In Western Christendom the liturgical year (church calendar) is governed by the two feasts of Easter and Christmas. The first one is movable (being linked to the Jewish Passover which is determined by the lunar calendar), the other has since the 4th century been fixed on December 25. Christmas is preceded by the four week waiting period of Advent, a time of expectant preparation for the celebration of the Nativity of Christ. Advent starts on the fourth Sunday before Christmas and ends on Christmas Eve. The first Advent Sunday always falls between November 27 and December 3. The observance of advent dates from the 5th century. The readings in the Lutheran church for Advent center on the Entry into Jerusalem (Jesus riding a donkey, a beast of peace in contrast to the warlike horse) and the activities of John the Baptist as the precursor of Jesus.
[Entry into Jerusalem by William Brassey Hole, 1900s]
The term "Advent" comes from the Latin "adventus" or "coming," which in its turn is based on the Greek word "parousia." This Greek term is also commonly used to refer to the Second Coming of Christ, thus giving an added eschatological meaning to Advent: not only the nativity, but also the coming of Christ at the end of time.
For Bach, the First Sunday in Advent was a "red letter day" which formed the beginning of the liturgical year, although Bach started his Leipzig cycle with the Trinity season, as he arrived in his new job in the summer of 1723.
In Leipzig this was the only Sunday in Advent when a cantata was performed, because "tempus clausum" (a quiet period or penitential season without music in church) was observed on the other three Sundays. Bach will have been happy about this, as it give him a break in which to prepare for the extra busy season of Christmas.
In Lutheranism in Bach's time, Advent was a season of reflection and penitence (after all, advent and nativity had been made necessary by the sinfulness of human beings). It was characterized by sobriety, as was Christmas.
Bach did write a few cantatas for the other Advent Sundays before he came to Leipzig, but as he could not perform these in their original form in Leipzig, he reused several of them on other occasions, with different texts. In those cases, the original cantatas have been lost. The situation is as follows: there are three Leipzig cantatas for the first Advent (of which one goes back to Weimar and a second one is a reworking of a secular cantata) and for the Fourth Advent one Weimar cantata has come down to us in its original state.
Advent I: Three cantatas,
BWV 61, 62 and 36.
Advent II: 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 was lost, so we will skip it here (it has been included in its final form under Trinity XXVI).
Advent III: BWV 186a "Ärgre dich, o Seele, nicht". This cantata was expanded in 1723 to BWV 186 for Trinity VII. The music in its original form was lost, so we will skip it here.
BWV 141 is sometimes mentioned here, but this is in fact not a work by Bach but by Telemann. The attribution to Bach is wrong.
Advent IV: BWV 147a "Herz und Mund und Tat und Leben". This cantata was expanded in 1723 to BWV 147 for Visitation. The music in its original form was lost, so we will skip it here.
BWV 132. This is the only other Advent cantata from Weimar that has been preserved in its original form and it 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: Erdmann Neumeister
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. The theme is that of Luther's 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). The tenor recitative outlining the significance of the incarnation, 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 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. The final aria is for soprano, in Bach's time a boy soprano, whose childlike voice fits 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," 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.
Rating: A
Video: Netherlands Bach Society / Bach-Stiftung / Negri
- 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: 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: "Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland" by Martin Luther
Bach's second chorale cantata based on Luther's 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 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 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. 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." This militaristic effusion 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.
Rating: B+
Video: Netherlands Bach Society / Herreweghe / Mailänder Kantorei
- 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: Picander
This cantata draws on material from previous congratulatory secular cantatas, beginning with BWV 36c (1725). The text was probably written by Picander. The jubilant mood of the secular work clearly matched the atmosphere of the entry into Jerusalem, one of the readings for this Sunday. Instead of writing recitatives, Bach has interpolated four chorale movements from two important hymns for Advent, Luther's "Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland" and Nicolai's "Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern." The joyous opening chorus has a wonderful "leaping" quality. This is followed by the first setting of stanzas from Luther's chorale, an intimate duet for soprano and alto. The ensuing tenor aria is accompanied by an oboe d'amore and is a tender evocation of the entry into Jerusalem where Christ is personified as the bridegroom of the soul. The first half of the cantata then closes with a simple four-part version of Philip Nicolai's "Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern." The bass aria which opens the second part, recaptures the joyousness of the opening chorus by singing a welcome to Christ. This is followed by another hymn stanza where the tenor sings the chorale melody in long notes as a cantus firmus against a busy oboe d'amore. The final soprano aria, a berceuse, has a delicate, even haunting beauty. This simple expression of faith is accompanied by a muted violin obbligato. Another four-part setting of "Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland" ends the cantata. This sacred parody cantata was in its present form first performed on Advent Sunday, Dec. 2, 1731. It is in two parts, one half was played before the sermon, the other half after the sermon.
Rating: B+
Video: Bach-Stiftung
[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: Salomo Franck
Chamber cantata from Weimar. The libretto by court poet Salomo Franck is related to the day's prescribed reading, the testimony of John the Baptist. John the Baptist (1st c. 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 therefore Christians commonly refer to John as the precursor of Jesus, since John announces Jesus' coming. The first movement of the cantata is an extended aria for soprano, with a nicely flowing melody, and accompanied by oboe d'amore. The text contains a call to "prepare the paths and road as Messiah approaches," something which undoubtedly is also meant figuratively as the path into the heart of the believer. The aria contains long melismas on the word "Bahn" (path) which are perhaps not only meant to represent the "long way," but also the flowing of baptismal water. After a rather didactic recitative, follows a severe bass aria with only continuo accompaniment, a reminder that Advent was a time of penitence in the Lutheran church (the text takes as point of departure the question "Who are you" addressed to John the Baptist, and is also meant 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"). This is however followed by a more optimistic alto aria in which the obbligato violin is thought to represent the cleansing effect of baptismal water ("Through the spring of blood and water your garments will become bright, which are stained from sin"). The cantata closes with a lovely setting of the chorale "Herr Christ, der einig Gottes Sohn." Cantata from Bach's Weimar period; in Leizig, the fourth Sunday of Advent was tempus clausum.
Rating: B+
Video: Bach-Stiftung
Bach Cantata Index
