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In comparison with his other composer colleagues, Sebastian Bach at Christmas Time produced a great quality and diversity rather than a quantity of music for this most popular of feast days. ?Leipzig was the leading Protestant (Lutheran, Evangelical) city in Germany, given the phenomenal growth of its churches, the major University of Leipzig, and its position as the nation's economic center, says Günther Stiller.¹? There were three basic factors for the city's status: ? "religion was the main public arena," "Baroque music was embedded in religious culture, and, at the same time structured that culture," as well as the unparalleled "conflict between Pietists, and non-Pietists" over "secular status hierarchies, norms, and materialism," observes Tanya Kevorkian in her study of religion in Leipzig in Bach's time.²? Bach's guide was the so-called Church Book in Duke' Heinrich's Agenda of 1719 () that defining the ingredients, scope, and emphases of the public services in the Leipzig churches which Bach used to determine the "Order of the Divine Service in Leipzig," found on the inside cover of his autograph score for Cantata 61, "Nun komm der Heiden Heiland," () for the 1st Sunday in Advent, 28 November 1723, the beginning of the church year. ?

Leipzig Liturgy, Seasons & Times

From these church guidelines as well as the historic one-year lectionary () in use in Bach's time, Bach developed a template for his sacred cantata church-year cycles of musical sermons involving mini-cycles ( ) based on liturgical, church year, structural, and literary conventions.? <<Full madrigalian cantatas were presented in Leipzig during most of the Sundays and feast days, totaling about 60 for an annual church year cycle.? The closed periods in Leipzig when no figural music were presented were the seasons of Advent (2nd to 4th Sundays in Advent) and Lent (all five Sundays in Lent and Palm Sunday).? Technically the Sundays after Epiphany and in Trinity relating to the miracles, parables and teachings of Jesus are considered times rather than seasons related to the life of Jesus Christ.? The first Leipzig cycle presented a special challenge for Bach, covering the second half of the church year, Trinity Time, called omnes tempore or Ordinary Time.? There are some 30 main services involving 25 Sundays after Trinity and the fixed festivals of John the Baptist (June 24), Visitation (July 2), Michael and all Angels (September 29) and Reformation Day (October 31). It is a contrast to the appealing first half of the church year, de tempore or Proper Time, with its emphasis on the life of Jesus Christ in 30 main services in a series of nine major three-day feast days (fixed Christmas, moveable Easter, Pentecost); six secondary feast days of New Year's (January 1), Epiphany (January 6), Purification (February 2), Annunciation (March 25), and moveable feast days of Ascension, and Trinity; and the some 15 Sundays after Christmas or New Year's involving five Sundays after Epiphany, Septuagesimae, Sexagesimae, Quinquagesimae Estomihi, Quasimodogeniti, Misericordias Domini, Jubilate, Kantate, Rogate, and Exaudi.? The First Sunday After Trinity festival Sunday, occurring before the mid-summer equinox in June, marked the beginning of the Trinity Time second half-year of church services, which also was the beginning of Bach’s first two cantata cycles, and the beginning of the Thomas School scholastic term, as well as Bach position as Cantor. Thus, it was most fitting for Bach to establish a strong framework for his well-regulated church music with the use of appropriate and engaging chorales and lectionary references (Old Testament, Epistle, Gospel) for his musical sermons>> (source, "Bach's First Leipzig Church-Year Cycle," /g/Bach/message/1269?p=%2C%2C%2C20%2C0%2C0%2C0%3A%3ACreated%2C%2Cposterid%3A2270104%2C20%2C2%2C0%2C100400128).

Leipzig Church Year:? Mini-Cycles

The earliest mini-cycles at the beginning of the church year lay the foundation for the de tempore (Propers Time) Jesus Christ narrative in the first half of the church year and the omnes tempore (Ordinary Time) on the teachings of the Christian Church in the second half.? The initial church year min-cycles involve the Advent anticipation of the incarnate coming of Jesus from the perspective of today's three-year Revised Common Lectionary (, ).? Thus, a full-range of Bachian Advent cantatas for all four Sundays is realized with the applicable text as well as Advent works of other composers associated with Bach (see ).? The second de tempore mini-cycle was the Christmas Time period from the Christmas Festival to the feast of Epiphany, known as the 12 days of Christmas with some six distinct, festive services off the three-day Christmas Festival, December 25-27, the Sunday after Christmas ( ) or the 2nd Sunday after Christmas (Sunday after New Year, ), New Year's (), and Feast of Epiphany ().? This period also is known as the Turning Time ().

Other Bach Service Music

Bach's music also included other sacred music genres such as hymns (chorales, sacred songs), oratorios (feast day extended cantatas, Passion settings for Good Friday Vespers), and Latin Church Music (Mass Ordinary movements, Magnificat), and music of other composers Bach presented during the church year.? In addition,? Bach scholars-musicians are assembling a range of new sacred works based on previously-existing musical materials or textual sources familiar to Bach (), most notably the Bach Stiftung (Foundation) new cantata assemblages in new contexts and the Bachfest Leipzig "BACH for Future" ( ),?commissioning diverse new formats, adaptations, reinterpretations, pasticcios, and transcriptions of existing materials. ?

Hauptgottesdienst Order

The liturgy of the early main service (Hauptgottesdienst) Mass begins with the Preparation (Nos. 1-4) and involves both the Service of the Word (Nos. 6-10) and the Service of the Sacrament (Nos. 12-14), and Dismissal (No. 15) for the Main Service; the appropriate readings of the day's Old Testament, the Gospel, and the Epistle ( ); and the preferred chorales of Gottfried Vopelius' Neu Leipziger Gesangbuch (NLGB) of 1682 ( ), as well as Erhard Bodenschatz's? Florilegium Portense ³? motet collection (, ).? Bach took advantage of every opportunity to use music (chanted, sung, harmonized, polyphonic, instrumental) and texts both German and Latin, with more elaborate music performed during the festival main and afternoon vesper services, such as the polyphonic Gloria after the Kyrie and the Sanctus during Communion Preface, with the festive separate Magnificat, also during Marian observances.

The following is the English translation of the NBR editors using brackets, parentheses mine, with additions from Robin A. Leaver { . . . }:⁴

Order of the Divine Service in Leipzig

On the First Sunday in Advent:? Morning [Service):

1. Preluding {Organ prelude}; (2) {Latin} Motet (Introit, Psalm, Old Testament); (3) {Missa:? Kyrie and Gloria} Preluding on the Kyrie, which is performed throughout in concerted manner [musiciret (polyphonic)]; (4) Intoning before the altar [Salutation, verse and collect prayers]; (5) Reading of the Epistle []; (6) Singing of the Litany [Gradual & Alleluia]; (7) Preluding on [and singing of] the Chorale (Gradual Hymn of the Day, Hauptlied, de tempore); (8), Reading of the Gospel [crossed out: and intoning of the Creed]; (9) Preluding on [and performance of] the principal music [cantata]; (10) Singing of the Creed [Luther's Credo hymn]; (11) The Sermon (pulpit service) followed by Confession and Intercessions); (12), After the Sermon, as usual, singing of several verses of a [pulpit, chancel] hymn; (13) {the Lords Prayer and} Words of Institution (Verba) [of the sacrament]; (14), {Communion and Musica sub Communione} Preluding on [and performance of] the music [probably the second part of the cantata].? After the same, alternately preluding of chorales until the end of communion , et sic porro [on so on] [followed by collect prayer; {15} [Aaronic] Benediction and Benediction [congregational] Response [Gott sei uns gn?dig und barmhertzig (Psalm 67, hymn BWV 323, )], hymn, Organ postlude}.

Christmas Day 1723, Leipzig

More Christmas Time Music

During his Leipzig tenure, Bach continued to provide for Christmas Day seven festive works — BWV 63, 91, 110, 197a(.1), 248/1, 243.1, and 191? () as well as chorales and motets (see ), plus Latin works such as Sanctus settings and the Magnificat, in addition to the German Magnificat, Meine Seele erhebt den Herren, for the Feast of the Visitation (see :? "Other Magnificats").? The cantatas for the 2nd and 3rd Days of Christmas are less festive and interspersed with cantatas for St. Stephen's Day for the first Christian martyr (December 26) and St. John's Day (December 27) for the apostle and evangelist author of the non-synoptic gospel.? Although these alternate dates in Leipzig were observed on even-numbered years, Bach had the flexibility to use the liturgy found in the Christmas Festival cantatas.⁷ ? Bach turned to the Darmstadt poet Georg Christian Lehms (1684-1717, ) for his 1711 intimate, almost entirely solo or dialogue cantatas, Gottgef?lliges Kirche-Opffer (God-Pleasing Church-Sacrifices).? Most notable is Cantata 57, "Selig ist der Mann" (Blessed is the man, James 1:12)a, see :? "Lehms Intimate Texts and Bach’s Uses").? This is a St. Stephens cantata which Alfred Dürr called Bach''s "Die Stephanuskantate."? The Lehms cantata for St. John's Day, , "Sü?er Trost, mein Jesus k?mmt" (Sweet comfort, my Jesus comes, ) has no direct references to John the evangelist while BWV 64, "Sehet, welch eine Liebe hat uns der Vater erzeiget" (Behold, what a love the Father has shown us, 1 John 3:1), for John's Day 1723, speaks of the Johannine Father's love.

A decade later, Bach began a series of full festive oratorios with his Christmas Oratorio, BWV 248, a series of six cantatas for the 12 days of Christmas 1734-34, also known as Turning Time:? Christmas Day (Nativity, :? scroll down to "Discussions in the Week of December 24, 2017" [4th round]"), 2nd Day of Christmas (Annunciation, :? scroll down to "Discussions in the Week of December 31, 2017 [4th round]"), 3rd Day of Christmas (Adoration of the Shepherds, :? scroll down to "Discussions in the Week of January 7, 2018 [4th round]"), New Year's (Feast of Circumcision, Naming of Jesus, :? scroll down to "Discussions in the Week of January 7, 2018 [4th round]"); Sunday after New Years (2nd Sunday after Christmas, Magi Journey to Bethlehem, :? scroll down to "Discussions in the Week of January 14, 2018 [4th round]"), Epiphany (Adoration of Magi, :? scroll down to "Discussions in the Week of January 14, 2018 [4th round]). ?

Other Bach Works for Turning Time

Meanwhile, other liturgical dates are being filled in with other Bach works which can perform multiple duties, see the two most recent BML discussions, "New Advent Cantatas, Oratorio; All-Souls Day Cantatas," , and "Musical Explorations, "BACH for Future": New Cantatas, Pasticcios, Adaptations," .? Bach was also fashioning the remaining six festive New Year's cantatas () which did multiple duty as celebrations of the civic New Year, which he first practiced annually at the C?then court (1718-23) with profane celebratory vocal serenades.? Bach also created a special mini-cycle for Epiphany Time which also marked the beginning of the annual Leipzig Winter Fair.?

Lectionary Services

Bach's annual church-year cantata cycle using the one-day single lectionary ( ) in Leipzig involved 28 Sundays and feast days in the first half of the church year (de tempore), 27 Sundays after Trinity in the second half (omnes tempore), and seven fixed feast dates of Marian and apostle feasts, and Reformation Day.? During the extended Christmas Time, also known as Turning Time (), there is an accounting of the services and music for these 12 days of Christmas, with the following services:? Christmas Festival, December 25-27, Sunday after Christmas or Sunday after New Year (2nd Sunday after Christmas), New Year's (Circumcision and Name of Jesus), and Epiphany feast.? In the three-day Christmas Festival, the 2nd Day of Christmas and the 3rd Day of Christmas did double duty, respectively, as St. Stephen's Day (the first Christian martyr) and St. John's Day (the Evangelist and non-synoptic gospel writer).? The readings for the 2nd and 3rd Days of Christmas and the Bach works for those days are found at . ?

In addition, this year's three-year Revised Common Lectionary ( ), the current 2024 Plan B, the Gospel of Mark, encompasses other observances also found in the single lectionary, not observed by Bach, but appropriate now for the three-year lectionary, observes John S. Sutterlund.⁸? For Christmas Time there is a Christmas Eve December 24 service (Luke 2:1-14, all 3 years ABC), Year A, BWV 110, alternate BWV 248/1; Year B, BWV 121, alternate BWV 91; Year C, BWV 248.1; alternate BWV 151.? For Christmas Dawn (Annunciation to the Shepherds) December 25 (Luke 2:8-20, all 3 years ABC), Year A, BWV 91, alternate BWV 248/2; Year B, BWV 151, alternate BWV 133; Year C, BWV 248/2, alternate BWV 121.? For Christmas Day (Adoration of the Shepherds), December 25 (John 1:1-14, all 3 years ABC) Year A, BWV 133, alternate BWV 248/3, alternate BWV 63. For St. Stephen's Day (December 26, Epistle Acts 6:8-7:2a, 51-60 and Gospel Luke 2:15-20, all 3 years ABC), BWV 57 and alternate BWV 46. For John, apostle and evangelist (December 27, John 21:20-25, all 3 years ABC), BWV 64, alternate BWVV 133; For Holy Innocents, Martyrs (December 28, Matthew 2:13-18, all 3 years ABC), BWV 58, alternate BWV 153.? For? First Sunday of Christmas (December 26-31), Year A (Matthew, 2:13-23), BWV 153, alternate BWV 58; Year B (Luke 2:22-40), BWV 83, alternate BWV 125; Year C (Luke 2:41-52), BWV 154, alternate BWV 32.? Name of Jesus (January 1, Luke 2:15-21, all 3 years ABC), Year A, BWV 28, alternate BWV 148/4; Year B, BWV 190, alternate BWV 171; Year C, BWV 248/4, alternate BWV 143. Second Sunday of Christmas (Sunday after New Year's; January 2-5, John 1:1-18 all 3 years ABC), Year A, BWV 41, alternate BWV 173; Year B, BWV 122, alternate BWV 40; Year C, BWV 171, alternate, BWV 190.? The feast of Epiphany on January 6 closes the Christmas Time (Turning Time) segment with the following:? Year A (Matthew 3:13-17), BWV 7 and alternate, BWV 37. ? ??

ENDNOTES:

¹ Günther Stiller, Johann Sebastian Bach and Liturgical Life in Leipzig, Eng. trans. (St. Louis MO:? Concordia, 1970), "Intensification of Liturgical Life at the Beginning of the Century": 39-47; original version, Johann Sebastian Bach und das Leipziger gottesdienstliche Leben seiner Zeit (Kassel:? B?renreiter Verlag, 1970).

² Tanya Kavorkian, Baroque Piety:? Religion, Society and Music in Leipzig, 1650-1750 (Ashgate Publishing, 2007; paperback, Rouledge, Abingdon GB, 2016), ; review, . ?

"Order of the Divine Service in Leipzig" (BD I, no. 178), in The New Bach Reader:? A Life of Johann Sebastian Bach in Letters and Documents, eds. Hans T. David & Arthur Mendel, rev. & enlarged Christoph Wolff (New York:? W. W.Norton & Company, 1998:? 113f) .

³ Erhard Bodenschatz's? Florilegium Portense (Vespers Discussion, :? scroll down to "Thomas Braatz wrote (May 19, 2005):" with alpha list of all composers and some music, to "Order of Vespers."

⁴ Robin A. Leaver, "Bach's Music and the Leipzig Liturgy," in Bach Studies:? Liturgy, Hymnology, and Theology essays (London:? Routledge, 2021:? 27-47), ; Leaver's article is discussed at :? Leaver: Chapter 2, Bach’s Music, Leipzig Liturgy, "Hauptgottesdienst (Main Service)":? 27-42; Vespergottesdienst (vesper service):? 342-47.

⁵ Christmas Leipzig 1723:? reconstruction of first Christmas Vespers in Leipzig; Dunedin Consort, John Butt (, click on "Liner Notes"); music:? :? Reconstruction of Bach’s Christmas Vesper Liturgy 1723 … more (click on for TRACKLISTING); the four Christmas interpolations are Vom Himmel hoch, Freut euch und jubiliert, Gloria in excelsis Deo, Virga Jesse.

⁶ Vespergottesdienst:? outline of Robin A. Leaver (Ibid.:? 43-47) with John Butt music []:? (1) Organ prelude ["Gott, durch deine Güte," BWV 600]; (2) Motet [Giovanni Gabrielli "Hodie Christus Natus est a8"]; Psalm(s), Prayer, Lord's Prayer, or cantata on special{major feast} days [Cantata 63]; (4) Hymn of the Day ["Vom Himmel hoch," organ prelude & congregational chorale] (5) Sermon (pulpit service with pulpit hymn, Epistle reading, Epistle exposition); (6) Intercessions; (7) Magnificat [in E-Flat major, BWV 243.1]; (8) Verse (season biblical) and collect; (9) Benediction and Benediction [congregation] Response [Gott sei uns gn?dig und barmhertzig]; (10) Hymn ["Per natus in Bethlehem," BWV 603 organ prelude; Congregation Chorale ["Peur natus in Bethlehem," Neu Leipziger Gesangbuch]; (1), (vesper closing] Hymn, "Nun danket Alle Gott."

⁷ Christmas Festival Cantatas:? works Bach composed for the 2nd and 3rd days of Christmas are analyzed in the following Bach Cantatas Website's Thomas Braatz articles: ? "Missing Indications for Saints’ Feast Days on Christmas Feast Days," analysis, , further commentary, .? Other Bach Christmas/Epiphany cantatas of the third cycle are:? December 25, BWV 110, "Unser Mund sei voll Lachens" (Our mouth is full of laughter (Lehms, chorus), December 26, BWV 57; December 27, Feast of St. John the Evangelist, , Sü?er Trost, mein Jesus k?mmt ( text, SATB solo); December 30, Sunday after Christmas, , “Gottlob! Nun geht das Jahr zu Ende” (, SATB solo with inserted motet); January 1, New Year’s Day, Cantata , “Herr Gott, dich loben wir” ( text with Luther German Te Deum opening chorale chorus); Sunday, January 6, Feast of the Epiphany, with Telemann setting of text, “Ich freue mich in Herrern,” TVWV 1:1826, or “Hier ist mein Herz,” TVWV 1:795.? This constitutes a mini-cycle of services with mostly intimate solo cantatas.

⁸ John S. Sutterlund, Bach Through the Year: The Church Music of Johann Sebastian Bach and the Revised Common Lectionary (Minneapolis MN: Lutheran University Press, 2013: 54f), .

__________

To come:? Epiphany Mass.? the feast of Epiphany, January 6, the transition from Turning Time to Epiphany Time, Bach Epiphany Mass ( ); Epiphany Time mini-cycles of cantatas for Sundays after Epiphany, the first four Sundays after Epiphany (the early years of Jesus):? 1st Sunday after Epiphany, Luke 2:41-52, Jesus in the temple; 2nd Sunday, John 2:1-11 Christ turns water into wine (1st Miracle); 3rd Sunday, Matthew 8:1-13, The cleansing of the leper;? 4th Sunday, Matthew 8: 23-27, Christ stills the tempest.? The current three-year lectionary offers a wealth of early Jesus events, Year B:? 1st Sunday after Epiphany, Mark 1:4-11, John the Baptist appears; January 8, Baptism of Jesus (Matthew 3:13-17); 2nd Sunday, John 1:43-51 Jesus calls the disciples; 3rd Sunday, John 1:43-51, Jesus calls the disciples; 4th Sunday, Mark 1:21-28, Make straight the way of the Lord.? Other events:? February 2, Marian feast of Presentation of Jesus in the Temple, Simeon's canticle;

February 11, Transfiguration Sunday (Last before Lent), Lord God, we praise you.

--
William Hoffman

BachCantataTexts.org?is?a freely available source for new historically-informed English translations of J. S. Bach's vocal works, prepared and annotated by Michael Marissen (Swarthmore College, emeritus) and Daniel R. Melamed (Indiana University/Bloomington Bach Cantata Project).

Beyond the 1176 individual Bach BWV works listed in the new BWV3 Bach Works Catalogue () are various works appropriate for other sacred observances, pasticcios or collections, newly-assembled gatherings, and transcriptions, adaptations, and realizations.? This Bach music reveals basic idiomatic melodic, rhythmic and harmonic features inherent in principles such as unity through diversity, subtlety enriching expression, and vocal/instrumental timbres transformed through various guises.? The theme of the 1723 Bachfest Leipzig, "BACH for Future," festival artistic director Michael Maul explains as follows:? "Bach's music will be presented in new contexts in the commissioning of contemporary works that strengthen the understanding of his compositions" (:? 8)? It also means that we will not only be reverently looking back over 300 years of Bach’s music in its original venues, but also presenting it in new contexts, with a host of fantastic Bachfest debutants, diverse fresh new formats and many a surprising adaptation and reinterpretation of well-known works.? "Well, I think that the 150 or more events over eleven days [at Bachfest 2023] will show us all one thing first and foremost: Bach’s 300-year-old music has truly not aged, the history of its reception is 'in flux'.? Where it comes from, what it can tell us today and how it can also shape our future – all these things will be explored at the 2023 Bachfest. Hopefully once again with numerous visitors from near and far. Welcome to the Bach city of Leipzig!," says Maul (Ibid.: 9).

The inaugural Bachfest Leipzig concert on 8 June 1723 began with Cantata 75, "Die Elenden sollen essen" ("The Wretched Shall Eat"), for the 1st Sunday after Trinity.? "To complement it,?a new work was commissioned for performance in the St. Thomas Church," says the Bachfest 2023 notes (see :? "Opening concert: A?call for peace").? In his?"Kantate:? War and Hope" for soloists, chorus, organ and orchestra,?"contemporary composer J?rg Widmann¹?takes the baroque form of the cantata and gives it new spirit," with this premiere of a commissioned work "being the most original and deeply moving," says Bach scholar Yo Tomita in his conference report (:? 5). ? This extended cantata genre has "its unconditional focus on chorale-like lyrical texts," says Tomita (Ibid.) in seven sections with texts of Matthias Claudius, Jean Paul, Berthold Brecht, and the Bible, a large chorale with words from Dietrich Bonhoeffer's Von guten M?chten, and a concluding Halellujah, all set to Bach's music as parody or new text underlay.? The motto, "BACH for Future," "was explored from various new and exciting angles by setting Bach's works in new contexts, formats, and adaptations," says Tomita (Ibid.). ?

"BACH for Future":? "Et Lux," "Judas" Pasticcio Cantatas, Brandenburg Redux?BACH for Future? "also means that we will not only be reverently looking back over 300 years of Bach’s music in its original venues, but also presenting it in new contexts, with a host of fantastic Bachfest debutants, diverse fresh new formats and many a surprising adaptation and reinterpretation of well-known works,"" says Maul, (:? 8).? "For example, there’ll be a kind of Judas oratorio and a requiem by Bach."? Scored for SATB and chamber orchestra and directed by Jakob Lehmann, the Bach Requiem "Et Lux"² is a pasticcio from Bach cantata movements with new texts by Thomas Kunst, "based on what he imagined Bach might have written as a requiem text in the modern day," says Tomita (Ibid.:? 7).? "The work may be regarded as a parody [new text underlay] but strictly speaking the approach is fundamentally different; from Bach's own practice, since no changes were made to the music itself."? It uses the chorale "Wer nur den Lieben Gott l??t Walten" (Whoever lets only the dear God reign) "as an underlying tune to unify the work," he says (Ibid.).? The "Et Lux," 11 June, program notes describe it as follows (:? 49): ? "Death is the theme of many sacred works by Johann Sebastian Bach, yet the Thomaskantor never composed a requiem. This gave the soprano Julia Sophie Wagner and conductor Jakob Lehmann the idea of using the parody technique to compile a modern requiem from individual movements from Bach cantatas. For it, the Leipzig-based author Thomas Kunst has written new, contemporary texts that have been set to Bach’s music, which remains unchanged. The result is a highly topical work which, after its premiere at the 2022 Thüringer Bachwochen festival, can now also be heard in Leipzig – in the lecture hall of the anatomical institute where Bach’s bones were examined in 1894. At the start of the concert, today’s director of the institute will analyse the plaster cast of Bach’s head that was prepared then."?
Another pasticcio is "Judas,"³ an extended tenor solo cantata using the music of eight pertinent Bach arias and five recitatives by the Continuum ensemble," which traces the psychological ambivalence of this disciple of Jesus.? Tenor Benedickt Kristjánsson chose appropriate music and commentary showing Judas moving from despair and self-hate to his own form of redemption.? Supporting this investigation are passages from the novel ?Judas? by Amos Oz (), "tracing the psychological ambivalence of Judas Iscariot," says Tomita (Ibid.:? 9f), "certainly one of the most original and unforgettable [Bachfest] events.? Instrumentally, the "Brandenburg Mirror Concert" features "six new works made from 'old' notes: the Munich Bach Orchestra conducted by Hansj?rg Albrecht has compiled six 'new Brandenburg Concertos', the instrumentation of which follows that of the original pieces.? All the proceeds will go to the Bach Forest," says the Bachfest program (:? 39).
Original Compositions

The raw materials for new constructions may involve movements from Bach sacred cantatas (instrumental sinfonias, choruses, arias, chorales, recitatives) which also are known as musical sermons, focusing on the service's biblical readings with quotations, appropriate hymn texts, madrigalian poetry, and Lutheran theology.? The texts can remain the same where appropriate, or altered through parody (new text underlay).? In some of the new original compositions, such as Rudolf Lutz's Bach-Luther-Kantate,⁴ the musical materials are altered, such as a violin sonata arranged as an instrumental sinfonia, a recitative adapted from a Luther melody and text, an aria using a motive from Bach's Canonic Variations on "Vom Himmel hoch," a chorus with a Bach fugue set to Luther text (No. 16, "Von der Freiheit eines Christenmenschen" [On the Freedom of a Christian]), and a Bach chorale setting with newly-composed instrumental interludes based on Bach's "Chaconne," BWV 1004/5 (No. 7), with Karl Graft''s text, mixing "original Luther quotations with reformulated Luther words and lines he wrote himself," says Wikipedia (see footnote 4, Lutherkantate wikipedia).? "The libretto, framed by a prologue and epilogue [with 20 movements, this extended cantata] links Luther’s exile in Wartburg Castle with Bach’s detention in a Weimar cell, thus setting the stage for the baroque composer to reflect on the Reformer Luther," says the score discussion (Ibid., see footnote 4, discussion). The result is "an imagined Luther cantata written by Bach during his Weimar period [in 1717 for the 200th anniversary of the Reformation] that displays the typical, festive occasional style of the era alongside the emotional depth of Bach’s inner turmoil."? It was premiered in Wartburg in 2017 under the auspices of the J. S. Bach Foundation. ?

Soon afterwards, Lutz with his librettist Graf wrote another cantata "in a style inspired by Johann Sebastian Bach, the Landsgemeinde [Country community] cantata,"⁵ which premiered in April 2018 in St. Gallen, with the title "Alles Leben str?mt aus dir" (All life flows from you).? In the style of a nine-movement chorale cantata (see tracklist, footnote 5), it recreates a Swiss? community assembly.? "It is an hommage to this ancient ritual of direct democracy," says the discussion video, .? The impetus for these extended cantatas began in 2011 when the J. S. Bach Foundation, as part of its 25-year project to record all of Bach' works, directed Arthur Godel and Lutz to compile "a thematic collage of selected [well-known] movements from cantatas and instrumental works," called "Bach Im Fluss"^{6 —} "Bach and the river of time," contemplations on life and eternity, says the description ().? The 25 movements (see tracklist, footnote 5) includes arias, recitatives, chorales, and choruses as well as instrumental sinfonias, sonatas, solo, and keyboard movements. ?

The most ambitious project is "J. S. Bach — The Apocalypse — The opera Bach never wrote,"⁷ from the Netherlands Bach Society and OPERA2DAY, an original work using quotations from Bach works premiered in 2022 in The Hague.? Composer Panos Iliopoulos has added new music in a neo-Romantic style and lyricist Thomas H?ft has added a narrator-evangelist in a Brecht play with Münster Anabaptist religious fundamentalist fanaticism of the 16th century where a utopian vision becomes an apocalypse. ??

Bach Works Projects
The Leipzig Bachfest commissioning follows in the spirit of various previous undertakings, such as the 翱谤驳别濒产ü肠丑濒别颈苍 Project to complete Bach's unfinished chorale preludes for the church year (). Other speculations about Bach's compositions include Morimur (), a code realization of the implied chorales in Bach's Chaconne in the Violin Partita in D Minor, BWV 1004 (), Joseph James' Requiem After J. S. Bach framed by the Chromatic Fantasy in D Minor (), and Andre Isoir's Johann Sebastian Bach Te Deum and other chorales (). Another major effort has been the reconstruction of presumed original instrumental concertos, based upon extant manuscripts, most notably Bach's Harpsichord Concertos, BWV 1052-59. Best known among the second- and third-generation reconstructions is Bach's Double Concerto for Oboe and Violin, BWV 1060R (), based upon the Concerto for Two Harpsichords (), which still is not accepted in the new BWV 3rd edition (: XXVIIII) but which will be performed at the Leipzig Bachfest on 10 June 1723. In the vocal works category are the reconstructions of Alexander Grychtolik, the St. Mark Passion, BWV 247; K?then Funeral Music, BWV 1143=244a; and secular cantatas BWV 36a and 66a, 216a and 210a, and 205a and 249a (). Diethard Hellmann () published reconstructions of Bach's ?rgre dich, o Seele, nicht, for the , Singet dem Herrn ein neues Lied, and the Markus-Passion (). Hellmann's reconstruction of Markus-Passion () has been recorded by several conductors (see: ).?
One of the first anthologies of Bach's works was conductor Hans Grischkat's Cantate: Vom Reiche Gottes (From the Kingdom of God), oratorio-style excerpts from 18 cantatas arranged from sorrow to joy (BWV 146 to 137).⁸ More recent is Richard T. Gore's Advent oratorio arrangement, J. S. Bach: Good Tidings of Great Joy (St. Louis MO: Concordia, 1970), from appropriate, Advent-related cantata movements (): BWV 101/5,7; 147/3/6; 30/1-3,6; 62/1,2; 36/7; 70/10-3,11; 151/1; 104/1; 132/5; 22/5; 63/5, 148/1, 29/8.⁹? The model for these extended cantatas, also known as oratorios, is Grischkat's 1950 compilation from sorrow to joy, from law to gospel, cited in Gore's Preface to his Advent Oratorio.^10?
Book of Revelation & Bach (source:? )
<<The Book of Revelation emphasizes the interest initially found in the Gospels concerning the so-called “last things,” involving definitive judgement, symbolically related to the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem. This interest is called eschatology, or the study of last things. The concepts of Christology and eschatology are found in the New Testament and Bach and his Lutheran associates understood and applied their theological principles.?Bach set various verses from Revelation for church year cantatas celebrating the Feasts of St. Michael, Christmas, 1st Sunday in Advent, and possible special occasions in Weimar.^? Assuming Bach's authorship, the motet Cantata BWV 50, "Nun ist das Heil" (Now is the Salvation) is one of five Bach cantata movements using passages from the New Testament Book of the Revelation to John. They constitute five different musical forms and could be performed together as a Michaelfest composite pasticccio cantata, opening and closing with chorale fugues using trumpets and drums, the latter using the same text as Handel’s “Messiah” chorus,“Worthy is the lamb” (Rev. 5:12-13). The works and their movements with Revelation texts (Francis Browne English Translation) are:?

1. Eight-voice motet fugal chorus, "Nun ist das Heil" (Now is the Salvation), BWV 50, , September 29, ?1723: “Nun ist das Heil und die Kraft und das Reich / und die Macht unsers Gottes / seines Christus worden, weil der verworfen ist, / der sie verklagete Tag und Nacht vor Gott.” (Now is the salvation and the strength and the kingdom and the might of our God / become [those] of his Christ, / since he has been cast out / who complained about them day and night before God. [Rev. 12:10]), .

2. Recitatve/Arioso (bass, continuo), "Der Freide sei mit dir" (Peace be with you, John 20:21, Easter Tuesday Gospel), Cantata 158, ?pasticcio, origins uncertain, (text ?Salomo Franck): B. “Der Friede sei mit dir, / Der Fürste dieser Welt, / Der deiner Seele nachgestellt, / Ist durch des Lammes Blut bezwungen und gef?llt.” (Peace be with you, / the prince of this world / who hunted after your soul, / is conquered and felled through the Lamb's blood.” [cf Rev. 12:11], .
3. Soul-Jesus (soprano-bass) aria, "Wie soll ich dich, Liebster der Seelen, umfassen?" (How should I embrace you, most beloved of souls?), Cantata 152, "Tritt auf die Glaubensbahn" (Step forward on the way of faith), Sunday after Christmas 1715, Movement 6 (S. Franck text), last line (bass): “Dir schenk ich die Krone nach Trübsal und Schmach.” (I bestow on you the crown after trouble and disgrace, [Rev. 2:10]), .
4. Arioso (bass, continuo) "Siehe, ich stehe vor der Tür" (See, I stand before the door), Cantata 61, "Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland" (Now come, saviour of the gentiles; Erdmann Neumeister text), First Sunday in Advent 1714, Movement 6: “Siehe, ich stehe vor der Tür und klopfe an. / So jemand meine Stimme h?ren wird und die Tür auftun, /zu dem werde ich eingehen / und das Abendmahl mit ihm halten und er mit mir.” (See, I stand before the door and knock. / If anyone will hear my voice / and open the door / I shall go in / and have supper with him and he with me [Rev. 3:20]), .
5. Closing chorus prelude and fugue, "Das Lamm, das erwürget ist" (The lamb that was slain), Cantata 21, "Ich hatte viel Bekümmernis" (I had much affliction; S. Franck text), Movement 11: Das Lamm, das erwürget ist, ist würdig zu nehmen Kraft und Reichtum und Weisheit und St?rke / und Ehre und Preis und Lob. / Lob und Ehre und Preis und Gewalt / sei unserm Gott von Ewigkeit zu Ewigkeit. / Amen, Alleluja!” (The lamb that was slain is worthy to receive / power and riches and wisdom and strength and honour and praise and glory. / Glory and honour and praise and power / be to our God for ever and ever. Amen. Alleluia! [Rev. 5:12-13]).>>? Appropriate chorale preludes and plain chorales are discussed in the next three sections, (source:? ).

Postscript ?

There are other works of Bach still to be uncovered or reconstructed:? the "lost" Pentecost Oratorio of 1739 (); a lost St. Michael's feast cantatas,possibly BWV 248a=248VI (); Bach's lost "fifth" Passion, known — variously — as the "Weimar" or "Gotha" Passion ("Weimar-Gotha Passion," , details ); ).?

ENDNOTES

¹ J?rg Widmann, Kantate "War and Hope":? commission, ; details found at ; varied texts of five writers, ; score, .

² Bach Requiem "Et Lux":? Julia Wagner descriptions, , ; Bachfest Leipzig notes:? :? 49. ? Bach Requiem Mass, :?

Trailer recording, ; for another Bach Requiem, see below, "Bach Works Projects," Joseph James' Requiem After J. S. Bach framed by the Chromatic Fantasy in D Minor ().

³ "Judas — A Pasticcio," Arias and Recitatives by Bach, description:? :? 51;

?Novello Classics (recording, playlist, ), :? 1. Aria, "Meine Seele wartet auf den Herrn" (My soul waits for the Lord, Ps. 130:6), No. 4, BWV 131 (Psalm 130, Out of the depths I cry to thee); 2. Recitative, "Ach! ich bin ein Kind der Sünden" (Alas, I am a child of sin, Johann Rist chorale), No. 3, BWV 78, "Jesus, thou who this my spirit, trans. Z. Philip Ambrose); 3, Aria, "Falscher Heuchler Ebenbild" (The appearance of false hypocrites), No. 3, BWV 179, "Siehe zu, da? deine Gottesfurcht nicht Heuchelei sei" (Watch with care lest all thy piety hypocrisy be, trans. Ambrose); 4. Recitative, "Ich habe wider Gott gehandelt" (The will of God have I neglected), No. 2, BWV 55, "Ich armer Mensch, ich Sündenknecht (I, wretched man, I, slave to sin, trans. Ambrose); 5. Aria, "Hasse nur, hasse mich recht"" (Hate me now, hate me with glee), No. 10, BWV 76, "Die Himmel erz?hlen die Ehre Gottes" (The heavens are telling the glory of God, Ps. 19:1); 6, Aria, "Erbarme dich" (Have mercy Lord), No. 3, BWV 55; 7. Recitative, " Es mag mir Leib und Geist verschmachten" (Though I may fall in flesh and spirit), No. 4, BWV 3, "Ach Gott, wie manches Herzeleid [I]" (Ah God, how oft a heartfelt grief, trans. Ambrose); 8. Aria, "Sei getreu, alle Pein" (Hold thy faith: all thy pain), No. 6, BWV 12, "Weinen, Klagen, Sorgen, Zagen" (Weeping, wailing, grieving, fearing, trans. Ambrose); 9. Recitative, "Trinket alle daraus" (Drink all of you, from this, Mat. 26:27b), No. 11, BWV 244, Matthew Passion; 10. Recitative, "Dies ist die Stimme meines Freundes" (I hear the voice of my beloved), No. 6, BWV 154, "Mein liebster Jesus ist verloren" (My precious Jesus now hath vanished, trans. Ambrose); 11. Aria, "Ich halte meinem Jesum feste" (I firmly hold my Lord Jesus), No. 2, BWV 157, "Ich lasse dich nicht, du segnest mich denn" (I'll not let thee go, thou must bless me first, Gen. 32:27, trans. Ambrose); 12. Aria, "Ich fürchte nicht des Todes Schrecken" (I do not fear the horrors of death"), No. 2, BWV 183, "Sie werden euch in den Bann tun [II]" (Sie werden euch in den Bann tun [II]" (In banishment they will cast you, Jn. 16:2, trans. Ambrose); 13. Aria, "Ich traue seiner Gnaden" (I trust his gracious mercy, Paul Fleming chorale, Verse 4), No. 4, BWV 97, " In allen meinen Taten" (In all my undertakings, trans. Ambrose).
⁴ Bach-Luther-Kantate, "Von der Freiheit eines Christenmenschen" (On the Freedom of a Christian), ed. Rudolf Lutz, libretto Karl Graf (St. Gallen:? J. S. Bach Stiftung, 2021); liner notes, text (17) : ? 14-20; Lutherkantate wikipedia, ; discussion, . ?

⁵ Landsgemeindekantate:? Lutz and Graf discuss the ?Landsgemeindekantate? J. S. Bach-Stiftung,?

; description, , ; recording, ; tracklist, .?

⁶ Bach in Fluss:? description, ; program & text notes :? D-50; recording with playlist, , .

⁷ "J. S. Bach — The Apocalypse — The opera Bach never wrote," OPERA2DAY:

introduction, ;

story, ;?

concert schedule, .? Bachfest Leipzig, The Apocalypse, ; concert, 10 June, ; talk, June 11, ; concert, June 11, ; Michael Maul, Choral Total, ; Playbill, .

⁸ Hans Grischkat, Vom Reiche Gottes (From the Kingdom of God) (Stuttgart: H?nssler, 1950), Bach Bibliography, ; score, ; details, recording, . ?

⁹ Other Bachfest Topical Studies: Beyond the various recent scholarly studies of the cantatas and related works are music cycles and special studies (see : "Special Cantata-Type Studies"), such as Bach's "Messiah" cycle from Christoph Wolf (2020, <<Wolff: Bach Oratorios as "A Grand Liturgical Messiah Cycle:" Passions>> () and Michael Maul's Bachfest 2021 "Messiah" Cycle (), also known at Bach's Christological Cycle (see ), as well as Maul 2022 "Bach — We are Family" (: "Talk with the Artistic Director of the Bachfest Prof. Dr. Michael Maul") and the Bachfest 2020 complete chorale cantata cycle (). ?

¹⁰ Advent Oratorio, "J. S. Bach:? Good Tidings of Great Joy," ed. Richard T. Gore" (St. Louis MO:? Concordia, 1970), vocal score No. 97-4810, . __________

To Come:? Bachian Christmases;?All manner of Bachian pasticcios, reconstructions, transcriptions.

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William Hoffman

Grazie mille!

Cheers,
-Bruce

Falsobordone! Merry Christmas!
Chiara Bertoglio

Greetings,

I think there’s a specific term for chanting in block chords, but I can’t remember it, or find it on the net. I thought someone on this list might know.

Simplifying a bit, I believe Gregorian chant is typically done in unison, or octaves. And I think there is a style of chanting that supports the unison chant with a simple drone a fifth below.

But the style of chanting I have in mind uses block chords (like a d minor chord), where each voice chants on a note of the chord.

Am I imagining this, or does this style of chanting exist in medieval, renaissance, or early baroque music? Perhaps it’s primarily used for liturgical purposes, but did Bach know of it, and use it?

Cheers,
-Bruce

New at BachCantataTexts.org: “Ihr werdet weinen und heulen” BWV 103



?is a freely available source for new historically-informed English translations of J. S. Bach's vocal works, prepared and annotated by Michael Marissen (Swarthmore College, emeritus) and Daniel R. Melamed (Indiana University/Bloomington Bach Cantata Project).

Please share this post with colleagues, friends, and audiences. There is a sign-up page on the home page for our e-mail announcement list.

The year 1723 was a monumental time for Sebastian Bach musical production.? It marked the tercentenary of the beginning of the Protestant Reformation which was celebrated with the major jubilee observances of the 1517 posting of the 95 theses, the 1530 Augsburg Confession celebration, and the 1539 Leipzig acceptance of the Lutheran confession.? For Bach it was the beginning of the fulfillment of his Lutheran calling "to create a well-ordered church music to the glory of God," as well as other profane vocal and instrumental music to enhance his production.? During his first cycle of music created in 1723-24 in Leipzig, Bach explored all opportunities to create, prepare, and present music.? The succeeding tercentenary observance to the present day would secure certain milestones such as the beginning of the publication of Bach's works, the growth of choral societies and musical ensembles to perform these works, and the Romantic period creation of organ music settings, as well as other adaptations and transcriptions.? "Bach 300"¹ is the current theme of? the Bachfest Leipzig observing the tercentenary celebration of Bach’s appointment as Thomascantor, which began in effect on the first Sunday after Trinity, May 30, 1723, which fell on June 11 this year.? The Bachfest Leipzig 1723 was held from?Thursday, June 8 to Sunday, June 18 with the motto “BACH for Future” (see ), as well as major publications.²??In recent years, Bach scholars and arrangers have found various works appropriate for Advent and All-Souls Day, taken from other Bach works. ?

Advent Cantatas, Chorales

While only a handful of Bach cantatas were composed for the initial season of Advent (see , the beginning of the first half of the church year in de tempore Proper Time, Advent 1-4), an even larger number of cantatas and chorales are appropriate for all four Sundays of Advent, based upon their liturgical texts.? These involve works for the interrelated, interim final three Sundays of Trinity Time (the 25th through the 27th Sundays after Trinity), the Marian feasts of Annunciation, Visitation, and Purification, and the feast of John the Baptist (see :? Bach's performance calendar).? Additional works are listed in John S. Setterlund's Bach Through the Year in the three-year Revised Common Lectionary:³??

+First Sunday of Advent:? Year A (Matthew), BWV 62 (Advent 1, 1724, Luther hymn), "Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland II" (Now come, the gentiles' Savior, trans. Z. Philip Ambrose), alternate BWV 127 (Pre-Lenten Estomihi, 1725), (Herr Jesu Christ, wahr' Mensch und Gott" (Lord Jesus Christ, true man and God); Year B (Mark), BWV 61 (Advent 1, 1714, ?1717), "Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland I," alternate BWV 70.1 (S. Franck text, 2nd Sunday of Advent 1717, "Wachet! betet! betet! wachet!" (Watch ye, pray ye, pray ye, watch ye!); Year C (Luke), BWV 70.1, alternate BWV 61.

+Second Sunday of Advent:? Year A (Matthew), BWV 90 (25th Sunday after Trinity 1723), "Es rei?et euch ein schrecklich Ende" (To ruin you an awful ending), alternate BWV 30.2 (John's Day feast, 24 June 1738), "Freue dich, erl?ste Schar" (Joyful be, O ransomed throng); Year B (Mark), BWV 30.2/1-6 (Part 1), alternate BWV 132 (Advent), "Bereitet die Wege, bereitet die Bahn!" (Make ready the pathways, make ready the road!, Is. 40:3, ); Year C (Luke), BWV 132, alternate BWV 61.

+Third Sunday of Advent:? Year A (Matthew), BWV 186.1(a) (Advent 3, 1717), "?rgre dich, o Seele, nicht" (Vex thyself, O spirit, not), alternate BWV 152 (Sunday after Christmas 1714), "Tritt auf die Glaubensbahn" (Walk on the road of faith), Year B (John), BWV 30.2/7-12 (Part 2), alternate BWV 167 (John's Day feast, 1723), "Ihr Menschen, rühmet Gottes Liebe"; Year C (Luke), BWV 136 (8th Sunday after Trinity, 1723), "Erforsche mich, Gott, und erfahre mein Herz" (Examine me, God, and discover my heart, Ps. 139:23), alternate BWV 168 (9th Sunday after Trinity 1723), "Tue Rechnung! Donnerwort" (Make a reck'ning!(Luke 16:2), Thund'rous word."

+Fourth Sunday of Advent:? Year A (Matthew), BWV 36.4,5 (Advent 1, ?1725, 1731), "Schwingt freudig euch empor" (Soar joyfully aloft), alternate BWV 40 (St. Stephen's Day, 1723), "Dazu ist erschienen der Sohn Gottes" (For this is appeared the Son of God, 1 Jn. 3:8); Year B (Luke), BWV 1 (Marian Annunciation feast, 1726), "Wie sch?n leuchtet der Morgenstern" (How beauteous beams the morning star, Nicolai hymn), alternate BWV 147.1(a), 1717 (Advent 4), "Herz und Mund und Tat und Leben" (Heart and mouth and deed and living); Year C (Luke), BWV 243.1(a) (Marian Visitation feast, 1723), Magnificat in E-Flat, "Magnificat anima mea" (My soul doth magnify the Lord, Lk. 1:46), alternate BWV 10 (Marian Visitation feast, 1724), "Meine Seel erhebt den Herren" (Now my soul exalts the Master, Lk. 1::46).

Other Bach Advent Performances

Other works that may be assigned to Bach Advent performances are BWV 141 (Advent 3, nd), "Das ist je gewi?lich wahr" (That is indeed certainly true), Telemann TWV 1:183; TWV 1:1074 (Advent 1, Bach 1734), "Machet die Tore Weit” (Lift up your heads, ye gates, Ps. 24:7); John's Day feast, BWV 220 (nd, composer unknown) "Lobt ihn mit Herz und Munden" (Praise him with heart and mouth); Marian Annunciation Day feast (March 25): BWV 1135=Anh. 199 (1724 text only, no music), "Siehe, eine Jungfrau ist schwanger" (Lo now, there a virgin is pregnant, Is 7:14), and Telemann TWV 1:732=BWV Anh. 156 (nd), "Herr Christ der einge Gottessohn" (Lord Christ, the only Son of God, Kreuziger hymn), and BWV 96 (18th Sunday after Trinity, 1724); Marian Visitation Day feast, July 2, BWV 189, German Magnificat, ?Georg Melchoir Hoffmann, "Meine Seele rühmt und preist," and Johann Ludwig Bach, "Der Herr wird ein Neues im Lande erschaffen" (The Lord will create a new thing in the land), JLB 13 (1726). The Marian Purification Day feast on July 2 (Simeon's canticle, ) shows some 14 presentations of nine cantatas in Leipzig (1724-48); some seven presentations of two cantatas or two-part cantatas; four diverse original works composed and presented in Leipzig; possibly four works of three other composers (J. L. Bach, G. H. St?lzel, G. P. Telemann) presented in Leipzig; at least three cantatas that did double duty (BWV 158, 157 and 161); and three cantatas (BWV 161, 95, and 27) that have direct connections with the iconic 16th Sunday after Trinity. The Purification cantatas are: BWV 82 Ich habe genug (Leipzig, 1727); BWV 83 Erfreute Zeit im neuen Bande (Leipzig, 1724); BWV 125 Mit Fried und Freud ich fahr dahin (Leipzig, 1725); BWV 157 Ich lasse du nicht, du segnest mich denn (Leipzig, 1727); BWV 158 Der Friede sei mit dir (Leipzig, 1735?); BWV 161 Komm, du sü?e Todesstunde (Weimar, 1715); BWV 200 Bekennen will ich seinen Namen [movement of St?lzel]; BWV Anh 157 Ich habe Lust zu scheiden (Hamburg, 1724) [by Georg Philipp Telemann].? In 1735-36, Bach presented one complete sacred cantata cycle of Gottfried Heinrich St?lzel, from the so-called "String Cycle" () and possibly a second, "Book of Names of Christ.? In addition, Bach presented various chorales designated for Advent season (:? "Advent Chorales").? The Feast of John the Baptist on June 24 brought a plethora of Bach music ().

?

Advent Oratorio

?

The Advent Oratorio,⁴ "J. S. Bach:? Good Tidings of Great Joy," "Assembled from Cantata Movements and the Texts Translated by Richard T. Gore," involves 24 Bach cantata choruses, arias, chorales, and recitatives.? It is in three parts, each lasting 30 minutes, focusing on the German Magnificat, John the Baptist feast, the late Trinity Time transition to Advent, and related works of joy.? The selections involve BWV 10/1,5,7 (the German Magnificat), BWV 147.1/8/6 (Advent, Visitation), BWV 30.2/2,3,6 (St. John the Baptist Day feast); Advent Cantatas BWV 62/1/2, 36.4/8,7, and 70.1/1-3,11; and Cantatas BWV 151, "Sü?er Trost, mein Jesus k?mmt" (Comfort sweet, my Jesus comes; 3rd Day of Christmas, 1725), BWV 104, "Du Hirte Israel, h?re" (Thou guide of Israel, hear me; 2nd Sunday after Easter), BWV 132 (Advent), 22, "Jesus nahm zu sich die Zw?lfe" (Jesus took aside the twelve then; Pre-Lenten Estomihi, 1723), BWV 63, "Christen, ?tzet diesen Tag" (Christians, etch ye now this day; Christmas, 1714), BWV 148, "Bringet dem Herrn Ehre seines Namens" (Bring to the Lord honor for his name's sake; Trinity 17, ?1723), and BWV 29, "Wir danken dir, Gott, wir danken dir" (We give thee thanks, God, we give thee thanks; Town Council, 1731).?

?

All-Souls Day Cantata Prospects

?

Historically, the response among Bach scholars and performers began with special arrangements and transcriptions such as Wilhelm Rust's adaptation of Cantata 198 for All-Souls Day, ⁵ November 2, also popularly known as the Day of the Dead ().? Although not an authentic Lutheran liturgical work, it uses a general sacred text that replaces profane words found in Gottsched’s original text, in a partial parody, with five additional Bach plain chorale interpolations (BWV 248/58, 179/5; 92/6, 406, 145/1).? It was arranged by Wilhelm Rust, the BGS editor who in 1865 published the original version, which originally began with the Gottsched text, “La?, Fürstin, la? noch einen Strahl” (Let, Princess, let one more ray). Following similar practices of Bach who substituted one cantata subject’s name for another in subsequent parody, Rust titled his sacred version, "La?, H?chster, la? der Hoffnung Strahl" (Let, Highest, let a beam of hope).? Rust also found that the core music (choruses and arias), formed the basis of his final St. Mark Passion, BWV 247, of 1731, and that this music and music from the St. Matthew Passion became the C?then Funeral Ode, BWV 1143=244a, of 1729 ().? Recently, Bach cantata performances have been designated for All-Souls Day.? One involves Cantata 161, "Komm, du sü?e Todesstunde" (Come, O death, thou sweetest hour, Knoll hymn), and related chorales and motets of Johann Rosenmüller (Dire Ire), Jacob Gallus, and Martin Luther, performed by the Netherlands Bach Society, .? The Netherlands Bach Society also presented an All-Souls concert of Bach's Cantatas 31, 4, 12, and 172 (three for Easter and BWV 12 for Jubilate 3rd Sunday after Easter, with Rene Jacobs conducting ().

??

ENDNOTES?

¹ Bach 300:? There are three guides to the first cycle 1723-24: "Bach 300,"" J. S. Bach in Leipzig, Bach 1723-24, ; Bach's first cantata cycle, wikipedia ; and the Bach Cantatas Website accounting 1723-24, Lutheran Church Year, ).? An important source is Leipzig University Festival Music, .? Another important resource is Bach's parodies (new text underlay, ), beginning with C?then serenades transcribed as festive cantatas such as BWV 194 (Trinityfest 4 June 1724; BWV 66, Easter Monday, 10 April 1724; BWV 134, Easter Tuesday, 11 April 1724; BWV 173, Pentecost Monday, 29 May 1724; and Pentecost Tuesday, 29 May 1724; and BWV 184 Pentecost Tuesday, 30 May 1724 ().

² Bachfest Leipzig 1723 major publications: Carus publishers' accounting of the Bach 300, J. S. Bach in Leipzig, 1723-2023 (), Christoph Wolff's "Bach 300: The year 1723 and its repercussions" ("a new epoch in his creative life," ) and Wolff's accompanying Bach vocal:? Ein Handbuch (Stuttgart 2021, ), and the new Breitkopf und H?rtel Bach Werke Verzeichnis (Bach Works Catalogue), 3rd edition 2022, Thematic-Systematic Catalog of the Musical Works of Johann Sebastian Bach (BWV) arranged by Christine Blanken, Christoph Wolff and Peter Wollny, edited by Bach-Archiv Leipzig ().? The BWV3 Catalogue lists 47 new works from BWV 1129-1176

() with six theoretical works (BWV 1129-34); lost cantatas with no extant music, sometimes with texts (BWV 1136-63); recovered motet (BWV 1164=Anh. 1158) and Passion music (BWV 1166-67), and recovered organ chorale preludes (BWV 1168-76) still being authenticated in the B?renreiter New Edition, Complete Works, Revised Edition supplement (), with Christine Blanken's Organ Chorales I, BA 5939-01, in preparation. ?

³ John S. Setterlund, Bach Through the Year: The Church Music of Johann Sebastian Bach and the Revised Common Lectionary (Minneapolis MN, Lutheran University Press 2013), . ?

⁴ Advent Oratorio, "J. S. Bach:? Good Tidings of Great Joy," ed. Richard T. Gore" (St. Louis MO:? Concordia, 1970), vocal score No. 97-4810, .?

⁵ Cantata 198, All-Souls Day; BCML discussion and :? 24, 27f, 42, 47-49, 56f, 64-66, 67f).

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To Come: ? Bach musical explorations — other observances, pasticcios or collections, newly-assembled gatherings, and transcriptions and adaptations. ?

?

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William Hoffman

Telemann also composed a Christmas Oratorio, "Die Hirten an der Krippe zu Bethlehem," TWV 1:797, in 1759 to a text of Karl Wilhelm Ramler,?.

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William Hoffman

Telemann composed Christmas Oratorios in the Albrecht Jacob Zell 1730-31 Oratorischer Jahrgang cycle, .
?
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William Hoffman

New at BachCantataTexts.org: "Ich will den Kreuzstab gerne tragen" BWV 56



BachCantataTexts.org is a freely available source for new historically-informed English translations of J. S. Bach's vocal works, prepared and annotated by Michael Marissen (Swarthmore College, emeritus) and Daniel R. Melamed (Indiana University/Bloomington Bach Cantata Project).

Please share this post with colleagues, friends, and audiences. There is a sign-up page on the home page for our e-mail announcement list.