die Tage"
  Recitative (tenor) "Es begab sich aber zu der Zeit"
  Recitative (alto) "Nun wird mein liebster Bräutigam"
  Aria (alto) "Bereite dich, Zion, mit zärtlichen Trieben"
  Chorale "Wie soll ich dich empfangen"
  Recitative (tenor) "Und sie gebar ihren ersten Sohn"
  Chorale (sopranos) & Recitative (bass) "Er ist auf Erden kommen arm" & "Wer will die Liebe recht erhöhn"
  Aria (bass) "Großer Herr und starker König"
  Chorale "Ach mein herzliebes Jesulein!"
  
  "Rejoice, exult, up, glorify the days"
  Text & translation
  
  Scored for three vocal soloists (alto, tenor and bass), a four-part choir (SATB) and a Baroque instrumental ensemble of three trumpets, timpani, two traversos), two oboes, two oboes d'amore, two violins, viola and basso continuo.
  
  The first part of Bach's Christmas Oratorio, which consists of six self-contained but linked cantatas meant for performance on different days. All include music that Bach had originally written for secular cantatas (the reuse of one's own music was a common practice in the Baroque period, especially since most music was not published). But while in cantata format, the Oratorio includes a tenor Evangelist who narrates the story in the form of a recitative, as in the Matthew and John Passions. The backbone of the text is provided by the biblical narrative, from the nativity up to the coming of the three wise men. Most texts are from St. Luke and St. Mathew and the emphasis is on narration and contemplation rather than dialogue or action. 
  
  The first cantata opens in magnificent style, with trumpets and drums, adapted from BWV 214/1. It is a truly glorious piece of music. The first recitative introduces the well known narrative of Mary and Joseph going to Jerusalem for the census. This is interrupted by the alto, who after a recitative in which Christ is introduced as bridegroom (as in BWV 140), calls in a gentle aria, "Bereite dich, Zion," to prepare oneself.
  
  After a chorale the tenor continues his narration of the Christmas story. The ensuing bass recitative contemplating the meaning of it all is intertwined with the sopranos singing the chorale "Gelobet seist du, Jesu Christ."
  
  This leads to the glorious bass aria "Großer Herr, o starker König," originally from a secular work in praise of the king, but with its trumpet fanfares wonderfully suited to the new text.
  
  A grand setting of the chorale "Vom Himmel hoch, da komm ich her," with trumpets, ends the cantata.
  
  Video: J.S. Bach Foundation (St. Gallen) - Workshop (in German) - Contemplation (in German)
  
  
  


• Ehre sei Gott in der Höhe, BWV 197a, 25 December 1728 (or 1729)
  
  [Chorus: Ehre sei Gott in der Höhe]
  [Aria: Erzählet, ihr Himmel, die Ehre Gottes]
  [Recitative: O! Liebe, der kein Lieben gleich]
  Aria: O du angenehmer Schatz
  Recitative: Das Kind ist mein
  Aria: Ich lasse dich nicht
  Chorale: Wohlan! so will ich mich
  
  "Glory be to God in the Highest"
  Text & translation
  
  Scored for solo alto and bass voices, a four-part choir, two flutes, oboe d'amore, two violins, viola, bassoon, cello, and continuo.
  
  Christmas Day cantata on a text by Picander and a chorale from the 1697 hymn "Ich freue mich in dir" by Caspar Ziegler. Bach later revised the cantata into "Gott ist unsre Zuversicht," BWV 197. The music of the original cantata was subsequently lost, but the last four movements could be reconstructed. Lost are the first three movements, a chorus, aria and recitative.
  
  The fourth movement is an alto aria, which speaks directly to the baby Jesus, a "beautiful treasure." After a secco bass recitative, follows a spirited bass aria scored for oboe d¹amore and continuo. It is a jaunty pastoral dance in 6/8 time. Only for this aria this cantata fragment should be performed more frequently!
  
  Audio: Suzuki
  
  


• Gloria in excelsis Deo, December 25, 1745, BWV 191
  
  Coro: Gloria in excelsis Deo
  Duetto (soprano/tenor): Gloria Patri et Filio et Spiritui sancto
  Coro: Sicut erat in principio
  
  "Glory to God in the Highest"
  Text & translation
  
  Scored for soprano and tenor soloists and an unusual five-part choir (with a dual soprano part), three trumpets, timpani, two flauto traverso, two oboes, two violins, viola, and basso continuo.
  
  Bach's only church cantata set to a Latin text. Composed to celebrate the end of the Second Silesian War on Christmas Day 1745. The composition's three movements all derive from the Gloria of an earlier Missa (Kyrie and Gloria in B minor) written by Bach in 1733 for the Dresden court, which the composer would later use as the Gloria of his Mass in B minor. What we have here are two choruses enclosing a duet for soprano and tenor. It is festive music with trumpets and drums fitting the occasion, and also great music as the Mass in B minor is one of Bach's masterworks. Its only link to Christmas is the opening chorus on Luke (Luke 2:14), to be performed before the sermon. The other two movements after the sermon (marked "post orationem") divide the general words of the Doxology in a duet Gloria Patri et Filio et Spiritui sancto (corresponding to the Domine Deus, the central piece of the Gloria of the Mass in B minor) and a final chorus Sicut erat in principio (corresponding to Mass in B minor structure#Cum sancto spiritu of the Gloria). Is this really a cantata?
  
  Video: Netherlands Bach Society - Interview conductor Jos van Veldhoven /
  J.S. Bach Foundation (St. Gallen) - Workshop (in German) - Contemplation (in German) - Explanation "Bach Factory" (English)
  
  

Bach Cantata Index

Bach Cantatas (1): Advent I - IV (BWV 61, 62, 36 & 132)

In Western Christianity, the liturgical year (church calendar) is determined by the two feasts of Easter and Christmas. The former is movable (linked to the Jewish Passover, which is determined by the lunar calendar), the latter has been fixed on December 25 since the 4th century. Christmas is preceded by the four-week waiting period of Advent, a time of expectant preparation for the celebration of the birth of Christ. Advent begins on the fourth Sunday before Christmas and ends on Christmas Eve. The first Sunday of Advent always falls between November 27 and December 3. The observance of Advent dates back to the 5th century. The Lutheran Church's readings for Advent focus on the entry into Jerusalem (Jesus riding a donkey, an animal of peace as opposed to the warlike horse) and the activities of John the Baptist as the forerunner of Jesus.

The term "Advent" comes from the Latin "adventus" or "coming," which in turn is based on the Greek word "parousia. This Greek term is also commonly used to refer to the Second Coming of Christ, which gives Advent an additional eschatological meaning: not only the birth, but also the coming of Christ at the end of time - and we could add as a third meaning the reception of Christ in the heart of the believer.

For Bach, the First Sunday of Advent was a "red letter day" that marked the beginning of the liturgical year, although Bach began his Leipzig cycle with the Trinity Season when he arrived at his new post in the summer of 1723.

In Leipzig, this was the only Sunday in Advent on which a cantata was performed, the other three Sundays being "tempus clausum" (a period of silence or penitence without music in the church). Bach would have appreciated this, as it gave him a break in which to prepare for the especially busy Christmas season.

In Lutheranism in Bach's day, Advent was a time of reflection and penitence (after all, Advent and the birth of Christ were made necessary by human sinfulness). It was characterized by sobriety, as was Christmas.

Bach had written several cantatas for the other Advent Sundays before coming to Leipzig, but since he could not perform them in their original form in Leipzig, he reused some of them on other occasions, with different texts. In these cases, the original cantatas have been lost. The situation is as follows: there are three Leipzig cantatas for the First Advent (one of which goes back to Weimar, and a second which is a reworking of a secular cantata), and one Weimar cantata for the Fourth Advent which has come down to us in its original form.

Advent I: Three cantatas survive, BWV 61, 62, and 36.
Advent I, the fourth Sunday before Christmas, marks the beginning of the new liturgical year. Bach wrote three cantatas for this day. "Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland" is Martin Luther's most famous hymn, based on the oldest known Christmas hymn, Veni Redemptor Gentium, from the 4th century. Bach based two cantatas on this hymn, a Weimar cantata to a text by Neumeister (BWV 61) and a chorale cantata written in Leipzig (BWV 62). As Thomaskantor, Bach repeated BWV 61 several times, the first time on November 28, 1723, so that it also belongs to the first cantata cycle. The third cantata for this Sunday, "Schwingt freudig euch empor," BWV 36, was first performed in 1731 and drew on material from several earlier congratulatory cantatas.

Advent II: A lost cantata, BWV 70a "Wachet! betet! betet! wachet!" from 1716. This cantata was expanded in 1723 to BWV 170 for Trinity XXVI. The music in its original form has been lost, so we will skip it here (it was included in its final form under Trinity XXVI).

Advent III: A lost cantata BWV 186a "Be not troubled, O soul". This cantata was expanded to BWV 186 in 1723 for Trinity VII. The music in its original form has been lost, so we will omit it here.
BWV 141 is sometimes mentioned here, but it is actually not a work by Bach, but by Telemann. Its attribution to Bach is incorrect.

Advent IV: One lost and one surviving cantata, BWV 147a and BWV 132. BWV 147a "Heart and Mouth and Deed and Life". This cantata was expanded to BWV 147 for the Visitation in 1723. The music in its original form has been lost, so we will skip it here.
BWV 132 "Bereitet die Wege, bereitet die Bahn". This is the only other Weimar Advent cantata that has survived in its original form (from 1715) and will be discussed below.


Readings for Advent I:
Romans 13:11–14, Night is advanced, day will come
Matthew 21:1–9, The entry into Jerusalem

Readings for Advent II:
Romans 15:4–13, Call of the Gentiles
Luke 21:25–36, Coming of the Son of man]

Readings for Advent III:
1 Corinthians 4:1–5, The ministry of faithful apostles
Matthew 11:2–10, John the Baptist in prison]

Readings for Advent IV:

Philippians 4:4–7, Be joyful in the Lord

John 1:19–28, Testimony of John the Baptist

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)

[Entry into jerusalem by Giotto, 14th c.

Cantatas for Advent I:

• Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland (I), BWV 61, 2 December 1714
  
  Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland (Chorale fantasia)
  Der Heiland ist gekommen (Recitative Tenor)
  Komm, Jesu, komm zu deiner Kirche (Aria Tenor)
  Siehe, ich stehe vor der Tür (Recitative Bass)
  Öffne dich, mein ganzes Herze (Aria Soprano)
  Amen, Amen, komm du schöne Freudenkrone (Chorale)
  
  "Now come, Savior of the gentiles"
  Text & translation
  
  Scored for three vocal soloists (soprano, tenor and bass), violins, two violas, and basso continuo.
  
  Chamber cantata composed in Weimar at a time Bach was influenced by French and Italian musical styles. It is one of the best known of all Bach's cantatas. The libretto is by Erdmann Neumeister, pastor in Hamburg, who pioneered a new form of cantata incorporating simple recitative and da capo arias in Italian operatic style, a new cantata form which Bach made his own. The cantata addresses, as John Eliot Gardiner states in Music in the Castle of Heaven "the hopes and fears of the Christian community in the context of Jesus' birth as the beginning of God's plan for our salvation" (p. 286).
  
  The first movement, a chorale fantasia, is structurally based on a splendid French overture - after all, this Sunday formed the "overture" to the church year. But the use of a French overture may also point to the entry of Christ in Jerusalem, as it was under the majestic tones of such overtures that the French Sun King would make his triumphal entries into the opera house. With a magnificent French ouverture, J. S. Bach rolls out the carpet for the little child. The theme is that of Luther's most famous hymn Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland (itself an arrangement of the Latin hymn “Veni redemptor gentium”) with a typical dotted rhythm accompaniment. This is followed by a fugue (the fast part of the overture). In line with the meaning of "Advent," the keyword of this overture is "come."
  
  The tenor recitative outlining the significance of the incarnation in C major (the savior making us his relatives), begins secco, but continues with an arioso, as in Italian opera. The ensuing aria, also in Italian style, is quite lovely, with a lush string accompaniment. It is in the rhythm of a gigue. The savior has created the Church to preserve his doctrine - the melody comes from above and goes to the bottom. The request is made to Jesus to come to his Church in the new year (meant is the new church year that started this day) and this is answered in the next recitative for bass as vox Christi, which also has some nice word-painting: the text (from Revelations 3:20) "Behold, I stand at the door and knock" is interestingly accompanied by "knocking" pizzicato strings. Here the librettist quotes from the Book of Revelation: "Siehe, ich stehe vor der Tür und klopfe an. So jemand meine Stimme hören wird und die Tür auftun, zu dem werde ich eingehen und das Abendmahl mit ihm halten und er mit mir" ("Behold, I stand at the door and knock. Anyone that hears My voice and opens the door, to him I will enter and keep the evening meal with him and he with me," Revelation 3:20). The poet combines the ideas of Jesus' entry into Jerusalem and his promise to return with an invitation to enter the heart of the individual Christian.
  
  The final aria is for soprano, in Bach's time a boy soprano, whose childlike voice would fit well to the delicate melody. As in other Bach cantatas, the soprano voice represents the individual soul as "ideal believer" and it responds to the invitation by the bass with the words "Öffne dich, mein ganzes Herze" (Open, my whole heart). A lovely and delicate aria.
  
  The cantata closes with a grand harmonization of the last half of the chorale, "Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern" ("I am so impatient at Christ's coming"), which ends all too soon.
  
  This Weimar cantata was also played in Leipzig during Bach's first cycle in 1723, on November 28, and probably in other years.
  
  Bach wrote several organ chorales on the theme of "Nun komm der Heiden Heiland": for example, BWV 599, but also BWV 659, BWV 661 and the trio BWV 660. There is also a piano transcription by Busoni (of 659).
  
  Video: Netherlands Bach Society  - Interview conductor Van Veldhoven - Interview bass Harvey /
  J.S. Bach Foundation (St. Gallen) - Workshop (in German) - Explanation "Bach Factory" (English)
  
  


• Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland (II), BWV 62, 3 December 1724
  
  Chorale: Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland
  Aria (tenor): Bewundert, o Menschen, dies große Geheimnis
  Recitative (bass): So geht aus Gottes Herrlichkeit und Thron
  Aria (bass): Streite, siege, starker Held!
  Recitative (soprano, alto): Wir ehren diese Herrlichkeit
  Chorale: Lob sei Gott dem Vater ton
  
  "Now come, Savior of the gentiles"
  Text & translation
  
  Scored for four vocal soloists (soprano, alto, tenor, and bass), a four-part choir, horn only to support the chorale melody, two oboes, two violins, viola, and basso continuo.
  
  Bach's second chorale cantata based on Luther's famous Advent hymn follows - in contrast to BWV 61 - all eight verses of the chorale. That is to say, as was usual procedure in Bach's chorale cantatas of his second Leipzig year, Bach literally includes the first and last couplets of the chorale, and has the verses in-between reworked by a librettist into arias and recitatives.
  
  An shimmering orchestral introduction leads into the opening chorale, which is in a lively and festive mood (but without trumpets as a sign of the sobriety of Advent). The old hymn tune is in four lines, the last one equal to the first. The instrumental ritornello of the opening chorus already quotes this line, first in the continuo, then slightly different in meter in the oboes, as a sort of pre-imitation of fragments of the chorale melody. Other than these quotes, the orchestra plays a free concerto with the oboes introducing a theme, the first violin playing figuration. The soprano sings the cantus firmus in long notes, while the lower voices prepare each entry in imitation.
  
  The long and joyful tenor da capo aria celebrating the mystery of the coming of Christ "as the Supreme Ruler whose purity will be entirely unblemished" is in siciliano rhythm with string accompaniment, doubled in tutti-sections by the oboes.
  
  After a recitative, the bass sings a pompous battle aria accompanied by all the string instruments in octaves, a virtuoso show piece about the "conquering hero." At the same time, the voice seems to battling with the strings which play fast figures.
  
  This militaristic effusion ("muscular Christianity") is followed by a strongly contrasting duet for soprano and alto expressing thanks (this is officially a "recitative," but in fact more like an "arioso duet") and the cantata closes with a simple chorale harmonization, praising the holy trinity.
  
  This cantata belongs to Bach's second Leipzig edition and was first performed on December 3, 1724; Bach repeated it in the period 1732-35.
  
  Video: Netherlands Bach Society - Interview conductor Van Veldhoven - Interview bass Harvey
  
  


• Schwingt freudig euch empor, BWV 36, 2 December 1731
  
  Part I
  Chorus: Schwingt freudig euch empor
  Choral (soprano, alto): Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland
  Aria (tenor): Die Liebe zieht mit sanften Schritten
  Chorale: Zwingt die Saiten in Cythara
  
  Part II
  Aria (bass): Willkommen, werter Schatz!
  Chorale (tenor): Der du bist dem Vater gleich
  Aria (soprano): Auch mit gedämpften, schwachen Stimmen
  Chorale: Lob sei Gott dem Vater ton
  
  "Soar Joyfully Upwards"
  Text & translation
  
  Scored for four soloists—soprano, alto, tenor and bass—a four-part choir, two oboes d'amore, two violins, viola and basso continuo.
  
  This cantata draws on material from earlier secular congratulatory cantatas, beginning with BWV 36c (1725). The text was probably written by Picander. The jubilant mood of the secular work was clearly in keeping with the atmosphere of the entry into Jerusalem, one of the readings for that Sunday. Instead of writing recitatives (there is no story in this cantata), Bach interpolated four chorale movements from two important Advent hymns, Luther's "Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland" and Nicolai's "Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern".
  
  The joyful opening chorus has a wonderful "leaping" quality, with rapidly rising figures that demonstrate exultation. This is followed by the first setting of verses from Luther's chorale, an intimate duet for soprano and alto.
  
  The ensuing tenor aria, accompanied by an oboe d'amore (literally, and here very aptly, "love oboe"), is a tender evocation of the entrance into Jerusalem, where Christ is personified as the Bridegroom of the soul. The first half of the cantata concludes with a simple four-part version of Philip Nicolai's "Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern".
  
  The bass aria that opens the second part recaptures the joy of the opening chorus by singing a welcome to Christ. This is followed by another hymn stanza in which the tenor sings the chorale melody in long notes as a cantus firmus against two busy oboes d'amore. This is a bit of a shouting match, with martial music, in which the singer asks for help to keep the negative side of humanity (sin!) under control.
  
  The final soprano aria, a berceuse, has a delicate, even haunting beauty. It is like pastoral adoration in which God's hand which sends the savior is praised with great intimacy. The singer turns against the previous rough and ready tumble and says that it is not necessary to shout, because God can hear weak voices just as well. This simple expression of faith is accompanied by a muted violin obbligato ("con sordino", so the "weak voice" is immeditaly acted upon). Another four-part setting of "Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland" concludes the cantata.
  
  This sacred parody cantata was first performed in its present form on Advent Sunday, December 2, 1731. It is in two parts, one played before the sermon, the other after the sermon.
  
  Video: J.S. Bach Foundation (St. Gallen) - Workshop (in German) - Contemplation (in German) / Netherlands Bach Society - Interviews with conductor Van Veldhoven, organist Van Doeselaar and organists/harpsichordists Belder/Henstra
  
  

[Jesus enters Jerusalem and the crowds welcome him, by Pietro Lorenzetti, 1320]

Cantata for Advent IV:

• Bereitet die Wege, bereitet die Bahn, BWV 132, 22 December 1715
  
  Bereitet die Wege, bereitet die Bahn (Aria Soprano)
  Willst du dich Gottes Kind und Christi Bruder nennen (Recitative Tenor)
  Wer bist du? Frage dein Gewissen (Aria Bass)
  Ich will, mein Gott, dir frei heraus bekennen (Recitative Alto)
  Christi Glieder, ach bedenket (Aria Alto)
  Ertöt uns durch deine Güte (Chorale)
  
  "Prepare the paths, prepare the road"
  Text & translation
  
  Scored for four vocal soloists (soprano, alto, tenor and bass), oboe, two violins, viola, cello and basso continuo including bassoon.
  
  Chamber cantata from Weimar (in Leipzig, the fourth Sunday of Advent was tempus clausum). The libretto by court poet Salomo Franck is based on the prescribed reading for the day, the testimony of John the Baptist. John the Baptist (1st century CE) was an ascetic preacher who used baptism as the central symbol of his messianic movement. He anticipated a messianic figure greater than himself, and so Christians commonly refer to John as the forerunner of Jesus, since John announces the coming of Jesus. Franck concluded the cantata with the fifth verse of Elisabeth Cruciger's hymn "Herr Christ, der einig Gotts Sohn" (1524). 
  
  The first movement of the cantata is an extended aria for soprano, with a beautifully flowing melody, accompanied by oboe d'amore. The text includes an exhortation to "prepare the way and the path as the Messiah approaches," which is undoubtedly meant figuratively as the path into the heart of the believer (the same passage from Isaiah appears at the beginning of Handel's Messiah). The aria contains long melismas on the word "Bahn," which may represent not only the "long way" but also the flowing of baptismal water.
  
  A rather didactic recitative is followed by an austere bass aria with only continuo accompaniment, a reminder that Advent was a time of penance in the Lutheran Church. The text is based on the question "Who are you?" addressed to John the Baptist, and is also intended as a question to the congregation: "Ask your conscience whether you are false or true.
  
  The alto recitative continues the penitential mood ("I regret my infidelity"). However, this is followed by a more optimistic alto aria in which the obbligato violin represents the cleansing effect of baptismal water ("By the fountain of blood and water your garments, stained by sin, will be made white"). The four-part setting of the closing chorale, "Ertöt uns durch deine Güte" (Mortify us through Your goodness), is lost, but can be taken from "Ihr, die ihr euch von Christo nennet", BWV 164, transposed to A major.
  
  Video: J.S. Bach-Foundation (St. Gallen) - Workshop (in German) - Contemplation (in German) /
  Netherlands Bach Society / Interview conductor (Bernardini) / Interview soprano (Doyle) / Interview bass (Wörner)
  
  

Bach Cantata Index