Cantata BWV 121 - Recordings

German Title	Christum wir sollen loben schon
English Title	To Christ we should sing praises (by Richard Stokes)
Event	Chorale Cantata for the 2^nd Day of Christmas [Christmas Monday, St. Stefanus Day] Readings: Epistle: Titus. 3: 4-7 / Acts 6: 8-15 & 7: 55-60; Gospel: Matthew 23: 35-39 / Luke 2: 15-20
Composed	Leipzig, 1724 \| 1^st performance: December 26, 1724 - Leipzig; 2^nd performance: 1725-1730 - Leipzig (According to the NBA KB I/3.1 p. 64, Cantata BWV 121 had a 2^nd performance between Dec. 26, 1725 and Dec. 26, 1730. This is based upon a soprano part [C 1] which can not be dated anymore precisely than the time span given)
Text	Martin Luther (Mvts. 1, 6); Anon (Mvts. 2-5)
Text	German Text \| Translations: Dutch \| English-1 \| English-3 \| English-6 \| French-3 \| French-4 \| Hebrew-1 \| Indonesia \| Italian-2 \| Japanese-2 \| Portuguese-1 \| Russian-1 \| Spanish-2 \| Spanish-3 Chorale Text: Christum wir sollen loben schon
Scoring	Soloists: Soprano, Alto, Tenor, Bass; 4-part Chorus Orchestra: horn, oboes d’amore, 3 trombones, 2 violins, viola, continuo (with organ) Mvt. 1: Chorus (Chorale) \| Mvt. 2: Aria \| Mvt. 3: Recitative \| Mvt. 4: Aria \| Mvt. 5: Recitative \| Mvt. 6: Chorale
Scoring	Score Vocal & Piano [1.78 MB] \| Score BGA [1.76 MB] Chorales: Mvt. 6 Capella: Mvt. 6 [cap] Examples from the Score: Examples Chorale Melody: Christum wir sollen loben schon
References	BGA: XXVI \| NBA: I/3.1 \| BC: A 13 \| Zwang: K 102 \| First Published: BG, 1878 \| Provenance
Commentary	BCW \| Crouch \| AMG \| Japanese-2 \| Spanish
Music	Music Examples
Discussions	Week of May 11, 2003; Week of December 3, 2006

Contents
Complete Recordings Recordings of Individual Movements	Discussions - Part 1 Discussions - Part 2
John Eliot Gardiner - Bach Cantata Pilgrimage - Vol. 14 Christmas Cantatas from Leipzig - conducted by Philippe Herreweghe Cantatas Vol. 31 - conducted by Masaaki Suzuki

Recordings - Part 1

Complete Recordings

1	Bach Cantatas Vol. 1 - Advent and Christmas
Karl Richter
Münchener Bach-Chor / Münchener Bach-Orchester
Soprano: Edith Mathis; Contralto: Anna Reynolds; Tenor: Peter Schreier; Bass: Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau
Archiv Produktion		Jun-Jul 1971; Mar 1972	TT: 20:22
Recorded at Herkulessaall, München, Germany. Buy this album at: Amazon.com

2	Die Bach Kantate Vol. 62 Edition Bachakademie Vol. 38
Helmuth Rilling
Gächinger Kantorei Stuttgart / Bach-Collegium Stuttgart
Soprano: Arleen Augér; Alto: Doris Soffel; Tenor: Adalbert Kraus; Bass: Wolfgang Schöne
Hänssler		Feb, Apr 1980	TT: 20:46
Recorded at Gedächtniskirche Stuttgart, Germany. Buy this album at: Amazon.com \| Amazon.com

3	J.S. Bach: Das Kantatenwerk - Sacred Cantatas Vol. 7
Nikolaus Harnoncourt
Tölzer Knabenchor (Chorus Master: Gerhard Schmidt-Gaden) / Concentus Musicus Wien
Boy Soprano: Markus Huber (Soloist of the Wiener Sangerknaben); Alto: Paul Esswood; Tenor: Kurt Equiluz; Bass: Philippe Huttenlocher
Teldec		1982	TT: 20:23
Buy this album at: Amazon.com

4	J.S. Bach: Christmas Cantatas [C-10]
John Eliot Gardiner
Monteverdi Choir / English Baroque Soloists
Soprano: Ann Monoyios; Contralto: Sara Mingardo; Tenor: Rufus Müller; Bass: Stephan Loges
Archiv Produktion		Jan, Dec 1998	TT: 17:38
1^st recording of Cantata BWV 121 by J.E. Gardiner. Recorded at Abbey Road Studios, London, England. Buy this album at: Amazon.com

5	Bach Edition Vol. 14 - Cantatas Vol. 7
Pieter Jan Leusink
Holland Boys Choir / Netherlands Bach Collegium
Soprano: Ruth Holton; Alto: Sytse Buwalda; Tenor: Knut Schoch; Bass: Bas Ramselaar
BrillClassics		Jan-Feb 2000	TT: 19:04
Recorded at St. Nicolaschurch, Elburg, Holland. Buy this album at: Amazon.com \| Amazon.com \| Amazon.de

6	J.S. Bach: Complete Cantatas Vol. 12
Ton Koopman
Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir
Soprano: Lisa Larsson; Alto: Annette Markert; Tenor: Christoph Prégardien; Bass: Klaus Mertens
Erato		Mar 2000	TT: 19:34
Recorded at Waalse Kerk, Amsterdam, Holland. Buy this album at: Amazon.com \| Amazon.com

7	Bach Cantatas Vol. 14: New York Christmas Cantatas
John Eliot Gardiner
Monteverdi Choir / English Baroque Soloists
Soprano: Katharine Fuge; Counter-tenor: William Towers; Tenor: James Gilchrist; Bass: Peter Harvey
Soli Deo Gloria		Dec 2000	TT: 18:04
2^nd recording of Cantata BWV 121 by J.E. Gardiner. Live recording from the Bach Cantata Pilgrimage at St Bartholomew’s Church, New York, NY, USA. See: John Eliot Gardiner - Bach Cantata Pilgrimage - Vol. 14 Buy this album at: Amazon.com

8	J.S. Bach: Christmas Cantatas from Leipzig [C-15]
Philippe Herreweghe
Collegium Vocale Gent
Soprano: Dorothee Blotzky-Mields; Alto: Ingeborg Danz; Tenor: Mark Padmore; Bass: Peter Kooy
Harmonia Mundi France		Dec 2001	TT: 19:03
Recorded at Conservatoire de Liège, Belgium. See: Christmas Cantatas from Leipzig - conducted by Philippe Herreweghe Buy this album at: Amazon.com \| Amazon.com

9	J.S. Bach: Cantatas Vol. 31
Masaaki Suzuki
Bach Collegium Japan, Concerto Palatino
Soprano: Yukari Nonoshita; Counter-tenor: Robin Blaze; Tenor: Gerd Türk; Bass: Peter Kooy
BIS		Sep 2004	SACD / TT: 16:42
Recorded at the Kobe Shoin Women's University Chapel, Japan. See: Cantatas Vol. 31 - conducted by Masaaki Suzuki Buy this album at: Amazon.com

10	J.S. Bach: Kantaten BWV 64, 121, 133 (Weihnachtskantaten) [C-1]
Jean Tubéry
Choeur de Chambre de Namur / Les Agrémens
Soprano: Cécile Côte; Alto: Petra Noskaiova; Tenor: Henning Kaiser; Bass: Benoît Giaux
Ricercar		Dec 2-4, 2006	TT: 19:29
Recorded at Eglise Saint Loup, Namur, Belgium.

The list of recordings was compiled by Aryeh Oron (October 2002 - October 2007)
Thanks to contributors: Patrick Depelley (October 2007), Henri Dété (October 2003), Michael Meacock (Arton) (December 2002), John Pike (October 2005)

Cantata BWV 121: Complete Recordings | Recordings of Individual Movements | Discussions: Part 1 | Part 2

Back to the Top

Last update: ýDecember 5, 2006 ý23:31:15