There are many ways to describe Bach's use of instruments in this composition - distinctive, extraordinarily beautiful, and profound. The instrumentation is particularly unconventional, with the absence of violins and the presence of two recorders and two violas da gamba, creating a soft, soothing, and almost celestial sound. The recorders, symbolizing earthly suffering, produce sharp seconds and unisons, deliberately avoiding excessive beauty.
The cantata revolves around the theme of eternal life, skillfully contrasting the earthly death depicted in the Old Testament with the salvation offered in the New Testament. The text refers to various books of the Bible, in keeping with the Lutheran belief that God's plan of salvation spans the entire Bible. The chorus "Es ist der alte Bund" serves as a dramatic climax and axis of symmetry, as Bach masterfully combines the familiar memento mori warning with the soprano's proclamation of Jesus' coming. In other words, this is a transition from a death to be feared ("Sterbensangst") to a death to be welcomed ("Todesfreudigkeit") as an innocent sleep from which we will be awakened in paradise. This reaches a musical and theological climax when, toward the end of the movement, Bach no longer juxtaposes these ideas but places them one above the other.
Although there is speculation that the cantata was written for an uncle of Bach's (who left him 50 florins for his impending marriage to Maria Barbara), we don't actually know for whom this ethereally beautiful funeral cantata was written by the 22-year-old Bach.
The cantata is in the archaic style en vogue until the end of the 17th century: that is, the texts are borrowed from the Bible or from chorales; there are no free poetic texts, no recitatives and da-capo arias; and there is no four-part chorale setting as a finale. This brilliant work is not a juvenile study, but rather the culmination and conclusion of a past genre.
The music in this very special cantata is expressive and profound, the mood most mournful. The cantata contains wonderfully moving moments when the recorders and viols share their grief with the singers.
The soprano sings the texts of the soul, the alto sings the texts of the individual person (especially David), the tenor sings the texts of humanity and the sacred writer, especially Moses. Finally, as in the St. Matthew Passion, the bass sings the texts of God and Jesus. No choir is needed for this cantata: the choral setting at the end of the cantata is sung in unison by the four solo voices after the last part of the last movement. The last four words, "Through Jesus Christ. Amen." are presented in a jubilant and triumphant yet subdued manner. The recorders repeat Amen wordlessly, leading us to the finale: the major triad of the E-flat major third.
1. Sonatina
2. Chor "Gottes Zeit ist die allerbeste Zeit"
3. Arioso (Tenor) "Ach, Herr, lehre uns bedenken"
4. Arie (Bass) "Bestelle dein Haus"
5. Chor und arioso (Sopran) "Es ist der alte Bund"
6. Arie (Alt) "In deine Hände"
7. Arioso (Bass), Choral (Alt) "Heute wirst du mit mir"
8. Chor "Glorie, Lob, Ehr und Herrlichkeit"
Text & translation
Listen to: Van Veldhoven | Netherlands Bach Society
[Contains quotes from my article "Funeral Cantatas and Motets" and is also inspired by the discussion on the website of the Netherlands Bach Society]
Choral Masterworks
Bach Cantata Index