Chorale Addendum: Borrowings, Adaptations, Sources

William L. Hoffman wrote (January 11, 2023):
One facet of Bach's chorale compositions is the often-overlooked perspective that the chorales entail borrowings, that the melody in various cases is based upon a Latin cantus firmus that Luther and his Reformation circle adapted to the German vernacular, with accompanying translations of the stanzas and that, since each stanza is a different text to the same line-length, rhythm, and rhyme scheme, it constitutes a new text underlay, sometimes called "parody," which involve transformation of existing materials through adaptation and revision. Bach's adaptations of chorale hymns were legion. They began with his earliest chorale prelude instrumental settings in Arnstadt, as found in the so-called Kirnberger and Neumeister collections, added or altered in the BWV Works Catalogue Vols. 2 and 3, followed by Cantata 106 settings.

Cantata 106 Chorale Tropes

Bach had begun to arrange chorale variations in his earliest Easter Cantata 4, Christ lag in Todesbanden (Christ lies in death's bondage) while using two chorale melody tropes to biblical texts in his Mühlhausen memorial Cantata 106:¹ the Melchior Vulpius 1609 funeral hymn, "Ich hab mein Sach Gott heimgestellt" (I have left all that concerns me up to God), which accompanies the soprano aria (Movement 2D), "Ja, komm, Herr Jesu, komm!" (Yes, come, lord Jesus. come!, Rev.22:20) and ATB trio, "Es ist der alte Bund" (It is the old covenant, Ecc. 14:17), played on flute and gamba, and the bass Vox Christi arioso (Movement 3D), "Heute wirst du mit mir im Paradies sein" (Today you will be with me in paradise, Lk. 23:43) with alto chorale aria, Luther's Simeon's canticle, Nunc dimmitis, "Mit Fried und Freud ich fahr dahin" (With peace and joy I travel there, Lk. 2:29). An historical examination of Bach's chorales is found at BCW.

Orgelbüchlein

When he began his tenure in Weimar in 1708, Bach began compiling his Orgelbüchlein (Little Organ Book),² a template of chorale preludes for the church-year, which, as Bach began in 1714 to compile church-year cantatas as musical sermons, became the beginning of his calling for a "well-regulated church music to the glory of God," completed just before his death in 1750 with the B-Minor Mass. Initially overlooked for two centuries by Bach scholars and performers, the full Orgelbüchlein gradually became a veritable compendium of Lutheran chorales and a resource to better understand Bach's systematic adaptations and arrangements of the wealth of Lutheran orthodox and devotional hymns. A major breakthrough is found in the only monograph to date to examine and understand Bach's extensive self-recycling, Norman Carrell's Bach the Borrower (London: Allen & Unwin, 1967), a wealth of adaptations, recompositions or transcriptions. Predominate is the accounting of Bach Chorales in various borrowings from the work of others. The Index B (374ff), "Works other than cantatas," is an alpha listing of chorales (and instrumental adaptations). Chapter V deals with vocal works (cantatas, chorales to cantatas as well as motets, Passions, alternate settings); Table B, 113 four-part chorales; Table C, "Hymn and Choral Melodies in Orgelbüchlein," 46 set; Table D, Hymn and Choral Melodies intended for the Orgelbüchlein, 118 not set; Table E, 186 "Hymns and Chorale Melodies used in Choralgesänge," BWV 253-438. As noted in the cover fly leaf, this is updated information available "for the first time." Carrell's "Notes on Table 5," offers reliable updating of the vocal works in 203 notes, although much research has been updated since the book's publication in 1967, particularly the new materials in the BWV Works Catalogue third edition. Another current source for the understanding of the chorale adaptations is the Bach Cantatas Website cataloguing of the chorale melodies alphabetically which Bach used (BCW), including all textual and non-textual works, and the full German text with English translations (BCW). The BCW also lists Motets & Chorales for Events in the Lutheran Church Year (BCW). Another valuable resource is an accounting of Bach's parodies and borrowings (BCW) and the article "Parody: Obsession or Transformation," with an account of Bach's borrowings. Also important is the BML Discussion, "World of the Bach Chorale Settings," BCW.

ENDNOTES

¹ Cantata 106: music, YouTube; 2D, 8:11; 3B, 14:19); text, BCW; score, BCW; commentaries, Melvin Unger, BCW; Bach Digital, Bach Digital.
² Orgelbüchlein (Little Organ Book): details, BCW; description, Wikipedia; recording-score, YouTube; template, BML; Bach Digital, Bach Digital.

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To come: Recent materials and new resources for Bach's cantatas.

Peter Smaill wrote (January 11, 2023):
[To William L. Hoffman] Intrigued by the suggestion that “Ich hab‘ mein Sach Gott heimgestellt is by Vulpius- BCW does not state this.

It is a significant chorale due to bar numbers in several presentations ( but not BWV 106) and grateful to know your source, or what version of the setting associates to Vulpius.

William L. Hoffman wrote (January 13, 2023):
[To Peter Smaill] ytHere is the information:

Untexted:

Chorus & Arioso with Instrumental Chorale Es ist der alte Bund (Mvt. 2d) from Cantata BWV 106

Into the opening movement Bach introduces a melody which he has not employed elsewhere in the Cantatas, Motetts, or Oratorios. It is found in Johann Rhau’s Gesangbuch (Frankfort a. Main, 1589) as the Tenor in a four-part setting of the secular song, “Ich weiss mir ein Roslein hübsch und fein,” and becomes the melody of the Hymn “Ich hab’ mein Sach’ Gott heimgestellt” in Melchior Vulpius’ Ein schön geistlich Gesangbuch (Jena, 1609). J.S. Bach uses it in the orchestral accompaniment of this movement. The first line of the melody is identical with the 1565 tune, “Warum betrübst du dich, mein Herz”. The 1589 descant melody was appropriated to the same Hymn in 1598 and is used by J.S. Bach in Choralgesange, No. 182 (BWV 351); Organ Works, BWV 707, BWV 708. Source BCW: CM page

Peter Smaill wrote (January 13, 2023):
[To William L. Hoffman] Thanks Will, much appreciated