Ich ruf zu dir, Herr Jesu Christ, BWV 177
Encyclopedia
Ich ruf zu dir, Herr Jesu Christ (I call to Thee, Lord Jesus 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.
as late as 1732 in order to complete his second annual cycle of chorale cantatas of 1724, which lacked a cantata for the Fourth Sunday after Trinity because that Sunday had been the Feast of Visitation in 1724, celebrated then by Meine Seel erhebt den Herren, BWV 10. The cantata was first performed on 6 July 1732.
The prescribed readings for the Sunday were from the Epistle to the Romans
, , "For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God." and from the Sermon on the Mount
: , the admonition to "be merciful", "judge not". The cantata text are the unchanged five stanzas of Johann Agricola
's chorale
(ca. 1530), a main hymn for the Sunday, used also in Bach's cantata Barmherziges Herze der ewigen Liebe, BWV 185
, written in Weimar
. In Gelobet sei der Herr, mein Gott, BWV 129
, also composed to complete the second annual cycle of chorale cantatas, Bach also used the unchanged words of the chorale, different from the cantatas first composed for the cycle.
, alto
and tenor
soloists, a four-part choir, a pair of oboe
s and oboe da caccia
, two violin
s, viola
, basso continuo, an obbligato
violin and an obbligato bassoon
.
here sung by the soprano. Most of the lines are preceded by entries of the other voice parts in imitation of motif
s independent of the chorale. In line 6 the imitation motive is taken from the chorale, in the two last lines 8 and 9 the lower voices enter together with the soprano. The vocal structure is embedded in a concerto of solo violin, two oboes which play the cantus firmus colla parte with the soprano, strings and continuo.
The three arias for the following verses show increasing instrumental complexity. Verse 2 is accompanied by continuo only, verse 3 by oboe da caccia, verse 4 by the rare combination of violin and bassoon.
In the finale chorale Bach used ornamentation
for expressiveness.
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...
177, is a church 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....
of 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...
He composed the 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...
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...
for the fourth 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...
and first performed it on 6 July 1732.
History and words
Bach composed the cantata in LeipzigLeipzig
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...
as late as 1732 in order to complete his second annual cycle of chorale cantatas of 1724, which lacked a cantata for the Fourth Sunday after Trinity because that Sunday had been the Feast of Visitation in 1724, celebrated then by Meine Seel erhebt den Herren, BWV 10. The cantata was first performed on 6 July 1732.
The prescribed readings for the Sunday were from the Epistle to the Romans
Epistle to the Romans
The Epistle of Paul to the Romans, often shortened to Romans, is the sixth book in the New Testament. Biblical scholars agree that it was composed by the Apostle Paul to explain that Salvation is offered through the Gospel of Jesus Christ...
, , "For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God." and from the Sermon on the Mount
Sermon on the Mount
The Sermon on the Mount is a collection of sayings and teachings of Jesus, which emphasizes his moral teaching found in the Gospel of Matthew...
: , the admonition to "be merciful", "judge not". The cantata text are the unchanged five stanzas of Johann Agricola
Johannes Agricola
Johannes Agricola was a German Protestant reformer and humanist. He was a follower and friend of Martin Luther, who became his antagonist in the matter of the binding obligation of the law on Christians.-Early life:Agricola was born at Eisleben, whence he is sometimes called Magister Islebius...
'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....
(ca. 1530), a main hymn for the Sunday, used also in Bach's cantata Barmherziges Herze der ewigen Liebe, BWV 185
Barmherziges Herze der ewigen Liebe, BWV 185
Barmherziges Herze der ewigen Liebe , BWV 185, is a church cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach. He composed it in Weimar for the fourth Sunday after Trinity and first performed it on 14 July 1715.-History and words:...
, written in Weimar
Weimar
Weimar is a city in Germany famous for its cultural heritage. It is located in the federal state of Thuringia , north of the Thüringer Wald, east of Erfurt, and southwest of Halle and Leipzig. Its current population is approximately 65,000. The oldest record of the city dates from the year 899...
. In Gelobet sei der Herr, mein Gott, BWV 129
Gelobet sei der Herr, mein Gott, BWV 129
Gelobet 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...
, also composed to complete the second annual cycle of chorale cantatas, Bach also used the unchanged words of the chorale, different from the cantatas first composed for the cycle.
Scoring and structure
The cantata is written 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...
, 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,...
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, a four-part choir, a pair of 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...
s and 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...
, 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...
, basso continuo, 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 and an obbligato 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...
.
- Coro: Ich ruf zu dir, Herr Jesu Christ
- Aria (alto): Ich bitt noch mehr, o Herre Gott
- Aria (soprano): Verleih, daß ich aus Herzensgrund
- Aria (tenor): Laß mich kein Lust noch Furcht von dir
- Chorale: Ich lieg im Streit und widerstreb
Music
Similar to most chorale cantatas, the opening chorus presents the chorale line by line, the cantus firmusCantus firmus
In music, a cantus firmus is a pre-existing melody forming the basis of a polyphonic composition.The plural of this Latin term is , though the corrupt form canti firmi is also attested...
here sung by the soprano. Most of the lines are preceded by entries of the other voice parts in imitation of 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....
s independent of the chorale. In line 6 the imitation motive is taken from the chorale, in the two last lines 8 and 9 the lower voices enter together with the soprano. The vocal structure is embedded in a concerto of solo violin, two oboes which play the cantus firmus colla parte with the soprano, strings and continuo.
The three arias for the following verses show increasing instrumental complexity. Verse 2 is accompanied by continuo only, verse 3 by oboe da caccia, verse 4 by the rare combination of violin and bassoon.
In the finale chorale Bach used ornamentation
Ornament (music)
In music, ornaments or embellishments are musical flourishes that are not necessary to carry the overall line of the melody , but serve instead to decorate or "ornament" that line. Many ornaments are performed as "fast notes" around a central note...
for expressiveness.
Recordings
- Die Bach Kantate Vol. 41, 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:...
, Julia HamariJulia HamariJulia Hamari, originally Hamari Júlia , is a Hungarian mezzo-soprano and alto singer in opera and concert, appearing internationally. She is an academic voice teacher in Stuttgart.- Professional career :...
, 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...
, 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...
1981 - J.S. Bach: Das Kantatenwerk - Sacred Cantatas Vol. 9, 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....
, soloists of the Tölzer Knabenchor, Kurt EquiluzKurt EquiluzKurt Equiluz is an Austrian classical tenor in opera and concert, known for recording works of Johann Sebastian Bach with Nikolaus Harnoncourt and Helmuth Rilling, a member of the Vienna State Opera as a tenor buffo from 1957 until 1983.- Professional career :Kurt Equiluz was an alto soloist of...
, Teldec 1988 - Bach Cantatas Vol. 3, John Eliot GardinerJohn Eliot GardinerSir John Eliot Gardiner CBE FKC is an English conductor. He founded the Monteverdi Choir , the English Baroque Soloists and the Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique...
, Monteverdi ChoirMonteverdi ChoirThe 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...
, English Baroque SoloistsEnglish Baroque SoloistsThe English Baroque Soloists is a chamber orchestra playing on period instruments, formed in 1978 by English conductor Sir John Eliot Gardiner. Its repertoire comprises music from the early Baroque period to the Classical period...
, Magdalena KoženáMagdalena KoženáMagdalena Kožená is a Czech mezzo-soprano.In 2003, Kožená was awarded the title of Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French Government...
, Nathalie StutzmannNathalie StutzmannNathalie Stutzmann is a contemporary opera singer, renowned for her contralto voice.Born in Suresnes, France, 1965, she first studied with her mother , then at Nantes Conservatoire and later, at the Ecole d’Art Lyrique de l’Opéra de Paris, focusing on lied, under Hans Hotter's tutelage...
, 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...
, conductor Soli Deo GloriaSoli Deo Gloria (label)Founded in 2004 in order to release the recordings made during the Bach Cantata pilgrimage that took place in the year 2000. Following its launch in 2005, Soli Deo Gloria has established itself as one of the leading independent record labels....
2000 - 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...
, Sandrine PiauSandrine PiauSandrine Piau is an opera soprano. Trained as a harpist, she studied voice at the Collège Lamartine and the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique du Paris....
, Bogna BartoszBogna BartoszBogna Bartosz is a Polish classical mezzo-soprano and alto.- Biography :Bogna Bartosz studied voice at the Academy of Music in Gdansk and graduated with distinction...
, Christoph PrégardienChristoph PrégardienChristoph Prégardien is a German lyric tenor whose career is closely associated with the roles in Mozart operas, as well as performances of Lieder, oratorio roles, and Baroque music...
, Antoine Marchand 2003 - J.S. Bach: Cantatas for the Complete Liturgical Year Vol. 2, Sigiswald KuijkenSigiswald KuijkenSigiswald 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...
, La Petite BandeLa Petite BandeLa 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:...
, Siri ThornhillSiri ThornhillSiri Karoline Thornhill, born in England, is a Norwegian classical soprano for concert and opera, known for singing music of Johann Sebastian Bach.- Professional career :...
, Petra NoskaiováPetra NoskaiováPetra Noskaiová is a Slovak classical mezzo-soprano, active in the field of Baroque music.- Professional career :Petra Noskaiová studied studied music at the conservatory of Bratislava from 1988 to 1994 and voice with Ružena Illenbergerová...
, Christoph GenzChristoph Genz- Biography :Christoph Genz was a member of the Thomanerchor. He studied at the King’s College, Cambridge where he was a member of the King’s College Choir. He studied voice with Hans-Joachim Beyer at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater „Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy“ Leipzig and with Elisabeth...
, Accent 2005
External links
- Cantata BWV 177 Ich ruf zu dir, Herr Jesu Christ 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...
- Ich ruf zu dir, Herr Jesu Christ on the Bach website (in German)
- BWV 177 Ich ruf zu dir, Herr Jesu Christ, BWV 177 text, structure, instrumentation, 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...
- BWV 177 Ich ruf zu dir, Herr Jesu Christ, BWV 177 English text, 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...