Mer hahn en neue Oberkeet, BWV 212
Encyclopedia
Mer hahn en neue Oberkeet (We have a new governor), BWV
212, is a secular cantata
by Johann Sebastian Bach
. It was entitled the "Cantate burlesque" (burlesque
cantata) by Bach himself, but is now popularly known as the Peasant Cantata. It is the latest definitely dated Bach cantata.
, and was written for performance on 30 August 1742. On that day the Erbherr, Lehnherr and Gerichtsherr Carl Heinrich von Dieskau, Saxon-Crown-Princely Kammerherr to the Rittergut Kleinzschocher near Leipzig
, celebrated his thirty-sixth birthday with a huge fireworks display and, as was customary, took homage from the peasants on the same occasion. It is thought that Picander asked Bach to set his poetry to music.
("Guschel" for mouth, "Dahlen" for love-games, "Ranzen" for belly and "Neu-Schock" for a 60 Groschen
piece.
BWV
The Bach-Werke-Verzeichnis is the numbering system identifying compositions by Johann Sebastian Bach. The prefix BWV, followed by the work's number, is the shorthand identification for Bach's compositions...
212, is a secular cantata
Bach cantata
Bach cantata became a term for a cantata of the German Baroque composer Johann Sebastian Bach who was a prolific writer of the genre. Although many of his works are lost, around 200 cantatas survived....
by 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...
. It was entitled the "Cantate burlesque" (burlesque
Burlesque (genre)
Victorian burlesque, sometimes known as travesty or extravaganza, is a genre of theatrical entertainment that was popular in Victorian England and in the New York theatre of the mid 19th century...
cantata) by Bach himself, but is now popularly known as the Peasant Cantata. It is the latest definitely dated Bach cantata.
History
This cantata's libretto was written by Christian Friedrich Henrici, known as PicanderPicander
Picander was the pseudonym of Christian Friedrich Henrici , a German poet and librettist for many of Johann Sebastian Bach's Leipzig cantatas...
, and was written for performance on 30 August 1742. On that day the Erbherr, Lehnherr and Gerichtsherr Carl Heinrich von Dieskau, Saxon-Crown-Princely Kammerherr to the Rittergut Kleinzschocher near Leipzig
Leipzig
Leipzig Leipzig has always been a trade city, situated during the time of the Holy Roman Empire at the intersection of the Via Regia and Via Imperii, two important trade routes. At one time, Leipzig was one of the major European centres of learning and culture in fields such as music and publishing...
, celebrated his thirty-sixth birthday with a huge fireworks display and, as was customary, took homage from the peasants on the same occasion. It is thought that Picander asked Bach to set his poetry to music.
Themes
An unnamed farmer laughs with the farmer's wife Mieke about the tax collector's machinations while praising the economy of Dieskau's wife, ending by especially cheering on Dieskau. In places it uses the dialect of Upper SaxonyUpper Saxony
Upper Saxony was a name given to the majority of the German lands held by the House of Wettin, in what is now called Mitteldeutschland....
("Guschel" for mouth, "Dahlen" for love-games, "Ranzen" for belly and "Neu-Schock" for a 60 Groschen
Groschen
Groschen was the name for a coin used in various German-speaking states as well as some non-German-speaking countries of Central Europe , the Danubian principalities...
piece.
Cast
- a farmer (bassBass (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...
) - Mieke, a farmer's wife (sopranoSopranoA 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...
) - String trio of violinBaroque violinA baroque violin is, in common usage, any violin whose neck, fingerboard, bridge, and tailpiece are of the type used during the baroque period. Such an instrument may be an original built during the baroque and never changed to modern form; or a modern replica built as a baroque violin; or an...
, violaViolaThe 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, accompanied by a fluteWestern concert fluteThe Western concert flute is a transverse woodwind instrument made of metal or wood. It is the most common variant of the flute. A musician who plays the flute is called a flautist, flutist, or flute player....
, hornHorn (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 ....
and second violin respectively
Style
In accordance with the nature of the text, Bach created a relatively simple composition held with short sentences and usually simple accompaniment. He repeatedly drew on popular dance forms, folk and popular melodies (such as La Folia and the folk song "Mit dir und mir ins Federbett, mit dir und mir aufs Stroh", whose title translates as "With you and me in the spring bed, with you and me on the straw") and parts from his own historical pieces (Set 14 from BWV Anh 11 and Theorem 20 from BWV 201 / 7).Recordings
- Bach Cantatas, Rudolf Ewerhart, Württemberg Chamber Orchestra, Ursula BuckelUrsula BuckelUrsula Buckel was a German soprano singer, known for singing works of Johann Sebastian Bach.- Professional career :...
, Klaus Ocker, Vox 1965 - J.S. Bach: Cantatas BWV 211 & BWV 212, Nikolaus HarnoncourtNikolaus HarnoncourtNikolaus 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...
, Concentus Musicus WienConcentus Musicus WienConcentus 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....
, Rotraud Hansmann, Max van EgmondMax van EgmondMax van Egmond is a Dutch bass and baritone singer. He has focused on oratorio and Lied and is known for singing works of Johann Sebastian Bach.- Professional career :...
, TelefunkenTelefunkenTelefunken is a German radio and television apparatus company, founded in Berlin in 1903, as a joint venture of Siemens & Halske and the Allgemeine Elektricitäts-Gesellschaft...
1967 - Bach made in Germany Vol. VII - Secular Cantatas VII, Peter SchreierPeter SchreierPeter Schreier is a German tenor and conductor.-Early life:Schreier was born in Meissen, Saxony, and spent his first years in the small village of Gauernitz, near Meissen, where his father was a teacher, cantor and organist...
, Kammerorchester Berlin, Edith MathisEdith MathisEdith Mathis is a renowned Swiss soprano and a leading exponent of the works of Mozart. She studied in Lucerne and debuted there in 1956 in The Magic Flute...
, Theo AdamTheo AdamTheo Adam is a distinguished German classical bass-baritone who had an active international career in operas, concerts, and recitals from the 1940s through the 1990s. He particularly excelled in portraying roles from the operas of Richard Wagner...
, Eterna 1975 - Edition Bachakademie Vol. 67 - Secular Cantatas, Helmuth RillingHelmuth RillingHelmuth 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"...
, Bach-Collegium StuttgartBach-Collegium StuttgartBach-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...
, Christine SchäferChristine SchäferChristine Schäfer is a German soprano. She studied from 1984 until 1991 at the Hochschule für Musik in Berlin, where her teachers were Ingrid Figur, Aribert Reimann and Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau. She also took masterclasses with Arleen Augér and Sena Jurinac.After finishing her studies in 1992,...
, Thomas QuasthoffThomas QuasthoffThomas Quasthoff is a German bass-baritone. Although his reputation was initially based on his performance of Romantic lieder, Quasthoff has proven to have a remarkable range from the Baroque cantatas of Bach to solo jazz improvisations.-Biography:Quasthoff was born in Hildesheim, Germany, with...
, HänsslerHänssler ClassicHänssler Classic is a German classical record label based in Holzgerlingen.Friedrich Hänssler Senior founded Musikverlag Hänssler in 1919 to publish church music. Since 1972 Hänssler Classic has also published contemporary and jazz music...
1996 - J.S. Bach: Complete Cantatas Vol. 5, 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...
, Amsterdam Baroque OrchestraAmsterdam Baroque Orchestra & ChoirThe 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...
, Lisa LarssonLisa Larsson- Biography :Larsson studied in Basel and since 1993 appeared in the Internationales Opernstudio of the Zurich Opera House under conductors such as Franz Welser-Möst, Nikolaus Harnoncourt and Christoph von Dohnányi....
, Klaus MertensKlaus MertensKlaus Mertens is a German bass and bass-baritone singer who is known especially for his interpretation of the complete works of Johann Sebastian Bach.-Professional career:Klaus Mertens took singing lessons while attending school...
, Antoine Marchand 1996
External links
- Score on IMSLP
- Structure and full text
- Cantata BWV 212 Mer hahn en neue Oberkeet on bach-cantatas
- Mer hahn en neue Oberkeet on the Bach website (in German)
- Entries for BWV 212 on WorldCatWorldCatWorldCat is a union catalog which itemizes the collections of 72,000 libraries in 170 countries and territories which participate in the Online Computer Library Center global cooperative...