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Cantata BWV 165
O heilges Geist und Wasserbad
Discussions - Part 3 |
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Continue from Part 2 |
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Discussions in the Week of March 20, 2011 (3rd round) |
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Ed Myskowski wrote (March 20, 2011):
Introduction to BWV 165 -- O heilges Geist und Wasserbad
This weeks discussion continues the ongoing series of cantatas spanning from Easter to Ascension, Pentecost, and Trinity. With BWV 165, we begin the four works for Trinity Sunday,
Details of text, commentary, recordings, and previous discussion are accessible via: http://www.bach-cantatas.com/BWV165.htm
The link to commentary by Julian [Mincham} is especially recommended as an introduction to listening. Julian emphasizes many fine details in this deceptively slight work, which has been ranked sub-standard by some other writers.
The BWV 165 page also has convenient access to Gardiner’s notes to the pilgrimage CDs, by clicking on the PDF link under the picture of the CD cover. Volume 27, including this weeks BWV 165, will also be appropriate for all four weeks with the cantatas for Trinity Sunday. That will conclude the first half of the liturgical year.
Note this comment from the BCW discussion archives, with which I concur:
John Pike wrote (May 12, 2005):
BWV 165 and BWV 185
I have been listening to 3 recordings each of BWV 165 and BWV 185 [...] most of all I wanted to say how much I am enjoying my new complete cantata box set of Leusink's recordings. For 2 years I was put off acquiring these (cheap though they are) because of some critical comments on the list, but early experience has shown that they were a wise investment and I would recommend them to anyone looking to buy a complete cantata set at budget price. |
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Ed Myskowski wrote (March 23, 2011):
Ed Myskowski wrote:
< Details of text, commentary, recordings, and previous discussion are accessible via: http://www.bach-cantatas.com/BWV165.htm
The link to commentary by Julian [Mincham} is especially recommended as an introduction to listening. >
See also:
(1) Additional info from Julian Mincham at: http://www.jsbachcantatas.com/documents/chapter-61-bwv-194.htm
We will discuss that work next week, it is worth reading Julians commentary together for the two of them.
(2) The Emmanuel Music commentary link from our BWV 165 page, where Craig Smith provides some delightful insights on Bachs musical treatment of Satans appearances in the bass recit, BWV 165/4.
Julian emphasizes many fine details in this deceptively slight work, which has been ranked sub-standard by some other writers. |
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William L. Hoffman wrote (March 26, 2011):
Cantata BWV 165 -- Trinity Sunday & Chorales
Bach's four extant cantatas for the final festival in the <de tempore> half of the Christian church year represent a strong reflection of the meaning of Trinity Sunday as well as exemplars of both unity of sacred purpose, such as Lutheran teaching and chorales, as well as diversity of poetic texts and cantata forms - all emblematic of his goal of a well-ordered church music to the glory of God.
Beginning with the Protestant Reformation in 1519, the Sunday Festival of the Holy Trinity became a pivotal observance in which the Lutheran teachings through the chorales and the Catechism systematically exemplify and illustrate the biblical and doctrinal teachings, often with music. Thus, the original Lutheran hymns and Bach's resulting cantata musical sermon settings demonstrate and celebrate the meaning and significance of this tradition as found at Trinity Sunday, now usually called the First Sunday After Pentecost.
Bach four sacred cantatas as well as Latin Mass Movements most appropriate for the Sunday Festival of the Holy Trinity are:
1. Cantata BWV 165, "O heil'ges Geist- und Wasserbad" (O Holy Spirit- and water-bath); premiered in 1715, with repeats ?1716 (K. Hoffman BJ 1993:29, Boyd OCC:JSB:331) and 1724; an intimate solo (SATB) work typical of poet Salomo Franck's sermon-text with symbols, teachings, and affections.
2. Cantata BWV 194, "Höchsterwünschtes Freudenfest" (Highest wished-for joy-feast), performed in 1724 (Part 1 only, in a double-bill with BWV 165); an extensive two-part chorus cantata parodied from a Cöthen congratulatory serenade (BWV 194a) in the style of a dance suite and originally recomposed for the service of a church remodeling and organ dedication (1723) and partially repeated as BWV 194b (1726, Movements Nos. 12, 2-5, 7, 10), 1731 (?Part 1 only), and after 1750 in Halle.
3. Cantata BWV 176, "Es ist ein trotzig und verzagt Ding" (It is an obstinate and hopeless thing), premiered in 1725, a chorus cantata with opening biblical dictum, alternating arias and recitatives and closing chorale, typical in form of the first group in the first cycle (1723-24), according to Alfred Dürr, <Cantatas of JSB> (2005: 27); the last in a series of nine cantatas by progressive Leipzig poetess Mariane von Ziegler, and later assigned to Bach's hybrid third cantata cycle (1726-27).
4. Cantata BWV 129, "Gelobet sei der Herr, mein Gott" (Praise be the Lord, my God) premiered in 1727 and repeated in 1732-35, 1743-46, 1744-47, 1755 (Petzoldt); a pure-hymn chorale cantata along with BWV 112 for Misericordias (Second Sunday After Easter Sunday), both belatedly composed for the Easter Season portion of the chorale cantata cycle (1724-25).
5. Mass sections: Sanctus in C, BWV 237 5/15/16 or 5/23/1723; Missa in B Minor (Kyrie-Gloria), BWV 232I, possibly performed in Leipzig in 1732-35); and the four Missae (Kyrie-Gloria), BWV 233-236, possibly performed in Leipzig or Dresden in 1735-38) as part of Bach's Christological Cycle of sacred works.
In addition, a Picander "fourth" cycle published text exists for Trinity Sunday, June 12, 1729, "Gott will ich mich in dem Himmel haben" (God will have me in heaven). It is doubtful, however, that Bach set it because it contains no chorale and by that time Bach had virtually ceased composing new church-service cantatas; instead, he had assumed full responsibilities for the Leipzig Collegium musicum series at Zimmerman's Coffee House.
Interestingly, Bach in his Trinity Sunday cantatas used none of the established chorale texts associated with the Trinity Festival in Leipzig as found in the Gottfried Vopelius 1682 <Das Neu Leipziger Gesangbuch> (The New Leipzig Song Book). Three of these same texts also had been outlined in his earliest (1714) plan for a well ordered church music, the <Orgelbüchlein> (Little Organ Book) chorale prelude collection, which instead he focused on setting the <de tempore> chorales of the first half of the church year dealing with the major events in the life of Jesus Christ.
Instead, Bach sparingly set the Trinity chorale texts as free-standing plain chorales, used them in cantatas for the last Sunday in Easter, or adapted their associated melodies as organ chorale preludes. Meanwhile, Bach chose mostly popular hymn melodies with different, didactic texts that could relate to the original poetic texts of the Trinity Sunday cantata arias and recitatives. Bach also performed two-part and double-bill cantatas on Trinity Sundays in Leipzig. The most popular two of the four Cantatas, BWV 194 and BWV 129, were repeated several times on Trinity Sundays and even were reperformed in the decade after Bach's death in 1750 in Halle and Leipzig.
Festival of the Holy Trinity
The Festival of the Holy Trinity (ordered by Pope John XXII, 1332) reflects upon all of the events commemorated during the first half (<de tempore>) of the church year and celebrates them as its culmination. Whereas the other <de tempore> festivals annually observe historic events in the life and ministry of Jesus Christ (Christmas, New Year, Epiphany, Easter Sunday and Pentecost Sunday), the Trinity Festival is the expression of the great Doctrine of the Church, worshiping the Trinity of God, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The institution of the Trinity Festival came shortly after the end of the Crusades in 1291, emphasizing the Mystery of the Trinitarian Doctrine which previously had been expressed widely in liturgical practice such as the Baptismal Formula, Glorias, Doxologies, and the Terminations of the Collects (Paul Zeller Strodach, <The Church Year>, United Lutheran Publication House, Philadelphia PA, 1924: pp. 179-181). Ordinary Time or <omne tempore> are the 33 weeks of the seasons of Epiphany and Trinity, the second half of the Church Year.
As John Eliot Gardiner observes in his 2000 Bach Cantata Pilgrimage diary:
"Cantatas for Trinity Sunday
St Magnus Cathedral, Kirkwall
"Trinity Sunday does not register today as one of the more exciting of the church's festivals. Yet in Bach's day, it had a climactic importance: it marked the end of the Temporale, the first half of the liturgical year which celebrates the events in the life of Jesus. For Bach personally it signified the completion of the annual cantata cycles he composed in Leipzig (his first official cantata as Thomascantor in 1723 happening to be the first Sunday after Trinity), and not surprisingly drew from him works of summary significance: cantatas that were challenging even by his standards. For us in 2000 it was a half-way point, and thus a milestone to look forward to, especially as we were due to travel to the most northerly point on our pilgrimage route, to Kirkwall in Orkney."
Trinity Sunday Liturgical Order
The Liturgical Order for Trinity Sunday involves the following:
Introit: Blessed be the Holy Sprit, and the undivided Unity:
Let us give glory to Him because He hath shown his mercy to us (Ancient antiphon, cf. Job 12;6)
Psalm: O Lord, our Lord; how excellent is Thy Name in all the earth (Psalm 8:1)
Or,
Introit: Holy, Holy, is the Lord of Hosts: of him, and through Him, and to Him, are all things. (Isaiah 6:3, Romans 11:36)
Psalm: Or Lord, our Lord; how excellent is Thy Name in all the earth (Psalm 8:1)
Collect: <Ominpotens sempiterne Deus> (Almighty and Everlasting God); Luther's vernacular, "Almechtiger, ewiger Gott," Wittenberg hymnal 1533, following hymn "Gott der Vater wohn uns bei" (God, the Father, stay with us), hymns on the major festivals of the church year, Feast of the Trinity
Gradual: Daniel 29:32-34, "The Song of the Three Children
Epistle: Romans 11:33-36, Wisdom and Knowledge of God
Gospel: John 3:1-15, Nicodemus Discourse
Bach's Chorale Template
Bach's first plan for a well-ordered church music, the Orgelbüchlein chorale preludes, was established about 1714 at the Weimar Court when he began to compose church service cantatas every fourth Sunday. The project listed three chorales for Trinity Sunday, although none were set as part of the collection. Instead, Bach set two as four-part chorales (OB 52, OB 54), while one (OB 52) also is found as a miscellaneous organ chorale prelude, and only one (OB 53), German Mass setting of the <Gloria in excelsis Deo>, is fully utilized in three cantatas, in two settings (vocal and organ) for the German Mass, and in three organ chorale prelude collections:
*A. OB 52, "Gott der Vater wohn uns bei" (God, the Father, stay with us; NLGB 416); Johann Walter melody 1524, Luther text 1524 (3 stanzas); Bach set as plain chorale BWV 317 in D Major, and as organ chorale prelude BWV 748(a) in D Major.
Open Hymnal Project: "God the Father Be Our Stay"
http://openhymnal.org / Lyrics / God_The_Father_Be_Our_St...
God the Father Be Our Stay (also known as God the Father With Us Stay or God the Father With Us Be)
1. God the Father, be our Stay, When hell's dread pow'rs assail us; Cleanse us from our sins, we pray, Nor in our last hour fail us. Keep us from the Evil One; Firm in the faith abiding, In Christ our Savior hiding, And heartily confiding. Let us put God's armor on: With all true Christians running Our heav'nly race and shunning The devil's wiles and cunning. Amen, Amen, this be done, So sing we, Hallelujah!
2. Jesus Christ be Thou our Stay, When hell's dread pow'rs assail us; Cleanse us from our sins, we pray, Nor in our last hour fail us. Keep us from the Evil One; Firm in the faith abiding, In Christ our Savior hiding, And heartily confiding. Let us put God's armor on: With all true Christians running Our heav'nly race and shunning The devil's wiles and cunning. Amen, Amen, this be done, So sing we, Hallelujah!
3. Holy Ghost, be Thou our Stay, When hell's dread pow'rs assail us; Cleanse us from our sins, we pray, Nor in our last hour fail us. Keep us from the Evil One; Firm in the faith abiding, In Christ our Savior hiding, And heartily confiding. Let us put God's armor on: With all true Christians running Our heav'nly race and shunning The devil's wiles and cunning. Amen, Amen, this be done, So sing we, Hallelujah!
1(alt).~Triune God, be Thou our Stay, When hell's dread pow'rs assail us; Cleanse us from our sins, we pray, Nor in our last hour fail us. Keep us from the Evil One; Firm in the faith abiding, In Christ our Savior hiding, And heartily confiding. Let us put God's armor on: With all true Christians running Our heav'nly race and shunning The devil's wiles and cunning. Amen, Amen, this be done, So sing we, Hallelujah!
Words: 15th Century Litany, adapted by Martin Luther, 1524. Translated by Richard Massie, 1854, alt.
Music: 'Gott Der Vater, Wohn Uns Bei' from Walter's Geistliche Gesangbüchlein, 1524.
Setting: composite from Landgraf Moritz, 1612 and "Evangelical Lutheran Hymn-Book", 1931.
copyright: public domain. This score is a part of the Open Hymnal Project, 2009 Revision.
Contemporary Sources:
<Lutheran Book of Worship> (Lutheran Church in America, 1978, :Green Hymn Book"), No. 308, "God the Father, Be Our Stay" (Repentance Forgiveness);
<New Lutheran Hymnal (LCMS, proposed)>, "Triune God, oh, be our Stay, "LW170 - TLH247, http://www.lutheran-hymnal.com/nlh/NLH8.html
*B. OB 53, "Allein Gott in der Höh' sei Ehr'" (To God alone on high be glory); Nikolaus Decius 1526 (Trinitarian hymn, Luther text modification, 3 stanzas) German Mass Gloria, NLGB 425) melody in Cantatas BWV 85/3, BWV 104/6, and BWV 112 (all for the Sixth Sunday After Easter [Exaudi]), BWV 128/1 (Ascension); BWV 260 (for the Deutsche Messe); and as organ chorale prelude in the "Great 18 Leipzig" collection (BWV 662-664), Clavierübung III "Organ Mass" (BWV 675, 676), Kirnberger Miscellaneous (BWV711), and the general Miscellaneous collection (BWV 715-717).
1. Allein Gott in der Höh' sei Ehr'
Und Dank für seine Gnade,
Darum daß nun und nimmermehr
Uns rühren kann kein Schade.
Ein Wohlgefall'n Gott an uns hat,
Nun ist groß' Fried' ohn' Unterlaß,
All' Fehd' hat nun ein Ende.
To God alone on high be glory
and thanks for his mercy,
since now and forever more
no harm can touch us.
God is pleased with us,
now there is great peace without cease,
all feuds have now an end.
2. Wir l, preis'n, anbeten dich
Für deine Ehr'; wir danken,
Daß du, Gott Vater ewiglich
Regierst ohn' alles Wanken.
Ganz ungemeß'n ist deine Macht,
Fort g'schieht, was dein Will' hat bedacht;
Wohl uns des feinen Herren!
We praise, extol, worship you
for your glory; we give thanks
that you, God the Father eternally
rule without any faltering.
Your power is boundless,
what your will has intended always happens.
How good for us is our splendid Lord!
3. O Jesu Christ, Sohn eingebor'n
Deines himmlischen Vaters,
Versöhner der'r, die war'n verlor'n,
Du Stiller unsers Haders,
Lamm Gottes, heil'ger Herr und Gott,
Nimm an die Bitt' von unsrer Not,
Erbarm' dich unser aller!
O Jesus Christ, only begotten son
of your heavenly Father,
reconciler of those who were lost,
appeaser of our discord,
Lamb of God, holy Lord and God,
accept the prayer of our distress,
have mercy on us all!
4. O Heil'ger Geist, du höchstes Gut,
Du allerheilsamst' Tröster,
Vor's Teufels G'walt fortan behüt',
Die Jesus Christ erlöset
Durch große Mart'r und bittern Tod,
Abwend all unsern Jamm'r und Not!
Darauf wir uns verlaßen.
O holy spirit, you highest good,
you who are the most salutary of all consolers,
protect always from the Devil's might those
whom Jesus Christ redeemed
through his great suffering and bitter death,
avert all our misery and distress,
on you we place our reliance.
--BCW: English Translation by Francis Browne (April 2009)
[No. 53, "Allein Gott in der Höh' sei Her" not set; organ chorale, fuga super BWV 716
Cantata BWV 128, "Auf Christi Himmelfahrt allein" (On Christ's Heaven-journey alone), begins with the Ascension chorale as a chorale chorus (with trumpet and two horns). This is Bach's only use of this chorale set to the text by Sonnemann/Wegelin, 1661/1636, 3 stanzas, with melody "Allein Gott in der Höh' sei Ehr" (To God alone on high be glory) by N. Decius, 1526, based on the Latin <Gloria in excelsis Deo> (Glory to God in the Highest).
<Bach's Chorals. Part I>: 2 The Hymns and Hymn Melodies of the Cantatas and Motets, by Charles Sanford Terry (Cambridge University Press, 1915-1921). 3 vols. Vol. 2.
http://oll.libertyfund.org/index.php?option=com_staticxt&staticfile=show.php%3Ftitle=2056&Itemid=27 ]
["Der Herr ist mein getreuer Hirt, dem ich"; Becker, 3 stanzas (mel. Allein Gott in der Hoh) <E2> [E2/V(C)H], BWV 104/6(S.1) E2, BWV 85/3(S.1) E2; BWV 112/1-5, E2
The melody of the third movement (BWV 85/3) is Nicolaus Decius' (or Hovesch) "Allein Gott in der Höh' sei Ehr'," first published, with Decius' rendering of the "Gloria in excelsis," in Valentin Schumann's Geistliche Lieder auffs new gebessert und gemehrt (Leipzig, 1539). The melody was formed by putting together phrases 3-4, 7-8, 11 of the "Gloria paschalis." Its association with Becker's Hymn (infra) is very general.
The melody occurs also in Chorale Cantata BWV 112 (1,5) for Misericordias (Easter 2), and Cantata BWV 128 for Ascension. There is a harmonization of it in the Choralgesänge, No. 12 (BWV 260). Bach's version shows slight variations of the original. For the second and third notes following the middle double bar there is early (1545) authority. For his version of the final phrase of the tune in the concluding Choral of Cantata BWV 112 there appears to be none. Organ Works," BWV 662 (GL18), 663, 664, CU III 675, 676, Kirnberger 711, Misc.715-717.
Notes: www.bach-cantatas.com/Texts/Chorale092-Eng3.htm (BCW, Melody and Texts.
BWV 662: Chorale Prelude for Organ [BWV 651-BWV 668 Weimar with revision in Leipzig 1739-1750 NBA IV/2 "The Great Eighteen Chorales"]
BWV 663 Chorale Prelude for Organ (with melody highlighted)
BWV 664 Chorale Prelude (Trio) for Organ
BWV 675 Chorale Preludes from Part 3 of the Clavier Übung NBA IV/4
BWV 711 Chorale Preludes for Organ NBA IV/3
BWV 716 (not accepted by the NBA) ]
Chorale contemporary usage: <Evangelical Lutheran Worship> (Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, 2006), No. 410, Holy Trinity
*C. OB 54, "Der du bist drei Einigkeit" (Thou, who art Three in Unity; NLGB 420); Johann Hermann Schein music 1627, Luther text 1543 (3 stanzas); imitation of Gregorian hymn <O Lux beata Trinitas>; found as BWV 293 plain chorale in G Major;
Der du bist Drei in Einigkeit (Thou, who art Three in Unity)
An imitation from the Gregorian hymn, "O lux beata trinitas."
Translation adapted from R. Massie.
Harmony in von Tucher, 18-.
1. Der du bist drei in Einigkeit,
Ein wahrer Gott von Ewigkeit;
Die Sonn' mit dem Tag von uns weicht:
Lass leuchten uns dein göttlich Licht.
2. Des Morgens, Gott, dich loben wir,
Des Abends auch beten für dir,
Unser armes Lied rühmt dich
Jetzt und immer und ewiglich.
3. Gott Vater, dem sei ewig Ehr,
Gott Sohn der ist der einig' Herr,
Und dem Tröster heiligen Geist,
Von nun an bis in Ewigkeit.
1. Thou who art Three in Unity,
True God from all eternity,
The sun is fading from our sight,
Shine thou on us with heavenly light.
2. We praise thee with the dawning day,
To thee at evening also pray,
With our poor song we worship thee
Now, ever and eternally.
3. Let God the Father be adored,
And God the Son, the only Lord,
And equal adoration be,
Eternal Comforter, to thee.
Online Library of Liberty - XXXVI.: Der du bist Drei in Einigkeit ...
http://oll.libertyfund.org / ?option=com_staticxt&sta...
Bach's Main Hymnbook Source
All three chorales designated in the Orgelbüchlein are also found in <Das Neu Leipziger Gesangbuch> (NLGB, 1682, Gottfried Vopelius). This chorale book, which Bach utilized extensively in Leipzig, also includes the following as Trinity Sunday hymns to be sung by the congregation:
*A. Kyrie fons bonitatis (NLGB 423), Latin hymn, later adapted in the German Mass);
Kyrie Gott Vater in Ewigkeit (NLGB 423), BWV 371 (Deutsche Messe); BWV 669, 672 Organ Mass.
Kyrie!
Gott Vater in Ewigkeit!
Gross ist dein' Barmherzigkeit,
Aller Ding ein Schöpfer und Regierer!
Eleison!
Kyrie, God Father in heaven above,
Great art Thou in grace and love;
Of all things the Maker and Preserver.
Eleison, eleison!
Christe aller Welt Trost!
Uns Sünder allein du hast erlöst;
Jesu Gottes Sohn!
Unser Mittler bist in dem höchsten Thron,
Zu dir schreien wir aus Herzensbegier!
Eleison.
Kyrie, O Christ, our King,
Salvation for sinners Thou didst bring.
O Lord Jesus, God's own Son,
Our Mediator at the heav'nly throne,
Hear our cry and grant our supplication.
Eleison, eleison!
Kyrie!
Gott heiliger Geist!
Tröst, stärk' uns im Glauben allermeist,
Dass wir am letzten End'
Fröhlich abscheiden aus diesem Elend!
Eleison!
Kyrie, O God the Holy Ghost,
Guard our faith, the gift we need the most;
Do Thou our last hour bless;
Let us leave this sinful world with gladness.
Eleison, eleison! Amen
Contemporary usage: <Evangelical Lutheran Worship> (Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, 2006), No. 409, Holy Trinity
*B. <O Lux beata Trinitas> (O Trinity of Blessed Light, NLGB 419), Latin Vespers hymn;
(http://www.preces-latinae.org/thesaurus/Hymni/OLuxBeata.html
This Latin hymn is ascribed to St. Ambrose (340-397) and is used for Sunday Vespers for the second and fourth weeks of the Psalter in the Liturgy of the Hours. The hymn appears in the Roman Breviary under the title of <Iam sol recedit igneus> (As fades the glowing orb of day), where it is the Vespers hymn for the ferial office on Saturdays and Trinity Sunday.
O LUX beata Trinitas,
et principalis Unitas,
iam sol recedit igneus,
infunde lumen cordibus.
O TRINITY of blessed Light,
O Unity of sovereign ,
as now the fiery sun departs,
shed Thou Thy beams within our hearts.
Te mane laudum carmine,
te deprecemur vespere:
te nostra supplex gloria
per cuncta laudet saecula.
Thee our morning song of praise,
to Thee our evening prayer we raise;
Thee may our glory evermore
in lowly reverence adore.
Deo Patri sit gloria,
eiusque soli Filio,
cum Spiritu Paraclito,
et nunc, et in perpetuum.
All laud to God the Father be;
all praise, Eternal Son, to Thee;
all glory, as is ever meet,
to God the Holy Paraclete.
[From the <Liturgia Horarum>, translation by J. M. Neale (1818-1866)]
Recent usage: (Lutheran) <Service Book and Hymnal> (1958, "Red Hymn Book"), "O Trinity of Blessed Night," Plainsong Melody, Mode VIII, arr. by Ernest White, No. 133, Trinity Sunday.
*C. Mir ist ein geistliche Kirchelein (NLGB 419), no Bach setting;
*D. <Kyrie eleison, Gloria in excelsis Deo, Laudaumus te> (MISSA, NLGB 421) Trinity Sunday Mass chants;
*E. Summae Trinitatis (NLGB 429): Primo Nocturno (First Division of Matins), Responsory 3: CAO 7718 <Summae Trinitati, simplici Deo, una divinitas, aequalis gloria, coaeterna majestas, Patri Prolique san toque flamini Qui totum sub dit suis orbem legibus>.
Other Trinity Sunday Vesper hymns:
<Summæ Parens clementiæ> (O God, by whose command is swayed)
<Tu, Trinitatis Unitas> (O Thou, who dost all nature sway)
<O Deus, ego amo te> (My God, I love Thee, not because)
Chorales in Trinity Sunday Cantatas
Bach's Trinity Sunday cantata settings of chorales involve the following:
1. "Nun laß uns Gott dem Herren" (Now let us to God the Lord, NLGB 594); melody Nikolaus Selnecker 1587; BWV 165/6 closing chorale with Ludwig Helmbold 1575 text No. 1 (same incipit), Stanza 6, "Sein Wort, sein tauf, sein Nachtmahl" (His Word, His Baptism, His Communion); BWV 194/12, closing chorale with Paul Gerhardt 1647 text No. 2, "Wach auf, mein Herz und singe (Wake up, me heart, and sing, NLGB 553), stanzas 9 and 10.
2. "Treuer Gott, ich muß dir klagen" (Faithful God, I must grieve you, NLGB 773), Cantata BWV 194/6; Johann Heermann 1630 text, stanzas 6, 7); melody "Freu dich sehr, o meine Seele" (Rejoice much, O my soul) Louis Bourgeoise 1551 (NLGB 918);
3. Was alle Weisheit in der Welt (not in NLGB) Paul Gergardt 1653 text (Stanza 8): Cantata BWV 176/6, "Auf daß wir also allzugleich"; Johan Walther melody "Christ unser Herr zum Jordan kamm" (NLGB 507, Bach's probable source)
4. Gelobet sei der Herr, mein Gott (not in NLGB); text Johann Olearius 1665; Ahasverus Fritsch (1679) Melody 3 variant, "O Gott, du frommer Gott" (Johann Heermann 8-stanza text, 1630; NLGB 564) Chorale Cantata BWV 129/1-5 (Olearius pure-hymn text-setting). |
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Douglas Cowling wrote (March 28, 2011):
William L. Hoffman wrote:
< Bach's four extant cantatas for the final festival in the <de tempore> half of the Christian church year represent a strong reflection of the meaning of Trinity Sunday as well as exemplars of both unity of sacred purpose, such as Lutheran teaching and chorales, as well as diversity of poetic texts and cantata forms - all emblematic of his goal of a well-ordered church music to the glory of God. >
Point of clarification. "De Tempore" (= of the time, the season) refers to the entire church year from the beginning of Advent through Trinity Sunday and onwards to the last Sunday after Trinity. The readings for each Sunday and festival are prescribed "de tempore", as is the chorale between them (e.g. "Christ Lag in Todesbanden" is the "hymn de tempore" on the Sundays after Easter).
"Omne tempore" refers to celebrations which are not fixed in the calendar and which occur at various times: weddings, funerals, accessions, civic events.
In hymn books and organ collections like the Orgelbüchlein and Neumeister Chorales, the "de tempore" pieces come first, followed by the "omne tempore". They're not sequential: a funeral hymn could be sung at any time in the church year. This is still the pattern found in modern Lutheran, Anglican and Catholic hymn books. |
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Ed Myskowski wrote (March 28, 2011):
Douglas Cowling wrote:
< Point of clarification. "De Tempore" (= of the time, the season) refers to the entire church year from the beginning of Advent through Trinity Sunday and onwards to the last Sunday after Trinity. >
Thanks for the clarification, but are there not formal names for the two halfs of the church calendar? I had planned to get this straight in my mind over the next couple weeks, and post it, but perhaps best to begin now.
From Gardiner
<In Bach’s day, [Trinity Sunday] had a climactic importance: it marked the end of the *Temporale*, the first half of the liturgical year which celebrates the events in the life of Jesus.> (end quote)
The Sundays from Advent First to Trinity encompass those events. What is the term analogous to *Temporale* for the numbered Sundays after Trinity, the second half of the year? At one point in his notes to another CD, in a less formal mode, Gardiner refers to the <vast desert of the Sundays after Trinity>. Perhaps he has included the formal term somewhere, as well. |
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Ed Myskowski wrote (March 28, 2011):
Ed Myskowski wrote:
< What is the term analogous to *Temporale* for the numbered Sundays after Trinity, the second >half of the year? >
Apologies for the multiple posts, but I think it is appropriate to forge ahead. From the notes to Gardiner Vol. 1, for Trinity 1, which we will get to in a few weeks:
<It also marked the beginning of the second half of the [church] year: the Trinity season or *era of the Church* in which core issues of faith and doctrine are explored, in contrast to the first half, known as the *Temporale* which, beginning in Advent and ending on Trinity Sunday, focuses on the life of Christ.> (end quote)
Elaboration on the language or concepts is encouraged. The church calendar structure is the foundation of Bachs sacred vocal music, and related chorales provide thematic material for a great part (majority?) of his instrumental music, as well. |
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Douglas Cowling wrote (March 28, 2011):
Ed Myskowski wrote:
< In Bach’s day, [Trinity Sunday] had a climactic importance: it marked the end of the *Temporale*, the first half of the liturgical year which celebrates the events in the life of Jesus.> (end quote) >
Calendar Eye-Glazing Alert!
Gardiner is imprecise. The progress of Sundays through the 52 weeks of the calendar is the "Temporale". The church year is not a simple life of Christ. For instance, the four weeks of Advent leading up to Christmas do not recount the narrative of the events leading up to the Birth of Christ, but rather treat the coming of Christ as messiah, judge and child. Similarily, Lent does not recount the events before the Passion but rather has themes of repentance.
The Advent/Christmas and Lent/Easter seasons only account for about 20% of the Sundays. The rest of the year, the Sundays after Epiphany and Sundays after Trinity, recount the teaching and ministry of Christ more or less in a continuous fashion. These often lack the narrative interest of the Infancy and Passion accounts, but they are as much events in the life of Christ.
Certainly Trinity Sunday marked the coda of the festal season of Easter which ended with Pentecost, but the Sundays after Trinity were certainly given superlative music by Bach. It's only an historic accident that Bach's cantata cycles begin after Trinity -- that's when he arrived in Leipzig. If anything he would have viewed his first cycle as incomplete from the previous Advent. In cataloguing his cantatas he would undoubtedly have followed the schema which we see in the Orgelbüchlewith the Temporale from Advent in the first section, and the occasional "Omne Tempore" (weddings, funerals, etc) in the second section. There really is no justification for postulating unconventional cycles in Bach's works when he was so resolutely conventional in his well-regulated oeuvre.
Eyes may roll back ... |
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Ed Myskowski wrote (March 29, 2011):
William L. Hoffman wrote:
< Bach's four extant cantatas for the final festival in the <de tempore> half of the Christian church year represent a strong reflection of the meaning of Trinity Sunday as well as exemplars of both unity of sacred purpose, such as Lutheran teaching and chorales, as well as diversity of poetic texts and cantata forms ? all emblematic of his goal of a well-ordered church music to the glory of God. >
EM:
Wills designation of the <de tempore> half of the church year strikes me as equivalent to Gardiner’s <Temporale>, and at odds with Doug Cowlings interpretation. I emphasize that I am no more (nor less) than an eager student, hoping to reconcile misunderstanidngs for myself and others. Are these only minor differences in terminology, or significant differences in concepts of the church calendar?
WH:
< Interestingly, Bach in his Trinity Sunday cantatas used none of the established chorale texts associated with the Trinity Festival in Leipzig as found in the Gottfried Vopelius 1682 <Das Neu Leipziger Gesangbuch> (The New Leipzig Song Book). Three of these same texts also had been outlined in his earliest (1714) plan for a well ordered church music, the <Orgelbüchlein> (Little Organ Book) chorale prelude collection, which instead he focused on setting the <de tempore> chorales of the first half of the church year dealing with the major events in the life of Jesus Christ.
Instead, Bach sparingly set the Trinity chorale texts as free-standing plain chorales, used them in cantatas for the last Sunday in Easter, or adapted their associated melodies as organ chorale preludes.
[...]
Bach's first plan for a well-ordered church music, the Orgelbüchlein chorale preludes, was established about 1714 at the Weimar Court when he began to compose church service cantatas every fourth Sunday. The project listed three chorales for Trinity Sunday, although none were set as part of the collection. Instead, Bach set two as four-part chorales (OB 52, OB 54), while one (OB 52) also is found as a miscellaneous organ chorale prelude, and only one (OB 53), German Mass setting of the <Gloria in excelsis Deo>, is fully utilized in three cantatas, in two settings (vocal and organ) for the German Mass, and in three organ chorale prelude collections: >
EM:
Fortuitously, I recently came across a library copy of the 1933 publication: <The Liturgical Year (Orgelbuchlein)>, Albert Riemenschneider, ed., which includes a concise tabular presentation of the 164 chorales Bach originally laid out for setting as chorale preludes, with indication of the 45 (only) that he actually set. As Will points out, the three selections for Trinity never made it to completion in the Orgelbuchlein, nor as Trinity Sunday cantata inclusions.
I find this a puzzlement, which I hinted at in my brief introduction to BWV 194.
Is there a more accessible source, BCW archives or current reference, for the reconciliation of the Orgelbuchlein BWV numbers and Bachs original more extensive outline of chorales?
The challenge of cross-referencing Bachs chorale interpretations makes childs play of understanding the church calendar (which I have yet to fully master, after several years of intermittent effort). Nevertheless, there is a wealth of information on the chorales (and calendar) already available on BCW, and Wills post adds significantly to it, I believe.
Perhaps Aryeh can indicate where that post will be filed (BWV 165 or other) for future reference? |
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William L. Hoffman wrote (March 30, 2011):
Ed Myskowski wrote:
< EM
Fortuitously, I recently came across a library copy of the 1933 publication: <The Liturgical Year (Orgelbuchlein)>, Albert Riemenschneider, ed., which includes a concise tabular presentation of the 164 chorales Bach originally laid out for setting as chorale preludes, with indication of the 45 (only) that he actually set. As Will points out, the three selections for Trinity never made it to completion in the Orgelbuchlein, nor as Trinity Sunday cantata inclusions.
I find this a puzzlement, which I hinted at in my brief introduction to BWV 194.
Is there a more accessible source, BCW archives or current reference, for the reconciliation of the Orgelbuchlein BWV numbers and Bachs original more extensive outline of chorales? >
Will Hoffman replies:
The best, most recent overview is Russell Stinson's <Bach: The Orgelbuchlein> OUP paperback, 1999; secondarily is Peter Williams' <The Organ Music of JSB> 2nd ed. paperback CUP 2003, pp. 227-316.
In essence, I think, Bach's Orgelbuchlein list was a church year template drawn from various sources and experiences, like the Neumeister Collection. OB was Bach's beginning in well-ordered church music, chronologically and in terms of contemporary importance and popularity in what I would call the "Great Awakening" of the Evangelical Church, especially in Leipzig where Bach pursued cantata cycles and the Christological cycle.
As has been observed, Bach with the Leipzig assembly of the "Great 18 Leipzig Organ Chorale Preludes" began to emphasize the Trinity Season chorales. And in the mid 1730s, as he completed his chorale cantatas, Bach turned both to <omne tempore> sacred songs in the Schmelli Gesangbuch, BWV 439-507, as well as Catechism chorales in the Clavierurbung III German Organ Mass, BWV 669-689, as part of the Luther revival. At the same time, some 150 free-standing chorales were composed (BWV 250-438) mostly in the 1730s, reflecting both newer <omne tempore> songs in the Leipzig hymnals (as C.S. Terry has pointed out) as well as older ones from the 1682 Vopelius <Neu Leipziger Gesangbuch>, to name just two for Trinity Sunday:
OB 52, "Gott der Vater wohn uns bei" (God, the Father, stay with us; NLGB 416); plain chorale BWV 317;
OB 54, "Der du bist drei Einigkeit" (Thou, who art Three in Unity; NLGB 420); found as BWV 293.
And where did these 150 chorales fit into the service? Remember, Telemann in Hamburg was required to furnish cantatas for five churches both before and after the sermon as well as a cantata aria and chorale at the end of the service. Also, there may have been cantatas or cantata parts, including chorales, presented during the long communion.
As we proceed through the entire Trinity season, the picture of Bach's chorales as well-ordered church music, especially as reflected in Rilling's Complete Bach Vocal Music, chorales, Vols. 81-85 (incorporating the free-standing chorale), will make more sense and enrich our understanding, IMHO.
As to Bach's specific selection of chorales for his Leipzig cantatas, IMHO, it had a lot to do with the cantatas as musical sermons to accompany and complement the pastor's sermons, especially those of Thomas Pastor Dr. Christian Weiss Sr. (1671-1737), Bach's spiritual advisor and champion (IMHO). |
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Continue on Part 4 |
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