Gloria in excelsis Deo, BWV 191
Encyclopedia
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
. The composition's three movements all derive from the Gloria of an earlier Lutheran Mass
written by Bach in 1733, which the composer would later use as the Gloria of his Mass in B minor.
, which brought to an end the hardships imposed on the region by the Second Silesian War. Unlike Bach's other church cantatas, the words are not in German, taken from the bible, a chorale or contemporary poetry, but in Latin
, taken from the Gloria
and the Doxology
. This late work is the only Latin cantata among around 200 surviving sacred cantatas in German. It is based on an earlier composition, the Missa
(Kyrie and Gloria) which Bach had composed in 1733 and that would, in 1748, become part of his monumental Mass in B minor. The first movement (Gloria) is an almost identical copy of the earlier work, while the second and third movements are close parodies. Parts, for instance, of the fugal section of Sicut erat in principio, taken from the Cum sancto spiritu of the 1733 setting, are moved from a purely vocal to an instrumentally accompanied setting. The modifications Bach made to the last two movements of BWV 191, however, were not carried over into the final manuscript compilation of the Mass in B minor, leaving it a matter of speculation whether or not these constitute "improvements" to Bach's original score.
and tenor
soloists and an unusual five-part choir (with a dual Soprano part)
, 3 trumpets, timpani, 2 flutes, 2 oboes, strings, and continuo. Its only link to Christmas is the opening chorus on Luke
2:14, to be performed before the sermon. The other two movements after the sermon (marked "post orationem") divide the general words of the Doxology in a duet Gloria Patri et Filio et Spiritui sancto (corresponding to the Domine Deus, the central piece of the Gloria of the Mass in B minor) and a final chorus Sicut erat in principio (corresponding to Cum sancto spiritu of the Gloria). The final movement may contain ripieno
markings (to accompany the chorus) similar to the ripieni found in Unser Mund sei voll Lachens, BWV 110
, which was also a nativity cantata.
2. Duetto (soprano/tenor) (Flauto traverso I/II, Violino I/II, Viola, Continuo)
3. Coro (Tromba I-III, Tamburi, Flauto traverso I/II, Oboe I/II, Violino I/II, Viola, Continuo)
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...
191, is a sacred 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....
written by the German Baroque 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...
, and the only one of his church cantatas set to a Latin text. It was likely first performed 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...
at Christmas
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
of 1745 to celebrate the end of the Second Silesian War
Silesian Wars
The Silesian Wars were a series of wars between Prussia and Austria for control of Silesia. They formed parts of the larger War of the Austrian Succession and Seven Years' War. They eventually ended with Silesia being incorporated into Prussia, and Austrian recognition of this...
. The composition's three movements all derive from the Gloria of an earlier Lutheran 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...
written by Bach in 1733, which the composer would later use as the Gloria of his Mass in B minor.
History
Gloria in excelsis Deo was written in Leipzig for Christmas Day, as indicated by the heading on the manuscript in Bach's own handwriting, "J.J. Festo Nativit: Xsti." (Jesu Juva Festo Nativitatis Christi - Celebration for the birth of Christ), to be sung around the sermon. Recent archival and manuscript evidence suggest the cantata was first performed not in 1743, but in 1745 at a special Christmas Day service to celebrate the Peace of DresdenTreaty of Dresden
The Treaty of Dresden was signed on 25 December 1745 at the Saxon capital of Dresden between Austria, Saxony and Prussia, ending the Second Silesian War....
, which brought to an end the hardships imposed on the region by the Second Silesian War. Unlike Bach's other church cantatas, the words are not in German, taken from the bible, a chorale or contemporary poetry, but in Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
, taken from the Gloria
Gloria in Excelsis Deo
"Gloria in excelsis Deo" is the title and beginning of a hymn known also as the Greater Doxology and the Angelic Hymn. The name is often abbreviated to Gloria in Excelsis or simply Gloria.It is an example of the psalmi idiotici "Gloria in excelsis Deo" (Latin for "Glory to God in the highest")...
and the Doxology
Doxology
A doxology is a short hymn of praises to God in various Christian worship services, often added to the end of canticles, psalms, and hymns...
. This late work is the only Latin cantata among around 200 surviving sacred cantatas in German. It is based on an earlier composition, the Missa
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...
(Kyrie and Gloria) which Bach had composed in 1733 and that would, in 1748, become part of his monumental Mass in B minor. The first movement (Gloria) is an almost identical copy of the earlier work, while the second and third movements are close parodies. Parts, for instance, of the fugal section of Sicut erat in principio, taken from the Cum sancto spiritu of the 1733 setting, are moved from a purely vocal to an instrumentally accompanied setting. The modifications Bach made to the last two movements of BWV 191, however, were not carried over into the final manuscript compilation of the Mass in B minor, leaving it a matter of speculation whether or not these constitute "improvements" to Bach's original score.
Scoring, words and structure
The Cantata bears the heading ::J.J. Festo Nativit: Xsti. Gloria in excelsis Deo. à 5 Voci. 3 Trombe Tymp. 2 Trav 2 Hautb. 2 Violini Viola e Cont. Di J.S.B. in Bach's own handwriting. The cantata is festively scored for 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 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...
soloists and an unusual five-part choir (with a dual Soprano part)
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...
, 3 trumpets, timpani, 2 flutes, 2 oboes, strings, and continuo. Its only link to Christmas is the opening chorus on Luke
Gospel of Luke
The Gospel According to Luke , commonly shortened to the Gospel of Luke or simply Luke, is the third and longest of the four canonical Gospels. This synoptic gospel is an account of the life and ministry of Jesus of Nazareth. It details his story from the events of his birth to his Ascension.The...
2:14, to be performed before the sermon. The other two movements after the sermon (marked "post orationem") divide the general words of the Doxology in a duet Gloria Patri et Filio et Spiritui sancto (corresponding to the Domine Deus, the central piece of the Gloria of the Mass in B minor) and a final chorus Sicut erat in principio (corresponding to Cum sancto spiritu of the Gloria). The final movement may contain ripieno
Ripieno
Ripieno or tutti can refer to:*the larger of the two ensembles in the concerto grosso. This is opposed to the concertino which are the soloists.*the notes added when realizing the figured bass of a basso continuo....
markings (to accompany the chorus) similar to the ripieni found in Unser Mund sei voll Lachens, BWV 110
Unser Mund sei voll Lachens, BWV 110
Unser Mund sei voll Lachens, BWV 110, is a cantata written by Johann Sebastian Bach.-Instrumentation:This cantata is written for soprano, alto, tenor, and bass soloists, four-part chorus, three trumpets, three oboes, two Western concert flutes, fagotto , strings, timpani, and continuo.-Origin:This...
, which was also a nativity cantata.
- Coro: Gloria in excelsis Deo
- Duetto (soprano/tenor): Gloria Patri et Filio et Spiritui sancto
- Coro: Sicut erat in principio
Movements, text and translation
1. Coro (Tromba I-III, Tamburi, Flauto traverso I e Oboe I all' unisono, Flauto traverso II e Oboe II all' unisono, Violino I/II, Viola, Continuo)-
- Gloria in excelsis Deo.
- Et in terra pax hominibus
- bonae voluntatis.
-
- Glory to God in the highest.
- And peace on earth to men
- of good will.
2. Duetto (soprano/tenor) (Flauto traverso I/II, Violino I/II, Viola, Continuo)
-
- Gloria Patri et Filio et Spiritui sancto.
-
- Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.
3. Coro (Tromba I-III, Tamburi, Flauto traverso I/II, Oboe I/II, Violino I/II, Viola, Continuo)
-
- Sicut erat in principio et nunc et semper
- et in saecula saeculorum, amen.
-
- As it was in the beginning and now and always
- and in the age of ages, amen.
Recordings
- Die Bach Kantate Vol. 16, 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...
, Nobuko Gamo-Yamamoto, Adalbert KrausAdalbert KrausAdalbert Kraus is a German tenor in opera and concert, known for singing the works of Johann Sebastian Bach.- Biography :...
, 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...
(1971) - J.S. Bach: Weihnachtsoratorium, Ludwig GüttlerLudwig GuttlerLudwig Güttler, also Ludwig Guttler, is an internationally known German trumpet and corno da caccia virtuoso....
, Concentus Vocalis Wien, Virtuosi Saxoniae, Christiane OelzeChristiane OelzeChristiane Oelze is a German soprano. From 2003 to 2008 she taught singing at the Robert Schumann Hochschule Düsseldorf.- External links :* *...
, Hans Peter Blochwitz, Dresden Classics (1995) - J.S. Bach: Complete Cantatas Vol. 21, 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...
, Caroline StamCaroline StamCaroline Stam is a Dutch classical soprano who has an international performing career specializing in baroque repertoire, reinforced by a distinguished presence in modern recordings .- Biography :...
, Paul AgnewPaul AgnewPaul Agnew is a Scottish operatic tenor.Agnew read music as a Choral Scholar at Magdalen College, Oxford. He became associated with the Consort of Musicke, the Tallis Scholars, the Sixteen and the Gothic Voices, before embarking on a solo career in the early 1990s.Closely associated with William...
, Antoine Marchand (1999)
External links
- Cantata BWV 191 Gloria in excelsis Deo on the bach cantatas website
- Latin 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...
- Entries for Gloria in excelsis Deo, BWV 191 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...