Bach Cantata Texts: Structure, Function, Message

Bach Cantata Texts: Structure, Function, Message, Part 1

William L. Hoffman wrote (December 8, 2020):
Considering Bach's cantatas, "questions of the diverse kind arise constantly," says Christoph Wolff in his "Prefatory Note" to his three-volume Die Welt der Bach-Kantaten.¹ the first three diverse questions² Wolff posed are: 1. "What is the role of the cantatas and their development in relation to Bach's overall output?"; 2. "In what context were they written and how important were they to the composer?"; and 3. "What musical models do they follow, what important comparisons can we draw with pieces of other composers, and what are the specific features of Bach's cantatas?" Having laid the groundwork of Bach's cantatas with the topics of their role, context, and models, Wolff points to the most distinctive cantata feature, the texts: "How are the texts structured, what is their function, and what are the messages they convey?" Each textual factor — structure, function, and message — generate multiple responses.

The cantata textual types — biblical quotations, interpretive poetic passages, instructional chorales — served as statements of facts or belief, explanations of these statements, and catechetical teachings. The messages they conveyed ranged from statements of the law and gospel, to paraphrased poetry offering instruction and comfort, to the Lutheran hymns of strophic poetry teaching of the life of Jesus Christ and the Church's ministry in the world. Chronologically, the cantatas followed a pattern of development in the following stages: beginning with psalmaic concertos/motets for special church occasions in Mühlhausen (1707f), to the initial "modern" German church cantatas of Erdmann Neumeister and Georg Philipp Telemann in 1710, Bach's response in Weimar in 1713 with Cantatas 18, 199, and 21 to texts of Neumeister, Georg Christian Lehms, and Salomo Franck, respectively, librettists involving the start of cantata mini-cycles or groups. Bach's first church-year cycle began in 1714 when he was appointed Weimar Concertmaster, followed by dramatic serenades in Cöthen (see below, Cöthen Serenades) that launched in Leipzig the trajectory of extended cantatas called "oratorios" (1725-39), and finally, the three Leipzig church-year cantata cycles (1723-27).

Sacred Cantata Form, Content

The general structure of the cantata involves an opening statement or dictum, followed with the interpolative, interpretive alternating arias and recitatives, and usually a closing statement in the form of a congregational chorale. This structure of the cantata as a musical sermon in Bach's time was synonymous with the typical sermon rhetorical structure: opening exordium (introduction) and proposito (key statement), the interpretive tractatio (investigation of proposito) and applicatio, and the conclusio. When composing his cantatas, Bach was particularly interested in their structures and experimented extensively in Leipzig where his cantor duties focused on presenting church-year cantatas for all the Sundays and feast days, some 60. The most distinctive feature of Bach's sacred cantata structure involved various diverse "mini" cycles within the overall church-year cycle. Contiguous or scattered, these cantata groupings were identified and determine foremost in the movement structure, distinctively found in the heterogeneous features of the first and third cycles (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_cantata_(Bach)), ingredients such as groups of texts based upon one librettist, the cantata scoring, the use of vocal parody or instrumental transcription, and special, select features such as the use of obbligato instruments and various stylistic features.

In terms of cantata content, the first half of the church year, de tempore (Proper Time) centers on the life of Christ with milestone feast days celebrated in gala chorus cantatas. The intimate second half, omne tempore (Ordinary Time), focuses on the life of the church in various Christian themes found mostly in intimate cantatas for soloists without choruses. As the core of his "well-regulated church music to the glory of God," this cantata ordering, or arrangement, followed two essential liturgical patterns: the appointed designation of the church year service with its proper readings from the gospel and epistle while the occasional service of joy or sorrow usually involved psalms of praise or penitence. Bach's first mini-cycle in Mühlhausen (1707-10) involved almost entirely proto-cantatas called concertos or motets often with psalm settings for special church occasions of joy such as weddings (BWV 196, 224) and town council installations (BWV 71, 1138.1, 1138.2 (?143, 21) and sorrowful memorials or funerals (BWV 233a, 106, 131).³ The lone liturgical service exception, which became part of Bach's Leipzig cyclic observances, is Easter pure-hymn chorale Cantata 4, "Christ lag in Todesbanden" (Christ lay in death's bonds). All of this music in Mühlhausen relied on fixed biblical and hymn texts with virtually no poetic, so-called "madrigalian" original words except for undesignated Cantata 150 arias (Nos. 3 and 5) and closing chorus (No. 7), possibly by Conrad Meckbach, Mühlhausen Burgomaster for his birthday, in addition to verses from Psalm 25, “Nach dir, Herr, verlanget mich" (For you, Lord, is my longing).⁴

Next in Weimar came the beginnings of the "modern" Germany cantata with poetic texts added to biblical and chorale words in Erdmann Neumeister's first cycle (Geistliches Singen und Spielen [Spiritual singing and playing]), set by Georg Philipp Telemann in Eisenach (1710-11). Bach in 1713 from that Neumeister cycle composed SATB solo Cantata 18, "Gleichwie der Regen und Schnee vom Himmel fällt" (Just as the rain and snow fall from heaven, Isaiah 55:10), to a Neumeister III text (https://www.bach-cantatas.com/Lib/Neumeister.htm), for Pre-Lenten Sexagesimae Sunday.⁵ This was followed by soprano solo Cantata 199, "Mein Herze schwimmt im Blut" (My heart swims in blood) to a text of Darmstadt poet Georg Christian Lehms (https://www.bach-cantatas.com/Lib/Lehms.htm) for the 11th Sunday after Trinity,⁶ and undesignated two-part Cantata 21, "Ich hatte viel Bekümmernis" (I had much affliction), for any time and the 3rd Sunday after Trinity (1714), with arias and recitatives probably of Weimar court poet Salomo Franck (https://www.bach-cantatas.com/Lib/Franck.htm).⁷ The four biblical choruses in Cantata 21 may have been composed for the Mühlhausen town council, 1709, with the opening sinfonia, three arias, and two recitative added later to a two-part cantata, possibly for Bach's Halle probe in December 2013. Three early Weimar cantatas (BWV 18, 199, and 21) have opening sinfonias with madrigalian texts of Neumeister, Lehms, and Franck, respectively. A fourth possibly early work is BWV 63 for Christmas Day 1714, to a text of Johann Michael Heineccius (https://www.bach-cantatas.com/Lib/Heineccius.htm, pastor at the Liebfrauenkirche in Halle, which may have been Bach's probe piece in December 1713.⁸

Franck, Lehms Cantata Texts

With his appointment in early 1714 as Weimar Concertmaster, Bach was charged with producing a church service cantata every four weeks, alternating with the Weimar Court Capellmeister Johann Samuel Drese and son Johann Wilhelm Drese, Vice-Capellmeister and Samuel's successor in 2017. Available was court poet Franck as Bach composed a mini-cycle of as many as 23 cantatas in addition to some 10 with texts of other authors (http://www.bach-cantatas.com/Topics/Weimar-Cantatas.htm). This was the beginning of Bach's calling for a systematic cantata core in a "well-regulated church music (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weimar_cantata_(Bach). Initially, Bach set texts presumably by Franck (BWV 182, 12, 172, 21), then Lehms (54, 199), and Neumeister (BWV 61), most for large ensembles with chorus. No cantatas were composed in the nine weeks from mid-September to early November 1714 (Trinity 15-23) was a closed period of mourning in the Holy Roman Empire. Beginning in 1715, Bach systematically composed mostly Franck-texted cantatas monthly and published in 1715 (BWV 152, ?72, [BWV 18 Neumeister] 80a, 31, Anh. 191, 165, 185, ?168, ?164, 161-163, 132, and 155, the works during Trinity Time were solo cantatas with small ensembles. Bach apparently in early 1716 ceased composing cantatas set to a new cycle of Franck texts with a close period of mourning, mid-August to early November, Trinity 8-20 for Bach's friend, Weimar Prince Johann Ernst. Still debated during 1716 are Cantata 158 for the Purification Feast, Cantata 181 (author unknown) for Sexagesimae, Cantata 59 (Neumeister) for Pentecost, and Cantata 24 for Trinity 4. Bach resumed composing new Franck-texted cantatas (pub. 1717) in Advent 1716 (BWV 70a, 186, and 147a, but cease when the younger Drese was appointed Capellmeister. Franck also is presumed to be the author of the Funeral Music for Prince Johann Ernst, BWV 1142, on 2 April 1716 (https://www.bach-digital.de/receive/BachDigitalWork_work_00001531?lang=en). Bach also set two Franck texts in the summer of 1725 for BWV 168 and 164 in the third cycle.

Rudolstadt, Neumeister-Telemann Texts

Bach in Weimar set no further Neumeister texts but did set one by Lehms, "Widerstehe doch der Sünde" (Stand firm against sin), dating uncertain, possibly Lenten Occuli, 2013-15 or Trinity 7 in 2014 or BWV 1136=Anh. 209. Bach would use Lehms' cycle text again in eight more cantatas in the 1725-26 third cycle, Christmas to Epiphany and summer of 1726 (BWV 13, 16, 32, 35, 57, 110, 151, 170). During 1714, Bach probably became acquainted with cousin Johann Ludwig Bach's cantata cycles set to Rudolstadt texts (https://www.bach-cantatas.com/BWV15-D.htm: "Discussions in the Week of June 20, 2010"), 18 of which Sebastian performed in 1726 as substitutes in his third cycle (http://www.bach-cantatas.com/Topics/Cycle-3-P02.htm: "Bach's Third Cantata Cycle (1725-27): Revised Classification"). Also in 1726, Bach used six Rudolstdadt texts as alternates to the Ludwig Bach mini-cycle (see below, Cycle 3). Virtually all of the some 33 cantatas which are based on texts dating to Weimar were performed during the first cycle, including four that were expanded for other services (BWV 70a, 80a, 186a, 147a), the exception being BWV 54 for Trinity 7.

During this time in Weimar, Bach was building a relationship with Telemann since "1713 and 1714 are considered decisive in terms of his developing compositional style," says Ellen Exner.⁹ Telemann was Emanuel's Godfather in Weimar on 10 March 2014, eight days after Bach was appointed court Concertmaster to compose sacred cantatas monthly. Telemann was well-known at the Saxe-Weimar Court and they both set the same Neumeister Advent 1 text (December 1714, "Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland" (Now come, saviour of the gentiles; TVWV 1:1175/BWV 61). Bach selectively set Neumeister texts in Leipzig for the 1723 Pentecost Soul-Jesus dialogue Cantata 59, "Wer mich liebet, der wird mein Wort halten I" (Who loves me will keep my word);¹⁰ 1723 solo SATB solo Cantata 24, "Ein ungefärbt Gemüte" (An unstained character), for the 4th Sunday after Trinity;¹¹ and the 1725 inserted chorus Cantata 28, "Gottlob! nun geht das Jahr zu Ende" (Praise God! Now the year comes to an end), for the Sunday after Christmas.¹²

Cöthen Serenades

Where Salomo Franck was the dominant librettist for Bach sacred cantatas composed in Weimar, another distinguished court poet in Cöthen, Christian Friedrich Hunold (http://bach-cantatas.com/Lib/Hunold.htm, pen-name Menantes, 1681-1721), fashioned secular and sacred serenades for the birthday of Prince Leopold (December 12) and New Year's Day (http://bach-cantatas.com/Articles/HoffmanBachDramaII.htm#P3). A key player in the development of the serenade in Halle, Menantes wrote texts for five surviving works: BWV 66a, 134a, and Anh 5-7, now in the BWV canon as BWV 1147, 1151, and 1153 respectively, as well as BWV 204. Menantes died in December 1720 and the identity of the author of the remaining, extant serenades (BWV 184a, 173a, 1152=Anh. 8, 194a, and Anh. 197=1150), is unknown (http://www.bach-cantatas.com/Topics/Kothen-Serenades.htm), possibly Johann Friedrich Helbig at Saxe-Eisenach (http://www.bach-cantatas.com/Lib/Helbig.htm), who died in 1722, and unknown court poets at Saxe-Gotha during the time of Capellmeister Gottfried Heinrich Stölzel (https://www.bach-cantatas.com/Lib/Stolzel-Gottfried-Heinrich.htm) or Saxe-Weissenfels Capellmeister Johann Philipp Krieger (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johann_Philipp_Krieger). Bach's Cöthen serenades were the forerunner of his Leipzig drammi per musica, beginning in 1725 (https://www.bach-cantatas.com/Articles/Opera-Drama[Braatz].htm).

Leipzig: 3 Church-Year Cycles

As cantor responsible for the figural music in the main Sunday and feast-day services at St. Nikolaus and St. Thomas churches, Bach provided original music for his three extant cycles. The music of the initial, heterogeneous first cycle (1723-24), from the 1st Sunday after Trinity until the Trinity Festival Sunday, involved some 60 occasions, some with double-bill cantatas before and after the sermon (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bach%27s_first_cantata_cycle). Bach did not provide music for the 5th, 6th, and 18th Sundays after Trinity, since important feast days occurred adjacent to these services. None of the librettists for the newly-composed works has been identified, only suggested. Tradition shows that pastors with their sermons also wrote similar musical sermons for the cantatas throughout Lutheran Germany. In Leipzig, pastors also did cyclic emblematic sermons to accompany their cantata texts in conjunction with the cantor's music (Johann Schelle, http://www.bach-cantatas.com/Topics/Church-Year-Cantatas.htm: "Leipzig Chorale Cantata Tradition"). Also Bach had access to talented university professors, which included pastors, to write cantata libretti, as well as university students Christoph Birkmann, and highly-educated local officials — all in abundance in this enlightened, spiritual, prosperous mercantile community at the crossroads of European interests. “After Pentecost and Trinity, the second half of the church year, omnes tempore, is taken up entirely with the series of Sundays in (or after) Trinity, which may, exceptionally, extend to as many as twenty-seven and which can be considered to represent the era of the church that precedes it,” says Eric Chafe in Analyzing Bach Cantatas.¹³ Since it does not follow a chronological sequence ordered according to the principal events in Jesus’ life, the Trinity season was a whole takes up a wide range of themes, many of which center on Christian life, on the believer’s fear of judgment, on the antithesis of present life and eternity, and on faith and the necessity of undergoing tribulation in the world in preparation for the second coming and the Last Judgment. The character of the season, therefore, centers on questions of doctrine and faith in a varied mix, a significant number of the weekly gospel readings featuring parables andmiracles stories (see "Thematic Patterns in Bach's Gospels," http://www.bach-cantatas.com/Topics/Cycle-1.htm) that invite metaphoric interpretations of the world as a “hospital” for the spiritually sick, a “desert” in which the spiritually hungry are in need of manna, a testing ground for love and mercy towards one’s neighbor, and the like. In short, the Trinity season seems to explore the human condition, its weakness, wavering, sinfulness, and mortality, emphasizing these qualities so as to demonstrate the need for both fear of God’s judgment and trust in His mercy.” “Since the Trinity season centers on the concerns of Christian life, in the ordering of the Lutheran chorale collections according to the liturgical year, the catechism chorale collections, which represent the basic expression of the core doctrines of the faith, were often associated with the early weeks of the Trinity season.” The omnes tempore themes in the Orgelbüchlein (http://www.orgelbuechlein.co.uk/the-missing-chorales/) that Bach listed are Catechism (Commandments, Creed, Lord's Prayer, Baptism, Confession+Penitence & Justification, and Communion [Lord's Supper]), Christian Life and Conduct, Psalm hymns, Word of God & Christian Church, Death & Dying, Morning, Evening, After Meals, and For Good Weather. The Orgelbüchlein also has an appendix of eight chorales for General Usage.

ENDNOTES

¹ Christoph Wolff, Die Welt der Bach-Kantaten (The World of the Bach Cantatas); Vol. 1, Early Sacred Cantatas, from Arnstadt to Cöthen time (New York: W. W. Norton, 1995: viii ; Amazon.com).
² See BCML, Bach Cantatas, General Discussions -Part 1, http://bach-cantatas.com/Topics/Cantata-Gen1.htm: These first three questions are asked and answered in Part 1 and Part 2 http://bach-cantatas.com/Topics/Cantata-Gen2.htm.
³ The pre-Weimar cantatas (BWV 21, 106, 131, 150) will be discussed in the new NBA Rev. ed., Peter Wollny, BA 5940-01 (score and critical commentary), still in preparation (Kassel: Bärenreiter), based on new scholarship, Bärenreiter.
⁴ Cantata 150, music YouTube, commentary http://www.bach-cantatas.com/BWV150-D6.htm),
⁵ Cantata 18, music YouTube, commentary https://www.bach-cantatas.com/BWV18-D4.htm.
⁶ Cantata 199, music YouTube, commentary https://www.bach-cantatas.com/BWV199-D5.htm.
⁷ Cantata 21, music YouTube, commentary https://www.bach-cantatas.com/BWV21-D7.htm.
⁸ Cantata 63, music YouTube, commentary http://www.bach-cantatas.com/BWV63-D4.htm.
⁹ Ellen Exner, "The Godfather: Georg Philipp Telemann, Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, and the Family Business," in BACH, Journal of the Riemenschneider Bach Institute (Berea OH: Baldwin Wallace University, Vol. XLVIII, No. 1, 2016: 1-20; Jstor.
¹⁰ Cantata 59, music YouTube, commentary https://www.bach-cantatas.com/BWV59-D4.htm.
¹¹ Cantata 24, music https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ioHhbb2L0B0&list=RDioHhbb2L0B0&start_radio=1, commentary https://www.bach-cantatas.com/BWV24-D4.htm.
¹² Cantata 28, music YouTube, commentary https://www.bach-cantatas.com/BWV28-D4.htm.
13 Eric Chafe, Analyzing Bach Cantatas (New York: Oxford Univ. Press, 2000: 12).

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To come: Bach Cantata Texts: Structure, Function, Message, Part 2, Leipzig Church Year Cycles and Beyond.