Cantata BWV 219
Siehe, es hat uberwunden der Lowe
Discussions - Part 1

Discussions in the Week of March 10, 2013 (3^rd round)

William L. Hoffman wrote (March 9, 2013):
This week's BCW Duscussion concludes the Michaelmas cantatas with Telemann's Cantata BWV 219, "Siehe, es hat uberwunden der Lowe" (Behold, the lion has triumphed), using the chorale, "O Gott, der du aus Herzensgrund"; Bach's joyous Cantata BWV 51, "Jauchzet Gott in allen Landen!" that is appropriate for the Michaelfest; and some Fugitive Notes on the angel canticles in the Mass Proper, "Gloria" and "Sanctus," the significance of the devils and angels in the First Sunday in Lent, and Revelation texts used in Bach's cantatas.

Georg Philipp Telemann's (1681-1767) Michaelfest Cantata, "Siehe, es hat uberwunden der Lowe," (Behold, the lion has triumphed), was originally catalogued as a Bach composition, BWV 219, now listed as TVWV 1:1328. It was first performed in Hamburg in 1723 and repeated in 1728. It has double usage for Easter Season Sundays and the Michaelfest. It closes with the Justus Gesenius (1601-1683), chorale, "O Gott, der du aus Herzensgrund" (O God! Who plenteous fonts of love), Stanzas 9 and 10. Details of the cantata are found at BCW, http://www.bach-cantatas.com/BWV219.htm; and the full text and English translation is found at http://bachvespersnyc.org/texts.asp?id=13&t=101#text. The scoring (Bach Gesellschaft Ausgabe and Kalmus Study Scores No. 868) is for SATB, 2 trumpets in D, strings, and continuo. This edition lacks the two oboe parts. The movements are:
1. CORO, "Siehe! es hat überwunden der Löwe" (Behold! the lion has triumphed);
2. ARIA (DA CAPO) BASSO (with trumpet), "Gott stürzet den Hochmuth des wütenden Drachen" (God topples the pride of the ferocious dragon);
3. RECITATIVO/ARIOSO SOPRANO, "Mensch, willst du nicht dein Heil verscherzen" (Human, you do not want to forfeit your salvation);
4. ARIA (DA CAPO) ALTO, "Wenn in meinen letzten Zügen Stünd'" (When I am at my last breath's hour); and
5. CORALE, "Laß deine Kirch' und unser Land/ der Engel Schutz empfinden" (Let your church and our land/ perceive your angels' protection).

Cantata 219 Recording Notes

There is one recording with full text and English translation, Wolfgang Helbich, CPO 999139, listed in BCW Cantata BWV 216 Details (above). The Helbich liner notes (Sylvie Gomes translation) provide the following information: The cantata attributes the text to Erdmann Neumeister, written in 1711 or 1714. The dictum of the opening choral fugue is based on Revelation 5:5 (KJV): "And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof." The festive triadic chord of the thematic design continues in the rousing bass aria with trumpet through the second aria (alto) "where the text again refers to the victorious Christ": "Let your angels' chariot/ bear me to Heaven's fortress" ("As with the rumbling of chariots, they leap on the tops of the mountains (Jeremiah 47:3) and "I will say to the Lord, "My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust" (Psalm 91:2). The aria text concludes: "that in your victory, I too might be crowned with palms." The closing tutti chorale has two trumpet parts with closing flourish in the manner of the closing chorale in Bach's Cantata BWV 149, "Man singet mit Freudem vom Sieg."

Chorale Notes

The full text of the Gesenius 10-stanza chorale, "O Gott, der du aus Herzensgrund," is found at http://www.christliche-gedichte.de/?pg=11962. It is not found in <Das Neu Leipziger Gesangbuch> of 1682. It is classified as a "Begnadigungslied" (pardoning song) and uses the melody "Es ist das Heil uns kommen her" (Salvation has come to us), based on an anonymous 15th century German Easter song (Zahn melody 4430, Evagelisches Kirchen Gesangbuch 242). [See BCW, chorale melody, http://www.bach-cantatas.com/CM/Es-ist-das-Heil.htm]. The first stanza and translation are:

1. O Gott, der du aus Herzensgrund
(O God! Who plenteous fonts of love)
die Menschenkinder liebest
(Upon Thy children pourest,)
und uns zu aller Zeit und Stund
(And in Thy mansions fair above)
viel Gutes reichlich gibest,
(Rich treasures for them storest,)
wir danken dir, daß deine Treu
(We thank Thee, Who are good and true,)
bei uns ist alle Morgen neu
(Whose mercies every morning flow,)
in unserm ganzen Leben.
(And fall in showers upon on!)
[Translation Charles Sanford Terry, <The Four-Part Chorales of JSB>, Oxford University Press: London, 1929/64: 433 . Footnote: text found in Schmelli Gesangbuch, No. 488. Nota bene: The apochryphal Bach chorale, BWV 219/5 was published in B. F. Richter Bach chorale collection, No. 387.]

Telemann's Chorale Book

There is a new Carus recording and a coming Bach-Archiv Leipzig performance of selections from Georg Philipp Telemann's chorale book of 1730, "Fast allgemeines Evangelisch-Musicalisches Lieder-Buch" with bass-baritone Claus Mertens and an instrumental ensemble. See http://www.classicsonline.com/catalogue/product.aspx?pid=1791790. Their Bach-Archiv Leipzig performance is: 14.04.2013 | 15:00 | Bach-Museum, Sommersaal; Lieder aus dem Kirchenjahres- und dem Lebenskreis; G. P. Telemann: Fast allgemeines Evangelisch-Musicalisches Lieder-Buch (Hamburg 1730), TWV 10:1. Klaus Mertens (Bass-Bariton), Thomas Fritzsch (Viola da gamba, Violoncello, Basse de violon), Stephan Maass (Lauteninstrumente), Michael Schönheit (Orgel, Cembalo). The recording features well-known chorales from the book: Fast allgemeines Evangelisch-Musicalisches Lieder-Buch: welches 1. sehr .. By Georg Philipp Telemann (Google Books)]

Music Sources

There are three sources of the Telemann cantata, "Siehe, es hat uberwunden der Lowe" (NBA KB 41 Varia, Andreas Glöckner, 2000, p. 124):

1. A score from the second half of the 18th century owner by Prince von Voß-Buch, Bach manuscript collector (Staatsbibliothek Berlin [SB-PK], Mus. Ms. Bach P 49; BGA 41, 1898, ed. Alfred Dörffel). The copyist is unknown and anther hand has written under the main title the attribution "von Joh. Seb. Bach." This is the music performed in the Carus recording. NBA KB I/41: 124, "BWV 219/TVWV1:1328"

2. This score (Stadt- und Universitätbibliothek Frankfurt/M., Ms. 1367) is catalogue in the Werner Mencke Telemann Vokal Werke Verzeichnis as TVWV 1:1328 for the Third Sunday after Easter 1723 in Hamburg. The scoring is SATB, 2 oboes, 3 trumpets, timpani, strings and continuo. The poet is listed here as Johann Friedrich Helbig, based on the printed text in the Helbig Archives. The manuscript says the work is also for "Michaelis." According to the NBA KB 41 (Ibid.), the score dates to c.1724 and the parts set from the second half of the 18th century. The score title lists the work for the Second Sunday after Easter, by Telemann. On the basis of this source, Alfred Dürr (BJ 1951/52: 39) attributed BWV 219 to Telemann.

3. A third score, according to the most recent research, may be the original source (SB-PK Mus. Ms. 21730/10), titled "Fest: Michaelis | di Telemann | 1723," inscribed by son Georg Michael Telemann, according to the NBA KB 41 (Ibid.), that lists the cantata librettist as Hermann Ulrich von Lingen (Wolf Hobohm, Magdeburg Telemann Studies XV, 1997).

Telemann composed two Michaelfest cantatas with the dictum, "[Und] Es erhub sich ein Streit im Himmel," TVWV 1:487 and 488. These are not dated and the librettist is not identified. Telemann also set other Michaelfest cantatas using the same dicta as Bach: "Herr Gott, dich loben [alle] wir (both lost)" and "Nun ist das Heil und die Kraft." Others, besides those with general praise and thanksgiving, having biblical allusions, are: "Engel des Herrn lagert sich" (The angel of the Lord encamps around them, Psalm 34:7), "Lobet den Herrn, ihr seine Engel" (Praise ye Him, all ye angels, Psalm 148:2), "Michael, wer ist wie Gott" (Michael, who is like God), and "Und alle Engel stunden um den Stuhl" (And all the angels stood round about the throne, Revelation 7:11). For the list of Teleman's Michaelfest cantatas see: http://www.uquebec.ca/musique/catal/telemann/telgp01f.html#0161 (Fête de Saint-Michel).

Fête de Saint-Michel
Catalogue Titre Détails
01: 160 Danket dem Herrn und prediget [lost], 1724, Hamburg
01: 230 Der alte Drach und böse Feind [lost], 1759, Hamburg
01: 232 Der Engel des Herrn lagert sich; SATB, 2 horns, strings, bc; Neumeister text III; 1719, Frankfurt
01: 233 Der Engel des Herrn lagert sich [lost], 1720, Frankfurt
01: 234 Der Engel des Herrn lagert sich [lost], 1722, Hamburg
01: 235 Der Engel des Herrn lagert sich; SATB, 2 oboes, strings, bc; 1728, Hamburg
01: 236 Der Engel des Herrn lagert sich [lost], 1757, Hamburg
01: 298 Der himmlischen Geister unzählbare Menge; S solo, violin, bc; Schubart text; 1731, Hamburg
01: 329 Dich rühmen die Welten; SATB, 2 oboes, 3 trrumpets, timpani, strings, bc timbales; 1762, Hmb
01: 335 Die Engel sind allzumal dienstbare Geister; SATB; 1727, Hamburg, Eschenberg text
01: 381 Du bereitest vor mir einen Tisch [lost]; 1725, Hamburg
01: 413 Ehr und Dank sei dir gesungen; B solo, SATB avec 2 trumpets, timpani, strings bc; Stoppe text, 1749, Hamburg
01: 487 Es erhub sich ein Streit im Himmel; SATB, 2 trumpets, strings, bc; nd, cle. mel. "Ehr & Dank sei dir" (? S.8, Luther "Christus, wir sollen loben")
01: 488 Es erhub sich ein Streit im Himmel; SATB, oboe, horn, strings, bc; nd
01: 558 Freuet euch, ihr Himmel; SSATB, flute, 2 trumpets, timpani, strings, bc; 1758, Hamburg
01: 677 Gott schützt uns durch der Engel Hut; SATB, 2 horns, trumpet, strings, bc; nd; Neumeister IV text
01: 743 Herr Gott, dich loben wir [lost], 1756,
01: 744 Herr Gott, dich loben wir [lost], 1761
01: 821 Ich bin getrost in meinem Leben; SATB, 2 oboes, 2 trumpets, strings; Neumeister IV; nd; cle. mel., "Nun danket alle Gott" (Fast allgemeine No. 148
01:1057 Lob, Ehr und Preis sei Gott; SATB, flute, oboe, 3 trumpets, timpani, strings, bc; 1760, Hamburg
01:1063 Lobet den Herrn, ihr seine Engel; SATB, 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 trumpets; strings, bc; 1756, Hamburg
01:1068 Lobt ihr Engel insgemein [lost], 1722
01:1136 Michael, wer ist wie Gott; SATB; 2 oboes, 2 trumpets, timpani strings, bc; 1764, Hamburg
01:1170 Nun ist das Heil und die Kraft; SATB, 2 trumpets, timpani, strings, bc; Mayer text; 1726, Hamburg (7 mvts.)
01:1171 Nun ist das Heil und die Kraft; SATB, 2 flutes, oboe, 2 trumpets; 1754, Hamburg (8 mvts.)
01:1172 Nun ist das Heil und die Kraft; SATB; 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 oboes, 2 horns, strings, bc; nd (10 mvts.)
01:1222 Packe dich, gelähmter Drache; solo voice, violin, bc; Wilkens text; 1725, Hamburg
01:1310 Sende dein Licht [lost], Glauche text, 1725
01:1328 Siehe, es hat eruberwunden der Loewe, Easter 3 (Jubilate & Michaelis) 1723
01:1329 " " ", Easter 1, 9 movements with opening sonata in C; scoring: 2 oboes, 3 trumpets, timp., strings, bc; nd
01:1340 Sind sie nicht allzumal dienstbare Geister; SATB, strings, bc; 1725
01:1341 Sing Dank und Her; SATB, 2 flutes, oboe, 2 trumpets, strings, bc; 1758
01:1373 Sollt ein chrisliches Gemüte; B solo, flute, unison violins & oboes, viola, bc; 1721, Hamburg
01:1415 Trauriges Herz, verzage nicht ; SATB, 2 oboes, strings, bc;
01:1425a Tronen der Gottheit; solo voice with violin, viola, bc; 1726-27 solo cantata cycle, Hamburg
01:1427 Und alle Engel stunden um den Stuhl; SAB, 3 trumpets, strings, bc; Neumeister (Musikalisches Lob Gottes); 1744, Hamburg
01:1434 Und es erhub sich ein Streit im Himmel; SATB, 2 trumpets, timpani, strings, bc; Neumeister text; 1717, Frankfurt
01:1546 Welch Getümmel erschüttert den Himmel; SATB, 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 trumpets, timpani, strings bc; 1757, Hamburg
01:1649 Wie würd es uns(mir) ergehen; SATB strings, bc; 1727, Hamburg


Bach's Cantata BWV 51, "Jauchzet Gott in allen Landen!"

On Sept. 29, 1726 for Cycle 3, the Feast of St. Michael fell on Trinity 15, when Bach presented Cantata BWV 19, "Es erhub sich sein Streit" (There arose a strife), text after Picander (1724/25). The original score source critical evidence for Cantata BWV 51 (c. 1730) suggests an interesting genesis: Bach planned a soprano solo cantata for the third cycle, perhaps for the 15th Sunday after Trinity in 1726, then set aside his sketches (mostly for the first movement) to compose Cantata BWV 19. Later he took it up and crafted the sketches for another solo birthday cantata for the Duke of Weißenfels (23 February ?1729; see Alfred Dürr's <Cantatas of JSB> (Oxford Univ. Press 2005: 540f), perhaps with Anna Magdalena; finally, under the spell of the gallant stylistic trend, especially in Dresden, about 1730, Bach parodied the text (?using Picander) with added allusions to the 15th Sunday after Trinity) and added the closing acrobatic "Allelujah," preceded by the soprano chorale aria.

About Sept. 17, 1730 (the 15th Sunday after Trinity), solo Cantata BWV 51, "Jauchzet Gott in allen Landen" (Praise God in all the lands) was first performed. A variant text revision, Cantata BWV 51(a), may have been performed between 1732 and 1735, perhaps on Michaelmas, Sept. 29, 1732-34, as well as the same date in 1737 when Michaelfest again fell on the 15th Sunday after Trinity. The chorale usage is in No. 4 soprano canto aria (S. 5), "Sei Lob und Preis mit Ehren" (Be honor and praise with glory) from "Nun lob nein Seel" (Now praise my soul), by Johann Graumann, 1548. The author of the cantata text is unknown, possibly a collaboration of Thomas church pastor Christian Weiss Sr., Picander and Bach, as with the St. Mark Passion, BWV 247, in early 1731. The wrapper of the original parts set in Bach's hand designates the work "in ogni tempo" (at any time).

Before 1750, Friedemann Bach presented "Jauchzet Gott in allen Landen" at the Halle Marienkirche for an unspecified feast day, perhaps the Michaelfest, as part of his duties as Halle director of music. He added parts for a second trumpet and timpani, similar to the scoring in Cantata BWV 80, "Ein feste Burg ist under Gott" (A Mighty Fortress Is Our God) for a 1763 special service for the end of the Seven Years' War. In 1750, Emmanuel inherited both the score and parts set of Cantata 51 as part of the third cycle estate distribution between him with younger brother Johann Christian and Friedemann. "The parts, however, do indeed survive, as D-B Mus ms Bach St 49. Fascicle 2 of the parts contains a second trumpet and a timpani part, which the Bach-Digital entry describes as follows: `Zusatzstimmen fuer eine Auffuehrung der Kantate durch W. F. Bach in Halle, vermutlich zu Lebzeiten J. S. Bachs.' (Additional parts for a performance of the cantata under W. F. Bach in Halle, probably during JSB's life.) Again, Full info on the parts here: St 49 Fasz 2: http://www.bach-digital.de/receive/BachDigitalSource_source_00002372" [Evan Cortens wrote (February 27, 2012, see BCW,
Cantata 51, Discussion No. 9, http://www.bach-cantatas.com/BWV51-D9.htm].

With advocacy from his father, Friedemann assumed the Halle post in May 1746 and presented at least 20 cantatas of his father, most of which he inherited in 1750 (Peter Wollny, "W.F.B.'s Halle performances of cantatas of his father, <Bach Studies 2, ed. Daniel Melamed, Cambridge Univ. Press, 1995: 202-230).

[Much of the above information is found in "Chorales & Sacred Texts for 15th Sunday After Trinity"; BCW, http://www.bach-cantatas.com/LCY/M&C-Trinity15.htm. Some is confirmed in David Schulenberg's "Music of Wilhelm Friedemann Bach" (Universty of Rochester Press, 2010: 200ff).]

Angels' Significance in Lutheran Studies

The significance of angelis found in Lutheran liturgy for the Sundays in Lenten (Passiontide) Time. Of particular note are the Psalm and Gospel readings and Martin Luther's hymn, "Ein Feste Burg ist unser Gott" (A mighty fortress is our God), that had its origins as a Lenten hymn. For the First Sunday in Lent (Invocavit), the Psalm reading is 91, "You who dwell" (qui habitat), Verses 11-16 (KJV): "For he [the Lord] shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways. 12 They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone. 13 Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder: the young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under feet. 14 Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath known my name. 15 He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honour him. 16 With long life will I satisfy him, and shew him my salvation."

The Gospel reading today for Invocavit is Luke 4:1-13, The devil tempts Jesus in the wilderness. The three temptations or tests are similar to those offered Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden: food, power, and immortal life. In the third temptation, the devil cites Psalm 91:11-12, and Jesus replies: "It is said, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God" (Deut. 6:16).

In Bach's time, "Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott," was a communion hymn (NLGB) for the Second and Third Sundays in Lent (Reminiscere and Oculi). Called the "Battle hymn of the Reformation," it is Martin Luther's chorale paraphrase of Psalm 46, "God is our refuge" (Deus noster refugium), set to his original melody c.1528 (Zahn 7377a+b). The four stanzas focus on the struggle against evil, led by Jesus Christ. Bach originally set Cantata BWV 80 for Occuli Sunday in Weimar (March 24, 1715) to a Salomo Franck text beginning with the bass aria with chiorale melody, "Alles was von Gott geboren" (All that was of God born), BWV 80a, that closes with the second verse of "A mighty fortress," "With our might nothing is done."

Angel Canticles: Gloria and Sanctus

In the Roman Catholic Mass Ordinary the two sections flanking the central Creed are angels' canticles of praise: the "Gloria in excelsis Deo" (Glory to God in the Highest) and the "Sanctus, Dominus Deus Sabaoth" (Holy, Lord God of Hosts). They have their German vernacular equivalents in the hymns of Martin Luther's Deutsche Messe (German Mass), found in Bach plain chorale settings, respectively, "Allein Gott in der Höh' sei Ehr'" (To God alone on high be glory), BWV 260, and "Heilig, bist du Herr Gott Zebaoth!" (Holy, You are the Lord God Zebaoth), and in Latin, BWV 325. In both cases, Luther wrote poetry in 1525 for the Catechism of doctrine and instruction, using traditional Ordinary chant. It is possible that during the feast day Masses, Bach used various settings of the Gloria and Sanctus, both in the Latin Mass Ordinary and the Deutsche Messe, the Gloria following the Introit and Kyrie, and the Sanctus during communion.

Is it also possible during Bach's later years in Leipzig that he performed the Orchestral Suites Nos. 1, 3, and 4 with trumpets and drums during the feast day Mass services? The French overtures could have been part of the prelude, with the dance movements played during communion, and the closing movements as postludes. It also is tempting to suggest that additional festival music was presented at special Mass services of allegiance, thanksgiving, and Reformation celebrations.

Luther's German Gloria

The German Gloria also begins with the angels' canticle, Luke 2:14, modeled on various Psalms and canticles. Luke attributed the song to the angels at Jesus' birth. It is called the Greater Doxology, which Bach used in the Latin Christmas Cantata, BWV 191. Its authorship and age are unknown. By the fourth century it was associated with morning prayer (lauds). Luther's four-stanza setting of the canticle and Trinitarian stanzas is No. 145 in the NLGB for Trinity Sunday Festival in the J. H. Shein SATB setting with the Nikolaus Decius (1522) Zahn melody Z4457 (EKG 131). The full Luther text with Francis Browne English translation (BCW, http://www.bach-cantatas.com/Texts/Chorale092-Eng3.htm) is:

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 loben, 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.

Luther's German Sanctus

The Sanctus is titled, "Jesaiah, dem Propheten" (Isaiah, the prophet), and is a versification of Isaiah 6:1-4. The full Luther text is

Jesaja, dem Propheten, das geschah,
Daß er im Geist den Herren sitzen sah
Auf einem hohen Thron in hellen Glanz,
Seines Kleides Saum den Chor füllet ganz.
Es stunden zween Seraph bei ihm daran,
Sechs Flügel sah er einen jeden han,
Mit zween verbargen sie ihr Antlitz klar,
Und mit den andern zween sie flogen frei,
Gen ander rufen sie mit großem Gschrei:
Heilig ist Gott, der Herre Zebaoth,
Heilig ist Gott, der Herre Zebaoth,
Heilig ist Gott, der Herre Zebaoth,
Sein Ehr die ganze Welt erfüllet hat,
Von dem Geschrei zittert Schwell und Balken gar,
Das Haus auch ganz voll Rauchs und Nebel war.
[http://www.martinschlu.de/kulturgeschichte/renaissance/frueh/luther/lieder/jesajadempropheten.htm]

Isaiah, mighty seer, in days of old
The Lord of all in spirit did behold
High on a lofty throne, in splendor bright,
With flowing train that filled the temple quite.
Above the throne were stately seraphim;
Six wings had they, these messengers of Him.
With twain they veiled their faces, as was meet,
With twain in reverent awe they hid their feet,
And with the other twain aloft they soared,
One to the other called and praised the Lord:
Holy is God, the Lord of Sabaoth!
Holy is God, the Lord of Sabaoth!
Holy is God, the Lord of Sabaoth!
Behold, His glory filleth all the earth!
The beams and lintels trembled at the cry,
And clouds of smoke enwrapped the throne on high.
[See http://www.hymntime.com/tch/htm/i/s/a/isaiahms.htm, composite translation]

The actual liturgical Sanctus is from the prophet Isaiah 6:3b (KJV): "Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory" ("Hosanna in the highest)." The text also is found in Revelation 4:8 (KJV): "And each of the four living beings had six wings about him, and they were full of eyes within; and they rested not day and night, saying, `Holy, holy, holy, LordGod Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come!'" It is followed by Psalm 118:26, "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the lord," The Litany "Hosanna in the highest" is repeated. Luther's setting with alternate ending is No. 183, "Esaia dem Propheten," in the NLGB as a Catechism communion hymn with Zahn melody Z8534. The Latin, German, and English translations (http://www1.cpdl.org/wiki/index.php/Sanctus) are:

"Sanctus, sanctus, sanctus
Dominus Deus Sabaoth,
pleni sunt coeli et terra gloria tua.
Hosanna in excelsis.
Benedictus qui venit
in nomine Domine.
Hosanna in excelsis"

Heilig, heilig, heilig
ist Gott, der Herr Zebaoth!
Alle Lande sind Deiner Ehre voll.
Hosanna in der Höhe!
Gelobt sei der da kommt
im Namen des Herrn.
Hosanna in der Höhe!

Holy, holy, holy
Lord God of Hosts.
Heaven and earth are full of your glory.
Hosanna in the highest.
Blessed is he who comes
in the name of the Lord.
Hosanna in the highest

Revelation Cantata Movements

Assuming Bach's authorship, the Michaelmas motet Cantata BWV 50, "Nun ist das Heil" (Now is the Salvation) is one of five Bach cantata movements using passages from the New Testament Book of the Revelation to John. They constitute five different musical forms and could be performed together as a Lenten composite cantata, opening and closing with chorale fugues using trumpets and drums. The works and their Revelation texts (Francis Browne English Translation) are:

1. Eight-voice motet fugal chorus, "Nun ist das Heil" (Now is the Salvation), BWV 50, Michaelmas, September 29, ?1723:

Nun ist das Heil und die Kraft und das Reich und die Macht unsers Gottes
seines Christus worden,
weil der verworfen ist,
der sie verklagete Tag und Nacht vor Gott. [Rev. 12:10]

Now is the salvation and the strength and the kingdom and the might of our God
become [those] of his Christ,
since he has been cast out
who complained about them day and night before God.

2. Recitatve/Arioso (bass, continuo), "Der Freide sei mit dir" (Peace be with you, John 20:21), Cantata 158, Easter Tuesday 1725, Stanza 2 (text ?Salomo Franck):

Der Friede sei mit dir,
(Peace be with you, )
Der Fürste dieser Welt,
(the prince of this world)
Der deiner Seele nachgestellt,
(who hunted after your soul,)
Ist durch des Lammes Blut bezwungen und gefällt.
(is conquered and felled through the Lamb's blood.) [Rev. 12:11]

3. Soul-Jesus (soprano-bass) aria, "Wie soll ich dich, Liebster der Seelen, umfassen?" (How should I embrace you, most beloved of souls?), Cantata 152, "Tritt auf die Glaubensbahn" (Step forward on the way of faith), Sunday after Christmas 1715, Movement 6 (S. Franck text), last line (bass):

Dir schenk ich die Krone nach Trübsal und Schmach.
(I bestow on you the crown after trouble and disgrace.) [Rev. 2:10)

4. Arioso (bass, continuo) "Siehe, ich stehe vor der Tür" (See, I stand before the door), Cantata 61, "Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland" (Now come, saviour of the gentiles; Erdmann Neumeister text), First Sunday in Advent 1714, Movement 6:

Siehe, ich stehe vor der Tür und klopfe an.
So jemand meine Stimme hören wird und die Tür auftun,
zu dem werde ich eingehen
und das Abendmahl mit ihm halten und er mit mir. [Rev. 3:20]

See, I stand before the door and knock.
If anyone will hear my voice
and open the door
I shall go in
and have supper with him and he with me

5. Closing chorus prelude and fugue, "Das Lamm, das erwürget ist" (The lamb that was slain), Cantata 21, "Ich hatte viel Bekümmernis" (I had much affliction; S. Franck text), Movement 11:

Das Lamm, das erwürget ist, ist würdig zu nehmen
Kraft und Reichtum und Weisheit und Stärke
und Ehre und Preis und Lob.
Lob und Ehre und Preis und Gewalt
sei unserm Gott von Ewigkeit zu Ewigkeit.
Amen, Alleluja! [Rev. 5:12-13]

The lamb that was slain is worthy to receive
power and riches and wisdom and strength and honour and praise and glory.
Glory and honour and praise and power
be to our God for ever and ever.
Amen. Alleluia!

Cantata 21 has a checkered history with multiple uses. Like Cantata 51, Bach designated it "Per ogni tempo" (for any time). The closing chorus (above) may have originated as part of Bach's lost Mühlhausen Town Council Cantata, BWV Anh. 192, on Feb. 4, 1709. In its earliest form (S. Franck text) Cantata 21 probably was presented in 1712 in Weimar on the departure for a journey of Prince Johann Ernst; possibly on May 19, 1714, for the Agnus Church dedication; on June 17, 1714 (autograph date) for the Third Sunday after Trinity; possibly in the D minor version on Nov. 23, 1720, as Bach's Hamburg probe; and on June 13, 1723, also the Third Sunday after Trinity, in the Leipzig cantata cycle 1.

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With the end of the church year cantatas in the BCW discussion, next week begins cantatas with music of praise and thanksgiving, often with multiple service uses, for the Feast of the Reformation, the annual Town Council inauguration and other special observances, weddings, and various occasions.

Kim Patrick Clow wrote (March 10, 2013):
Weilliam Hoffman wrote:
Telemann's Chorale Book
There is a new Carus recording and a coming Bach-Archiv Leipzig performance of selections from Georg Philipp Telemann's chorale book of 1730, "Fast allgemeines Evangelisch-Musicalisches Lieder-Buch" with bass-baritone Claus Mertens and an instrumental ensemble. See http://www.classicsonline.com/catalogue/product.aspx?pid=1791790. Their Bach-Archiv Leipzig performance is: 14.04.2013 | 15:00 | Bach-Museum, Sommersaal; Lieder aus dem Kirchenjahres- und dem Lebenskreis; G. P. Telemann: Fast allgemeines Evangelisch-Musicalisches Lieder-Buch (Hamburg 1730), TWV 10:1. Klaus Mertens (Bass-Bariton), Thomas Fritzsch (Viola da gamba, Violoncello, Basse de violon), Stephan Maass (Lauteninstrumente), Michael Schönheit (Orgel, Cembalo). The recording features well-known chorales from the book: Fast allgemeines Evangelisch-Musicalisches Lieder-Buch: welches 1. sehr .. By Georg Philipp Telemann (Google Books) ] >
Here is a screen grab of the front page for that book as published by Telemann in 1730.
http://i.imgur.com/Ue8iKnA.jpg

Telemann set literally hundreds of chorales in this publication himself. And boy, what a tedious job *that* had to have been. But then, considering what Telemann said about his 2^nd wife in an autobiography, he didn't have
much choice.

Thanks for a great write up Mr. Hoffman!

William L. Hoffman wrote (March 10, 2013):
[To Kim Patrick Clow] Here's another listing of the new recording: Telemannisches Gesangbuch in JPS Store

Continue on Part 2

Non-Bach Cantatas: Details & Discographies: BWV 15 | BWV 53 | BWV 141 | BWV 142 | BWV 160 | BWV 189 | BWV 200 | BWV 217 | BWV 218 | BWV 219 | BWV 220 | BWV 221 | BWV 222
Discussions: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4