Wer mich liebet, der wird mein Wort halten, BWV 59
Encyclopedia
Wer mich liebet, der wird mein Wort halten (Whoever loves me will keep my word), 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.
in Leipzig on the first Sunday after Trinity
. The possibility of a performance already on 16 May 1723, perhaps in a service of the university, as Arnold Schering
suggested, has been discussed.
The prescribed readings for the feast day were :1–13 and :23–31, the promise of the Paraclete who will assist and teach, from the first Farewell discourse
. The cantata is based on a text of Erdmann Neumeister
, published in 1714. Bach composed only four movements of the seven of the poetry. The cantata begins with the first verse of the gospel, which Bach had set already as a recitative
for bass in his cantata for Pentecost Erschallet, ihr Lieder, erklinget, ihr Saiten! BWV 172
, composed in Weimar in 1714 on a text of Salomon Franck
. In movement 2 the poet praises the great love of God. Movement 3 is the first stanza of Martin Luther
's chorale
for Pentecost, Komm, Heiliger Geist, Herre Gott, asking for the coming of the Holy Spirit. In an unusual closing aria
the poet deals with the expected greater bliss in heaven.
Bach used and expanded parts of the cantata in Wer mich liebet, der wird mein Wort halten, BWV 74, for Pentecost of 1725.
and bass
, a four part choir only in the chorale, two trumpets, timpani
, two violin
s, viola
and basso continuo. Compared to a typical festive orchestra, it lacks a third trumpet and woodwinds.
s. The instruments begin with a short prelude, which introduces a motif
later sung on the words "Wer mich liebet" with a short melisma on "mich" (me). This motif begins every section.
Movement 2 begins as a recitative with string accompaniment, but ends as an Arioso
with continuo on the final lines "Ach, daß doch, wie er wollte ihn auch ein jeder lieben sollte" (Ah, that only, as he wishes, everyone might also love him).
In the chorale two violins play partly independent parts, achieving a full sound. The chorale is followed by an aria
with an obbligato
violin. Scholars have discussed, if this unusual ending of the cantata was Bach's intention or if he had planned to conclude the work with Neumeister's fifth movement, a chorale. John Eliot Gardiner
chose to repeat the chorale, performing its third stanza.
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...
. Bach composed the cantata for Pentecost
Pentecost
Pentecost is a prominent feast in the calendar of Ancient Israel celebrating the giving of the Law on Sinai, and also later in the Christian liturgical year commemorating the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the disciples of Christ after the Resurrection of Jesus...
and probably first performed it in 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...
on 28 May 1724, but an earlier performance on 16 May 1723 at the University Church of Leipzig
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...
is possible.
History and words
Bach wrote the cantata for Pentecost Sunday. He performed it on 28 May 1724, which was probably the first performance. The score dates from 1723, but the parts were written in 1724. Pentecost of 1723 occurred before Bach officially started his tenure as ThomaskantorThomaskantor
The Thomaskantor is the musical director of the Thomanerchor in Leipzig, founded in 1212. He is appointed by Leipzig's city council and his duties are to lead the weekly services called Motette, Sunday services and other services in the Thomaskirche, also to conduct recordings and tours.Johann...
in Leipzig on the first Sunday 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...
. The possibility of a performance already on 16 May 1723, perhaps in a service of the university, as Arnold Schering
Arnold Schering
Arnold Schering was a German musicologist.He grew up in Dresden as the son of an art publisher. He learned violin at the Annengymnasium from which he graduated in 1896. Thereafter he studied violin at the Berlin School of Music under Joseph Joachim...
suggested, has been discussed.
The prescribed readings for the feast day were :1–13 and :23–31, the promise of the Paraclete who will assist and teach, from the first Farewell discourse
Farewell discourse
In the New Testament, Chapters 14-17 of the Gospel of John are known as the Farewell Discourse given by Jesus to eleven of his disciples at the conclusion of the Last Supper in Jerusalem, the night before his crucifixion....
. The cantata is based on a text of Erdmann Neumeister
Erdmann Neumeister
Erdmann Neumeister was a German Lutheran theologian and hymnologist.He was born at Uichteritz near Weißenfels in the province Saxonia of Germany. As a 15 years old boy he started his studies in Schulpforta - an old humanistic gymnasium. He becomes a student of poetology and theology in the...
, published in 1714. Bach composed only four movements of the seven of the poetry. The cantata begins with the first verse of the gospel, which Bach had set already as a recitative
Recitative
Recitative , 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...
for bass in his cantata for Pentecost 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...
, composed in Weimar in 1714 on a text of 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 movement 2 the poet praises the great love of God. Movement 3 is the first stanza of Martin Luther
Martin Luther
Martin Luther was a German priest, professor of theology and iconic figure of the Protestant Reformation. He strongly disputed the claim that freedom from God's punishment for sin could be purchased with money. He confronted indulgence salesman Johann Tetzel with his Ninety-Five Theses in 1517...
's 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....
for Pentecost, Komm, Heiliger Geist, Herre Gott, asking for the coming of the Holy Spirit. In an unusual closing aria
Aria
An 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...
the poet deals with the expected greater bliss in heaven.
Bach used and expanded parts of the cantata in Wer mich liebet, der wird mein Wort halten, BWV 74, for Pentecost of 1725.
Scoring and structure
The cantata for the feast day is scored for two soloists, 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...
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...
, a four part choir only in the chorale, two trumpets, 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...
, two 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....
s, 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. Compared to a typical festive orchestra, it lacks a third trumpet and woodwinds.
- Duetto (soprano, bass): Wer mich liebet, der wird mein Wort halten
- Recitativo (soprano): O was sind das vor Ehren
- Chorale: Komm, Heiliger Geist, Herre Gott
- Aria (bass): Die Welt mit allen Königreichen
Music
The first movement is an extended duet, which repeats the text five times. In four sections, the voices imitate each other, using different intervals and various keys, in the final section they sing united in parallels of sixthMajor sixth
In classical music from Western culture, a sixth is a musical interval encompassing six staff positions , and the major sixth is one of two commonly occurring sixths. It is qualified as major because it is the largest of the two...
s. The instruments begin with a short prelude, which introduces a motif
Motif (music)
In music, a motif or motive is a short musical idea, a salient recurring figure, musical fragment or succession of notes that has some special importance in or is characteristic of a composition....
later sung on the words "Wer mich liebet" with a short melisma on "mich" (me). This motif begins every section.
Movement 2 begins as a recitative with string accompaniment, but ends as an Arioso
Arioso
In 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....
with continuo on the final lines "Ach, daß doch, wie er wollte ihn auch ein jeder lieben sollte" (Ah, that only, as he wishes, everyone might also love him).
In the chorale two violins play partly independent parts, achieving a full sound. The chorale is followed by an aria
Aria
An 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...
with 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...
violin. Scholars have discussed, if this unusual ending of the cantata was Bach's intention or if he had planned to conclude the work with Neumeister's fifth movement, a chorale. 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...
chose to repeat the chorale, performing its third stanza.
Recordings
- Bach Made in Germany Vol. 2 - Cantatas II, Kurt ThomasKurt Thomas (composer)Kurt Thomas was a German composer, conductor and music educator.He was born in Tönning and died in Bad Oeynhausen....
, ThomanerchorThomanerchorThe 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...
, Gewandhausorchester, Agnes GiebelAgnes GiebelAgnes Giebel is a German soprano. She was born in Heerlen, in the Netherlands, where she lived the first years of her life. She studied at the Folkwang Hochschule in Essen and made her first public appearance as a singer in 1947. Her career lasted until the 1990s during which she established a...
, 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 1959 - J.S. Bach: Kantaten · Cantatas Nr. 27, Nr. 118, Nr. 158, Nr. 59, Jaap SchröderJaap SchröderJaap Schröder or Jaap Schroeder is a Dutch violinist, conductor, and pedagogue.He studied at the Amsterdam Conservatory and at the Sorbonne in France. He has served as the director and concertmaster of the Academy of Ancient Music, and in 1982 he was appointed the visiting music director of the...
, Amsterdamer Kantorei, Concerto Amsterdam, 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 - J.S. Bach: Das Kantatenwerk - Sacred Cantatas Vol. 3, 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...
, Tölzer KnabenchorTölzer KnabenchorThe 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...
, 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....
, soloist of the Wiener Sängerknaben, Ruud van der Meer, TeldecTeldecThe Teldec is a German record label in Hamburg, Germany. Today the label is a property of Warner Music Group.-History:...
1976 - Die Bach Kantate Vol. 35, 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"...
, Gächinger KantoreiGächinger KantoreiGächinger 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...
, 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...
, Arleen AugérArleen AugerJoyce Arleen Auger was an American soprano singer, admired for her coloratura voice and interpretations of works by Bach, Handel, Haydn, Monteverdi, Gluck, and Mozart.-Biography:...
, Niklaus Tüller, 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...
1977 - J.S. Bach: Complete Cantatas Vol. 6, 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 Orchestra & ChoirAmsterdam 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...
, Ruth ZiesakRuth Ziesak- Biography :Ruth Ziesak studied voice at the Frankfurt University of Music and Performing Arts with Elsa Cavelti and Christoph Prégardien. She has been a member of the Municipal Theatre Heidelberg since 1988 and the Deutsche Oper am Rhein in 1990....
, 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 1997
External links
- Cantata BWV 59 Wer mich liebet, der wird mein Wort halten on the bach cantatas website
- German text and English translation, 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...
- Wer mich liebet, der wird mein Wort halten on the Bach website
- BWV 59 Wer mich liebet, der wird mein Wort halten 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...