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