Bach Cantatas: Town Council Elections
October 20, 2024
Texts & Translations
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BWV 119: Preise, Jerusalem, Den Herrn
1. Chorus Preise, Jerusalem, den Herrn, lobe, Zion, deinen Gut! Denn er machet fest die Riegel deiner Tore und segnet deine Kinder drinnen, er schaffet deinen Grenzen Frieden. 2. Rezitativ T Gesegnet Land, glückselge Stadt, Woselbst der Herr sein Herd und Feuer hat! Wie kann Gott besser lohnen, Als wo er Ehre läßt in einem Lande wohnen? Wie kann er eine Stadt Mit reicherm Nachdruck segnen, Als wo er Güt und Treu einander läßt begegnen, Wo er Gerechtigkeit und Friede Zu küssen niemals müde, Nicht müde, niemals satt Zu werden teur verheißen, auch in der Tat erfüllet hat? Da ist der Schluß gemacht: gesegnet Land, glückselge Stadt! 3. Arie T Wohl dir, du Volk der Linden, Wohl dir, du hast es gut! Wieviel an Gottes Segen und seiner Huld gelegen, Die überschwenglich tut, kannst du an dir befinden. 4. Rezitativ B So herrlich stehst du, liebe Stadt! Du Volk, das Gott zum Erbteil sich erwählet hat! Doch wohl! und aber wohl! wo man's zu Herzen fassen Und recht erkennen will, Durch wen den Herr den Segen wachsen lassen. Ja! Was bedarf es viel? Das Zeugnis ist schon da, Herz und Bewissen wird uns überzeugen, Daß, was wir Gutes bei uns sehn, Nächst Gott durch kluge Obrigkeit Und durch ihr weises Regiment geschehn. Drum sei, geliebtes Volk, zu treuem Dank bereit, Sonst würden auch davon nicht deine Mauern schweigen! 5. Arie A Die Obrigkeit ist Gottes Gabe, Ja selber Gottes Ebenbild. Wer ihre Macht nicht will ermessen, Der muß auch Gottes gar vergessen: Wie würde sonst sein Wort erfüllt? 6. Rezitativ S Nun! Wir ekennen es und bringen dir, O höchster Gott, ein Opfer unsers Danks dafür. Zumal, nachdem der heutge Tage, Der Tag, den uns der Herr gemacht, Euch, teure Väter, teils von eurer Last entbunden, Teils auch auf euch Schlaflose Sorgenstunden Bei einer neuen Wahl gebracht, So seufzt ein treues Volk mit Herz und Mund zugleich: 7. Chorus Der Herr hat Guts an uns getan, Des sind wir alle fröhlich. Er seh die teuren Väter an Und halte auf unzählig Und späte lange Jahre naus In ihrem Regimente Haus, So wollen wir ihn preisen. 8. Rezitativ A Zuletzt! Da du uns, Herr, zu deinem Volk gesetzt, So laß von deinen Frommen Nur noch ein arm Gebet vor deiner Ohren kommen Und höre! ja erhöre! Der Mund, das Herz und Seele seufzet sehre. 9. Choral Hilf deinem Volk, Herr Jesu Christ, Und segne, was dein Erbteil ist. Wart und pfleg ihr' zu aller Zeit Und heb sie hoch in Ewigkeit! Amen. |
BWV119: Praise the Lord, Jerusalem,
1. Chorus Praise the Lord, Jerusalem, praise, Sion, your Good! For He secures the bolts of your portals and blesses your children within; He provides peace for your borders. 2. Recitative T Blessed land, fortunate city, where the Lord Himself keeps His hearth and fire! What better reward can God provide than to send honor to dwell in a land? With what more bounteous favor can he bless a city than to have goodness and loyalty greet each other, to have righteousness and peace never tire of kissing, never weary, never sated with being regarded precious, even this He has fulfilled in deed? Therefore here is the conclusion: blessed land, fortunate city! 3. Aria T Good fortune, you people of the lindens, good fortune, you have it good! As much of God's blessing and graciousness together, which fill to overflowing, can you find in your midst. 4. Recitative B So gloriously you stand, dear city! You people, who God has chosen as His heirs! Yet it is well! and yet well again! when it is taken to heart and rightly perceived through whom the Lord allows the blessing to grow. Yes! What more do you need? The witness is already there, our heart and awareness will expound it to us, that the goodness we see among us, besides God, is present through prudent authority and through its wise governance. Therefore be prepared, dear people, for true thanks, otherwise even your walls would complain against you! 5. Aria A Authority is God's gift, yes, even the very image of God. Whoever will not submit to its power must also forget God completely: how else would His word be fulfilled? 6. Recitative S Now! we acknowedge it and bring to You, o highest God, an offering of our thanks for its sake. In addition for these days, the day which the Lord has made for us, for you, dear Town Fathers, in part to release you from your burdens, in part also to bring upon you sleepless hours of worry with a new election, a faithful people sigh thus with heart and mouth together: 7. Chorus The Lord has done good things for us, therefore we all rejoice. He gazes upon our faithful fathers, and supports them in untold and long-lasting years in the house of their government, therefore we would praise Him. 8. Recitative A Finally! Since You have established us as Your people, then grant that, from Your devout ones even a poor prayer may reach Your ears, and hear! yes, hear! Our mouths, our hearts and souls sigh sorely. 9. Chorale Help Your people, Lord Jesus Christ, and bless Your inheritance. Look after and care for them at all times and exalt them in eternity! Amen. |
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BWV 120: Gott, Man Lobet Dich In Der Stille
1. Arie A Gott, man lobet dich in der Stille zu Zion, und dir bezahlet man Gelübde. 2. Chor Jauchzet, ihr erfreuten Stimmen, Steiget bis zum Himmel nauf! Lobet Gott im Heiligtum Und erhebet seinen Ruhm; Seine Güte, Sein erbarmendes Gemüte, Hört zu keinen Zeiten auf! 3. Rezitativ B Auf, du geliebte Lindenstadt, Komm, falle vor dem Höchsten nieder, Erkenne, wie er dich In deinem Schmuck und Pracht So väterlich Erhält, beschützt, bewacht Und seine Liebeshand Noch über dir beständig hat. Wohlan, Bezahle die Gelübde, die du dem Höchsten hast getan, Und sing Dank- und Demutslieder! Komm, bitte, daß er Stadt und Land Unendlich wolle mehr erquicken Und diese werte Obrigkeit So heute Sitz und Wahl verneut, Mit vielem Segen wolle schmücken! 4. Arie S Heil und Segen Soll und muß zu aller Zeit Sich auf unsre Obrigkeit In erwünschter Fülle legen, Daß sich Recht und Treue müssen Miteinander freundlich küssen. 5. Rezitativ T Nun, Herr, so weihe selbst das Regiment mit deinem Segen ein, Daß alle Bosheit von uns fliehe Und die Gerechtigkeit in unsern Hütten blühe, Daß deines Vaters reiner Same Und dein gebenedeiter Name Bei uns verherrlicht möge sein! 6. Chorale Nun hilf uns, Herr, den Dienern dein, Die mit deinm Blut erlöset sein! Laß uns im Himmel haben teil Mit den Heilgen im ewgen Heil! Hilf deinem Volk, Herr Jesu Christ, Und segne, was dein Erbteil ist; Wart und pfleg ihr' zu aller Zeit Und heb sie hoch in Ewigkeit! |
BWV 120: God, You are praised in the stillness
1. Aria A God, You are praised in the stillness of Zion, and vows to You shall be fulfilled. 2. Chorus Exult, you delighted voices, climb all the way to heaven! Praise God in His sanctuary and exalt His glory; His goodness, His merciful bearing, at no time ever ceases! 3. Recitative B Rise up, o beloved city of lindens, come, fall down before the Highest, acknowledge how, in your beauty and magnificence, He has so paternally sustained, protected, and cared for you, and His loving hand still continually stretches out over you. Well then, fulfill your vows, that you have made to the Lord, and sing songs of thanks and humility! Come, pray, that your city and land may be refreshed unceasingly more and more and that this worthy authority, renewed today in seat and election, may be adorned with many blessings! 4. Aria S Prosperity and blessing at all times must and shall depend upon our government in desired fullness, so that righteousness and faithfulness must kiss each other lovingly. 5. Recitative T Now, Lord, dedicate the regime Yourself with Your blessing, so that all wickedness might flee from us and that righteousness might blossom in our homes, so that the pure seed of Your Father and Your most blessed and holy name might be glorified among us! 6. Chorale Now help, Lord, us Your servants, which have been redeemed by Your blood! Let us have a portion in heaven with Your saints in eternal salvation! Help Your people, Lord Jesus Christ, and bless Your inheritance. Look after and care for them at all times and exalt them in eternity! |
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BWV 71: Gott Ist Mein König
1. Chor Gott ist mein König von altersher, der alle Hilfe tut, so auf Erden geschicht. 2. Aria T und Choral S Ich bin nun achtzig Jahr, warum soll dein Knecht sich mehr beschweren? Soll ich auf dieser Welt Mein Leben höher bringen, Durch manchen sauren Tritt Hindurch ins Alter dringen, Ich will umkehren, daß ich sterbe in meiner Stadt, So gib Geduld, für Sünd Und Schanden mich bewahr, Auf daß ich tragen mag bei meines Vaters und meiner Mutter Grab. Mit Ehren graues Haar. 3. Chor Dein Alter sei wie deine Jugend, und Gott ist mit dir in allem, das du tust. 4. Arioso B Tag und Nacht ist dein. Du machest, daß beide, Sonn und Gestirn, ihren gewissen Lauf haben. Du setzest einem jeglichen Lande seine Grenze. 5. Arie A Durch mächtige Kraft Erhältst du unsre Grenzen, Hier muß der Friede glänzen, Wenn Mord und Kriegessturm Sich allerort erhebt. Wenn Kron und Zepter bebt, Hast du das Heil geschafft Durch mächtige Kraft! 6. Chor Du wollest dem Feinde nicht geben die Seele deiner Turteltauben. 7. Chor Das neue Regiment Auf jeglichen Wegen Bekröne mit Segen! Friede, Ruh und Wohlergehen, Müsse stets zur Seite stehen Dem neuen Regiment. Glück, Heil und großer Sieg Muss täglich von neuen Dich, Joseph, erfreuen, Daß an allen Ort und Landen Ganz beständig sei vorhanden Glück, Heil und großer Sieg! |
BWV 71: God is My King
1. Chorus God is my King from long ago, who assists all that exist on the earth. 2. Aria T and Chorale S I am now eighty years old, why shall Your servant burden himself any more? Should I upon this earth carry my life farther, through many sour steps pressing forward into old age, I will turn back, so that I die in my city, than grant mercy for sin and protect me from shame so that I might bear near the grave of my father and my mother. my grey hair with honor. 3. Chorus May your old age be like your youth, and God is with you in everything that you do. 4. Arioso B Day and night are Yours. You have seen to it that both sun and planets have their certain courses. You set borders to every land. 5. Arie A Through powerful strength You maintain our borders, here peace must glow, though murder and the storm of war are raised up everywhere. Though crown and scepter tremble, You have caused salvation through powerful strength! 6. Chorus You would not give the soul of Your turtledove to the enemy. 7. Chorus The new regime in every course crown with blessing! Peace, quiet and good health, must always stand by the side of the new regime. Happiness, health, and great conquest must newly and daily delight you, Joseph, so that all lands and places may constantly enjoy happiness, health, and great conquest |
Translations © copyright Pamela Dellal; used by kind permission.
Program Notes
Bach’s Council Inauguration Cantatas
When touring Leipzig, one is struck by the importance accorded to the portraits of members of the church and city councils that can be seen surrounding the altar at Thomaskirche and in the beautiful reception hall of the Renaissance town hall in the centre of Leipzig—portraits not unlike those ringing Mechanics Hall. This isn’t necessarily surprising; as citizens of a free imperial city, Leipzigers were duly proud of their independence, and celebrated that freedom by placing considerable power in the hands of their representatives. The self-congratulatory celebrations didn’t stop with portraiture; one of Bach’s jobs was to compose cantatas to celebrate the annual election of the town council. The council was large, with three mayors presiding over ten councillors each. A new council came into power by rotation each year on St Bartholomew’s Day, 24 August.
BWV 119: Preise, Jerusalem, den Herrn
Although Bach famously fell out with the officials of the city, church and school later in his twenty-seven tenure in Leipzig, he must have begun his time there with great enthusiasm and hopefulness. BWV119, Bach’s first town council inauguration cantata in Leipzig, was written four months after arriving in the city in 1723. It is a spectacular cantata, and gives no hint at the acrimony that would later develop between Bach and his employers. Indeed, the scale and scope of this work, as well as its musical richness, place it amongst Bach’s most important cantatas. The bulk of its text is drawn from Psalm 147, casting Leipzig as a “new Jerusalem”.
Bach often used the regal French ouverture form when referring to royalty or kingship, so the use of that form for the town council is surely a well-considered form of flattery on Bach’s part! The full orchestra, expanded to include the highly irregular three oboes and four trumpets, presents the opening double-dotted grave section before the choir launches into the central fugue. This 12/8 section is extremely attractive, with a simple but effective contrasting lyrical theme presented after the joyful praise theme. These themes reflect the two literary themes: man praising God and God blessing the children within the gates. In typical French ouverture form, the pompous material from the beginning returns at the end of the movement.
The same theme of “justice and peace kissing each other” that we found in the soprano aria in BWV120 returns in the tenor recitative in BWV119, where the unidentified librettist extols Leipzig’s good fortune in having “God’s glory reside in the land”. The tenor aria continues the same theme, celebrating the fact that God’s blessing manifests itself in Leipzig. Set for a pair of oboes da caccia, Bach’s bucolic instrument the triplet rhythms seem to represent the swaying of the linden tree, referred to in this aria.
We shift from the Leipzig’s general good fortune towards the purpose of the day—the inauguration of the city government—in the next recit-aria pair. We might cringe a bit at the syncophantic nature of the second half of the cantata, but we should keep in perspective that this was the age of the patronage system, and take it at face value. But the modern reader is certainly put off by the bass’ sentiment that “whatever good we experience, next to God, comes through intelligent authorities and their wise governing”! This text is set with fanfare-like bursts from the trumpets. The beautiful alto aria expands on this idea, suggesting that government is the image of God on earth. The use of the flute (originally recorders), which we know from the aria “Ich folge dir gleichfalls” in the St John Passion, is often associated with leading and following. But here the flute seems to represent the same idea in reverse. In the text, the alto sings that whoever doesn’t understand the godly might of earthly government must also be oblivious of God. In so many phrases, the flute seems to move cheerfully, oblivious of the alto’s more profound statements.
The outsized scope of the cantata is truly reflected in the final chorus, introduced by a soprano recitative. The image of sighing introduced by her is taken up by the trumpets, with a slurred, dotted repeating figure in the chorus. The main body of the chorus is a fugue on the text “the Lord has done good to us; therefore we are all joyful.” The blessing declamation is presented in a straightforward subject, but Bach introduces much more spritely articulation and melismas for the rejoicing figure. As we find in the chorus of BWV120, Bach uses the B section for contrasting more lyrical material; in this section, we encounter the sighing figure more often. One nice touch is the long notes for the text “advanced long years”, referring to the councillors’ wisdom and in some cases, their old age.
Rather than ending with this chorus, Bach adds a short recitative and chorale. The text for the chorale is the same as BWV120’s final chorale, though it is set here to a different section of the German Te Deum chorale melody.
BWV 120: Gott, man lobet dich in der Stille
As is true of many of Bach’s congratulatory cantatas—the cantatas written for special events like patrons’ namedays, university celebrations and elections—BWV120 is almost certainly a parody, or reworking, of an earlier cantata. Musicologists are still unsure of the definite date of its composition, but this cantata could not have been performed before the council elections of 1742, only eight years before Bach’s death. As we have found so often before in our cantata journey, the fact that Bach is drawing on pre-composed material in no way affects the quality and theological specificity of this cantata. Indeed, it is a particularly beautiful and meaningful cantata.
Unusually, the cantata opens with an aria rather than a chorus. Bach sets this text from Psalm 65, “God, one praises Thee in the stillness of Zion” in an ingenious fashion. He manages to combine both the idea of Zion’s stillness, represented through staccato chords and and long notes, with the idea of praise, depicted by the highly ornate oboe double concerto writing and the equally florid alto solo. From here, Bach launches into one of his most glorious choruses of praise. It is clear that the composer knew the high value of this movement: he reworked it in the Credo of the B Minor Mass later in the 1740s for the text “and we expect the resurrection of the dead.” In the case of this earlier version, the upward-reaching arpeggios and scalar motives (on the word “rise”) represent humans “shouting for joy” from earth to heaven. Unlike the B Minor Mass chorus, this movement is in a large ABA da capo form, with a contrasting middle section praise God’s compassion and kindness.
It is in the bass recitative that we find the most specific reference to the cantata’s municipal purpose. The bass commands the residents of Leipzig, the “city of linden trees”, to pay the vows they have made to God. He also prays for blessing upon the new government. The exquisite soprano aria takes up this theme of blessing; specifically, for two pairs of words: “well-being and blessing” and “justice and faithfulness”. Perhaps these textual twins provided the impetus for the duet between the soprano and solo violin, who dance around each other’s lines before coming together in unison at major cadential points. The soprano line is cantabile, where the violin has more Italianate figurations throughout the aria.
Following a second recitative asking for God’s blessing, this time sung by the tenor and accompanied by strings, the choir sings a rather sober setting of Luther’s German Te Deum. Again, this chorale continues the theme of blessing for God’s people, a major theme of all of the election cantatas.
BWV 71: Gott ist mein König
Only two cantata scores were ever published in Bach’s lifetime: BWV 71, performed in 1708 for the inauguration of the Town Council in Mühlhausen, and another inauguration cantata written for the same occasion the following year. Accordingly, this work has assumed great importance among Bach’s cantatas, not least because Bach gives so many clues about performance practice in a very clear fashion. But the work is important for many reasons. It reflects a fascination that Bach had with the music of Dietrich Buxtehude (c.1637-1707), the important organist from the northern port city of Lübeck. Like his contemporary Handel, Bach made a special trip to see Buxtehude and his advanced choral programme at St Mary’s Church. During his trip, Bach would certainly have seen one of Buxtehude’s Abendmusik concerts, an early example of musical entrepreneurship. The key importance of Buxtehude’s musical style to Bach’s own developing musical style was the older composer’s ability to infuse the sober North German technique with elements of French and Italian music, an amalgamation that J.S. Bach would go on to perfect.
The galleries in Buxtehude’s St Mary’s Church, not unlike Monteverdi’s San Marco Basilica, were perfect for antiphonal writing. Gott ist mein König uses this technique explicitly, leading most musicologists to believe that Bach must have heard one of Buxtehude’s now-lost oratorios. There are six “choirs” in BWV71: trumpets and timpani; flutes and cello; oboes and bassoon; strings; vocal soloists (“concertists”) and tutti singers (“ripienists”). Bach uses various combinations of these instruments throughout the entire cantata, though only the opening and closing movements feature all of the instruments.
The alternation of vocal concertists and ripienists throughout the cantata gives some indication as to what might have been a commonplace practice for Bach. In fact, the concertists sing the bulk of the work (including a fugue without ripieno at all), suggesting that he thought of the tutti choir in a very different way than we do in post-19th century choral music. The first movement is triumphant hymn of praise to God, whereas the finale is a text more specific to the inauguration, asking for a blessing for the new government. In this tour de force final movement, Bach offers a large range of contrasts, from vocal-instrumental forces to tempi and meters to musical forms. The climax of the movement is a beautiful chaconne-like fugue that builds in texture and dynamics throughout.
In the other two “choral” movements, Bach uses the concertists for the first and the tutti choir for the second. For the text “May your old age be like your youth,” Bach uses a self-consciously old-fashioned fugue form, the permutation fugue. Although the reference to old age seems a bit odd at first glance, Malcolm Boyd points out that the new principal burgomeister was eighty-three years old, so the antique reference is clearly meant as a respectful homage. The other choral movement is one of the most curiously beautiful in all of Bach’s output. The singers implore that God not give “the soul of His turtle-dove” to their enemies. They implore this through the use of leaning appoggiaturas and slurs, while the timorous bassoon and cello parts represent their anxiety. This is another characteristic learned from Buxtehude: Bach sets up a range of rhythmic ostinati that continue throughout the movement as Bach layers new material above those undulations. The turtle-dove itself is represented in the impossibly lyrical soprano melody.
The other three movements in the work are for solo voices. The first is a tenor-soprano duet accompanied by continuo, representing the aged servant who sings a rather morbid text asking that God allow him to die in his own city, buried with his parents. To the modern eye, such words seem very odd, but in a culture which featured the veneration of the elderly as well as a healthy respect of death, the words would seem less harsh. In a form that Bach would later use to great advantage in Leipzig, the soprano sings an embellished chorale melody, Soll ich auf dieser Welt, asking for God’s protection into our old age. The bass arioso features an instrumental ritornello by the flute and oboe choirs, with a central section accompanied only by continuo, breaking the reverie of the A section. This is followed immediately by a similarly multi-part alto aria, accompanied by trumpets and timpani. We are afforded another glimpse of the majesty of the cantata’s opening in this short aria.
Chris Shepard
When touring Leipzig, one is struck by the importance accorded to the portraits of members of the church and city councils that can be seen surrounding the altar at Thomaskirche and in the beautiful reception hall of the Renaissance town hall in the centre of Leipzig—portraits not unlike those ringing Mechanics Hall. This isn’t necessarily surprising; as citizens of a free imperial city, Leipzigers were duly proud of their independence, and celebrated that freedom by placing considerable power in the hands of their representatives. The self-congratulatory celebrations didn’t stop with portraiture; one of Bach’s jobs was to compose cantatas to celebrate the annual election of the town council. The council was large, with three mayors presiding over ten councillors each. A new council came into power by rotation each year on St Bartholomew’s Day, 24 August.
BWV 119: Preise, Jerusalem, den Herrn
Although Bach famously fell out with the officials of the city, church and school later in his twenty-seven tenure in Leipzig, he must have begun his time there with great enthusiasm and hopefulness. BWV119, Bach’s first town council inauguration cantata in Leipzig, was written four months after arriving in the city in 1723. It is a spectacular cantata, and gives no hint at the acrimony that would later develop between Bach and his employers. Indeed, the scale and scope of this work, as well as its musical richness, place it amongst Bach’s most important cantatas. The bulk of its text is drawn from Psalm 147, casting Leipzig as a “new Jerusalem”.
Bach often used the regal French ouverture form when referring to royalty or kingship, so the use of that form for the town council is surely a well-considered form of flattery on Bach’s part! The full orchestra, expanded to include the highly irregular three oboes and four trumpets, presents the opening double-dotted grave section before the choir launches into the central fugue. This 12/8 section is extremely attractive, with a simple but effective contrasting lyrical theme presented after the joyful praise theme. These themes reflect the two literary themes: man praising God and God blessing the children within the gates. In typical French ouverture form, the pompous material from the beginning returns at the end of the movement.
The same theme of “justice and peace kissing each other” that we found in the soprano aria in BWV120 returns in the tenor recitative in BWV119, where the unidentified librettist extols Leipzig’s good fortune in having “God’s glory reside in the land”. The tenor aria continues the same theme, celebrating the fact that God’s blessing manifests itself in Leipzig. Set for a pair of oboes da caccia, Bach’s bucolic instrument the triplet rhythms seem to represent the swaying of the linden tree, referred to in this aria.
We shift from the Leipzig’s general good fortune towards the purpose of the day—the inauguration of the city government—in the next recit-aria pair. We might cringe a bit at the syncophantic nature of the second half of the cantata, but we should keep in perspective that this was the age of the patronage system, and take it at face value. But the modern reader is certainly put off by the bass’ sentiment that “whatever good we experience, next to God, comes through intelligent authorities and their wise governing”! This text is set with fanfare-like bursts from the trumpets. The beautiful alto aria expands on this idea, suggesting that government is the image of God on earth. The use of the flute (originally recorders), which we know from the aria “Ich folge dir gleichfalls” in the St John Passion, is often associated with leading and following. But here the flute seems to represent the same idea in reverse. In the text, the alto sings that whoever doesn’t understand the godly might of earthly government must also be oblivious of God. In so many phrases, the flute seems to move cheerfully, oblivious of the alto’s more profound statements.
The outsized scope of the cantata is truly reflected in the final chorus, introduced by a soprano recitative. The image of sighing introduced by her is taken up by the trumpets, with a slurred, dotted repeating figure in the chorus. The main body of the chorus is a fugue on the text “the Lord has done good to us; therefore we are all joyful.” The blessing declamation is presented in a straightforward subject, but Bach introduces much more spritely articulation and melismas for the rejoicing figure. As we find in the chorus of BWV120, Bach uses the B section for contrasting more lyrical material; in this section, we encounter the sighing figure more often. One nice touch is the long notes for the text “advanced long years”, referring to the councillors’ wisdom and in some cases, their old age.
Rather than ending with this chorus, Bach adds a short recitative and chorale. The text for the chorale is the same as BWV120’s final chorale, though it is set here to a different section of the German Te Deum chorale melody.
BWV 120: Gott, man lobet dich in der Stille
As is true of many of Bach’s congratulatory cantatas—the cantatas written for special events like patrons’ namedays, university celebrations and elections—BWV120 is almost certainly a parody, or reworking, of an earlier cantata. Musicologists are still unsure of the definite date of its composition, but this cantata could not have been performed before the council elections of 1742, only eight years before Bach’s death. As we have found so often before in our cantata journey, the fact that Bach is drawing on pre-composed material in no way affects the quality and theological specificity of this cantata. Indeed, it is a particularly beautiful and meaningful cantata.
Unusually, the cantata opens with an aria rather than a chorus. Bach sets this text from Psalm 65, “God, one praises Thee in the stillness of Zion” in an ingenious fashion. He manages to combine both the idea of Zion’s stillness, represented through staccato chords and and long notes, with the idea of praise, depicted by the highly ornate oboe double concerto writing and the equally florid alto solo. From here, Bach launches into one of his most glorious choruses of praise. It is clear that the composer knew the high value of this movement: he reworked it in the Credo of the B Minor Mass later in the 1740s for the text “and we expect the resurrection of the dead.” In the case of this earlier version, the upward-reaching arpeggios and scalar motives (on the word “rise”) represent humans “shouting for joy” from earth to heaven. Unlike the B Minor Mass chorus, this movement is in a large ABA da capo form, with a contrasting middle section praise God’s compassion and kindness.
It is in the bass recitative that we find the most specific reference to the cantata’s municipal purpose. The bass commands the residents of Leipzig, the “city of linden trees”, to pay the vows they have made to God. He also prays for blessing upon the new government. The exquisite soprano aria takes up this theme of blessing; specifically, for two pairs of words: “well-being and blessing” and “justice and faithfulness”. Perhaps these textual twins provided the impetus for the duet between the soprano and solo violin, who dance around each other’s lines before coming together in unison at major cadential points. The soprano line is cantabile, where the violin has more Italianate figurations throughout the aria.
Following a second recitative asking for God’s blessing, this time sung by the tenor and accompanied by strings, the choir sings a rather sober setting of Luther’s German Te Deum. Again, this chorale continues the theme of blessing for God’s people, a major theme of all of the election cantatas.
BWV 71: Gott ist mein König
Only two cantata scores were ever published in Bach’s lifetime: BWV 71, performed in 1708 for the inauguration of the Town Council in Mühlhausen, and another inauguration cantata written for the same occasion the following year. Accordingly, this work has assumed great importance among Bach’s cantatas, not least because Bach gives so many clues about performance practice in a very clear fashion. But the work is important for many reasons. It reflects a fascination that Bach had with the music of Dietrich Buxtehude (c.1637-1707), the important organist from the northern port city of Lübeck. Like his contemporary Handel, Bach made a special trip to see Buxtehude and his advanced choral programme at St Mary’s Church. During his trip, Bach would certainly have seen one of Buxtehude’s Abendmusik concerts, an early example of musical entrepreneurship. The key importance of Buxtehude’s musical style to Bach’s own developing musical style was the older composer’s ability to infuse the sober North German technique with elements of French and Italian music, an amalgamation that J.S. Bach would go on to perfect.
The galleries in Buxtehude’s St Mary’s Church, not unlike Monteverdi’s San Marco Basilica, were perfect for antiphonal writing. Gott ist mein König uses this technique explicitly, leading most musicologists to believe that Bach must have heard one of Buxtehude’s now-lost oratorios. There are six “choirs” in BWV71: trumpets and timpani; flutes and cello; oboes and bassoon; strings; vocal soloists (“concertists”) and tutti singers (“ripienists”). Bach uses various combinations of these instruments throughout the entire cantata, though only the opening and closing movements feature all of the instruments.
The alternation of vocal concertists and ripienists throughout the cantata gives some indication as to what might have been a commonplace practice for Bach. In fact, the concertists sing the bulk of the work (including a fugue without ripieno at all), suggesting that he thought of the tutti choir in a very different way than we do in post-19th century choral music. The first movement is triumphant hymn of praise to God, whereas the finale is a text more specific to the inauguration, asking for a blessing for the new government. In this tour de force final movement, Bach offers a large range of contrasts, from vocal-instrumental forces to tempi and meters to musical forms. The climax of the movement is a beautiful chaconne-like fugue that builds in texture and dynamics throughout.
In the other two “choral” movements, Bach uses the concertists for the first and the tutti choir for the second. For the text “May your old age be like your youth,” Bach uses a self-consciously old-fashioned fugue form, the permutation fugue. Although the reference to old age seems a bit odd at first glance, Malcolm Boyd points out that the new principal burgomeister was eighty-three years old, so the antique reference is clearly meant as a respectful homage. The other choral movement is one of the most curiously beautiful in all of Bach’s output. The singers implore that God not give “the soul of His turtle-dove” to their enemies. They implore this through the use of leaning appoggiaturas and slurs, while the timorous bassoon and cello parts represent their anxiety. This is another characteristic learned from Buxtehude: Bach sets up a range of rhythmic ostinati that continue throughout the movement as Bach layers new material above those undulations. The turtle-dove itself is represented in the impossibly lyrical soprano melody.
The other three movements in the work are for solo voices. The first is a tenor-soprano duet accompanied by continuo, representing the aged servant who sings a rather morbid text asking that God allow him to die in his own city, buried with his parents. To the modern eye, such words seem very odd, but in a culture which featured the veneration of the elderly as well as a healthy respect of death, the words would seem less harsh. In a form that Bach would later use to great advantage in Leipzig, the soprano sings an embellished chorale melody, Soll ich auf dieser Welt, asking for God’s protection into our old age. The bass arioso features an instrumental ritornello by the flute and oboe choirs, with a central section accompanied only by continuo, breaking the reverie of the A section. This is followed immediately by a similarly multi-part alto aria, accompanied by trumpets and timpani. We are afforded another glimpse of the majesty of the cantata’s opening in this short aria.
Chris Shepard