In addition to wedding cantatas, funeral cantatas, and cantatas for the election of a new town council, the church cantatas without a specific (church) date also include a small number of cantatas for smaller services, such as penitential services (when the whole community did penance, for example after a catastrophe such as a great fire), as well as cantatas whose use is unknown or uncertain. We'll gather them together in this article.
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)
[Kirche St. Marien, Mühlhausen,
whose minister commissioned BWV 131]
Cantatas:
Nach dir, Herr, verlanget mich, BWV 150, 1707
(1) Sinfonia
(2) Nach dir, Herr, verlanget mich (Chorus)
(3) Doch bin und bleibe ich vergnügt (Aria soprano)
(4) Leite mich in deiner Wahrheit (Chorus)
(5) Zedern müssen von den Winden (Aria Alto, Tenor, Basso)
(6) Meine Augen sehen stets zu dem Herrn (Chorus)
(7) Meine Tage in dem Leide (Chorus)s
"For Thee, O Lord, I long"
Text & translation
Scored for four vocal parts, two violins, bassoon (or Dulzian) and basso continuo.
This is an early work that exists only in a manuscript by another hand. Not surprisingly, there has been speculation that the cantata is not by Bach. The oft-heard argument that "only Bach could have written such an impressive work" is of course unconvincing, but a more reliable clue came in 2010, when an acrostic was discovered in the final four movements. This acrostic contains the name Merkbach, one of the councilors of Mühlhausen, who was a supporter of Bach. In this case, the cantata may have been written as a tribute to his 70th birthday in April 1707, or in July 1707, when Merkbach was elected mayor for another year. On this basis, the cantata can be dated to the young Bach's time in Arnstadt.
This makes it the earliest surviving cantata by Bach. It is scored for only two violins, bassoon and continuo. In this early work there are no recitatives, no da capo arias, and no chorale. But Bach makes extensive use of choral fugues and imitative polyphony, often changing the tempo and character of the music within movements.
The text, by an unknown author, is based on verses from Psalm 25 in movements 2, 4 and 6. In the remaining movements, rhymed verse with varied metrical structure expresses the theme that mankind faces many hardships, but salvation comes from trusting in God.
The short (15 min.) work begins with a melancholy string sinfonia that leads into a short opening chorus in the style of a motet; the text is taken from Psalm 25.
This is followed by an attractive soprano aria. The next chorus, also in motet style, begins with a bold ascending scale. Unusually, the following aria is a trio for alto, tenor, and bass, one of the few vocal trios in Bach's oeuvre. Another chorus follows.
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The cantata ends with a powerful choral chaconne. When the Bach Gesellschaft volume containing this cantata was first published, Brahms was working on his Fourth Symphony. He was one of the few original subscribers to the Bach Gesellschaft edition and was so impressed with this movement that he quoted the bass line in the finale of his symphony. This is indeed the most beautiful part of the cantata.
Video: Netherlands Bach Society / Voces 8 / Kay Johannsen
Aus der Tiefen rufe ich, Herr, zu dir, BWV 131, 1707
(3) Ich harre des Herrn, meine Seele harret (Chorus)
(5) Israel hoffe auf den Herrn; denn bei dem Herrn (Chorus)
"Out of the depths I call, Lord, to You"
Text & translation
Scored for tenor and bass soloists, four-part choir, oboe, bassoon, violin, two violas and basso continuo.
An early cantata by Bach, the earliest autograph of a complete major work by Bach, probably from his time in Mühlhausen. There is speculation that it was written for a penitential service in Mühlhausen shortly after a great fire destroyed much of the town in 1707 (shortly before Bach took up his position in the town), but this cannot be proven. Nor can it be ruled out that this is a funeral composition, like the Actus tragicus (BWV 106).
However, a note on the autograph score of the cantata indicates that the work was commissioned by Georg Christian Eilmar, pastor of the Marienkirche in Mühlhausen. This allows the work to be dated to 1707-08, the period when Bach lived in Mühlhausen. Bach was employed as organist at the city's other main church, Divi Blasii. He also had some involvement in performances at the Marienkirche, where civic ceremonies were held. One service there that Bach would have attended was that for the inauguration of the City Council in 1708, at which his cantata Gott ist mein Konig, BWV 71 was premiered. He may have had a close personal relationship with Eilmar, who was godfather to his daughter Catharina Dorothea (born 1708).
Eduard van Hengel remarks about the form of this cantata: "In terms of form, Aus der Tiefen, like other early cantatas (such as BWV 106, the Actus Tragicus), deviates sharply from what we have come to expect from Bach and his contemporaries after ± 1712. The instrumental line-up still has the simplicity of the 17th century 'geistliche Konzert': one violin, two violas, oboe, bassoon and continuo. We do not yet find any recitatives there, nor the traditional final chorale nor the da capo arias on free texts, following the example of the Italian opera arias; the solo parts here are not yet called 'aria'. On the other hand, the choir has a much larger share than in the later cantatas, where its role is often limited to an opening choir and a closing chorale. The lyrics are taken exclusively from the Bible and the Protestant church hymn; so there is no occasional lyricist involved (which greatly improves the text quality!). These early cantatas (which are not yet called a 'cantata' but 'motetto', 'concerto' or 'Kirchenstück') do not yet have the familiar number structure, the parts still flow (almost) uninterruptedly into each other [...]."
Like many 17th-century German sacred works, the cantata draws on two textual sources simultaneously. One is Psalm 130, one of the seven penitential psalms, which occupy a prominent place in the liturgy of the dead, not as a lament but as an expression of trust in God. Each movement of the cantata is based on one or two verses of this psalm. The second textual source is the chorale "Herr Jesu Christ, du höchstes Gut" by Bartholomäus Ringwaldt (1588). In the bass aria, the second stanza of the chorale is juxtaposed with the psalm, and in the tenor aria, the fifth stanza is used in a similar manner. The symmetrical work has the same general characteristics as BWV 150. Bach structured the cantata in five movements, three choral movements interspersed with an arioso and an aria.
As the website of the Netherlands Bach Society mentions: "Like most early cantatas, this one too is symmetrical, with the chorus ‘Ich harre des Herrn’ as the central point. This is also where the mood changes. The beginning focuses mainly on the misery, whereas the third movement holds out a ray of hope."
In the beginning was human suffering - or so the slow Sinfonia with its plaintive oboe seems to suggest. It leads directly into the first choral movement, in which the voices literally plunge into the deepest depths. This, in turn, leads directly into the bass aria, in which the chorus sings a chorale as a backdrop. The excellent tenor aria has the same form, with the chorus again providing accompaniment, and the final movement is for the chorus alone. The Fugue in G minor, BWV 131a is a transcription for organ of the fugue of this final movement, but it is not certain that the arranger was Bach.
Complete text Psalm 130 "De Profundis":
1 Out of the depths have I called to you, O Lord; Lord, hear my voice; let your ears consider well the voice of my supplication.
2 If you, Lord, were to note what is done amiss, O Lord, who could stand?
3 For there is forgiveness with you; therefore you shall be feared.
4 I wait for the Lord; my soul waits for him; in his word is my hope.
5 My soul waits for the Lord, more than watchmen for the morning, more than watchmen for the morning.
6 O Israel, wait for the Lord, for with the Lord there is mercy;
7 With him there is plenteous redemption, and he shall redeem Israel from all their sins.
P.S. This psalm has frequently been set to music. It was sometimes used for funeral services, especially under its Latin incipit "De profundis".
Video: Netherlands Bach Society / Interview with Stadler, Van Veldhoven and Daniels / J.S. Bach-Foundation (St. Gallen) / Workshop (in German) - Contemplation (in German) / WDR Radio Choir (modern orchestra)
Lob und Ehr dem höchsten Gut, BWV 117, c. 1728–1731
(2) Recitative (bass): Es danken dir die Himmelsheer
(3) Aria (tenor): Was unser Gott geschaffen hat
(4) Chorale: Ich rief dem Herrn in meiner Not
(5) Recitative (alto): Der Herr ist noch und nimmer nicht
(6) Aria (bass): Wenn Trost und Hülf ermangeln muss
(7) Aria (alto): Ich will dich all mein Leben lang
(8) Recitative (tenor): Ihr, die ihr Christi Namen nennt
(9) Chorale: So kommet vor sein Angesicht
Text & translation
Scored for three vocal soloists (alto, tenor, and bass), a four-part choir, two flutes, two oboes, two oboes d'amore, two violins, viola, and basso continuo.
This cantata, based on a hymn by the poet Johann Jacob Schütz, was written somewhere between 1728 and 1731 for an unknown occasion. There are two possibilities: it could be an "all-purpose" cantata that could be used for almost any occasion with minimal changes, or it could have been written for a wedding ceremony.
The cantata is imbued with the spirit of dance - triple time is omnipresent. It is only 20 minutes long, but has nine movements. The opening chorus, composed as a chorale fantasy, begins with a long ritornello. The bass recitative is about thanksgiving, encouraging the listener to give glory to God. The tenor aria adopts the minor mode, although the text is still optimistic. It is accompanied by two oboes d'amore.
The main chorus takes the text from the original hymn, in a simple setting of the chorale melody (it is rare for Bach to have this in the middle of the cantata rather than at the end). The alto recitative is very similar to the preceding bass recitative, and the bass aria mirrors the earlier tenor aria, but now with violin accompaniment.
In the alto aria, the singer takes a personal view of devotion. The accompaniment consists of flute triplets that have been compared to "the pounding of an excited heartbeat. This aria is surely the jewel of the cantata!
The tenor recitative takes on the voice of a pastor preaching to his congregation. Unusually for Bach, the final chorus repeats the music of the first movement with a text that invites the listener to sing and dance.
Video: Netherlands Bach Society / J.S. Bach Foundation (St. Gallen) - Workshop (in German) - Contemplation (in German)
Nun danket alle Gott, BWV 192, 1730 (June or September)
"Now thank ye all our God"
Text & translation
Scored for soprano and bass soloists, a four-part choir, two flutes, two oboes, two violins, viola, and basso continuo.
The original score and tenor part of this chorale cantata are lost. With three movements, this is one of Bach's shortest cantatas; however, the large-scale melodic phrases lead to a length that has a balancing effect. The cantata is based on Martin Rinckart's hymn of thanksgiving "Nun danket alle Gott". Scholars are divided on the matter of the occasion for this cantata: some think it was written for Trinity, others for an unknown wedding, and still others ascribe it to Reformation Day.
In the imposing first movement, which is in three-four time, the ritornello is not immediately followed by the chorale melody, but by an imitative preparation, after which the first phrase of the chorale melody appears in the soprano over further imitation in the lower voices and by staccato chords in the accompaniment.
The second movement, a complex duet aria, has a dance-like effect. The two soloists are now and then interrupted by the orchestra's ritornelles.
The third movement, again a choral fantasy, is characterized by a rollicking gigue melody. As in verse 1, the chorale melody is in the soprano and the lower voices sing imitative lines.
Video: Netherlands Bach Society
Was Gott tut, das ist wohlgetan, BWV 100, c. 1732–1735
(2) Aria (Duett Alt, Tenor): Er wird mich nicht betrügen
(3) Aria (Sopran): Er wird mich wohl bedenken
(4) Aria (Bass): Er ist mein Licht, mein Leben.
(5) Aria (Alt): Muß ich den Kelch gleich schmecken
(6) Choral (Chor): Darbei will ich verbleiben
"What God Does Is Well Done"
Text & translation
Scored for four vocal soloists (soprano, alto, tenor and bass, a four-part choir, two horns, timpani, flauto traverso, oboe d'amore, two violins, viola, cello, violone and basso continuo.
Bach composed this choral cantata between 1732 and 1735 in Leipzig for an unknown occasion. The work is considered to be one of the last surviving church cantatas by Bach. The text is based on the chorale "Was Gott tut, das ist wohlgetan" (1674) by Samuel Rodigast, which Bach had also used for BWV 99 some ten years earlier. He made the cantata extra festive by adding a second horn and timpani.
In dividing the cantata into movements, Bach followed the stanza division of the chorale. As usual with his chorale cantatas, he framed the solo movements between an initial chorale fantasy and a final chorale. There are no recitatives: four arias, one of which is a duet for alto and tenor, rejoice without interruption about God's goodness. This time no the pain or suffering, but encouragement and consolation are central.
The opening chorale fantasy essentially corresponds to the opening movement of BWV 99, but Bach adds horns and timpani, making the instrumentation more solemn. The movement begins with two instrumental themes that are repeated when the soprano kicks in with the chorale melody. Compared to the vocal part, the instrumental lines are complex.
The alto-tenor duet resembles an Italian chamber duet in terms of the motet-like arrangement of the text and the interwoven imitation of the voices. There is a lovely walking bass.
The soprano aria is accompanied by a technically extremely challenging flute obbligato. The jaunty bass aria is notable for the closing descending motif. The alto aria, set in 12⁄8 time, is accompanied by plaintive oboe d’amore and continuo.
The final chorale resembles the chorale that occurs twice in BWV 75, Bach's first cantata as Thomaskantor. For BWV 100, Bach also added horns and timpani, which makes the movement appear more solemn and creates symmetry with the first movement.
Bach performed the cantata again in 1737 and 1742.
Video: Netherlands Bach Society - Interviews conductor Jos van Veldhoven & flute player Marten Root
In allen meinen Taten, BWV 97, 25 July 1734 (5th Sunday after Trinity)
(2) Aria (bass): Nichts ist es spat und frühe
(3) Recitative (tenor): Es kann mir nichts geschehen
(4) Aria (tenor): Ich traue seiner Gnaden
(5) Recitative (alto): Er wolle meiner Sünden
(6) Aria (alto): Leg ich mich späte nieder
(7) Duet aria (soprano, bass): Hat er es denn beschlossen
(8) Aria (soprano): Ich hab mich ihm ergeben
(9) Chorale: So sei nun, Seele, deine
"In all my undertakings"
Text & translation
Scored for four vocal soloists (soprano, alto, tenor, and bass), a four-part choir, two oboes, bassoon, two violins, viola, and basso continuo.
Bach wrote this chorale cantata in 1734, about a decade after his annual cycle of cantatas, in the same year as his Christmas Oratorio. He dated the manuscript himself, but the occasion is unspecified. The work may have originally been composed for a wedding, because the score shows on top of movement 7 the crossed-out words "nach der Trauung" (after the wedding). A later copy mentions however the fifth Sunday after Trinity.
The author of the chorale is Paul Fleming (1609-1640), who already turned out to be a gifted poet as a medical student in Leipzig. Before his departure on a risky journey to Moscow and Persia, he wrote a song of fifteen stanzas in which he confessed his confidence in God's providence. After Fleming died from the rigors of his journey shortly after returning home, nine verses of more general scope found their way into general songbooks.
The opening chorus is an overture in the French style with heavily dotted rhythms and an attractive vivace fugue and the closing chorale harmonization is of Isaac's exceptionally beautiful tune O Welt ich muss dich lassen. In between we find five arias and two recitatives - a bit hampered by the monotony caused by nine identically structured stanzas, without any striking imagery.
Supported purely by a sober continuo accompaniment, the bass in the first aria puts his fate in God's hand. Trust in God's unfailing love and protection defines the warm and carefree atmosphere of the tenor aria. The predominant affect of the alto aria is a resigned acceptance of one's destiny, trusting in God. The soprano shows herself willing to die when God wills. She forms a lovely quartet with the continuo and two oboes, that expresses her quiet acceptance of her fate.
Video: J.S. Bach Foundation (St. Gallen) - Workshop (in German) - Contemplation (in German)
Singet dem Herrn ein neues Lied, BWV 225, 1727
Singet dem Herren ein neues Lied
"Sing unto the Lord a new song"
Text & translation
The text of this motet for double choir (in other words, eight voices divided into two four-part choirs) in three movements, by an unknown lyricist, consists of Psalm 149:1-3, Psalm 150:2, 6, and verses 3 and 4 of Nun lob, mein Seel, den Herren by Johann Gramann.
The motet is in concerto form, and the two choirs are used in a most inventive way. After an exuberant fantasy on the word "Singet!" both choirs plunge into a complicated fugue. The slow movement is a chorale sung solemnly by Choir II, while Choir I weaves an ingenious 'aria' through it. At the end, everything is repeated, except that the roles of the two choirs are reversed. The ending is a kind of dancing question-and-answer game, which concludes with a four-part fugue performed together, entitled "Alles was Odem hat" ("All that have voice, praise the Lord!").
The event for which this motet was composed is unknown. It may have been composed as a choral exercise for Bach's students at the Thomasschule. The biblical text of the motet would have been suitable for this purpose.
Interestingly, this motet was heard by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart when he visited the Thomasschule in Leipzig in 1789. Mozart was told that the school had a complete collection of Bach's motets and kept them as a kind of sacred relic. Mozart asked for a copy of the motet, which he greatly admired.
Video: Netherlands Bach Society - Interview with conductor Stephan MacLeod and bass Sebastian Myrus