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Cantata BWV 124
Meinen Jesum laß ich nicht
Discussions - Part 5

Continue from Part 4

Discussions in the Week of November 15, 2009 (3rd round)

Neil Halliday wrote (November 14, 2009):
BWV 124: Meinem Jesum lass ich nicht

The second of the extant cantatas for the 1st Sunday after Epiphany, BWV 124, first performed on Jan.7th, 1725, has the same title as the concluding chorale of BWV 154 composed fot yhe same occasion a year earlier: 'Meinem Jesum lass ich nicht'; and both cantatas in fact have the same concluding plain 4-part chorale (with some snmall changes including key signature, minor textual, and inner voice harmonisation).

The BCW page with links to scores, texts, recordings, samples and commentary is at: http://www.bach-cantatas.com/BWV124.htm

(A sometimes heated discussion of the possible likely circumstances of Bach's composing schedule is also archived).

To repeat, BWV 124 is a chorale cantata. In the opening fantasia, the cantus firmus is given to the sopranos doubled by horn, and the CM is of course changed to triple time (because the movement is set in triple time); also, the penultimate phrase of the CM rises from the dominant, rather than descending from the tonic as in BWV 154/8 (probably for compositional reasons in the fantasia; this change is also carried over to the final chorale).

The concertante oboe d'amore part is most engaging, adding to the grace and sweetness of the movement. There are some large leaps for the vocal basses; and ATB come together impressively with the long-held unison on 'kleben'(cling), as noted in the previous discusions. The altos rise above the sopranos at the end ("I'll not leave my Jesus").

Suzuki's choir is most beautifully recorded; the tempo may be a tad faster than desirable (as someone mentioned in the previous discussions).

The tenor aria has tritone-interval harmony that is reminiscent of BWV 154's opening tenor aria (and also BWV 123's tenor aria discussed recently; note the 'harte Kreuzenreise' (BWV 123) cf. the "harte Todesschlag" (BWV 124); both these arias are in F# minor, while BWV 154/1 is in B minor).

Perhaps the ubiquitous repeated string stokes in the accompaniment of BWV 124/3 are an echo of a figure that first appeared in BWV 154/1 a year earlier, namely the (briefly) repeated upper string strokes that accompanied the word "thunder-word. Both arias (BWV 154/1 and BWV 124/3) are in 3/4 time and feature dotted rhythms, and both have variations of ostinato basses.

In BWV 124/3, the music changes (temporarily) to a lovely, sunny major key on the mention of "trust" and "confidence". Double sharps appear in the score for a brief modulation to G# minor, at the second mention of the "flesh-hated day".

Suzuki gives an engaging performance, with measured tempo and pleasing tenor vocalist; IMO, Rilling's vocalist [3] (Aldo Baldin) has a distractingly harsh vibrato.

The SA duet (Mvt. 5) is a delightfully vivacious, light-hearted movement featuring imitative counterpoint in its parts. Don't miss Suzuki's happy, lively account. In the Richter sample you can hear an example of bright continuo organ realisation (in a ritornello in that sample).

Note that all three 1st epiphany cantatas have duets as the penultimate movements, all basically expressing the joy of belief in, and relationship with Jesus.

As usual, the seccos have interesting harmonic modulations (especially the longer second recitative) that can be experienced first hand by playing the BCW piano vocal score.

The Rilling booklet [3] mentions the "walking bass" of the final chorale that illustrates the second line of the text: "I will ever walk beside Him".

Douglas Cowling wrote (November 15, 2009):
Neil Halliday wrote:
< The second of the extant cantatas for the 1st Sunday after Epiphany, BWV 124, first performed on Jan.7th, 1725, has the same title as the concluding chorale of BWV 154 composed fot yhe same occasion a year earlier: 'Meinem Jesum lass ich nicht'; and both cantatas in fact have the same concluding plain 4-part chorale (with some snmall changes including key signature, minor textual, and inner voice harmonisation). >
Two initial observations on a new cantata for me.

Once again there is a rather complex relationship between the narrative and the anagogical allegory. I don't thinks it's an accident that we have another duet: the figures of Mary and Joseph as types for the soul seem to have caught Bach's imagination.

I was struck by the similarity of the opening chorus to that that of "Jesu, der Du Meine Seele": a sarabande ritornello over a chromatic passacaglia-like ground supporting the chorale melody with interludes of quicksilver passagework.

The wonderful oboe part is so prominent throughout the cantata that I'm half-tempted to give it an allegorical value: the voice/spirit/presence of the young Jesus?

Julian Mincham wrote (November 15, 2009):
[To Neil Halliday] I had hoped to comment upon BWV 123--it contains one of my favourite fantasias and tenor arias. But I didn't find the time.

I recall some years ago discussion about the chorale/fantasia of BWV 124 whether it sounded more like a sarabande or a minuet (I feel the latter). AS usual it's worth looking out for and listening to the ways in which Bach writes for the three lower voices. Under this chorale melody (which incidentally Bach used in three other cantatas though not as the basis of another fantasia) the lower voices continue for several bars under the sopranos' last extended notes--except on the fourth line where they simply hold the notes of the chord. Again there's always a textual reason and here it is the idea of 'clinging to Him'---which musically the voices do by clinging onto the soprano note.

Interesting to see that you pick up the similarities with the tenor aria of BWV 154, supporting the theory that Bach looked back over works written for the same day when composing the next in sequence. There is quite a lot of evidence for this.

It's a fine work which deserves to be more widely known

William L. Hoffman wrote (November 18, 2009):
BWV 124: Anatomy of a Choral Cantata

Anatomy of the Chorale Cantata

Bach's Chorale Cantata BWV 124 offers an opportunity to understand the anatomy of this exacting musical form and to gain a fuller appreciation of its challenges and rewards.

The use of complete chorale texts in the Italian style of cantata posed particular challenges for Bach. As Albert Schweitzer observes (JSB II:245):

"If the majority of these chorale cantatas do not make an effective whole the fault lies in the texts, which consist of a string of strophes without any inner dramatic coherence, and without sufficient musical distinction between them. Moreover, there are too many strophes in most of the chorales. Cantatas worked out on these chorale lines require short hymns, in which every verse suggests a different musical characterization. These ideal chorales are very few in number."

W. Gillies Whittaker offers similar observations (Cantatas of JSB II:435f):

"While the use of complete, unaltered hymns was attractive in many ways, it brought in its train serious difficulties. The various types of compositions found in a cantata - chorus, aria, duet, recitative, arioso - provide a scheme which unites diverse qualities, and they must needs have different rhythmical plans. The unvarying scansion of a number of hymn-verses, sometimes running to twelve, defeats this end. A chorale stanza is not always cast in a mold suitable for a recitative or aria, and problems present themselves which the composer did not always ssatisfactorily.

Whittaker also found serious challenges to the prevailing da-capo or dal segno tri-parte aria, repeating the opening at the end, and the dramatic narrative or interpretive direction of the recitative. These could not be overcome even with extensive paraphrasing of the original chorale text.

Bach was able to surmount many of these inherent obstacles to create a most-fulfilling work with Cantata BWV 124. Abetting this, form-wise, is the simplicity of Christian Keymann's rhyme scheme and line length adapted to collaborator Andreas Hammerschmidt's straightforward, segmented melody.

The text and tune have favorable qualities. There are just the right number of stanzas, six, constituting the opening and closing verbatim verses and providing four two corresponding pairs of recitative and arias - all in sure symmetry. Bach's librettist didn't have to condense or expand the stanzas to fit the musical movements. The simple chorale text and musical structure enabled Bach and his collaborator to realize sound musical movements, including a da-capo duet aria of repeated material, expansive recitatives, and an aria reflective of the shape and appeal of the original text. The result amply displays the three elements of rhetoric: symmetry, repetition, and contrast.

Z. Philip Ambrose in his introduction to his translation of the libretto of Cantata BWV 124
www.uvm.edu/~classics/faculty/bach/BWV124.html
says that movements 2-5 are based loosely on the corresponding verses 2-5 of the chorale, meaning that they are paraphrased by Bach's librettist.

Here is quick analysis of the form the unknown librettist of BWV 124 uses: With the first stanza in the opening chorale chorus unaltered, serving as a template, the German chorale text (not shown) is structured in six lines with the rhyme scheme ABABCC. This, of course, is repeated in the closing, unaltered plain chorale setting, to a different text in the manner of a parody. The full German text of BWV 124 is found at:
www.cs.ualberta.ca/~wfb/cantatas/124.html

The "four paraphrased" movements show great variety. As expected, the tenor recitative is more irregular in beats and has an additional line and different rhyme scheme: ABCCADD. The succeeding tenor aria is a replication of the chorale template, including the closing repetition of the opening dictum found at the end of all six chorale stanzas. The bass recitative is even more irregular than the tenor's, with 11 lines of greatly varying length and a rhyme scheme of AABCBCDEDE. The ensuing soprano-alto da-capo arias breaks the mold: The repeated A section has two long lines and the B section three slightly shorter lines, with the rhyme scheme AB, CCA (AB repeat),

Here is Z. Philip Ambrose's translation of the text of BWV 124 with Francis Browne's translation of verses 2-5 of the chorale text, www.bach-cantatas.com/Texts/Chorale054-Eng3.htm below each movement:

1. Chorus [Verse 1] (S, A, T, B)
This my Jesus I'll not leave,
Since his life for me he offered;
Thus by duty I am bound
Limpet-like to him forever.
He is light unto my life,
This my Jesus I'll not leave.

2. Recit. (T)
As long as yet a drop of blood
In heart and veins is stirring,
Shall Jesus, he alone,
My life and my existence be.
My Jesus, who for me such
I can wond'rous things hath done. indeed, nought but my life and body
To him as presents offer.

I shall never leave Jesus,
while I must live on earth;
with confidence I have given to him
what I have and am;
everything is directed towards him:
I shall not leave my Jesus.

3. Aria (T)
And when the cruel stroke of death
My thoughts corrupt, my members weaken,
And comes the flesh's hated day,
Which only fear and terror follow,
My comfort is my firm resolve:

I will my Jesus never leave.
Let sight pass away,
let hearing, taste, sensation fade,
let the last day's light of this world reach me,
as the thread of life breaks;
I shall not leave my Jesus.

4. Recit. (B)
Alas!
What grievous toil and woe
Perceiveth here e'en now my spirit?
Will not my sore-offended breast
Become a wilderness and den of yearning
For Jesus, its most painful loss?
But still, my soul with faith looks up,
E'en to that place where faith and hope shine radiant,
And where I, once my course is run,
Shall, Jesus, evermore embrace thee.

I shall also not leave him,
when I have once reached the place
where before his face
the faith of righteous Christians is resplendent;
his face gives me delight;
I shall not leave my Jesus

5. Aria (S, A)
Withdraw thyself quickly, my heart, from the world,
Thou shalt find in heaven thy true satisfaction.
When one day thine eye shall the Savior behold,
At last shall thy passionate heart be restored,
Where it will in Jesus contentment receive. (dc)

Not for the world, not for heaven
does my soul wish and long;
its wish is for Jesus and his light,
who has reconciled me with God
who was freed me from the law court;
I shall not leave my Jesus.

6. Chorus [Verse 6] (S, A, T, B)
Jesus I'll not let leave me,
I will ever walk beside him;
Christ doth let me more and more
To the spring of life be guided.
Blessed he who saith with me:
This my Jesus I'll not leave.

© Copyright Z. Philip Ambrose

One of the major criticisms of many chorales Bach chose for his chorale cantatas is that the hymn content seems to have little to do with the appointed readings for the specific church year service. The readings for the 1st Sunday after Epiphany are the Gospel, (Luke 2: 41-52, Jesus in the Temple), and the Epistle, (Romans 12: 1-6, Being One in Christ). The chorale, "Meinen Jesum lass ich nicht," with its clear, repeated dictum, is a quintessential Jesus Hymn. It shows a very direct, personal, human relationship between the believer and Jesus.

Verse 1 speaks of duty as a fundamental ingredient of reciprocity and mutuality. Jesus is described as "my life's light" (meines Lebens Licht). The closing line affirms the dictum, the irrevocable connection between believer and Jesus, the illusion to the still waters of Psalm 23, now replaced by "waters of life," and a closing benediction: "Blessed is the man who says with me: I shall not leave my Jesus."

Each stanza has a theme or allusion supporting the dictum: Stanza 2 emphasizes allegiance and commitment; Stanza 3, the believer's reflective last hour as the senses fade; Stanza 4, fidelity at the place where the face of Jesus is met; and Stanza 5, oneness with the Redeemer.

The cantata poet's "take" on the original chorale strophes, is indeed "loosely based" and goes far beyond the original sentiments and thoughts. The tenor recitative (Mvt. 2), from the second stanza, uses the pietistic language of blood moving through the believer's heart and veins to emphasize the offering of body and life. The tenor aria (Mvt. 3) paints a dramatic, graphic picture of the "deathblow" to the senses that nevertheless brings consolation. The bass recitative (Mvt. 4) describes the great trouble the soul experiences before encountering splendor. The soprano-alto duet (Mvt. 5) emphasizes the contentment and satisfaction of Heaven.

Some idle thoughts. I find the original chorale text rich in images with a quiet, reflective mood; the libretto has many pietistic images and mood. The libretto could have included general references to the day's epistle. I would assume the same poet treated many of the other chorale cantatas in a similar manner.

As to collaboration, that seems to have been primarily between Bach and his librettist. While the pastor may have approved the choice of chorales, the resulting libretto could have been produced before the pastor wrote his sermon. After reading the original chorale text and bearing in mind musical practices fothat service, Bach would have outlined the basic form and type of composition of each movement, with some concept of musical treatment based on the overall affect.

In his chorale cantatas, Bach had the greatest freedom with the opening fantasia chorus, including extend location of ritornelli, deployment of forces, treatment of the canto, use of polyphonic and homophonic passages, and stylistic elements such as motet and concerto. These movements are very challenging to perform and often occupy half of the cantata full score.

To come: Bach's use of other Jesus hymns and the option of per omnes versus chorale cantatas and motet treatment.

Peter Smaill wrote (November 18, 2009):
[To William L. Hoffman] Hello William, Hello all,

Thank you for this excellent exposition of the artistic problem which surrounds the Chorale Cantatas per omnes versus, which perhaps leads me to the same matter - of repetition: apologies to those who know this interpretation from me already.

When examining the index of Melvin Unger's concordance to the Bach canatats it became evident as nowhere else that there are precisely ten such works, many added in after the main cycles late in Bach's life. The suprise is that the list is not dominated by Luther and indeed there is only the very early Luther "Christ lag in Todesbanden" by him. Each of the ten such Cantatas are by a different chorale writer.There are no chorale writers represented twice.

It is thus as if Bach's purpose was not artistic entirely; it was the desire to create a decalogue of Chorales representative of Lutheranism. As with the Clavier-ubung, K de F and BMM (BWV 232) the phenomenon of the Canatas based on chorales per omnes versus is part of the composer's tendency to assemble comprehensive sets and collections in his later composing career.

Julian Mincham wrote (November 18, 2009):
William L. Hoffman wrote:
< In his chorale cantatas, Bach had the greatest freedom with the opening fantasia chorus, including extend location of ritornelli, deployment of forces, treatment of the canto, use of polyphonic and homophonic passages, and stylistic elements such as motet and concerto. >
I would dispute this. In terms of compositional freedom Bach was limited in one of the most basic structural areas viz the often very restricted tonal range of the chorale. That meant that on a number of occasions he could scarecly venture away from the tonic key, a big limitation in terms of these very long movements. Sometimes he solved the problems by passing through related keys in long ritornello episodes---at other times he had to create imaginative solutions as when he had to find a way of getting back to the tonic key at the end of BWV 7 where the archaic chorale ended in the dominant.

In fact I have long suspected that it was the restricting tonal straitjacket of the chorales that led to his deciding to largely abandon the practice of writing these movements after the 40th, BWV 1, of the second cycle.

Douglas Cowling wrote (November 18, 2009):
Julian Mincham wrote:
< In fact I have long suspected that it was the restricting tonal straitjacket of the chorales that led to his deciding to largely abandon the practice of writing these movements after the 40th, BWV 1, of the second cycle. >
Many of Bach's chorale cantatas are influenced by the chorale partita genre in which the chorale is played and then succeeded by a series of variations all in the same key. This was a popular 17th century form and Bach wrote several sets of variations (e.g. O Gott du frommer Gott).

The genre influenced the cantatas, most notably in "Christ Lag in Todesbanden" (BWV 4) which is an extended set of partita variations: all eight movements are based on the chorale melody and are in E minor. However, Bach, ever revitalizing old forms, does not follow the model slavishly. He substitutes the sinfonia where one would normally expect a "playover" of the chorale.

Many of the chorale cantatas are influenced by the return to the tonic key characteristic of the partita genre: two notable examples are "Ein Feste Burg" BWV 80 (four chorale-based movements in D major) and "Wachet Auf" BWV 140 (three chorale-based movements in E flat major).

I would even go as far as say that the partita tradition is a factor behind such compositional masterstrokes as the repetition of the "Passion Chorale" in Parts One and Six of the Christmas Oratorio (BWV 248), and the same chorale's successive reharmonizations in the St.Matthew Passion (BWV 244). Albeit in different keys, Bach uses the variation technique for stunning symbolic reasons.

One could even say that the Goldberg Variations (BWV 988) are the final culmination of the partita tradition: Aria and 30 variations in G major.

Julian Mincham wrote (November 18, 2009):
[To Douglas Cowling] Are we talking about two different things here? I agree about the key plans of the cantatas as a whole. My point is that the limited range of many chorales, although making them excellent candidates for variation technique, di d not lend itself so well to the construction of a single extended movement over perhaps 6-8 minutes. Bach had established a practice of using related keys for the uses and resuse of material so effectively (in the violin and keyboard concerti, keboard preludes to the English Suites, Brandenburgs etc etc ) that when he reused movements from at later times he never fiddled about with the basic macro-structures.

I actually think it's a marvel that, having established a pattern of modulation through related keys from and back to the tonic, as the basis of his architectural thinking he managed to make some of those chorale/fantasias work so well, sometimes with an absolute minimum of modulation and consequent tonal variety.

That man sure did relish a challenge!

Douglas Cowling wrote (November 18, 2009):
Julian Mincham wrote:
< I actually think it's a marvel that, having established a pattern of modulation through related keys from and back to the tonic, as the basis of his architectural thinking he managed to make some of those chorale/fantasias work so well, sometimes with an absolute minimum of modulation and consequent tonal variety. >
I think it is a measure of the man's genius that a chorale is never a limitation: a gigue in "Jesys Joy of Man's Desiring", an orchestral gavotte in "Ein feste Burg" (BWV 80) and a galant aria in 'Wachet Auf" (BWV 140).

Neil Halliday wrote (November 19, 2009):
Douglas Cowling wrote:
>I was struck by the similarity of the opening chorus to that that of "Jesu, der Du Meine Seele": a sarabande ritornello over a chromatic passacaglia-like ground supporting the chorale melody with interludes of quicksilver passagework.<
Yes: the movement of the crotchets in the continuo and upper instruments, as well as the dotted rhythm figures in the upper instruments (bars 6 and 7 in BWV 124/1; bar 4 in BWV 78/1) do bring to mind rhythmic similarities at least, though of course there is no chromatic passacaglia-like ground in BWV 124/1.

Interesting that you noticed this similarity.

For my part I recalled the extended 1/16th note passages for woodwind in BWV 115/1, when listening to the continuous 1/16th note oboe d'amore passages in BWV 124/1. (BWV 115 is another triple time movement: 6/4 cf 3/4)

Douglas Cowling wrote (November 19, 2009):
Neil Halliday wrote:
< there is no chromatic passacaglia-like ground in BWV 124/1. >
Perhaps quasi-passacaglia with variations: the bass line does have a strong element of repetition with the rising third and falling octave.

Neil Halliday wrote (November 19, 2009):
Douglas Cowling wrote:
>Perhaps quasi-passacaglia with variations: the bass line does have a strong element of repetition witthe rising third and falling octave.<
Quite so.

William L. Hoffman wrote (November 20, 2009):
BWV 124:  Chorale Cantatas

Chorales

Comment: In my previous post for Cantata BWV 124, I remarked that I preferred Christian Keymann’s original Jesus Hymn chorale six-stanza text for "Meinen Jesum, lass ich nicht" to the very loose “paraphrase” of Bach’s librettist. Now, listening to the music, I think it is obvious that Bach wanted a more dramatic, graphic text to fit his musical treatment of the internal movements. C.P.E. Bach in his JSB Obituary explains his father’s emphasis on the texts in the chorale settings. Thus, it seems that Bach in the pre-compositional process of his chorale cantatas had detailed ideas as to both the form of the musical settings as well as the content, the treatment of the texts.

The so-called “Time after Epiphany” of three to six Sundays leading to the three fixed pre-Lent “geisma” Sundays afforded Bach a wide opportunity to select appropriate chorales for his cantatas. Besides the traditional Jesus Hymns for this period, Bach chose other omnes tempore timely, topical hymns, as well as Lenten and Passion hymns for this so-called “in-between” transitional time.

Interestingly, in the choice of hymns for the chorale cantatas for the succeeding three Sundays after Epiphany, Bach set no Jesus Hymns. Further, in these three chorale cantatas, Bach was unable to set chorales with the favorable six stanzas, as he had done with Cantata BWV 124, and Cantata BWV 123, "Liebster Immanual, Herzog des Frommen" (also a Jesus Hymn) for the previous Feast of Epiphany. Instead the internal texts went to extremes. Cantata BWV 3, "Ach Gott, wie manches Herzeleid" has 18 stanzas, requiring great condensation of text “paraphrases” into four internal movements; Cantata BWV 111, "Was mein Gott will, das g'scheh allzeit" has only four stanzas with two verses spread out over internal four movements; and Cantata BWV 14, "Wär Gott nicht mit uns diese Zeit" has only three stanzas with the middle verse spread out over three internal cantata
movements.

This fact suggests that Bach did not select the chorales but often relied on Lutheran pastors to choose the appropriate hymn, perhaps to reflect the teachings in the pastor’s specific sermons.

Bach did set two other Jesus Hymns in cantatas for the Time after Epiphany Jesu, meiner Seelen wonne" (Cantata BWV 154/3) for the 1st Sunday after Epiphany in 1724 and "Jesu, meine Freude" (Cantata BWV 81/7), for the Fourth Sunday after Epiphany, also in 1724. Bach did set all six stanzas of “Jesu, meine Freude,” per omnes versus, in the 1723 memorial motet of the same name, setting four plain chorales and four choruses, interspersed with five choruses set to texts from Romans Chapter 8.

Another option for Bach was to set all the stanzas of a chorale unaltered, as per omnes versus, with an opening fantasia, closing plain chorale and interspersed arias and recitatives, chorale text set verbatim.

As Peter Smaill observes (BCW 11/18): “When examining the index of Melvin Unger's concordance to the Bach cantatas it became evident as nowhere else that there are precisely ten such works, many added in after the main cycles late in Bach's life. The suprise is that the list is not dominated by Luther and indeed there is only the very early Luther "Christ lag in Todesbanden" by him. Each of the ten such Cantatas are by a different chorale writer.

There are no chorale writers represented twice.”

Julian Mincham writes (BCW 11/18): “In fact I have long suspected that it was the restricting tonal straitjacket of the chorales that led to his deciding to largely abandon the practice of writing these movements after the 40th, BWV 1, of the second cycle.”

All nine non-Luther per omnes versus chorales were composed after BWV 1 presented for the Feast of Annunciation, March 25, 1725. These later chorale cantatas were composed for two reasons: to fill gaps in the chorale cantata cycle from Trinity through Lent and for unspecified occasions. Interestingly Bach composed no chorale cantatas to fill the final one-third hiatus of chorale cantatas for the Easter-Pentecost period of 1725, with one exception, BWV 112 for Misericordias Domini.

Here are the nine cantatas, in roughly chronological order, and their purpose: BWV 137, Trinity +12 (missed by Bach in 1724); BWV 129, Trinity Sunday (missed by Bach in 1724); BWV 192 undesignated (possibly Reformation Day or wedding); BWV 140, Trinity +27 (no such Sunday, 1724); BWV 112, Misericordias Domini; BWV 117, undesignated), BWV 177 (Trinity +4 (missed by Bach 1724); BWV 97 undesignated (possibly wedding); BWV 14, Epiphany +4 (no such Sunday, 1724); BWV 9, Trinity +6 (Bach out of town, 1724), and BWV 110 undesignated (possibly wedding). Source: Dürr, “Bach’s Chorale Cantatas”

Finally:

Chorale Cantatas, Chorales -- Selected Bibliography

Neue Bach Ausgabe, Bärenreiter , Kassel, Chorales: Vol. III/2.1 1991, Vol. 1, 3 wedding chorales, BWV 250-252, and Dietel Collection (149 chorales); Vol. III/2.2 1996, Vol. 2, Chorales and Sacred Songs, C.P.E. Bach Collection 1784-1787; Vol. III.3 2002, Supplement – Works of Partial Authenticity (Angh. 159, 160, 164/2, 30 chorales and Songs (Wiemer) from Penzel Collection, 11 Becker, 3 Sperontes, several BWV deest.

Oxford Composers Companions, Ed. Malcolm Boyd (Oxford Univ. Press, 1999): Robin A. Leaver, “Chorale,” pp-94; Four-Part Chorales Index, pp. 554-559.

Braatz, Thomas. “The History of the Breitkopf Collection of J.S. Bach’s Four-Part Chorales (BCW, September 2006), www.bach-cantatas.com/Articles/Breitkopf-History.htm
.
Braatz, Thomas. “The Rise and Fall of the Stübel Theory” (BCW, April 2007), www.bach-cantatas.com/Articles/Stubel-Theory.htm

Dürr, Alfred. “Bach’s Chorale Cantatas,” in <Cantors at the Crossroads: Essays on Church Music> Festschrift Walter E. Buszin; ed. Johannes Riedel (1967, Concordia, St. Louis MO), pp. 111-120.

Dürr, Alfred. “Leipzig Cycle II,” in <The Cantatas of JSB> (2006, Oxford Univ. Press), pp. 29-36.

Neumann, Werner. Chorale Indeces 4-10 (Adaptations, Melodies, Instrumental Movements, Free-Chorus Movements, Solo and Pure Cantatas, Per Omnes Versus Cantatas), in <Handbuch der Kantaten Joh. Seb.
Bachs>, 5th ed. 1984, pp. 277

Schulze, Hans-Joachim. “Texte und Textdicher” in <Die Welt der Bach-Kantaten, Vol. 3: Die Werke und Ehre Welt>, eds. Wolff & Ton Koopman (Bärenreiter , Kassel; Metzler, Stuttgart; 1997), pp. 109-125.

Terry, Charles Sanford. “Introduction,” in <The Four-Part Chorales of J. S. Bach> (Oxford University Press, 1929), pp. ix-xxiv.

Whittaker, W. Gillies. “Chorale Cantatas,” in <The Cantatas of Johann Sebastian Bach> (Oxford University Press, 1959), I: 434-514.

Williams, Peter. <The Organ Music of J. S. Bach>, 2nd Ed. (Cambridge Univ. Press, 2003).

Wolff, Christoph. “Choräle", in <Die Welt der Bach-Kantaten, Vol. 3: Die Werke und Ehre Welt>, eds. Wolff & Ton Koopman (Bärenreiter, Kassel; Metzler, Stuttgart; 1997), pp. 213-222.

Wolff, Christoph "The Leipzig church cantatas: the chorale cantata cycle (II, 1724-25", in <Complete Cantatas, Ton Koopman, Vol. 11> Erato, 1999, www.tonkoopman.nl/cantvol11.htm

 

Continue on Part 6

Cantata BWV 124: Meinen Jesum laß ich nicht for 1st Sunday after Epiphany (1725)
Discography: Details & Complete Recordings | Recordings of Individual Movements
Discussions: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6


Recordings & Discussions of Cantatas: Main Page | Cantatas BWV 1-50 | Cantatas BWV 51-100 | Cantatas BWV 101-150 | Cantatas BWV 151-200 | Cantatas BWV 201-224 | Cantatas BWV Anh | Order of Discussion
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Last update: Sunday, September 04, 2022 13:28