Bach cantata
Encyclopedia
Bach cantata became a term for a cantata
of the German Baroque
composer Johann Sebastian Bach
(1685–1750) who was a prolific writer of the genre. Although many of his works are lost, around 200 cantatas survived.
Especially during Bach's tenure as a Kantor
at the St. Thomas Church, Leipzig, and the St. Nicholas Church it was part of his job to perform a church cantata every Sunday and Holiday
, related to the readings prescribed by the Lutheran liturgy for the specific occasion. In his first years in Leipzig, starting after Trinity
of 1723, he composed a new work every week and conducted soloists, the Thomanerchor
and orchestra as part of the church service. Three annual cycles of cantatas survived.
In addition to the church cantatas he composed sacred cantatas for functions like weddings or Ratswahl (the inauguration of a new town council), music for academic functions of the University of Leipzig
at the Paulinerkirche
, and secular cantatas for anniversaries and entertainment in nobility and society, some of them Glückwunschkantaten (congratulatory cantatas) and Huldigungskantaten (homage cantatas). He composed church cantatas mainly in Leipzig on a weekly basis, but his earliest date back to 1707 in Mühlhausen
, his latest was probably written in 1745. His cantatas usually require four soloists and a four-part choir, but he also wrote solo cantatas for soloists. The words for many cantatas combine Bible
quotes, contemporary poetry and chorale
, but he also composed a cycle of chorale cantata
s based exclusively on the stanzas of one chorale.
Bach's cantatas are regarded as the greatest achievements in the genre.
.
Bach signed his cantatas with SDG, short for "Soli Deo Gloria" ("To the only God glory").
assigned them each a number within the groups 1–200 sacred cantatas, 201–216 secular cantatas, 217–224 cantatas where Bach's authorship is doubtful. Since Schmieder's designation, several of the cantatas he thought authentic have been downgraded to "spurious." However, the spurious cantatas retain their BWV numbers. The List of cantatas by Johann Sebastian Bach is organized strictly by BWV number.
The opening chorus (in German: Eingangschor) is usually a polyphon
setting, the orchestra presenting the themes or contrasting material first. Most arias follow the form of a da capo aria
, repeating the first part after a middle section. The final chorale is typically a homophon
setting of a traditional melody.
Bach used an expanded structure to take up his position in Leipzig with the cantatas Die Elenden sollen essen, BWV 75
, and Die Himmel erzählen die Ehre Gottes, BWV 76
, both in two parts, to be performed before and after the sermon ("post orationem") and during communion ("sub communione"), each part a sequence of opening movement, five movements alternating recitatives and arias, chorale. In an exemplary way both cantatas cover the prescribed readings: starting with a related psalm from the Old Testament
, Part I reflects Gospel
, Part II the Epistle
.
Bach did not follow any scheme strictly, but composed as he wanted to express the words. A few cantatas are opened by an instrumental piece before the first chorus, such as the Sinfonia of Wir danken dir, Gott, wir danken dir, BWV 29. A solo movement begins Gott, man lobet dich in der Stille, BWV 120
, because its first words speak of silence. Many cantatas composed in Weimar are set like chamber music, mostly for soloists, with a four-part setting only in the closing chorale, which may have been sung by the soloists. In an early cantata Erschallet, ihr Lieder, erklinget, ihr Saiten! BWV 172
, Bach marked a repeat of the opening chorus after the chorale.
The chorale can be as simple as a traditional four-part setting, or be accompanied by an obbligato
instrument, or be accompanied by the instruments of the opening chorus or even expanded by interludes based on its themes, or have the homophon vocal parts embedded in an instrumental concerto as in the familiar Herz und Mund und Tat und Leben, BWV 147, or have complex vocal parts embedded in the concerto as in Ärgre dich, o Seele, nicht, BWV 186
, in a form called Choralphantasie (chorale fantasia). In Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland, BWV 61
, for the 1st Sunday in Advent
, the beginning of a new liturgical year, he shaped the opening chorus as a French overture.
, alto
, tenor
and bass
soloists and a four-part choir, also SATB
. Singers of all parts were available without restriction, therefore he could assign the voice parts to the dramatic situation, for example soprano for innocence or alto for motherly feelings. The bass is often the Vox Christi
, the voice of Jesus, when Jesus is quoted directly, as in Es wartet alles auf dich, BWV 187
, or indirectly, as in O Ewigkeit, du Donnerwort, BWV 60
.
The orchestra is based on string instruments (violin
, viola
) and basso continuo, typically played by cello
, double bass
(an octave lower) and organ
. A continuous bass is the rule in Baroque music, its absence is worth mentioning and has a reason, such as describing fragility.
The specific character of a cantata or a single movement is rather defined by wind instruments, such as oboe
, oboe da caccia
, oboe d'amore
, flauto traverso, recorder
, trumpet
, horn
, trombone
, and timpani
. In movements with winds a bassoon
usually joins the continuo group.
Festive occasions calls for richer instrumentation. Some instruments also carry symbolic meaning such as a trumpet, the royal instrument of the baroque, for divine majesty, three trumpets for the Trinity
. In an aria of BWV 172, addressing the "Heiligste Dreifaltigkeit" (Most holy Trinity), the bass is accompanied only by three trumpets and timpani.
In many arias Bach uses obbligato
instruments, which correspond with the singer as an equal partner. These instrumental parts are frequently set in virtuoso repetitive patterns called figuration. Instruments include, in addition to the ones mentioned, flauto piccolo (sopranino recorder), violino piccolo
, violoncello piccolo, a smaller cello, tromba da tirarsi, a slide trumpet, and corno da tirarsi.
In his early compositions Bach also used instruments that had become old-fashioned, such as viola da gamba
and violone
. Recorders (flauti dolci) are sometimes used to express humility or poverty, such as in the cantata Brich dem Hungrigen dein Brot, BWV 39.
Some cantatas are composed for only one solo singer (Solokantate), as Jauchzet Gott in allen Landen, BWV 51 for soprano, sometimes concluded by a chorale, as Ich will den Kreuzstab gerne tragen, BWV 56 for bass.
liturgy certain readings from the Bible
were prescribed for every event during the church year, two texts, Epistel from an Epistle
and Evangelium from a Gospel
. Music was expected for all Sundays and Holidays but the quiet times (tempus clausum) of Advent
and Lent
, the cantata supposed to reflect the readings. Many opening movements are based on Bible quotations, such as Sie werden aus Saba alle kommen, BWV 65
, on :6. Ideally, a cantata text started with an Old Testament
quotation related to the readings, and reflected both the Epistle and the Gospel, as in the exemplary Die Himmel erzählen die Ehre Gottes, BWV 76
. Most of the solo movements are based on poetry of contemporary writers, such as court poet Salomon Franck
in Weimar or Picander
in Leipzig, with whom Bach collaborated. The final words were usually a stanza from a chorale
. Chorale cantata
s are based exclusively on one chorale, for example the early Christ lag in Todes Banden, BWV 4, and most cantatas of his second annual cycle in Leipzig.
The List of Bach cantatas by liturgical function relates the liturgical year to the cantatas composed for its occasions.
: Die Kantaten von Johann Sebastian Bach". Usually the cantatas appear in the year of their first performance, sometimes also for later performances, then in brackets.
where he became organist at the church St. Blasius (Divi Blasii) in 1707, only BWV 71 in print.
. He had no responsibility for church music, therefore only secular cantatas have survived. Later in Leipzig, he derived several church cantatas from congratulatory cantatas, such as Erfreut euch, ihr Herzen, BWV 66, for Easter from the birthday cantata Der Himmel dacht auf Anhalts Ruhm und Glück, BWV 66a. Even after he moved to Leipzig he could carry his title of "Fürstlich Köthenischer Kapellmeister" and continued to write secular cantatas for the court.
. It's debated if Bach performed Wer mich liebet, der wird mein Wort halten, BWV 59
, already a week before he began his cantorate. Bach started it on the first Sunday after Trinity of 1723 and wrote a first annual cycle. Bach's major works such as the Passions
and the Mass in B minor are inserted for comparison.
For Easter of 1725 and afterwards he composed cantatas other than chorale cantatas:
Bach composed more chorale cantatas from 1725 to 1727 and even later, to complete his second annual cycle:
His later cantata compositions are partly not documented as well:
to the Easter Oratorio
. For the high holidays Bach used parody to be able to deliver cantatas for the three days Christmas, Easter and Pentecost were celebrated. His Easter cantata Ein Herz, das seinen Jesum lebend weiß, BWV 134
, is a parody of six of eight movements of the cantata for New Year's Day
, Die Zeit, die Tag und Jahre macht, BWV 134a
. Six movements of his congratulatory cantata Durchlauchtster Leopold, BWV 173a
, form the cantata for Pentecost Monday of 1724, Erhöhtes Fleisch und Blut, BWV 173
, a seventh movement was made part of the cantata for Pentecost Tuesday of 1725, Er rufet seinen Schafen mit Namen, BWV 175
.
Bach's four short mass
es are parodies of cantata movements, he used several movements of Siehe zu, daß deine Gottesfurcht nicht Heuchelei sei, BWV 179
for two of them. When he compiled his Mass in B minor, he again used many cantata movements, such as a part of Weinen, Klagen, Sorgen, Zagen, BWV 12, for the Crucifixus of the Credo
.
, tells a story in the exact Bible wording, soloists and the choir have "roles" such as Mary or "the shepherds", in addition to reflective chorales or commenting arias interspersed with the story. The St Matthew Passion and the St John Passion were intended to be performed on Good Friday
, before and after the sermon. The six parts of the Christmas Oratorio
were intended to be performed on six feast days of the Christmas season, each part composed as a cantata with an opening chorus (except in Part 2) and a closing chorale.
The Thomanerchor
has sung a weekly cantata during the evening service Motette on Saturday.
In 1928, The New York Times
reported the presentation in Paris of two secular Bach cantatas by opera soprano Marguerite Bériza
and her company in staged productions, The Peasant Cantata
and The Coffee Cantata.
Between 1958 and 1987, the London Bach Society
, conducted by Paul Steinitz
performed all the extant church and secular cantatas, 208 separate works, in various venues, mostly in the Church of St Bartholomew-the-Great
, London.
recorded several cantatas with the Berliner Motettenchor and the Berlin Philharmonic. Karl Richter called his choir programmatically Münchener Bach-Chor
in 1954 and recorded about a third of the cantatas. Diethard Hellmann
called the Kantorei of the Christuskirche Bachchor Mainz in 1965 and produced more than 100 cantatas on a weekly base with the Südwestrundfunk
. Fritz Werner
started recording with the Heinrich-Schütz-Chor Heilbronn and the Pforzheim Chamber Orchestra
a series that they called Les Grandes Cantates de J.S. Bach.
Nikolaus Harnoncourt
was the first to start a recording of the complete cantatas on historical instruments with boys choirs and boy soloists for soprano and sometimes alto parts, in a collobaration with Gustav Leonhardt
. Harnoncourt conducted the Wiener Sängerknaben or the Tölzer Knabenchor
and the Concentus Musicus Wien
. Leonhardt conducted the Knabenchor Hannover and the Collegium Vocale Gent, and the ensemble Leonhardt-Consort. Helmuth Rilling
, Gächinger Kantorei
and Bach-Collegium Stuttgart
completed a recording of the sacred cantatas and oratorios on Bach's 300th birthday, 21 March 1985. Ton Koopman
and the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir
recorded all vocal works of Bach in 10 years starting in 1994. Sir John Eliot Gardiner
and his Monteverdi Choir
undertook the Bach Cantata Pilgrimage, performing and recording in 2000 the sacred cantatas at churches all over Europe and in the US. Sigiswald Kuijken
has recorded Cantatas for the Complete Liturgical Year with La Petite Bande
and the soloists forming the choir. Masaaki Suzuki
commenced in 1995 a project to record the complete sacred cantatas with his Bach Collegium Japan
.
, a recipient of the Nobel Prize
, called Bach's cantatas the Fifth Gospel.
Links are found for the individual cantatas:
Cantata
A cantata is a vocal composition with an instrumental accompaniment, typically in several movements, often involving a choir....
of the German Baroque
Baroque
The Baroque is a period and the style that used exaggerated motion and clear, easily interpreted detail to produce drama, tension, exuberance, and grandeur in sculpture, painting, literature, dance, and music...
composer Johann Sebastian Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach was a German composer, organist, harpsichordist, violist, and violinist whose sacred and secular works for choir, orchestra, and solo instruments drew together the strands of the Baroque period and brought it to its ultimate maturity...
(1685–1750) who was a prolific writer of the genre. Although many of his works are lost, around 200 cantatas survived.
Especially during Bach's tenure as a Kantor
Cantor (church)
A cantor is the chief singer employed in a church with responsibilities for the ecclesiastical choir; also called the precentor....
at the St. Thomas Church, Leipzig, and the St. Nicholas Church it was part of his job to perform a church cantata every Sunday and Holiday
Holiday
A Holiday is a day designated as having special significance for which individuals, a government, or a religious group have deemed that observance is warranted. It is generally an official or unofficial observance of religious, national, or cultural significance, often accompanied by celebrations...
, related to the readings prescribed by the Lutheran liturgy for the specific occasion. In his first years in Leipzig, starting after Trinity
Trinity Sunday
Trinity Sunday is the first Sunday after Pentecost in the Western Christian liturgical calendar, and the Sunday of Pentecost in Eastern Christianity...
of 1723, he composed a new work every week and conducted soloists, the Thomanerchor
Thomanerchor
The Thomanerchor is a boys' choir in Leipzig, Germany. The choir was founded in 1212. At present, the choir consists of 92 boys from 9 to 18 years of age...
and orchestra as part of the church service. Three annual cycles of cantatas survived.
In addition to the church cantatas he composed sacred cantatas for functions like weddings or Ratswahl (the inauguration of a new town council), music for academic functions of the University of Leipzig
University of Leipzig
The University of Leipzig , located in Leipzig in the Free State of Saxony, Germany, is one of the oldest universities in the world and the second-oldest university in Germany...
at the Paulinerkirche
Paulinerkirche, Leipzig
The Paulinerkirche was a church on the Augustusplatz in Leipzig, named after the "Pauliner", its original Dominican friars. It was built in 1231 as the Klosterkirche St. Pauli for the Dominican monastery in Leipzig. From the foundation of the University of Leipzig in 1409, it served as the...
, and secular cantatas for anniversaries and entertainment in nobility and society, some of them Glückwunschkantaten (congratulatory cantatas) and Huldigungskantaten (homage cantatas). He composed church cantatas mainly in Leipzig on a weekly basis, but his earliest date back to 1707 in Mühlhausen
Mühlhausen
Mühlhausen is a city in the federal state of Thuringia, Germany. It is the capital of the Unstrut-Hainich district, and lies along the river Unstrut. Mühlhausen had c. 37,000 inhabitants in 2006.-History:...
, his latest was probably written in 1745. His cantatas usually require four soloists and a four-part choir, but he also wrote solo cantatas for soloists. The words for many cantatas combine Bible
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
quotes, contemporary poetry and chorale
Chorale
A chorale was originally a hymn sung by a Christian congregation. In certain modern usage, this term may also include classical settings of such hymns and works of a similar character....
, but he also composed a cycle of chorale cantata
Chorale cantata
In music, a chorale cantata is a sacred composition for voices and instruments, principally from the German Baroque era, in which the organizing principle is the words and music to a chorale. Usually a chorale cantata is in multiple movements or parts. Most chorale cantatas were written between...
s based exclusively on the stanzas of one chorale.
Bach's cantatas are regarded as the greatest achievements in the genre.
Name
Although the term Bachkantate (Bach cantata) became very familiar, Bach himself used the title Cantata rarely in his manuscripts, but in Ich will den Kreuzstab gerne tragen, BWV 56 he wrote Cantata à Voce Sola e Stromenti (Cantata for solo voice and instruments). Typically, he began a heading with the Abbreviation J.J. (Jesu Juva, Jesus, help), followed by the name of the celebration, the beginning of the words and the instrumentation, for example in Gloria in excelsis Deo, BWV 191Gloria in excelsis Deo, BWV 191
Gloria in excelsis Deo , BWV 191, is a sacred cantata written by the German Baroque composer Johann Sebastian Bach, and the only one of his church cantatas set to a Latin text. It was likely first performed in Leipzig at Christmas of 1745 to celebrate the end of the Second Silesian War...
.
Bach signed his cantatas with SDG, short for "Soli Deo Gloria" ("To the only God glory").
BWV number
Bach wrote more than 200 cantatas, and many of them have survived. In the Bach-Werke-Verzeichnis (BWV), Wolfgang SchmiederWolfgang Schmieder
Wolfgang Schmieder was a German musicologist.Schmieder was born in Bromberg. In 1950, he published the BWV, or Bach-Werke-Verzeichnis , a catalog of musical works by Johann Sebastian Bach. The numbering system used in the BWV has since become a nearly universal standard, used by scholars and...
assigned them each a number within the groups 1–200 sacred cantatas, 201–216 secular cantatas, 217–224 cantatas where Bach's authorship is doubtful. Since Schmieder's designation, several of the cantatas he thought authentic have been downgraded to "spurious." However, the spurious cantatas retain their BWV numbers. The List of cantatas by Johann Sebastian Bach is organized strictly by BWV number.
Structure of a Bach cantata
A typical Bach cantata of his first year in Leipzig follows the scheme:- Coro – opening chorusChoirA choir, chorale or chorus is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform.A body of singers who perform together as a group is called a choir or chorus...
- RecitativoRecitativeRecitative , also known by its Italian name "recitativo" , is a style of delivery in which a singer is allowed to adopt the rhythms of ordinary speech...
- AriaAriaAn aria in music was originally any expressive melody, usually, but not always, performed by a singer. The term is now used almost exclusively to describe a self-contained piece for one voice usually with orchestral accompaniment...
- Recitativo (or AriosoAriosoIn classical music, arioso is a style of solo opera singing between recitative and aria. Literally, arioso means airy. The term arose in the 16th century along with the aforementioned styles and monody. It is commonly confused with recitativo accompagnato....
) - Aria
- ChoraleChoraleA chorale was originally a hymn sung by a Christian congregation. In certain modern usage, this term may also include classical settings of such hymns and works of a similar character....
The opening chorus (in German: Eingangschor) is usually a polyphon
Polyphony
In music, polyphony is a texture consisting of two or more independent melodic voices, as opposed to music with just one voice or music with one dominant melodic voice accompanied by chords ....
setting, the orchestra presenting the themes or contrasting material first. Most arias follow the form of a da capo aria
Da capo aria
The da capo aria is a musical form, which was prevalent in the Baroque era. It is sung by a soloist with the accompaniment of instruments, often a small orchestra. The da capo aria is very common in the musical genres of opera and oratorio...
, repeating the first part after a middle section. The final chorale is typically a homophon
Homophony
In music, homophony is a texture in which two or more parts move together in harmony, the relationship between them creating chords. This is distinct from polyphony, in which parts move with rhythmic independence, and monophony, in which all parts move in parallel rhythm and pitch. A homophonic...
setting of a traditional melody.
Bach used an expanded structure to take up his position in Leipzig with the cantatas Die Elenden sollen essen, BWV 75
Die Elenden sollen essen, BWV 75
Die Elenden sollen essen , BWV 75, is a church cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach. Bach composed the cantata for the first Sunday after Trinity and first performed it in Leipzig on 30 May 1723...
, and Die Himmel erzählen die Ehre Gottes, BWV 76
Die Himmel erzählen die Ehre Gottes, BWV 76
Die Himmel erzählen die Ehre Gottes , BWV 76, is a church cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach. It was composed in Leipzig for the second Sunday after Trinity and first performed by the composer on 6 June 1723...
, both in two parts, to be performed before and after the sermon ("post orationem") and during communion ("sub communione"), each part a sequence of opening movement, five movements alternating recitatives and arias, chorale. In an exemplary way both cantatas cover the prescribed readings: starting with a related psalm from the Old Testament
Old Testament
The Old Testament, of which Christians hold different views, is a Christian term for the religious writings of ancient Israel held sacred and inspired by Christians which overlaps with the 24-book canon of the Masoretic Text of Judaism...
, Part I reflects Gospel
Gospel
A gospel is an account, often written, that describes the life of Jesus of Nazareth. In a more general sense the term "gospel" may refer to the good news message of the New Testament. It is primarily used in reference to the four canonical gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John...
, Part II the Epistle
Epistle
An epistle is a writing directed or sent to a person or group of people, usually an elegant and formal didactic letter. The epistle genre of letter-writing was common in ancient Egypt as part of the scribal-school writing curriculum. The letters in the New Testament from Apostles to Christians...
.
Bach did not follow any scheme strictly, but composed as he wanted to express the words. A few cantatas are opened by an instrumental piece before the first chorus, such as the Sinfonia of Wir danken dir, Gott, wir danken dir, BWV 29. A solo movement begins Gott, man lobet dich in der Stille, BWV 120
Gott, man lobet dich in der Stille, BWV 120
Gott, man lobet dich in der Stille , BWV 120, is a sacred cantata written by the German Baroque composer Johann Sebastian Bach for the occasion of Ratswahl, the inauguration of a new town council of Leipzig in a church service...
, because its first words speak of silence. Many cantatas composed in Weimar are set like chamber music, mostly for soloists, with a four-part setting only in the closing chorale, which may have been sung by the soloists. In an early cantata Erschallet, ihr Lieder, erklinget, ihr Saiten! BWV 172
Erschallet, ihr Lieder, erklinget, ihr Saiten! BWV 172
Erschallet, ihr Lieder, erklinget, ihr Saiten! , BWV 172, is a church cantata of Johann Sebastian Bach, written for Pentecost Sunday in Weimar, first performed there in the Schlosskirche on 20 May 1714.- History :In Weimar, Bach was the court organist of Johann Ernst von Sachsen-Weimar...
, Bach marked a repeat of the opening chorus after the chorale.
The chorale can be as simple as a traditional four-part setting, or be accompanied by an obbligato
Obbligato
In classical music obbligato usually describes a musical line that is in some way indispensable in performance. Its opposite is the marking ad libitum. It can also be used, more specifically, to indicate that a passage of music was to be played exactly as written, or only by the specified...
instrument, or be accompanied by the instruments of the opening chorus or even expanded by interludes based on its themes, or have the homophon vocal parts embedded in an instrumental concerto as in the familiar Herz und Mund und Tat und Leben, BWV 147, or have complex vocal parts embedded in the concerto as in Ärgre dich, o Seele, nicht, BWV 186
Ärgre dich, o Seele, nicht, BWV 186
Ärgre dich, o Seele, nicht , BWV 186, is a church cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach. It was written originally in Weimar in 1716 for Advent, BWV 186a, and expanded in 1723 in Leipzig for the seventh Sunday after Trinity, where it was first performed on 11 July 1723.-Weimar:The cantata is based on a...
, in a form called Choralphantasie (chorale fantasia). In Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland, BWV 61
Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland, BWV 61
Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland , BWV 61, is a church cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach. He composed it in Weimar for the for the first Sunday in Advent and first performed it on 2 December 1714.-History and words:...
, for the 1st Sunday in Advent
Advent
Advent is a season observed in many Western Christian churches, a time of expectant waiting and preparation for the celebration of the Nativity of Jesus at Christmas. It is the beginning of the Western liturgical year and commences on Advent Sunday, called Levavi...
, the beginning of a new liturgical year, he shaped the opening chorus as a French overture.
Singers and instrumentation
Typically Bach employs sopranoSoprano
A soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody...
, alto
Alto
Alto is a musical term, derived from the Latin word altus, meaning "high" in Italian, that has several possible interpretations.When designating instruments, "alto" frequently refers to a member of an instrumental family that has the second highest range, below that of the treble or soprano. Hence,...
, tenor
Tenor
The tenor is a type of male singing voice and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, to the A above middle C in choral music, and up to high C in solo work. The low extreme for tenors is roughly B2...
and bass
Bass (voice type)
A bass is a type of male singing voice and possesses the lowest vocal range of all voice types. According to The New Grove Dictionary of Opera, a bass is typically classified as having a range extending from around the second E below middle C to the E above middle C...
soloists and a four-part choir, also SATB
SATB
In music, SATB is an initialism for soprano, alto, tenor, bass, defining the voices required by a chorus or choir to perform a particular musical work...
. Singers of all parts were available without restriction, therefore he could assign the voice parts to the dramatic situation, for example soprano for innocence or alto for motherly feelings. The bass is often the Vox Christi
Vox Christi
Vox Christi, Latin for Voice of Christ, is a term for the bass voice representing Jesus in the music of Johann Sebastian Bach and others. This part appears prominently in Bach's Passions...
, the voice of Jesus, when Jesus is quoted directly, as in Es wartet alles auf dich, BWV 187
Es wartet alles auf dich, BWV 187
Es wartet alles auf dich , BWV 187, is a church cantata written by Johann Sebastian Bach in 1726 in Leipzig for the seventh Sunday after Trinity...
, or indirectly, as in O Ewigkeit, du Donnerwort, BWV 60
O Ewigkeit, du Donnerwort, BWV 60
O Ewigkeit, du Donnerwort , BWV 60, is a church cantata written by Johann Sebastian Bach in Leipzig for the 24th Sunday after Trinity, first performed on 7 November 1723.-History and words:...
.
The orchestra is based on string instruments (violin
Violin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
, viola
Viola
The viola is a bowed string instrument. It is the middle voice of the violin family, between the violin and the cello.- Form :The viola is similar in material and construction to the violin. A full-size viola's body is between and longer than the body of a full-size violin , with an average...
) and basso continuo, typically played by cello
Cello
The cello is a bowed string instrument with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is a member of the violin family of musical instruments, which also includes the violin, viola, and double bass. Old forms of the instrument in the Baroque era are baryton and viol .A person who plays a cello is...
, double bass
Double bass
The double bass, also called the string bass, upright bass, standup bass or contrabass, is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra, with strings usually tuned to E1, A1, D2 and G2...
(an octave lower) and organ
Organ (music)
The organ , is a keyboard instrument of one or more divisions, each played with its own keyboard operated either with the hands or with the feet. The organ is a relatively old musical instrument in the Western musical tradition, dating from the time of Ctesibius of Alexandria who is credited with...
. A continuous bass is the rule in Baroque music, its absence is worth mentioning and has a reason, such as describing fragility.
The specific character of a cantata or a single movement is rather defined by wind instruments, such as oboe
Oboe
The oboe is a double reed musical instrument of the woodwind family. In English, prior to 1770, the instrument was called "hautbois" , "hoboy", or "French hoboy". The spelling "oboe" was adopted into English ca...
, oboe da caccia
Oboe da caccia
The oboe da caccia is a double reed woodwind instrument in the oboe family, pitched a fifth below the oboe and used primarily in the Baroque period of European classical music...
, oboe d'amore
Oboe d'amore
The oboe d'amore , less commonly oboe d'amour, is a double reed woodwind musical instrument in the oboe family. Slightly larger than the oboe, it has a less assertive and more tranquil and serene tone, and is considered the mezzo-soprano of the oboe family, between the oboe itself and the cor...
, flauto traverso, recorder
Recorder
The recorder is a woodwind musical instrument of the family known as fipple flutes or internal duct flutes—whistle-like instruments which include the tin whistle. The recorder is end-blown and the mouth of the instrument is constricted by a wooden plug, known as a block or fipple...
, trumpet
Trumpet
The trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
, horn
Horn (instrument)
The horn is a brass instrument consisting of about of tubing wrapped into a coil with a flared bell. A musician who plays the horn is called a horn player ....
, trombone
Trombone
The trombone is a musical instrument in the brass family. Like all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player’s vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate...
, and timpani
Timpani
Timpani, or kettledrums, are musical instruments in the percussion family. A type of drum, they consist of a skin called a head stretched over a large bowl traditionally made of copper. They are played by striking the head with a specialized drum stick called a timpani stick or timpani mallet...
. In movements with winds a bassoon
Bassoon
The bassoon is a woodwind instrument in the double reed family that typically plays music written in the bass and tenor registers, and occasionally higher. Appearing in its modern form in the 19th century, the bassoon figures prominently in orchestral, concert band and chamber music literature...
usually joins the continuo group.
Festive occasions calls for richer instrumentation. Some instruments also carry symbolic meaning such as a trumpet, the royal instrument of the baroque, for divine majesty, three trumpets for the Trinity
Trinity
The Christian doctrine of the Trinity defines God as three divine persons : the Father, the Son , and the Holy Spirit. The three persons are distinct yet coexist in unity, and are co-equal, co-eternal and consubstantial . Put another way, the three persons of the Trinity are of one being...
. In an aria of BWV 172, addressing the "Heiligste Dreifaltigkeit" (Most holy Trinity), the bass is accompanied only by three trumpets and timpani.
In many arias Bach uses obbligato
Obbligato
In classical music obbligato usually describes a musical line that is in some way indispensable in performance. Its opposite is the marking ad libitum. It can also be used, more specifically, to indicate that a passage of music was to be played exactly as written, or only by the specified...
instruments, which correspond with the singer as an equal partner. These instrumental parts are frequently set in virtuoso repetitive patterns called figuration. Instruments include, in addition to the ones mentioned, flauto piccolo (sopranino recorder), violino piccolo
Violino piccolo
The violino piccolo is a stringed instrument of the baroque period. Most examples are similar to a child's size violin in size, and are tuned a third or a fourth higher...
, violoncello piccolo, a smaller cello, tromba da tirarsi, a slide trumpet, and corno da tirarsi.
In his early compositions Bach also used instruments that had become old-fashioned, such as viola da gamba
Viol
The viol is any one of a family of bowed, fretted and stringed musical instruments developed in the mid-late 15th century and used primarily in the Renaissance and Baroque periods. The family is related to and descends primarily from the Renaissance vihuela, a plucked instrument that preceded the...
and violone
Violone
The term violone can refer to several distinct large, bowed musical instruments which belong to either the viol or violin family. The violone is sometimes a fretted instrument, and may have six, five, four, or even only three strings. The violone is also not always a contrabass instrument...
. Recorders (flauti dolci) are sometimes used to express humility or poverty, such as in the cantata Brich dem Hungrigen dein Brot, BWV 39.
Some cantatas are composed for only one solo singer (Solokantate), as Jauchzet Gott in allen Landen, BWV 51 for soprano, sometimes concluded by a chorale, as Ich will den Kreuzstab gerne tragen, BWV 56 for bass.
Words of a sacred cantata
Within the LutheranLutheranism
Lutheranism is a major branch of Western Christianity that identifies with the theology of Martin Luther, a German reformer. Luther's efforts to reform the theology and practice of the church launched the Protestant Reformation...
liturgy certain readings from the Bible
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
were prescribed for every event during the church year, two texts, Epistel from an Epistle
Epistle
An epistle is a writing directed or sent to a person or group of people, usually an elegant and formal didactic letter. The epistle genre of letter-writing was common in ancient Egypt as part of the scribal-school writing curriculum. The letters in the New Testament from Apostles to Christians...
and Evangelium from a Gospel
Gospel
A gospel is an account, often written, that describes the life of Jesus of Nazareth. In a more general sense the term "gospel" may refer to the good news message of the New Testament. It is primarily used in reference to the four canonical gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John...
. Music was expected for all Sundays and Holidays but the quiet times (tempus clausum) of Advent
Advent
Advent is a season observed in many Western Christian churches, a time of expectant waiting and preparation for the celebration of the Nativity of Jesus at Christmas. It is the beginning of the Western liturgical year and commences on Advent Sunday, called Levavi...
and Lent
Lent
In the Christian tradition, Lent is the period of the liturgical year from Ash Wednesday to Easter. The traditional purpose of Lent is the preparation of the believer – through prayer, repentance, almsgiving and self-denial – for the annual commemoration during Holy Week of the Death and...
, the cantata supposed to reflect the readings. Many opening movements are based on Bible quotations, such as Sie werden aus Saba alle kommen, BWV 65
Sie werden aus Saba alle kommen, BWV 65
Sie werden aus Saba alle kommen , BWV 65, is a church cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach. He wrote it in 1724 in Leipzig for Epiphany and first performed it on 6 January 1724.-History and words:...
, on :6. Ideally, a cantata text started with an Old Testament
Old Testament
The Old Testament, of which Christians hold different views, is a Christian term for the religious writings of ancient Israel held sacred and inspired by Christians which overlaps with the 24-book canon of the Masoretic Text of Judaism...
quotation related to the readings, and reflected both the Epistle and the Gospel, as in the exemplary Die Himmel erzählen die Ehre Gottes, BWV 76
Die Himmel erzählen die Ehre Gottes, BWV 76
Die Himmel erzählen die Ehre Gottes , BWV 76, is a church cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach. It was composed in Leipzig for the second Sunday after Trinity and first performed by the composer on 6 June 1723...
. Most of the solo movements are based on poetry of contemporary writers, such as court poet Salomon Franck
Salomon Franck
Salomon Franck, 6 March 1659 – 11 July 1725), was a German lawyer, scientist, and gifted poet.His name is widely associated with some of Johann Sebastian Bach's best-known cantatas, mainly those composed as of 1714 in Weimar.-Biography:Franck was born in Weimar...
in Weimar or Picander
Picander
Picander was the pseudonym of Christian Friedrich Henrici , a German poet and librettist for many of Johann Sebastian Bach's Leipzig cantatas...
in Leipzig, with whom Bach collaborated. The final words were usually a stanza from a chorale
Chorale
A chorale was originally a hymn sung by a Christian congregation. In certain modern usage, this term may also include classical settings of such hymns and works of a similar character....
. Chorale cantata
Chorale cantata
In music, a chorale cantata is a sacred composition for voices and instruments, principally from the German Baroque era, in which the organizing principle is the words and music to a chorale. Usually a chorale cantata is in multiple movements or parts. Most chorale cantatas were written between...
s are based exclusively on one chorale, for example the early Christ lag in Todes Banden, BWV 4, and most cantatas of his second annual cycle in Leipzig.
The List of Bach cantatas by liturgical function relates the liturgical year to the cantatas composed for its occasions.
Periods of cantata composition
The following lists of works (some marked as questioned) relies mainly on "Alfred DürrAlfred Dürr
Alfred Dürr was a German musicologist. He was a principal editor of the Neue Bach-Ausgabe, the second edition of the complete works of Johann Sebastian Bach.- Professional career :...
: Die Kantaten von Johann Sebastian Bach". Usually the cantatas appear in the year of their first performance, sometimes also for later performances, then in brackets.
Mühlhausen
A few cantatas survived of Bach's time in MühlhausenMühlhausen
Mühlhausen is a city in the federal state of Thuringia, Germany. It is the capital of the Unstrut-Hainich district, and lies along the river Unstrut. Mühlhausen had c. 37,000 inhabitants in 2006.-History:...
where he became organist at the church St. Blasius (Divi Blasii) in 1707, only BWV 71 in print.
- 1707: Aus der Tiefen rufe ich, Herr, zu dir, BWV 131 * 4
- 1708: Gottes Zeit ist die allerbeste Zeit, BWV 106 * 71 * 196
Weimar
Bach worked in Weimar from 1708, but the composition of cantatas for the Schlosskirche (court chapel) on a regular monthly basis started with his promotion to "Konzertmeister" in March 1714. His goal was to compose a complete set of cantatas for the liturgical year within four years.- 1713: Gleichwie der Regen und Schnee vom Himmel fällt, BWV 18? * 63?
- 1714: Himmelskönig, sei willkommen, BWV 182Himmelskönig, sei willkommen, BWV 182Himmelskönig, sei willkommen , BWV 182, is a church cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach. Bach composed the cantata in Weimar for Palm Sunday, and first performed it on 25 March 1714.-History and words:...
* Weinen, Klagen, Sorgen, Zagen, BWV 12 * 172 * 21 * 54 * 199 * 61 * 152 - 1715: 80a * Der Himmel lacht! Die Erde jubilieret, BWV 31 * 165 * 185 * 161 * 162 * 163 * 132
- 1716: Mein Gott, wie lang, ach lange? BWV 155Mein Gott, wie lang, ach lange? BWV 155Mein Gott, wie lang, ach lange , BWV 155, is a church cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach. He first performed it in Weimar on the Second Sunday after Epiphany, on 19 January 1716.-History and words:...
* 70a * 186a * 147a
Köthen
Bach worked in Köthen from 1717 to 1723, where he composed for example the Brandenburg concertosBrandenburg concertos
The Brandenburg concertos by Johann Sebastian Bach are a collection of six instrumental works presented by Bach to Christian Ludwig, margrave of Brandenburg-Schwedt, in 1721 . They are widely regarded as among the finest musical compositions of the Baroque era...
. He had no responsibility for church music, therefore only secular cantatas have survived. Later in Leipzig, he derived several church cantatas from congratulatory cantatas, such as Erfreut euch, ihr Herzen, BWV 66, for Easter from the birthday cantata Der Himmel dacht auf Anhalts Ruhm und Glück, BWV 66a. Even after he moved to Leipzig he could carry his title of "Fürstlich Köthenischer Kapellmeister" and continued to write secular cantatas for the court.
- 1717?: Durchlauchtster Leopold, BWV 173aDurchlauchtster Leopold, BWV 173aDurchlauchtster Leopold , BWV 173a, is a secular cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach. Bach composed the cantata in Köthen for the birthday of Leopold von Anhalt-Köthen.-History and words:...
(or between 1720 and 1722) - 1718: Der Himmel dacht auf Anhalts Ruhm und Glück, BWV 66a
- 1719: Die Zeit, die Tag und Jahre macht, BWV 134aDie Zeit, die Tag und Jahre macht, BWV 134aDie Zeit, die Tag und Jahre macht , BWV 134a, is a secular cantata or serenata by Johann Sebastian Bach...
Leipzig
In Leipzig Bach was responsible for the town's church music in St. Thomas and St. Nicholas and was head of the Thomasschule. Academic functions took place at the Universitätskirche St. PauliPaulinerkirche, Leipzig
The Paulinerkirche was a church on the Augustusplatz in Leipzig, named after the "Pauliner", its original Dominican friars. It was built in 1231 as the Klosterkirche St. Pauli for the Dominican monastery in Leipzig. From the foundation of the University of Leipzig in 1409, it served as the...
. It's debated if Bach performed Wer mich liebet, der wird mein Wort halten, BWV 59
Wer mich liebet, der wird mein Wort halten, BWV 59
Wer mich liebet, der wird mein Wort halten , BWV 59, is a church cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach. Bach composed the cantata for Pentecost and probably first performed it in Leipzig on 28 May 1724, but an earlier performance on 16 May 1723 at the University Church of Leipzig is possible.-History...
, already a week before he began his cantorate. Bach started it on the first Sunday after Trinity of 1723 and wrote a first annual cycle. Bach's major works such as the Passions
Passions (Bach)
According to his obituary, Johann Sebastian Bach wrote "five passions, of which one is for double chorus". Two works have survived: the St John Passion and the St Matthew Passion , this last using double chorus...
and the Mass in B minor are inserted for comparison.
First cantata cycle
- 1723: Die Elenden sollen essen, BWV 75Die Elenden sollen essen, BWV 75Die Elenden sollen essen , BWV 75, is a church cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach. Bach composed the cantata for the first Sunday after Trinity and first performed it in Leipzig on 30 May 1723...
* 76 * (21) * 24 * 167 * 147 * 186 * 136 * 105 * 46 * 179 * (199) * 69a * 77 * 25 * 119 * 138 * 95 * 148 * (48) * (162) * 109 * 89 * (163?) * 60 * 90 * 70 * (61) * (63) * MagnificatMagnificat (Bach)The Magnificat in D major, BWV 243, is a major vocal work of Johann Sebastian Bach. It was composed for orchestra, a five-part choir and four or five soloists. The text is the canticle of Mary, mother of Jesus, as told by Luke the Evangelist .Bach composed an initial version in E flat major in 1723...
* 40 * 64 - 1724: Singet dem Herrn ein neues Lied, BWV 190Singet dem Herrn ein neues Lied, BWV 190Singet dem Herrn ein neues Lied , BWV 190, is a church cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach. He wrote it in Leipzig for the New Year's Day and first performed it on 1 January 1724...
* 153 * 65 * 154 * (155) * 73 * 81 * 83 * 144 * 181 * 18 * 23 * (182) * St John Passion * (4) * 66 * 134 * 67 * 104 * (12) * 166 * 86 * 37 * 44 * 59 * 173 * 184 * 194
Second cantata cycle
After Trinity of 1724 he started a second annual cycle of mainly chorale cantatas. These cantatas were performed even after his death, according to Christoph Wolff probably because the well-known hymns were appealing to the audience.- 1724: O Ewigkeit, du Donnerwort, BWV 20 * 2 * 7 * 135 * 10 * 93 * 107 * 178 * 94 * 101 * 113 * 33 * 78 * 99 * 8 * 130 * 114 * 96 * 5 * 180 * 38 * 115 * 139 * 26 * 116 * 62 * 91 * 121 * 133 * 122
- 1725: Jesu, nun sei gepreiset, BWV 41 * 123 * 124 * 3 * 111 * 92 * 125 * 126 * 127 * 1
For Easter of 1725 and afterwards he composed cantatas other than chorale cantatas:
- 1725: (4) * 6 * Am Abend aber desselbigen Sabbats, BWV 42 * 85 * 103 * 108 * 87 * 128 * 183 * 74 * 68 * 175 * 176
Bach composed more chorale cantatas from 1725 to 1727 and even later, to complete his second annual cycle:
- 1725: Lobe den Herren, den mächtigen König der Ehren, BWV 137Lobe den Herren, den mächtigen König der Ehren, BWV 137Lobe den Herren, den mächtigen König der Ehren , BWV 137, is a church cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach. He composed the chorale cantata in Leipzig for the twelfth Sunday after Trinity and first performed it on 19 August 1725.-History and words:Bach composed the cantata in Leipzig for Twelfth Sunday...
- 1726?: Gelobet sei der Herr, mein Gott, BWV 129Gelobet sei der Herr, mein Gott, BWV 129Gelobet sei der Herr, mein Gott , BWV 129, is a church cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach. Bach composed the chorale cantata in Leipzig for Trinity Sunday and possibly first performed it on 16 June 1726. It is a general praise of the Trinity, without a reference to a specific gospel reading...
- 1732?: Es ist das Heil uns kommen her, BWV 9
Third cantata cycle
After Trinity of 1725 Bach began a third annual cycle. Several works of this cycle are not extant.- 1725: Tue Rechnung! Donnerwort, BWV 168Tue Rechnung! Donnerwort, BWV 168Tue Rechnung! Donnerwort , BWV 168, is a church cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach. He composed it in Leipzig for the ninth Sunday after Trinity and first performed it on 29 July 1725.-History and words:...
* 164 * 110 * 57 * 151 * 28 - 1726: Herr Gott, dich loben wir, BWV 16 * 32 * 13 * 72 * 146? * (194) * 39 * 88 * 170 * 187 * 45 * 102 * 35 * 17 * 19 * 27 * 47 * 169 * 56 * 49 * 98 * 55 * 52
His later cantata compositions are partly not documented as well:
- 1727: Ach Gott, wie manches Herzeleid, BWV 58 * 82 * 84 * St Matthew Passion * 35 * 80
- 1728: 149 * 188 * 197a
- 1729: Gott, wie dein Name, so ist auch dein Ruhm, BWV 171Gott, wie dein Name, so ist auch dein Ruhm, BWV 171Gott, wie dein Name, so ist auch dein Ruhm , BWV 171, is a church cantata of Johann Sebastian Bach, written for New Year's Day, probably first performed on 1 January 1729.-Scoring, words and structure:...
* O angenehme Melodei, BWV 210aO angenehme Melodei, BWV 210aO angenehme Melodei , BWV 210a, is a secular cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach. He wrote the solo cantata for soprano in Leipzig as a "Huldigungskantate" for Christian, Duke of Saxe-Weissenfels, first performed on 12 January 1729, and dedicated it at least twice to different people and occasions...
* Klagt, Kinder, klagt es aller Welt, BWV 244aKlagt, Kinder, klagt es aller Welt, BWV 244aThe funeral cantata Klagt, Kinder, klagt es aller Welt, BWV 244a, also called Köthener Trauermusik, is a lost composition of Johann Sebastian Bach. The Trauermusik was composed for the memorial service for Leopold, Prince of Anhalt-Köthen on 24 March 1729 in the St. Jakob church in Köthen, one day...
* 156 * 159 * 145 * 174 - 1730: Gott, man lobet dich in der Stille, BWV 120Gott, man lobet dich in der Stille, BWV 120Gott, man lobet dich in der Stille , BWV 120, is a sacred cantata written by the German Baroque composer Johann Sebastian Bach for the occasion of Ratswahl, the inauguration of a new town council of Leipzig in a church service...
- 1731: Wir danken dir, Gott, wir danken dir, BWV 29
- 1732: Ich ruf zu dir, Herr Jesu Christ, BWV 177Ich ruf zu dir, Herr Jesu Christ, BWV 177Ich ruf zu dir, Herr Jesu Christ , BWV 177, is a church cantata of Johann Sebastian Bach He composed the chorale cantata in Leipzig for the fourth Sunday after Trinity and first performed it on 6 July 1732....
- 1733: Mass in B minor, Kyrie and Gloria
- 1734: Christmas OratorioChristmas OratorioThe Christmas Oratorio BWV 248, is an oratorio by Johann Sebastian Bach intended for performance in church during the Christmas season. It was written for the Christmas season of 1734 incorporating music from earlier compositions, including three secular cantatas written during 1733 and 1734 and a...
- 1735: Lobet Gott in seinen Reichen, BWV 11 (Ascension Oratorio)
- 1742: Mer hahn en neue Oberkeet, BWV 212Mer hahn en neue Oberkeet, BWV 212Mer hahn en neue Oberkeet , BWV 212, is a secular cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach. It was entitled the "Cantate burlesque" by Bach himself, but is now popularly known as the Peasant Cantata...
- 1744?: O holder Tag, erwünschte Zeit, BWV 210O holder Tag, erwünschte Zeit, BWV 210O holder Tag, erwünschte Zeit , BWV 210, is a secular cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach. He wrote the solo cantata for soprano in Leipzig for a wedding, first performed between 1738 and 1746...
- 1745: Gloria in excelsis Deo, BWV 191Gloria in excelsis Deo, BWV 191Gloria in excelsis Deo , BWV 191, is a sacred cantata written by the German Baroque composer Johann Sebastian Bach, and the only one of his church cantatas set to a Latin text. It was likely first performed in Leipzig at Christmas of 1745 to celebrate the end of the Second Silesian War...
- 1748?: Mass in B minor, Credo I, Confiteor, Et incarnatus est, compilation of movements based on earlier music
Parodies
Bach sometimes liked his music so much that he used it more than once, typically revising and improving it in a process called parody. For example, a movement from a Partita for violin, in ceaseless motion, was arranged as an orchestral Sinfonia with the organ as solo instrument for the wedding cantata 120a and again in cantata 29, this time the organ accompanied by a full orchestra dominated by trumpets. Not only a single movement but a complete cantata was reworked from the Shepherd cantata Entfliehet, verschwindet, entweichet, ihr Sorgen, BWV 249aEntfliehet, verschwindet, entweichet, ihr Sorgen, BWV 249a
Entfliehet, verschwindet, entweichet, ihr Sorgen , BWV 249a, is a secular cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach, first performed in 1725, also known as Shepherd cantata...
to the Easter Oratorio
Easter Oratorio
The Easter Oratorio , BWV 249, is an oratorio by Johann Sebastian Bach, Kommt, eilet und laufet , first performed in Leipzig in 1725.- History :...
. For the high holidays Bach used parody to be able to deliver cantatas for the three days Christmas, Easter and Pentecost were celebrated. His Easter cantata Ein Herz, das seinen Jesum lebend weiß, BWV 134
Ein Herz, das seinen Jesum lebend weiß, BWV 134
Ein Herz, das seinen Jesum lebend weiß , BWV 134, is a church cantata for Easter by Johann Sebastian Bach. Bach composed the cantata for the Third Day of Easter in Leipzig and first performed it on 11 April 1724...
, is a parody of six of eight movements of the cantata for New Year's Day
New Year's Day
New Year's Day is observed on January 1, the first day of the year on the modern Gregorian calendar as well as the Julian calendar used in ancient Rome...
, Die Zeit, die Tag und Jahre macht, BWV 134a
Die Zeit, die Tag und Jahre macht, BWV 134a
Die Zeit, die Tag und Jahre macht , BWV 134a, is a secular cantata or serenata by Johann Sebastian Bach...
. Six movements of his congratulatory cantata Durchlauchtster Leopold, BWV 173a
Durchlauchtster Leopold, BWV 173a
Durchlauchtster Leopold , BWV 173a, is a secular cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach. Bach composed the cantata in Köthen for the birthday of Leopold von Anhalt-Köthen.-History and words:...
, form the cantata for Pentecost Monday of 1724, Erhöhtes Fleisch und Blut, BWV 173
Erhöhtes Fleisch und Blut, BWV 173
Erhöhtes Fleisch und Blut , BWV 173, is a church cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach. Bach composed the cantata in Leipzig for the Second Day of Pentecost and probably first performed it on 29 May 1724.-History and words:...
, a seventh movement was made part of the cantata for Pentecost Tuesday of 1725, Er rufet seinen Schafen mit Namen, BWV 175
Er rufet seinen Schafen mit Namen, BWV 175
Er rufet seinen Schafen mit Namen , BWV 175, is a church cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach. Bach composed the cantata in Leipzig for the Third Day of Pentecost and first performed it on 22 May 1725.-History and words:...
.
Bach's four short mass
Missa (Bach)
A Missa of Johann Sebastian Bach is in general a composition of the Latin Mass by the German Baroque composer.More specifically, Missa refers to one of his four short masses in F major, A major, G minor and G major, BWV 233 to 236...
es are parodies of cantata movements, he used several movements of Siehe zu, daß deine Gottesfurcht nicht Heuchelei sei, BWV 179
Siehe zu, daß deine Gottesfurcht nicht Heuchelei sei, BWV 179
Siehe zu, daß deine Gottesfurcht nicht Heuchelei sei , BWV 179, is a church cantata written by Johann Sebastian Bach in 1723 in Leipzig for the eleventh Sunday after Trinity, first performed on 8 August 1723.-History and words:Bach wrote the cantata in his first year in Leipzig, which he had...
for two of them. When he compiled his Mass in B minor, he again used many cantata movements, such as a part of Weinen, Klagen, Sorgen, Zagen, BWV 12, for the Crucifixus of the Credo
Credo
A credo |Latin]] for "I Believe") is a statement of belief, commonly used for religious belief, such as the Apostles' Creed. The term especially refers to the use of the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed in the Mass, either as text, Gregorian chant, or other musical settings of the...
.
Oratorios
Bach's oratorios can be considered as expanded cantatas. They were also meant to be performed during church services. Other than in the cantatas, a narrator , the EvangelistEvangelist (Bach)
The Evangelist in the music of Johann Sebastian Bach is the tenor part in his oratorios and Passions who narrates the exact words of the Bible, translated by Martin Luther, in recitative, namely in the works St John Passion, St Matthew Passion, and the Christmas Oratorio, also in the St Mark...
, tells a story in the exact Bible wording, soloists and the choir have "roles" such as Mary or "the shepherds", in addition to reflective chorales or commenting arias interspersed with the story. The St Matthew Passion and the St John Passion were intended to be performed on Good Friday
Good Friday
Good Friday , is a religious holiday observed primarily by Christians commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and his death at Calvary. The holiday is observed during Holy Week as part of the Paschal Triduum on the Friday preceding Easter Sunday, and may coincide with the Jewish observance of...
, before and after the sermon. The six parts of the Christmas Oratorio
Christmas Oratorio
The Christmas Oratorio BWV 248, is an oratorio by Johann Sebastian Bach intended for performance in church during the Christmas season. It was written for the Christmas season of 1734 incorporating music from earlier compositions, including three secular cantatas written during 1733 and 1734 and a...
were intended to be performed on six feast days of the Christmas season, each part composed as a cantata with an opening chorus (except in Part 2) and a closing chorale.
Performances
Written for the day and the church, Bach's cantatas fell to oblivion even more than his oratorios.The Thomanerchor
Thomanerchor
The Thomanerchor is a boys' choir in Leipzig, Germany. The choir was founded in 1212. At present, the choir consists of 92 boys from 9 to 18 years of age...
has sung a weekly cantata during the evening service Motette on Saturday.
In 1928, The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
reported the presentation in Paris of two secular Bach cantatas by opera soprano Marguerite Bériza
Marguerite Bériza
Marguerite Bériza was a French opera singer who had an active international career during the first half of the 20th century. She began her career as a mezzo-soprano at the Opéra-Comique in 1900; ultimately transitioning into the leading soprano repertoire at that theatre in 1912...
and her company in staged productions, The Peasant Cantata
Mer hahn en neue Oberkeet, BWV 212
Mer hahn en neue Oberkeet , BWV 212, is a secular cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach. It was entitled the "Cantate burlesque" by Bach himself, but is now popularly known as the Peasant Cantata...
and The Coffee Cantata.
Between 1958 and 1987, the London Bach Society
London Bach Society
The London Bach Society is a society devoted to performing the music of Johann Sebastian Bach with small, professional forces, using period instruments in order to obtain an authentic style of interpretation.-History:...
, conducted by Paul Steinitz
Paul Steinitz
Paul Steinitz OBE was a pioneer in the post-war interpretation of the music of Johann Sebastian Bach. He founded the London Bach Society and Steinitz Bach Players in order to put his scholarship into practice, performing all Bach’s cantatas in mainly London venues over the space of 29...
performed all the extant church and secular cantatas, 208 separate works, in various venues, mostly in the Church of St Bartholomew-the-Great
St Bartholomew-the-Great
The Priory Church of St Bartholomew the Great is an Anglican church located at West Smithfield in the City of London, founded as an Augustinian priory in 1123 -History:...
, London.
Recordings
In the early 1950s Fritz LehmannFritz Lehmann
Fritz Lehmann was a noted German conductor, whose career was cut short by his early death at the age of 51. His repertoire ranged from the Baroque through to contemporary works, in both the concert hall and the opera house. He was an early advocate of period performance practice. and founded the...
recorded several cantatas with the Berliner Motettenchor and the Berlin Philharmonic. Karl Richter called his choir programmatically Münchener Bach-Chor
Münchener Bach-Chor
Münchener Bach-Chor is a mixed choir for concert and oratorio in Munich. Performances, international tours and recordings with Karl Richter and the Münchener Bach-Orchester made the choir internationally known.- Heinrich-Schütz-Kreis :...
in 1954 and recorded about a third of the cantatas. Diethard Hellmann
Diethard Hellmann
Diethard Hellmann was a German Kantor and an academic in Leipzig, Mainz and Munich.-Professional career:...
called the Kantorei of the Christuskirche Bachchor Mainz in 1965 and produced more than 100 cantatas on a weekly base with the Südwestrundfunk
Südwestrundfunk
The Südwestrundfunk is a public broadcasting company for the southwest of Germany, specifically the states of Baden-Württemberg and Rhineland-Palatinate. The company has main offices in three cities: Stuttgart, Baden-Baden and Mainz, with the director's office being in Stuttgart. It is an...
. Fritz Werner
Fritz Werner
Fritz Werner was a German choral conductor, church music director, conductor, organist and composer...
started recording with the Heinrich-Schütz-Chor Heilbronn and the Pforzheim Chamber Orchestra
Pforzheim Chamber Orchestra
Pforzheim Chamber Orchestra, full German name: Südwestdeutsches Kammerorchester Pforzheim, full English name South West German Chamber Orchestra Pforzheim, is an internationally known German chamber orchestra based in Pforzheim.- History :...
a series that they called Les Grandes Cantates de J.S. Bach.
Nikolaus Harnoncourt
Nikolaus Harnoncourt
Nikolaus Harnoncourt is an Austrian conductor, particularly known for his historically informed performances of music from the Classical era and earlier. Starting out as a classical cellist, he founded his own period instrument ensemble in the 1950s, and became a pioneer of the Early Music movement...
was the first to start a recording of the complete cantatas on historical instruments with boys choirs and boy soloists for soprano and sometimes alto parts, in a collobaration with Gustav Leonhardt
Gustav Leonhardt
Gustav Leonhardt is a highly renowned Dutch keyboard player, conductor, musicologist, teacher and editor. Leonhardt has been a leading figure in the movement to perform music on period instruments...
. Harnoncourt conducted the Wiener Sängerknaben or the Tölzer Knabenchor
Tölzer Knabenchor
The Tölzer Knabenchor is a boys' choir with roots in the Bavarian town of Bad Tölz.The choir group is still led by director and singing master Gerhard Schmidt-Gaden, who founded the choir in 1956 when he was only nineteen years old. The founder was once a student of Carl Orff's and worked with him...
and the Concentus Musicus Wien
Concentus Musicus Wien
Concentus Musicus Wien is a baroque music ensemble founded by Nikolaus and Alice Harnoncourt in 1953. It generated the now well-established movement in performance and recordings to play early music on period instruments....
. Leonhardt conducted the Knabenchor Hannover and the Collegium Vocale Gent, and the ensemble Leonhardt-Consort. Helmuth Rilling
Helmuth Rilling
Helmuth Rilling is an internationally known German choral conductor, founder of the Gächinger Kantorei , the Bach-Collegium Stuttgart , the Oregon Bach Festival , the Internationale Bachakademie Stuttgart and other Bach Academies worldwide, and the "Festival Ensemble Stuttgart"...
, Gächinger Kantorei
Gächinger Kantorei
Gächinger Kantorei is an internationally known German mixed choir, founded by Helmuth Rilling in 1954 in Gächingen and still conducted by him. A "Kantorei" is a choir of high standard dedicated mostly, but not exclusively, to sacred music. The ensemble operates in Stuttgart now and is therefore...
and Bach-Collegium Stuttgart
Bach-Collegium Stuttgart
Bach-Collegium Stuttgart is an internationally known German instrumental ensemble, founded by Helmuth Rilling in 1965 to accompany the Gächinger Kantorei in choral music with orchestra...
completed a recording of the sacred cantatas and oratorios on Bach's 300th birthday, 21 March 1985. Ton Koopman
Ton Koopman
Ton Koopman is a conductor, organist and harpsichordist.Koopman had a "classical education" and then studied the organ , harpsichord and musicology in Amsterdam...
and the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir
Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir
The Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir is a Dutch early-music group based in Amsterdam.The Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir was created in two stages by the conductor, organist and harpsichordist Ton Koopman. He founded the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra in 1979 and the Amsterdam Baroque Choir in...
recorded all vocal works of Bach in 10 years starting in 1994. Sir John Eliot Gardiner
John Eliot Gardiner
Sir John Eliot Gardiner CBE FKC is an English conductor. He founded the Monteverdi Choir , the English Baroque Soloists and the Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique...
and his Monteverdi Choir
Monteverdi Choir
The Monteverdi Choir was founded in 1964 by Sir John Eliot Gardiner for a performance of the Monteverdi Vespers in King's College Chapel, Cambridge. A specialist Baroque ensemble, the Choir has become famous for its stylistic conviction and extensive repertoire, encompassing music from the early...
undertook the Bach Cantata Pilgrimage, performing and recording in 2000 the sacred cantatas at churches all over Europe and in the US. Sigiswald Kuijken
Sigiswald Kuijken
Sigiswald Kuijken is a Belgian violinist, violist, and conductor known for playing on authentic instruments.-Biography:Kuijken was born in Dilbeek, near Brussels. He was a member of the Alarius Ensemble of Brussels between 1964 and 1972 and formed La Petite Bande in 1972...
has recorded Cantatas for the Complete Liturgical Year with La Petite Bande
La Petite Bande
La Petite Bande is a Belgium-based ensemble specialising in Baroque music played on period instruments. They are particularly known for their recordings of works by Corelli, Rameau, Handel, and Bach.-History:...
and the soloists forming the choir. Masaaki Suzuki
Masaaki Suzuki
is a Japanese organist, harpsichordist and conductor, and the founder and musical director of the Bach Collegium Japan.He was born in Kobe to parents who were both Christians and amateur musicians...
commenced in 1995 a project to record the complete sacred cantatas with his Bach Collegium Japan
Bach Collegium Japan
Bach Collegium Japan is composed of an orchestra and a chorus specialising in Baroque music, playing with period instruments. It was founded in 1990 by Masaaki Suzuki with the purpose of introducing Japanese audiences to European Baroque music. Suzuki still remains its music director...
.
The Fifth Gospel
In 1929 the Swedish bishop Nathan SöderblomNathan Söderblom
Lars Olof Jonathan Söderblom was a Swedish clergyman, Archbishop of Uppsala in the Church of Sweden, and recipient of the 1930 Nobel Peace Prize...
, a recipient of the Nobel Prize
Nobel Prize
The Nobel Prizes are annual international awards bestowed by Scandinavian committees in recognition of cultural and scientific advances. The will of the Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, established the prizes in 1895...
, called Bach's cantatas the Fifth Gospel.
Further reading
- NBA Neue Bach-AusgabeNeue Bach-AusgabeThe Neue Bach-Ausgabe is the second complete edition of the music of Johann Sebastian Bach, published by Bärenreiter. The name is short for Johann Sebastian Bach: Neue Ausgabe sämtlicher Werke...
, BärenreiterBärenreiterBärenreiter is a German classical music publishing house based in Kassel. The firm was founded by Karl Vötterle in Augsburg in 1923, and moved to Kassel in 1927, where it still maintains headquarters; it also has offices in Basel, London, New York and Prague...
, 1954 to 2007 - BWV Bach-Werke-Verzeichnis, Breitkopf & HärtelBreitkopf & HärtelBreitkopf & Härtel is the world's oldest music publishing house. The firm was founded in 1719 in Leipzig by Bernhard Christoph Breitkopf . The catalogue currently contains over 1000 composers, 8000 works and 15,000 music editions or books on music. The name "Härtel" was added when Gottfried...
, 1998 - Alfred DürrAlfred DürrAlfred Dürr was a German musicologist. He was a principal editor of the Neue Bach-Ausgabe, the second edition of the complete works of Johann Sebastian Bach.- Professional career :...
: Johann Sebastian Bach: Die Kantaten. Bärenreiter, Kassel 1999, ISBN 3-7618-1476-3 (in German) - Alfred Dürr: The Cantatas of J.S. Bach, Oxford University Press, 2006. ISBN 0-19-929776-2
- Christoph WolffChristoph WolffChristoph Wolff is a German-born musicologist, presently on the faculty of Harvard University. Born and educated in Germany, Wolff studied organ and historical keyboard instruments, musicology and art history at the Universities of Berlin, Erlangen, and the Music Academy of Freiburg, receiving a...
/Ton KoopmanTon KoopmanTon Koopman is a conductor, organist and harpsichordist.Koopman had a "classical education" and then studied the organ , harpsichord and musicology in Amsterdam...
: Die Welt der Bach-Kantaten Verlag J.B. Metzler, Stuttgart, Weimar 2006 ISBN 978-3-476-02127-4 (in German) - Werner NeumannWerner NeumannWerner Neumann was a German musicologist. He founded the Bach-Archiv Leipzig on 20 November 1950 and was a principal editor of the Neue Bach-Ausgabe, the second edition of the complete works of Johann Sebastian Bach.- Professional career :Neumann studied at the Conservatory of Leipzig from 1928 to...
: Handbuch der Kantaten J.S.Bachs, 1947, 5th ed. 1984, ISBN 3-7651-0054-4 - Hans-Joachim Schulze: Die Bach-Kantaten: Einführungen zu sämtlichen Kantaten Johann Sebastian Bachs Leipzig: Evangelische Verlags-Anstalt; Stuttgart: Carus-Verlag 2006 (Edition Bach-Archiv LeipzigBach-Archiv LeipzigThe Bach-Archiv Leipzig or Bach-Archiv is the institution for the documentation and research of life and work of Johann Sebastian Bach in Leipzig, where Bach lived from 1723 until his death. Topic of research is also the Bach family, especially their music...
) ISBN 3-374-02390-8 (EVA), ISBN 3-89948-073-2 (Carus) (in German) - Luigi Ferdinando Tagliavini. Studi sui testi delle Cantate sacre di J. S. Bach. Università di Padova, pubblicazioni della Facoltà di Lettere e Filosofia, vol. XXXI, Padova & Kassel, 1956, xv-291
- Geoffrey Turner. "Singing The Word: The Cantatas of J S Bach". New Blackfriars, volume 87, issue 1008, pp. 144–154
- J. C. J. Day. "The texts of Bach's Church cantatas: some observations". German Life and Letters, volume 13 (1960), num. 2, pp. 137–144
- Harald Streck. Die Verskunst in den poetischen Texten zu den Kantaten J. S. Bachs. Dissertation: Universität Hamburg 1971, 214 pages
- Walter F. Bischof. The Bach Cantatas University of AlbertaUniversity of AlbertaThe University of Alberta is a public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford, the first premier of Alberta and Henry Marshall Tory, its first president, it is widely recognized as one of the best universities in Canada...
2003–2010 - Z. Philip Ambrose Texts of the Complete Vocal Works with English Translation and Commentary University of VermontUniversity of VermontThe University of Vermont comprises seven undergraduate schools, an honors college, a graduate college, and a college of medicine. The Honors College does not offer its own degrees; students in the Honors College concurrently enroll in one of the university's seven undergraduate colleges or...
2005–2011
Links are found for the individual cantatas:
- Craig SmithCraig Smith (conductor)Craig Smith was an American conductor who is considered a seminal figure in Boston's Baroque music revival of the 1970s and 1980s. In subsequent years he became increasingly known as an international conductor...
: programme notes, Emmanuel MusicEmmanuel MusicEmmanuel Music is a Boston-based collective group of singers and instrumentalists founded in 1970 by Craig Smith. It was created specifically to perform the complete cycle of over 200 sacred cantatas of J.S. Bach in the liturgical setting for which they were intended, an endeavor twice completed... - Walter F. Bischof: The Bach Cantatas, University of Alberta
- Z. Philip Ambrose: Texts of the Complete Vocal Works with English Translation and Commentary, University of Vermont
External links
- Bach Cantatas website, a link to information about works, translations to various languages, prescribed reading, commentaries, singers, ensembles, recordings (caution: helpful but not always correct)
- Johann Sebastian Bach on "IMSLP / Petrucci Music Library, The free public domain sheet music library"
- Emmanuel Music notes and translations to English
- The cantatas of Johann Sebastian Bach A listener and student guide, Julian Mincham, 2010
- Johann Sebastian Bach – A Listener's Guide to the Cantatas and a list of book and references by Simon Crouch on the Classical Net website