Musical Context of Bach Cantatas
Motets & Chorales for 16^th Sunday after Trinity

Reading: Epistle: Ephesians 3: 13-21; Gospel: Luke 7: 11-17

Dates in the lifetime of J.S. Bach, including works composed for the event

Motets and Chorales for the 16^th Sunday after Trinity (Trinity 16)

Douglas Cowling wrote (March 17, 2012):
THE MUSICAL CONTEXT OF BACH'S CANTATAS:
MOTETS AND CHORALES FOR THE SIXTEENTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY

Sources:

* BACH'S HYMN BOOK:
Jürgen Grimm, "Das neu [?] Leipziger Gesangbuch des Gottfried Vopelius
(Leipzig 1682)",
Berlin: Merseburger, 1969.
ML 3168 G75

* BACH'S MOTET COLLECTION:
Otto Riemer, "Erhard Bodenschatz und sein Florilegium Portense"
Schünigen: Kaminsky,1927
ML 410 B67R4

Partial Index of Motets in ³Florilegium Portense² with links to online
scores and biographies:
http://www3.cpdl.org/wiki/index.php/Florilegium_Portense
<http://www3.cpdl.org/wiki/index.php/Florilegium_Portense>

Dissertation on Bodenschatz Collection (downloadable):
http://etd.ohiolink.edu/view.cgi/Chaney%20Mark%20A.pdf?osu1180461416

NOTES:

The text of the motet which is appears in both Lenten and Funeral sources shows a strong thematic link with the cantatas for this Sunday. The chorale ³Mitten Wir² is a German paraphrase of the Latin.

1) MOTETS for Introit, Before Sermon at mass and vespers for Choir II, and During Communion:

³Media Vita² (8 voices) ­ Jakob Handl (Gallus)
http://www.bach-cantatas.com/Lib/Handl-Jakob.htm

Text: Liturgical responsorary

In the midst of life we are in death
of whom may we seek for succour, but of thee, O Lord,
who for our sins art justly displeased?
O Lord God most holy, O Lord most mighty,
O holy and most merciful Saviour,
deliver us not into the bitter pains of eternal death.

Trinity 16 Chorales and References

William L. Hoffman wrote (March 5, 2012):
The 16th Sunday after Trinity was a particularly fruitful time for Bach in Leipzig. It enabled him to craft service cantatas that embraced a wide array of popular Lutheran chorales -- both traditional and contemporary -- on the subject of "Death and Dying," creatively utilized in musical forms that feature poetic free-verse and rhymed commentary with accessible melodies in a quartet of cantatas as musical sermon emphasizing key Christian teachings.

As John Eliot Gardiner, observed in his Bach 2000 Cantata Pilgrimage:

"The four cantatas for Trinity 16 draw their inspiration from the Gospel story of the raising of the widow of Nain's son. All four - BWV 161, 27, 8 and 95 - articulate the Lutheran yearning for death, and all but one feature the `Leichen-Glocken', the tolling of funerary bells" [two recorders in BWV 161/1 chorale chorus, and plucked strings in 95/5 tenor aria "Ach schlage doch" and 8/1 chorale chorus].

"Yet for all their unity of theme, there is immense diversity of texture, structure and mood, and together they make a satisfying and deeply moving quartet - music that is both healing and uplifting"
(Source: http://www.bach-cantatas.com/Pic-Rec-BIG/Gardiner-P08c[sdg104_gb].pdf).

Besides the funeral bells providing an air of consolation to the theme of death and dying, Gardiner notes the lilting dance qualities found in three of the four cantatas for Trinity 16: "With two of its movements in triple time (Nos.3 and 5), BWV 161 seems to be setting a pattern for Bach's later cantatas dealing with the call of death - or is this quite by chance? Could this be a deliberate device to lull and soothe the grieving heart? Three of the four main movements in BWV 95 are in triple metre. So too is the magical opening chorus of BWV 27 Wer weiß, wie nahe mir mein Ende, an elegiac lament."

In all four cantatas, "the subject is death as such, not only its unforsee-ability but its conquest by the resurrection, and hence the longing for a better world beyond the grave," says Walter Blankenburg (Martin Cooper translation) in the Karl Richter "Bach Cantatas Vol. 4 - Sundays after Trinity I" (Deutsche Grammophon Archiv CD set; BCW Cantata 27 Recordings). "It is not the tragic aspect of the gospel story, the death of a widow's only son, that is emphasized, but his raising from the dead by Jesus, as a sign of his divine omnipotence. It is therefore a central article of the Christian faith rather than the chief feature of the human story that is the subject of each of these cantatas."

The 16th Sunday after Trinity offered Bach a rare, serendipitous situation in his choice of subject matter. Bach's Leipzig hymnbook, <Das Neu Leipziger Gesangbuch> (NLGB) of Gottfried Vopelius, allowed the choice of chorales from the latter <omnes tempore> section under major headings, specifically the category "Death and Dying," followed by "The 10 Commandments" and "Christian Life and Hope" for the succeeding two Sundays. Previously, the NLGB had focused on Trinity Time well-known hymns involving liturgy, the Lutheran Catechism, and popular Psalms with important Christian themes for the second half of the church year dealing with the teachings of the Christian Church instead of the major events in the life of Jesus Christ. The one previous exception was Trinity 12 with chorales emphasizing "Cross, Persecution, and Tribulation," another Bach favorite category.

Thematic chorales played a major role as Bach shaped his three Leipzig cycles of "well-regulated church music." This is most evident in his setting of six chorales with the themes of "Death and Dying" (Christus, der ist meins Leben," "Valet will ich dir geben," "Wenn mein Stündlein vorhanden ist," "Liebster Gott, wann werd ich sterben," "Wer wiss, wie nah mir mein Ende?," "Welt, ade! Ich bin deine müde") two in the related "Cross, Persecution and Tribulation" ("Wenn wir in höchsten Nöten sein," "Wer nur den lieben Gott lässt walten"), and Passion chorales like "O sacred head now wounded."

Besides a choice of chorales of "Death and Dying," the NLGB for Trinity 16 in Leipzig specifically lists two chorales to be sung at service: "Wenn wir in höchsten Nöten sein" (When we are in utmost need), as No. 277, "Cross, Persecution and Tribulation," and Martin Luther's three-stanza teaching hymn, "Mitten wir im Leben sind" (We are in the middle of life), found with the four-part setting of J. H. Schein in the NLGB, No. 344, "Death and Dying" but not set by Bach.

"Wenn wir in höchsten Nöten sein" has a seven-stzana text of Paul Eber (1564), based on Jehoshaphat's prayer in 2 Chronicles 20, set to the Louis Bourgeois 1543 melody. Bach set the Bourgeois melody in the plain chorales, BWV 431 in F Major and BWV 432 in G Major, as well as in the organ chorale preludes of the Weimar <Orgelbüchlein> (Little Organ Book) collection, BWV 641 in F Major, under the heading "Christian Life and conduct." It is possible that the two plain chorales and the organ chorale prelude were performed during Leipzig services where the four Cantatas BWV 161, 95, 8, and 27 were performed.
The organ chorale BWV 641 exists in an expanded version, BWV 668(a), "Great 18 Leipzig Chorales," where it has the text dictum of Bach's so-called death-bed chorale, "Vor deinen Thron tret' ich hiermit" (Before thy throne I now appear).

Trinity 16 Biblical References

The gospel and Bach's treatment through chorales and poetic text in the cantata as a musical sermon shows that the 16th Sunday after Trinity is part of the third Trinity Time mini-cycle of New Testament teachings on the "Works of Faith and Love," that is, the meaning of being a Christian, says Paul Zeller Strodach, <The Church Year> (United Lutheran Publication House, Philadelphia PA, 1924: 216). During this time from the 12th to the 18th Sunday after Trinity, the lectionary presents affirmative teachings of paraband miracles, and the Lutheran hymnbook prescribes thematic <omnes tempore> timely hymns on Sundays that occur primarily between mid August and late September.

The Middle Trinity Time Gospel lessons emphasize "Thematic Patterns of Paired Parables or Teachings & Miracles," according to Douglas Cowling in the Bach Cantata Website (BCW). The current pairs are:

* Trinity 15: Matthew 6: 23-34 Teaching: Avoid worldly cares
if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore
the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!

* Trinity 16: Luke 7: 11-17 Miracle of the raising of the son of the widow
of Nain, And he came and touched the bier: and they that bare him stood still. And he
said, Young man, I say unto thee, Arise!

Bach's Trinity 16 Calendar

For the record Bach was particularly active on this 16th Sunday after Trinity in Leipzig. Here are the cantatas Bach probably presented and their chorales:

Sweet Death & Passion Chorale

In Weimar, Cantata BWV 161, "Komm, du süße Todesstunde" (Come thou, sweet hour of death) is believed to have received its first performance on Sept. 27, 1716. It probably was composed for Trinity 16 the year prior (Oct. 6, 1715) but set aside as that date coincided with a three-month period of state mourning in Weimar, that began on August 1, for Prince Johann Ernst (excluding Trinity 8 to 20).

Cantata BWV 161 uses throughout the Hans Leo Hassler Passion chorale melody, "Herzlich tut mich verlangen/Befiehl du deine Wege" (Heartily do I long/Commend you your ways, NLGB No. 329, Death & Dying): in the opening alto slumber song in basso continuo cantus firmus with obbligato organ, in the closing four-part chorale (Movement No. 6) with recorders obbligato, set to the Christoph Knoll 1605 associated text, "Der Lieb zwar in der Erden" (The body indeed in the earth), Stanza 4, and "is the source of the themes in the other movements (Cantata 161 Recordings, Suzuki Liner Notes). Bach used this chorale, known in English and "On sacred head now wounded," in his music more often than any other.

Cantata BWV 161 is one of Bach's earliest uses of the Passion Chorale, that also was sung at the Prince's memorial service, April 2, 1716, in Bach's lost funeral cantata "Was ist, das wir Leben nennen?" (What is it that we call life?; text only survives), Bach Compendium BC B-19. It probably also was set to a libretto by Weimar Court poet Salomo Franck, suggesting a close collaboration between him and Bach that also produced two years of service cantatas, 1715-16, totaling 13 presented monthly and published in the 1715 annual cycle text, <Evangelisches Andachts-Opfer> (Evangelical Devotional Offerings).

Interestingly, Cantata BWV 161 is the only one of some 20 Bach service cantatas composed in Weimar that was not used for the same allowable Sunday in Leipzig. Instead, it apparently was reperformed for the Feast of the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary (<Mariae Reinigung>, Candelmas), on Feb. 2, c.1735, because of its "appropriate textual content" (Dürr <Cantatas of JSB>: 666). As many as 16 cantatas have been associated with Bach performances for Purification with various appropriate textual allusions. Eight months hence, the BCW weekly discussion, beginning October 28, will consider five Bach cantatas for Purification.

The original score and part set are lost, perhaps through Friedemann, but a copy of the score and parts set, alternate designation for Purification, survive from an unknown copyist at the Berlin Singakademie at the end of then 18th Century. The provenance of the music is unknown. These materials reveal two versions, the Weimar with typical recorders and instrumental canto, and the Leipzig substituting flutes and violins and the canto sung.

Death, Dying & Simeon's Canticle

On September 12, 1723 in his first cycle, Bach instead composed Cantata BWV 95, Christus, der ist meins Leben" (Christ, you are my life)," a second hybrid chorale cantata that has the distinction of citing more chorales than any other cantata - four.

1. The opening chorale chorus is set to the Melchior Vulpius' prayer for the dying with the 1609 melody "Christus, der ist mein Leben," originally set to an anonymous eight-stanza poem, proclaiming the opening stanza. It is found in the NLGB No. 369, "Death and Dying." Francis Browne's BCW translation of the entire eight-verse "Christus, der ist meins Leben" is found in: http://www.bach-cantatas.com/Texts/Chorale038-Eng3.htm.

Bach selectively used the Vulpius melody elsewhere: as a variant of chorale chorus, Cantata BWV 95/1, in the plain chorale, BWV 282 (also in G Major but in triple time), and as an early (c.1700) Neumeister organ chorale prelude in F Major, BWV 1112, and its similar four-part plain chorale setting, BWV 281 (also in F Major in common time).

The melody is listed in the Weimar <Orgelbüchlein> (Little Organ Book) chorale preludes as No. 134 under "Death and Dying" but not set. It is possible that the two plain chorale settings, BWV 281 and 282, originated in Weimar since the Salomo Franck text of the Prince Johann Ernst funeral cantata, "Was ist, das wir Leben nennen?" (What is it that we call life?), BC B-19, calls for settings of Stanzas 1 and 3. Plain chorale BWV 281 and its companion Neumeister organ chorale prelude, BWV 1112, are found in the Hänssler complete Bach Edition chorale settings, Vol. 85, under "Death, Dying and Eternity."

The initial chorale chorus in Cantata 95 is followed by an interpolated tenor arioso-recitative, "Mit Freuden, ja mit Herzelust" (With joy, yea with heart's desire), and the movement concludes with another chorale chorus singing Martin Luther's "Mit Fried und Freud ich fahr dahin" (With peace and joy I now depart) with the solo horn imitating the melody.

The final line of the first stanza of "Christus, der ist mein Leben" proclaims: "Mit Fried fahr ich dahin" (with joy I depart). The words are based on the <Nunc dimmitis>, Simeon's Canticle, "Lord, let your servant depart in peace" (Luke 2:29-32), best known for the Feast of the Purification in Luther's paraphrase, "Mit Fried und Freud ich fahr dahin," as a four-verse alliterative prayer of thanksgiving and reconciliation with death. It is found in the NLGB 113, under "Purification."

No. 3. The soprano canto trio aria sings the opening stanza of Valerius Herberger's 1613 five-stanza text, "Valet will ich dir geben" (Farewell I shall bid to you), to the Melchior Teschner melody, with oboe obbligato interlude. Bach also set this plea to the saviour of the soul in the <St. John Passion>, BWV 245, with Stanza 3, "In meines Herzen Grunde" (In the depths of my heart), following Pilate's condemnation of Jesus. Bach sets the melody as a four-part chorale, BWV 415 in D Major, as early miscellaneous organ chorales, Fantasia Super with pedal obbligato, BWV 735(a) in B-Flat Major, and BWV 736, pedal chorale in 24/16 time and D Major. The chorale also is listed in the <Orgelbüchlein> (Little Organ Book) chorale preludes as No. 132 under "Death and Dying" but not set. NLGB No. 345, Death and Dying. Today the popular hymn is known in English as "All glory, laud and honor," and is found in the current American Lutheran hymnal, <Evangelical Lutheran Worship> (Minneapolis MN: Augsburg Fortress Press, 2006) as No. 344, for Holy Week.

7. Closing plain chorale, Nikolaus Herman's 1650 "Wenn mein Stündlein vorhanden ist" (When my little hour is at hand), Stanza 4, "Weil du vom Tod erstanden bist" (While from death you stand), with solo violin obbligato. NLGB No. 330 <omnes tempore>, "Death and Dying" listed as pulpit/communion hymns for Trinity 16 and 17.

Bach uses of "Wenn mein Stündlein vorhanden ist" are: for Easter Tuesday, no <Orgelbüchlein> listing; Cantata BWV 31/9(S.5) Easter Sunday; BWV 95/7 (S.4), Trinity 16); BWV 428, 429 (Death & Dying), 430=?247/41, Cantata BWV 15/11 > Anh III 157=JLB21/11(S.4) Easter Sunday.

During this time in Leipzig, Bach began utilizing texts of Picander and inserting interpolated chorale texts. It quite possible that the hybrid libretto of Cantata 95was a collaboration of Bach, his Pastor Christian Weiss Sr., and possible Picander. Francis Browne's translation of the text of Cantata BWV 95 is found at: http://www.bach-cantatas.com/Texts/BWV95-Eng3.htm

Contemporary Hymn

On Sept. 24, 1724 the chorale cantata Cycle 2 involves a standard paraphrased Chorale Cantata BWV 8, of the contemporary hymn, "Liebster Gott, wann werd ich sterben" (Loving God, when will I die?). It is based on Caspar Neumann's 1690 text in five stanzas, to the four-part, by-1695 funeral setting of Leipzig St. Nicholas organist Daniel Vetter. Cantata 8 has an opening chorale fantasia dancing pastoral 12/8 chorus and closes with a plain four-part setting of the final stanza, "Herrscher über Tod und Leben" (Lord, over death and life, make once for all my good ending), with a borrowing from Vetter's "Musicalischer Kirch- und Haus-Ergötzlichkeit, Anderer Theil" (Leipzig 1713), No. 91, in Bach's radical alteration. Bach also used the hymn in the Schemeli Sacred Songbook (1736), Melody 61 in E-Flat Major ("Death Songs"), BWV 483. Another key sacred song in the collection is "Komm, süßer Tod" (Come, sweetest death), in C Minor, BWV 478, based on an anonymous text to an original Bach melody, and best known in Leopold Stokowski's symphonic transcription.

Cantata BWV 8 may have been repeated in the abbreviated Cycle 2a Trinity Time, on Sept. 16, 1725, opening with the plain setting of the first stanza. It was repeated in Leipzig between 1736-40 and again c.1746-47 in a second version transposed from E to D Major. It is possible that Bach may have performed the two appropriate Schemelli sacred songs during a service where Cantata 8 was reperformed. There is no record that St. Thomas prefect Christoph Friedrich Penzel copied the work and performed it.

The chorale text adapter/paraphraser for Cantata 8 could be from the so-called first cantata group unknown author who began in the Chorale Cantata Cycle (No. 2) with Cantata BWV 78, "Jesu, der du meine Seele," for Trinity 14, two weeks previously, on September 10, and also contributed Cantatas 96, 5, 115, 62, 124, and 1, for Trinity 18, 19, 22, and 24 as well as Advent Sunday 1, Epiphany Sunday 1, and Annunciation/Palm Sunday, March 25, 1725, Bach last chorale Cantata composed for Cycle 2, according to Artur Hirsch (dissertation), BACH July 1973. Francis Browne's BCW Interlinear text translation of Cantata 8 is found at: http://www.bach-cantatas.com/Texts/BWV8-Eng3.htm.

Funeral Hymn Set to Popular Melody

On Oct. 6, 1726 in Cantata Cycle 3, Bach presented his chorus Cantata BWV 27, "Wer wiss, wie nah mir mein Ende?" (Who knows how near is my end?), set to a hybrid libretto. It opens with a chorale chorus setting of the first verse of a 1695 12-stanza contemporary funeral hymn of Princess Ämilie Juliane von Schwarzburg-Rudolstdadt 1695, using the associated, popular Georg Neumark 1640 melody, "Wer nur den lieben Gott lässt walten" (We only the loving God lets govern), NLGB No. 303, "Cross, Persecution and Tribuation."

Bach earlier used the same setting as a plain chorale to close Cantata BWV 166, "Wo gehest du hin?" (Where goeth thou hither?) for Cantate Sunday (Easter 4), on May 7, 1724 near the end of the first Leipzig cantata cycle. This time in Chorale Cantata 8, he uses another recitative interpolation (trope) with soprano, alto, and tenor commentary in between the lines of the chorale chorus, written by an anonymous librettist, possible Picander.

Later, Bach used the Princess Ämilie Juliane hymn final Stanza 12, "Ich leb indess in dir vergnüget" (I live meanwhile in Thee contented), set to the Neumark melody, as a plain chorale closing Cantata BWV 84, "Ich bin vergnügt mit meinem Glücke" (I am happy in good fortune) for Septuagesima Sunday, Feb. 9, 1727, to a Picander published text.

The Neumark melody, "Wer nur den lieben Gott lässt walten" (Who only the loving God lets govern) was one of Bach's favorites and remains a popular hymn today. Bach's settings include the Neumark original 1640 text in two cantatas for Trinity Sunday 5, Chorale Cantata BWV 93, same title, for Cycle 2 in 1724, and Cantata 88, "Siehe, ich will viel Fischer aussenden" (Behold I will many fishers send out) in Cycle 3 in 1726.

Bach also sets the Neumark hymn in Cantatas BWV 21, 179, and 97, as well as the melody in the in the plain chorale, BWV 434 in A Minor/Major (Hänssler complete Bach Edition chorale settings, Vol. 85, under "Trust in God)"; the Weimar <Orgelbüchlein>, organ chorale prelude, BWV 642, under the <omnes tempore> listing "Christian Life and Conduct"; as a 1746 Schübler organ chorale trio prelude, BWV 647, a miscellaneous organ chorales, BWV 690 and 691(a) (<WFB Clavierbüchlein>) found in the "Kirnberger Collection."

The <Orgelbüchlein> BWV 642 setting of the Neumark melody is one of two (the other, "Wenn wir in höchsten Nöten sein," BWV 641) out of a total of five <omnes tempore> chorales Bach set of a projected 164, with 39 of these set for the <de tempore> time. Bach utilized very early (c.1700) chorales and some later ones to provide organ settings to accompany <omnes tempore> cantatas during the church year services.

The Neumark hymn is No. 303 in Bach's Leipzig hymnbook, the <NLGB>, under the <omnes tempore> heading, "Cross, Persecution, and Tribulation." It was assigned to Trinity 5 in the Leipzig, Dresden, and Weißenfels hymnals in Bach's time (Stiller, <JSB & Liturgical Life in Leipzig>: 242). Today it is known as "If you but trust in God to guide you," No. 769 under "Trust and Guidance" in the <Evangelical Lutheran Worship> (<Ibid.>).

Cantata BWV 27 closes with a five-voice motet setting of Johann Georg Albinus' 1649 "Welt, ade! Ich bin deine müde" (World farewell, I am tired of you), Johann Rosenmuller melody and harmonization, that Bach took directly from the "Death and Dying" section of the <NLGB> (No. 372), with Bach's added tutti, colle-parte instrumentation.

Other Trinity 16 Works

A. On Sept. 28, 1727, there was no performance during the mourning period of Sept. 7, 1727, to Jan. 8, 1728, for deceased Saxon Queen Christiane Eberhardine.

B. On Sept. 12, 1728, in the published Picander so-called Cycle 4, the Cantata text P-59, "Schließet euch, Ihr müden Augen (Close you, your tired eyes); no chorale listed.

C. On Oct. 10, 1734 (Trinity 16), Chorale Cantata 8 may have been reperformed as part of a possible repeat of the chorale cantata cycle with oratorios for the major feast days, ending at Trinity Time 1735, when Bach introduced the first of two annual cycles of Gottfried Heinrich Stözel's sacred cantatas.

D. On Sept. 18, 1735, Bach performed Stözel's two-part cantata "Mein Jesu, deine Vater-Hand"; as part of the cycle "Saitenspiele des Hertzens" (Music Playing of the Heart), text by Benjamin Schmolck, with two more contemporary chorale settings not in the <NLGB>:

No. 4, plain chorale, "Die Thronen-Freude dieser Welt" (This world is the throne of joy) Stanza 2, Johann Jacob Schültz 1673 "Was mich auf dieser Welt betrübt" (What the world concerns for me).

No. 8, plain chorale, "Gottes Kinder säen zwar traurig und mit Thränen (God's children sow most mournfully with tears), from Paul Garhardt's 1653 "Schwingt dich auf zu deinem Gott" (Swing thee up to thy God).

E. About Sept. 16, 1736; Bach may have performed Stözel's two-part cantata "So bist du doch. Gott, allein meines Herzens Trist und mein Teil," from the cantata cycle "Das Namenbuch Christi," (Book of Names of Christ), Schmolck text, No. 58. No chorales are listed in the sources.

Douglas Cowling wrote (March 5, 2012):
Intro. to BWV 161: Trinity 16 "Welt Ade"

William L. Hoffman wrote:
< Cantata BWV 27 closes with a five-voice motet setting of Johann Georg Albinus' 1649 "Welt, ade! Ich bin deine müde" (World farewell, I am tired of you), Johann Rosenmuller melody and harmonization, that Bach took directly from the "Death and Dying" section of the <NLGB> (No. 372), with Bach's added tutti, colle-parte instrumentation. >
This lovely little motet became a popular Anglic"anthem" attributed to Bach when it was included in the "Novello Anthem Book" with a text beginning "Holy Ghost Dispel Our Sadness." Odd that it would become one of the works most performed by Anglican choirs all over the English-speaking world.

Rosenmuller is an rather dark character. He was organist of the Nicholai Church in Leipzig and supposedly destined to become Bach's predecessor as Cantor. However, he was imprisoned in 1655 allegedly for abuse of students. He escaped from prison and fled to Venice where he found a position teaching at the Pieta, the girls' orphanage for which Vivaldi wrote some of his finest music. The two positions could suggest the sinister pattern of a child predator.

William L. Hoffman wrote (March 5, 2012):
[To Douglas Cowling] Check out this Amazon website that has four recordings of Rosenmuller's music: Amazon.com

Kim Patrick Clow wrote (March 5, 2012):
William L. Hoffman wrote:
< Check out this Amazon website that has four recordings of Rosenmuller's music: Amazon.com >
I was fortunate enough to help prepare several editions used at a mini-Rosenmuller festival here in New York in Feb.: http://www.musiqueancienne.org/index.php?module=News&func=display&sid=1249

Great great music. Highly recommended.

Douglas Cowling wrote (March 5, 2012):
Kim Patrick Clow wrote:
< I was fortunate enough to help prepare several editions used at a mini-Rosenmuller festival here in New York in Feb. >
What's the scholarly scoop on his biography?

Cantata BWV 8, Part 2, Notes, Trinity 16 Chorale, Motets, Liturgy

William L. Hoffman wrote (September 16, 2014):
All four of Bach’s cantatas performed on the 16^th Sunday after Trinity, BWV 161, 95, 8, and 27, representing a variety of musical forms remain, faithful to the Gospel, (Luke 7:11-17 (Miracle of the raising of the son of the widow of Nain), while presenting a total of seven chorales related to the Passion, Death & Dying. All represent 200 years of sacred song, influenced by the Reformation hymns and motets of Luther as well as the later Orthodox, Literary Reform, and Pietist periods. In particular chorale Cantata BWV 8, Liebster Gott, wenn werd ich sterben? (Dearest God, when shall we die?), of 1724 is one of the most appealing and accessible of his vocal works. The other three are Weimar solo Cantata BWV 161,"Komm, du süße Todesstunde" (Come thou, sweet hour of death) and in Leipzig 1723 chorus Cantata BWV 95, Christus, der ist meins Leben" (Christ, you are my life)," and 1726 chorus Cantata BWV 27, "Wer wiss, wie nah mir mein Ende?" (Who knows how near is my end?).

The topics include “Motets & Chorales for the 16^th Sunday after Trinity”; “Trinity 16 Biblical References”; “Bach’s Trinity 16 Calendar”; Cantata 161, 95, 27 Chorale Settings: “Sweet Death & Passion Chorale,” “Death, Dying & Simeon's Canticle,” and “Funeral Hymn Set to Popular Melody”; “Other Trinity 16 Performances”; and the provenance of the four cantatas in the 1750 estate distribution.

Cantata 8 Liebster Gott, wenn werd ich sterben? (Dearest God, when shall we die?), is particularly representative of the music and Gospel and has special features such as its tonal allegory, positive themes, more contemporary treatment of the chorale and its Pietist character, and moves from concern to joy and the various aspects of death and spirituality, as fond in the notes on Cantata 8 from the Linda Gingrich 2008 dissertation, The seen and the unseen: Hidden allegorical links in the Trinity season chorale cantatas of J. S. Bach.¹

<<The remaining Sundays of Trinity now direct their themes towards the coming of Advent Season, and the 16^th Sunday after begins by focusing on the death and resurrection of the believer. Bach allegorically indicates this change with a Cantata in E Major, the first appearance as a cantata key, creating a precipitous tonal ascent from the two flats of Cantata 78 through the single sharp of Cantata 99 to the four sharps of BWV 8, Liebster Gott, wenn werd ich sterben? (Dear God, when will I die?), for September 24, 1724. E Major generally marks the upper limit of Bach’s tonal palette and generally carries strongly positive associations, linked, for example, with themes of blessedness, salvation and trust [Chafe, Tonal Allegory, 152n, 153]; here it represents resurrection and entry into God’s kingdom. The Gospel for the day, Luke 7:11-17, the account of the widow’s son raised from the dead by Jesus, clearly inspired the libretto, a very personal, internal meditation on death [Dürr, Cantatas, 551]. The chorale is not the typical Orthodox hymn of most of the second cycle cantatas, but is a newer Pietistic hymn, dating from about 1695, and one thought to have been popular in Leipzig at the time (Ibid. 552, Hofmann liner notes, http://www.bach-cantatas.com/Pic-Rec-BIG/Suzuki-C24c[BIS-CD1351].pdf). "Bach constructed a six-movement cantata that cleanly divided into two halves, each with its own character . . . . The first three movements tend towards fearful introspection and close contemplation of death, while the last three movements contemplate heaven and joyfully respond the Jesus’ call to leave the world and dwell with him. This is aided by the balanced layout of the numbers which surrounds successively paired inner numbers with the first- and last-movement chorale settings [Dürr, Cantatas, 552, 553]. Movements 2 and 3 in C sharp minor and G sharp minor, operate as an aria-recitative duo that addresses fear of death and exhorts the soul to lay fear aside, and numbers 4 and 5, in A major and F sharp minor, also operate as an aria-recitative duo that faces death with almost carefree abandon. The E major outer movements wrap up the design with commentary upon the passage of time, the unknown moment of death, and the desire to die well."

Later Bach hymnbook ‘Death & Dying’ Chorales

The 16th Sunday after Trinity offered Bach a rare, serendipitous situation in his choice of subject matter. Bach's Leipzig hymnbook, Das Neu Leipziger Gesangbuch (NLGB) of Gottfried Vopelius,² allowed the choice of chorales from the latter omnes tempore (Ordinary Time, Trinity Time) section under major headings, specifically the category "Death and Dying," followed by "The 10 Commandments" and "Christian Life and Hope" for the succeeding two Sundays. Previously, the NLGB had focused on Trinity Time well-known hymns involving liturgy, the Lutheran Catechism, and popular Psalms with important Christian themes for the second half of the church year dealing with the teachings of the Christian Church instead of the major events in the life of Jesus Christ. The one previous exception was Trinity 12 with chorales emphasizing "Cross, Persecution, and Tribulation," another Bach favorite category.

Motet Media vita, Luther hymn ‘Mitten wir’

At the same time, Cantata 8 is influenced by early Reformation motet-chorale style. Underlying the musical theme is an early motet and related Martin Luther hymn. The text of the main and vesper services motet for the 16^th Sunday after Trinity, Media vita, which also appears in both Lenten and Funeral sources, shows, a strong thematic link with the cantatas for this Sunday. The four cantatas for this Sunday also show a strong thematic arc with both the motet and chorale de tempore, Luther’s “Mitten wir.”

The polyphonic motet, Media vita, is found in the Jakob Handl (Gallus) 8-voice setting 1) in Bach’s motet collection, Erhardt Bodenschatz’ Florilegium Portense.³ The vocal motets were set for Introit, Before Sermon at mass and vespers for Choir II, and During Communion (Jakob Handl (Gallus) http://www.bach-cantatas.com/Lib/Handl-Jakob.htm. Text: Liturgresponsorary:

In the midst of life we are in death
of whom may we seek for succour, but of thee, O Lord,
who for our sins art justly displeased?
O Lord God most holy, O Lord most mighty,
O holy and most merciful Saviour,
deliver us not into the bitter pains of eternal death.

“Media vita in morte sumus” is the title and first line of a Latin antiphon, which translates as In the midst of life we are in death. It was erroneously attributed to Notker the Stammerer late in the Middle Ages, but was more probably written around 750 in France. Especially popular in the Baroque period, it was also used in Hartmann von Aue's Middle High German narrative poem Der arme Heinrich (V.93f.). It has been translated into the vernacular several times, such as in 1524 by Martin Luther as Mytten wir ym leben synd (now in the Evangelischen Gesangbuch hymnbook as number 518, or 654 in the Gotteslob hymnbook[1]) and by Thomas Cranmer (whose version became part of the burial service in the Book of Common Prayer)” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Media_vita_in_morte_sumus

The Luther three-stanza chorale “Mitten wir im Leben sind” (In the middle of life we are) is a German paraphrase of the Latin. The first stanza is from Media vita in morte sumus. Notker, A. D. 912; translated Salzburg 1456; Luther text Stanzas 2-3 published 1525.

1.In the midst of earthly life
Snares of death surround us;
Who shall help us in the strife
Lest the Foe confound us?
Thou only, Lord, Thou only.
We mourn that we have greatly erred,
That our sins Thy wrath have stirred.
Chorus:
Holy and righteous God!
Holy and mighty God!
Holy and all-merciful Savior!
Eternal Lord God!
Save us lest we perish
In the bitter pangs of death.
Have mercy, O Lord!

2. In the midst of death's dark vale
Powers of hell o'ertake us.
Who will help when they assail,
Who secure will make us?
Thou only, Lord, Thou only.
Thy heart is moved with tenderness,
Pities us in our distress.
Chorus:

3. In the midst of utter woe
All our sins oppress us,
Where shall we for refuge go,
Where for grace to bless us?
To Thee, Lord Jesus, only.
Thy precious blood was shed to win
Full atonement for our sin.

Thematic Chorales From Various Periods ⁴

Thematic chorales played a major role as Bach shaped his three Leipzig cycles of "well-regulated church music." This is most evident in his setting of six chorales with the themes of "Death and Dying" (Christus, der ist meins Leben," "Valet will ich dir geben," "Wenn mein Stündlein vorhanden ist," "Liebster Gott, wann werd ich sterben," "Wer wiss, wie nah mir mein Ende?," "Welt, ade! Ich bin deine müde") two in the related "Cross, Persecution and Tribulation" ("Wenn wir in höchsten Nöten sein," "Wer nur den lieben Gott lässt walten"), and Passion chorales like "O sacred head now wounded."

Besides a choice of chorales of "Death and Dying," the NLGB for Trinity 16 in Leipzig specifically lists two chorales to be sung at service: "Wenn wir in höchsten Nöten sein" (When we are in utmost need), as No. 277, "Cross, Persecution and Tribulation," and Martin Luther's three-stanza teaching hymn, "Mitten wir im Leben sind" (We are in the middle of life), found with the four-part setting of J. H. Schein in the NLGB, No. 344, "Death and Dying" but not set by Bach.

"Wenn wir in höchsten Nöten sein" has a seven-stanza text of Paul Eber (1564), based on Jehoshaphat's prayer in 2 Chronicles 20, set to the Louis Bourgeois 1543 melody. Bach set the Bourgeois melody in the plain chorales, BWV 431 in F Major and BWV 432 in G Major, as well as in the organ chorale preludes of the Weimar< Orgelbüchlein> (Little Organ Book) collection, BWV 641 in F Major, under the heading "Christian Life and conduct." It is possible that the two plain chorales and the organ chorale prelude were performed during Leipzig services where the four Cantatas BWV 161, 95, 8, and 27 were performed.

The organ chorale BWV 641 exists in an expanded version, BWV 668(a), "Great 18 Leipzig Chorales," where it has the text dictum of Bach's so-called death-bed chorale, "Vor deinen Thron tret' ich hiermit" (Before thy throne I now appear).

Trinity 16 Biblical References

The gospel and Bach's treatment through chorales and poetic text in the cantata as a musical sermon shows that the 16th Sunday after Trinity is part of the third Trinity Time mini-cycle of New Testament teachings on the "Works of Faith and Love," that is, the meaning of being a Christian, says Paul Zeller Strodach, The Church Year (United Lutheran Publication House, Philadelphia PA, 1924: 216). During this time from the 12th to the 18th Sunday after Trinity, the lectionary presents affirmative teachings of parables and miracles, and the Lutheran hymnbook prescribes thematic <omnes tempore> timely hymns on Sundays that occur primarily between mid August and late September.

The Middle Trinity Time Gospel lessons emphasize "Thematic Patterns of Paired Parables or Teachings & Miracles," according to Douglas Cowling in the Bach Cantata Website (BCW). The current pairs are:

* Trinity 15: Matthew 6: 23-34 Teaching: Avoid worldly cares if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!
* Trinity 16: Luke 7: 11-17 Miracle of the raising of the son of the widow of Nain, And he came and touched the bier: and they that bare him stood still. And he said, Young man, I say unto thee, Arise!

Bach's Trinity 16 Calendar

For the record Bach was particularly active on this 16th Sunday after Trinity in Leipzig. Here are the cantatas Bach probably presented and their chorales:

Sweet Death& Passion Chorale

In Weimar, Cantata BWV 161, "Komm, du süße Todesstunde" (Come thou, sweet hour of death) is believed to have received its first performance on Sept. 27, 1716. It probably was composed for Trinity 16 the year prior (Oct. 6, 1715) but set aside as that date coincided with a three-month period of state mourning in Weimar, that began on August 1, for Prince Johann Ernst (excluding Trinity 8 to 20).

Cantata BWV 161 uses throughout the Hans Leo Hassler Passion chorale melody, "Herzlich tut mich verlangen/Befiehl du deine Wege" (Heartily do I long/Commend you your ways, NLGB No. 329, Death & Dying). It is popularly known as “O sacred head now wounded. The hymn is found in the opening alto slumber song in basso continuo cantus firmus with obbligato organ, in the closing four-part chorale (Movement No. 6) with recorders obbligato, set to the Christoph Knoll 1605 associated text, "Der Lieb zwar in der Erden" (The body indeed in the earth), Stanza 4, and "is the source of the themes in the other movements (Cantata 161 Recordings, Suzuki Liner Notes). Bach used this chorale, known in English and "On sacred head now wounded," in his music more often than any other.

Cantata BWV 161 is one of Bach's earliest uses of the Passion Chorale, that also was sung at the Prince's memorial service, April 2, 1716, in Bach's lost funeral cantata "Was ist, das wir Leben nennen?" (What is it that we call life?; text only survives), Bach Compendium BC B-19. It probably also was set to a libretto by Weimar Court poet Salomo Franck, suggesting a close collaboration between him and Bach that also produced two years of service cantatas, 1715-16, totaling 13 presented monthly and published in the 1715 annual cycle text,< Evangelisches Andachts-Opfer> (Evangelical Devotional Offerings).

Interestingly, Cantata BWV 161 is the only one of some 20 Bach service cantatas composed in Weimar that was not used for the same allowable Sunday in Leipzig. Instead, it apparently was reperformed for the Feast of the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary (<Mariae Reinigung>, Candelmas), on Feb. 2, c.1735, because of its "appropriate textual content" (Dürr <Cantatas of JSB>: 666). The Leipzig version c.1735 with assumed instrumental changes is in full score by an unknown copyist, and late-18^th century copies of the parts. The original score and part set are lost, perhaps through Friedemann, but a copy of the score and parts set, alternate designation for Purification, from an unknown copyist at the Berlin Singakademie at the end of the 18th Century. The provenance of the music is unknown. These materials reveal two versions, the Weimar with typical recorders and instrumental canto, and the Leipzig substituting flutes and violins and the canto sung.

Death, Dying& Simeon's Canticle

On September 12, 1723 in his first cycle, Bach instead newly composed Cantata BWV 95, Christus, der ist meins Leben" (Christ, you are my life)," a second hybrid chorale cantata that has the distinction of citing more chorales than any other cantata - four.

1. The opening chorale chorus is set to the Melchior Vulpius' prayer for the dying with the 1609 melody "Christus, der ist mein Leben," originally set to an anonymous eight-stanza poem, proclaiming the opening stanza. It is found in the NLGB No. 369, "Death and Dying." Francis Browne's BCW translation of the entire eight-verse "Christus, der ist meins Leben" is found in: http://www.bach-cantatas.com/Texts/Chorale038-Eng3.htm.

The initial chorale chorus in Cantata 95 is followed by an interpolated tenor arioso-recitative, "Mit Freuden, ja mit Herzelust" (With joy, yea with heart's desire), and the movement concludes with another chorale chorus singing Martin Luther's "Mit Fried und Freud ich fahr dahin" (With peace and joy I now depart) with the solo horn imitating the melody.

The final line of the first stanza of "Christus, der ist mein Leben" proclaims: "Mit Fried fahr ich dahin" (with joy I depart). The words are based on the <Nunc dimmitis>, Simeon's Canticle, "Lord, let your servant depart in peace" (Luke 2:29-32), best known for the Feast of the Purification in Luther's paraphrase, "Mit Fried und Freud ich fahr dahin," as a four-verse alliterative prayer of thanksgiving and reconciliation with death. It is found in the NLGB 113, under "Purification."

No. 3. The soprano canto trio aria sings the opening stanza of Valerius Herberger's 1613 five-stanza text, "Valet will ich dir geben" (Farewell I shall bid to you), to the Melchior Teschner melody, with oboe obbligato interlude. The chorale also is listed in the< Orgelbüchlein> (Little Organ Book) chorale preludes as No. 132 under "Death and Dying" but not set. NLGB No. 345, Death and Dying. Today the popular hymn is known in English as "All glory, laud and honor," and is found in the current American Lutheran hymnal, <Evangelical Lutheran Worship> (Minneapolis MN: Augsburg Fortress Press, 2006) as No. 344, for Holy Week.

7. Closing plain chorale, Nikolaus Herman's 1650 "Wenn mein Stündlein vorhanden ist" (When my little hour is at hand), Stanza 4, "Weil du vom Tod erstanden bist" (While from death you stand), with solo violin obbligato. NLGB No. 330 <omnes tempore>, "Death and Dying" listed as pulpit/communion hymns for Trinity 16 and 17.

Funeral Hymn Set to Popular Melody

On Oct. 6, 1726 in Cantata Cycle 3, Bach presented his chorus Cantata BWV 27, "Wer wiss, wie nah mir mein Ende?" (Who knows how near is my end?), set to a hybrid libretto. It opens with a chorale chorus setting of the first verse of a 1695 12-stanza contemporary funeral hymn of Princess Ämilie Juliane von Schwarzburg-Rudolstdadt 1695, using the associated, popular Georg Neumark 1640 melody, "Wer nur den lieben Gott lässt walten" (We only the loving God lets govern), NLGB No. 303, "Cross, Persecution and Tribulation."

Other Trinity 16 Performances

A. On Sept. 28, 1727, there was no performance during the mourning period of Sept. 7, 1727, to Jan. 8, 1728, for deceased Saxon Queen Christiane Eberhardine.
B. On Sept. 12, 1728, in the published Picander so-called Cycle 4, the Cantata text P-59, "Schließet euch, Ihr müden Augen (Close you, your tired eyes); no chorale listed.
C. On Oct. 10, 1734 (Trinity 16), Chorale Cantata 8 may have been reperformed as part of a possible repeat of the chorale cantata cycle with oratorios for the major feast days, ending at Trinity Time 1735, when Bach introduced the first of two annual cycles of Gottfried Heinrich Stözel's sacred cantatas.
D. On Sept. 25, 1735, Bach performed Stözel's two-part cantata So bist du doch, Gott, allezeit meines Herzens Trost und mein Teil [Not extant] as part of the cycle "Saitenspiele des Hertzens" (Music Playing of the Heart), text by Benjamin Schmolck,
E. About Sept. 16, 1736; Bach may have performed another Stözel's two-part cantata (not extantfrom the cantata cycle "Das Namenbuch Christi," (Book of Names of Christ), Schmolck text.
1716-09-27 So - Cantata BWV 161 Komm, du süße Todesstunde (1st performance, Weimar)

Bach’s Trinity +16 Leipzig performance calendar
1723-09-12 So - Cantata BWV 95 Christus, der ist mein Leben (1st performance, Leipzig)
1724-09-24 So - Cantata BWV 8 Liebster Gott, wenn werd ich sterben? (1st performance, Leipzig)
1725-09-16 So – possible repeat performance, Cantata 8.
1726-10-06 So - Cantata BWV 27 Wer weiß, wie nahe mir mein Ende? (1st performance, Leipzig)
1732-09-28 So – possible repeat of Cantata 8 as part of Cyc le 2.
1735-09-25 So - Stözel two-part cantata “So bist du doch”
1736-09-16 So - Stözel's two-part cantata, note extant
Vocal works with no definite date
(1735-1740) - Cantata BWV 8 Liebster Gott, wenn werd ich sterben? (2nd performance, Leipzig)
(1746-1747) - Cantata BWV 8 Liebster Gott, wenn werd ich sterben? (3rd performance, Leipzig; Late version in D)
(Leipzig period) - Cantata BWV 161 Komm, du süße Todesstunde (2nd performance, Leipzig), C. 1735

1750 Estate distribution, cantatas for the 16^th Sunday after Trinity:
Cycle 1, Cantata BWV 95, “Christus, der ist meins Leben," Friedemann parts extant, score lost.
Cycle 2, Cantata BWV 8, “Liebster Gott, wenn werd ich sterben?, score Friedemann lost, parts Thomas School.
Cycle 3, Cantata BWV 27, "Wer wiss, wie nah mir mein Ende?", Emmanuel score, Friedemann parts.

FOOTNOTES

¹ Gingrich dissertation, D.M.A., University of Washington, 2008, 146; 3303284: 77f; (http://pqdtopen.proquest.com/pqdtopen/doc/251359759.html?FMT=AI).
² NLGB, BACH'S HYMN BOOK: Jürgen Grimm, "Das neu [?] Leipziger Gesangbuch des Gottfried Vopelius (Leipzig 1682)", Berlin: Merseburger, 1969. ML 3168 G75.
³ BACH'S MOTET COLLECTION: Otto Riemer, "Erhard Bodenschatz und sein "
Schünigen: Kaminsky,1927 ML 410 B67R4; Partial Index of Motets in Florilegium Portense with links to online scores and biographies: http://www.cpdl.org/wiki/index.php/Florilegium_Portense and http://www3.cpdl.org/wiki/index.php/Florilegium_Portense; Dissertation on Bodenschatz Collection (downloadable): http://etd.ohiolink.edu/view.cgi/Chaney%20Mark%20A.pdf?osu1180461416.
⁴ Source, BCW, “Motets & Chorales for 16th Sunday after Trinity, http://www.bach-cantatas.com/LCY/M&C-Trinity16.htm.

Musical Context of Bach Cantatas: Table of Motets & Chorales for Events in the Lutheran Church Year