Was willst du dich betrüben, BWV 107
Encyclopedia
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...
107, 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....
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...
. He composed 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...
for the seventh 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 23 July 1724. 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...
is based on the unchanged words of Johann Heermann
Johann Heermann
Johann Heermann was a German poet and hymn-writer. He is commemorated in the Calendar of Saints of the Lutheran Church on 26 October with Philipp Nicolai and Paul Gerhardt.- Life :...
'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....
in seven stanzas Was willst du dich betrüben
Was willst du dich betrüben
Was willst du dich betrüben is a hymn in seven stanzas by the German Baroque poet, Lutheran minister and hymn-writer Johann Heermann. The chorale was first published in 1630 during the Thirty Years' War...
(1630).
History and words
Bach composed the chorale cantata in Leipzig for the Seventh Sunday after Trinity. He first performed it, the seventh cantata of his second annual cycle, on 23 July 1724.The prescribed readings for the Sunday are 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...
, , "the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life", and from the Gospel of Mark
Gospel of Mark
The Gospel According to Mark , commonly shortened to the Gospel of Mark or simply Mark, is the second book of the New Testament. This canonical account of the life of Jesus of Nazareth is one of the three synoptic gospels. It was thought to be an epitome, which accounts for its place as the second...
, , the feeding of the 4000. The cantata is based on Johann Heermann
Johann Heermann
Johann Heermann was a German poet and hymn-writer. He is commemorated in the Calendar of Saints of the Lutheran Church on 26 October with Philipp Nicolai and Paul Gerhardt.- Life :...
'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....
in seven stanzas, Was willst du dich betrüben (1630), which is focused on trust in God, even when facing adversaries including the devil. Trust in God is also a theme of the Gospel. Unusual for a chorale cantata of the second cycle is the fact that the text is not changed in the middle movements, but kept "per omnes versus" (for all stanzas). The middle movements are, however, composed 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...
and four 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...
s. The treatment was decidedly old-fashioned in Bach's time. He had used it once much earlier in Christ lag in Todes Banden, BWV 4 (1707), and then again later, as 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...
(1726), though it was not repeated during the second cycle. 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...
assumes that Bach imposed this restriction on himself, as he had done with the restriction to place the cantus firmus
Cantus 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...
in soprano, alto, tenor and bass in the first four cantatas of the cycle. Gardiner comments on the "seventeenth-century design" of composing the unchanged chorale text, compared to settings of Stölzel
Gottfried Heinrich Stölzel
Gottfried Heinrich Stölzel was a prolific German composer.-Biography:Stölzel grew up in Schwarzenberg, Saxony in the Erzgebirge. From 1707 he was a student of theology in Leipzig, and of Melchior Hofmann, the musical director of the Neukirche. He studied, worked and composed in Breslau and Halle...
, Telemann
Georg Philipp Telemann
Georg Philipp Telemann was a German Baroque composer and multi-instrumentalist. Almost completely self-taught in music, he became a composer against his family's wishes. After studying in Magdeburg, Zellerfeld, and Hildesheim, Telemann entered the University of Leipzig to study law, but eventually...
and Graupner
Christoph Graupner
Christoph Graupner was a German harpsichordist and composer of high Baroque music who lived and worked at the same time as Johann Sebastian Bach, Georg Philipp Telemann and George Frideric Handel.-Graupner's life:Born in Hartmannsdorf near Kirchberg in Saxony, Graupner received his first musical...
:
But only Bach is prepared to make life consistently difficult for himself, as here, for example, by choosing to incorporate verbatim all seven stanzas of a rather obscure chorale by Johann Heermann from 1630. ... Bach rises to the challenge: to overcome the limitations of being confined to a rigidly structured hymn without monotony or repetitiveness.
The chorales in Heermann's 1630 publication Devoti musica cordis, which also included Herzliebster Jesu, was hast du verbrochen, the first chorale in Bach's St Matthew Passion, have been described as "the first in which the correct and elegant versification of Opitz was applied to religious subjects, ... distinguished by great depth and tenderness of feeling, by an intense love of the Saviour, and earnest but not self-conscious humility".
Scoring and structure
The cantata is scored for three 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...
, 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...
, a four-part choir, corno da caccia
Natural horn
The natural horn is a musical instrument that is the ancestor of the modern-day horn, and is differentiated by its lack of valves. It consists of a mouthpiece, some long coiled tubing, and a large flared bell. Pitch changes are made through a few different techniques:* Modulating the lip tension as...
, two flauti traversi, two 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...
, 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.
- Coro: Was willst du dich betrüben
- Recitativo (bass): Denn Gott verlässet keinen
- Aria (bass): Auf ihn magst du es wagen
- Aria (tenor): Wenn auch gleich aus der Höllen
- Aria (soprano): Er richts zu seinen Ehren
- Aria (tenor): Drum ich mich ihm ergebe
- Chorale: Herr, gib, daß ich dein Ehre
Music
The opening chorus is a chorale fantasia, the vocal part embedded in an independent concertoConcerto
A concerto is a musical work usually composed in three parts or movements, in which one solo instrument is accompanied by an orchestra.The etymology is uncertain, but the word seems to have originated from the conjunction of the two Latin words...
of the instruments. The cantus firmus
Cantus 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...
on the melody of Von Gott will ich nicht lassen is in long notes, partly embellished, in the soprano and horn; the lower voices are mostly set in homophony
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...
. The lines of the chorale are not rendered separately, but accenting the bar form
Bar form
Bar form is a musical form of the pattern AAB.-Original Use:The term comes from the rigorous terminology of the Meistersinger guilds of the 15th to 18th century who used it to describe their songs and the songs of the predecessors, the minnesingers of the 12th to 14th century...
(Stollen–Stollen–Abgesang) of the text, 1 and 2 are combined, 3 and 4 are combined, 5 is single and 6 to 8 are combined. The scoring is rich in woodwind
Woodwind instrument
A woodwind instrument is a musical instrument which produces sound when the player blows air against a sharp edge or through a reed, causing the air within its resonator to vibrate...
s.
The only recitative is accompanied by the oboes d'amore, shows an extended melisma
Melisma
Melisma, in music, is the singing of a single syllable of text while moving between several different notes in succession. Music sung in this style is referred to as melismatic, as opposed to syllabic, where each syllable of text is matched to a single note.-History:Music of ancient cultures used...
on the word "Freuden" (joy) and culminates in 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....
in the final line, with a melisma on "retten" (rescue). The following four stanzas are composed as arias, not as the typical 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...
s, but mostly in two parts, due to the bar form of the poetry. Bach achieves variation by changing voice type, key and time signature. He also varies the mode, alternating major and minor keys, expresses different Affekts, and he successfully "blurs" the bar form of the stanzas.
The first aria depicts a "hunting scene" for bass and strings. Bach plays on the double meaning of the German word "erjagen", which in the text has the sense "achieve by great exertion", but he expresses the word's literal meaning (to hunt) by an "outrageous hunting call trill" of the bass. The second aria for tenor and continuo begins with strong words on Satan as an enemy: "Wenn auch gleich aus der Höllen / der Satan wollte sich / dir selbst entgegenstellen / und toben wider dich" (Even if, out of hell, Satan wishes to set himself against you, and vent his rage on you). The music is termed by Gardiner "a vivid pen-portrait of Satan and his wiles, delivered with typically Lutheran relish". The rhythm alternates between 6/8 and 3/4 one measure to the next, but the change is irregular and unpredictable. The bass line (marked "organo e continuo") is "extravagantly animated and angular. Albert Schweitzer
Albert Schweitzer
Albert Schweitzer OM was a German theologian, organist, philosopher, physician, and medical missionary. He was born in Kaysersberg in the province of Alsace-Lorraine, at that time part of the German Empire...
likens it to the contortions of a huge dragon".
The third aria for soprano and the two oboes d’amore begins with an embellished version of the chorale tune, and the last line quotes the tune exactly on the words "was Gott will, das geschicht" (What God wants, that happens). The fourth aria is scored for tenor, the flutes in unison
Unison
In music, the word unison can be applied in more than one way. In general terms, it may refer to two notes sounding the same pitch, often but not always at the same time; or to the same musical voice being sounded by several voices or instruments together, either at the same pitch or at a distance...
and muted violin.
The closing chorale is set in four parts for the voices, but embedded in a rich orchestral Siciliano concerto. The lines of the chorale are grouped as in the first stanza, again highlighting line 5, "O Vater, Sohn und Geist" (Oh Father, Son and Spirit) as a miniature 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...
.
Recordings
- Die Bach Kantate Vol. 43, 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:...
, Aldo Baldin, John Bröcheler, 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...
1979 - J.S. Bach: Das Kantatenwerk - Sacred Cantatas Vol. 6, Gustav LeonhardtGustav LeonhardtGustav 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...
, Knabenchor Hannover, Collegium Vocale Gent, Leonhardt-Consort, soloist of the Knabenchor Hannover, 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...
, 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 :...
, TeldecTeldecThe Teldec is a German record label in Hamburg, Germany. Today the label is a property of Warner Music Group.-History:...
1980 - J.S. Bach: Cantatas, Philippe HerreweghePhilippe HerreweghePhilippe Herreweghe is a Flemish conductor.In his school years at the University of Ghent, Herreweghe combined studies in medical science and psychiatry with a musical education at the Ghent Conservatory, where Marcel Gazelle, Yehudi Menuhin's accompanist, was his piano teacher...
, Collegium Vocale Gent, Agnès MellonAgnès MellonAgnès Mellon is a French soprano specialized in the baroque repertoire, born in 1958.- Biography :Agnès Mellon started her career at the beginning of the 1980s with the baroque ensemble Les Arts Florissants directed by William Christie, with whom, between 1981 and 1993, she interpreted Marc-Antoine...
Howard CrookHoward CrookHoward Crook is an American lyric tenor who has lived and worked in the Netherlands and France since the early 1980s.He was born in Rutherford, New Jersey, and educated at Baldwin-Wallace College in Berea, Ohio and then University of Illinois, where he received a master's degree in music,...
, Peter KooyPeter KooyPeter Kooy is a Dutch bass singer specialized in baroque music.- Biography :Peter Kooy started his musical career at 6 years as a choir boy. However he started his musical studies as a violin student...
, Virgin Classics 1991 - Bach Edition Vol. 11 - Cantatas Vol. 5, conductor Pieter Jan LeusinkPieter Jan LeusinkPieter Jan Leusink is a Dutch conductor of classical music.He studied organ in Zwolle at the Municipal Conservatory and took conducting lessons from Gottfried van der Horst...
, Holland Boys Choir, Netherlands Bach Collegium, Ruth HoltonRuth Holton-Training:Holton won a choral exhibition at Clare College, Cambridge and studied music there. Her later musical studies were with Elizabeth Lane, Nancy Long and Julie Kennard.-Career:...
, Nico van der Meel, Bas Ramselaar, Brilliant Classics 1999 - J.S. Bach: Complete Cantatas Vol. 12, 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...
, 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....
, 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...
, 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 2000 - J.S. Bach: Cantatas Trinity Cantatas 4 Ansbach/Haddinton For the 6th Sunday after Trinity For the 7th Sunday after Trinity, 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...
, Katharine Fuge, Kobie van RensburgKobie van RensburgKobie van Rensburg is a South African tenor and opera director.- Life :Van Rensburg studied singing with Werner Nel at the Northwest University of South Africa, but also law and international politics at Potchefstroom University for Christian Higher Education..He made his debut in 1991 at the age...
, Stephan Loges, Archiv ProduktionArchiv ProduktionArchiv Produktion is a subsidiary label of Deutsche Grammophon founded in 1948.The first head of Archiv from 1948–1957, was Fred Hamel, a musicologist who set out the early Archiv releases according to 12 research periods from 1. Gregorian Chant to 12. Mannheim and Vienna...
2000 - J.S. Bach: Cantatas Vol. 23 - Cantatas from Leipzig 1724, Masaaki SuzukiMasaaki Suzukiis 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...
, Bach Collegium JapanBach Collegium JapanBach 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...
, Yukari Nonoshita, Makoto Sakurada, Peter KooyPeter KooyPeter Kooy is a Dutch bass singer specialized in baroque music.- Biography :Peter Kooy started his musical career at 6 years as a choir boy. However he started his musical studies as a violin student...
, BISBIS RecordsBIS Records is a record label founded in 1973 by Robert von Bahr. It is located in Åkersberga, Sweden.BIS focuses on classical music, both contemporary and early, especially works that are not already well represented by existing recordings....
2002
External links
- Cantata BWV 107 Was willst du dich betrüben 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...
- Was willst du dich betrüben on the Bach website
- BWV 107 Was willst du dich betrüben 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 107 Was willst du dich betrüben 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...
- Chapter 8 BWV 107 Was willst du dich betrüben? Julian Mincham, 2010