Cantata BWV 126 - Discussions

Discussions in the Week of February 18, 2001

Aryeh Oron wrote (February 18, 2001):
Background

This is the week of Cantata BWV 126 according to Andrew Oliver's suggestion. After some weeks in which we discussed cantatas from incidental channels (but not necessarily of lesser importance), we are now back to the mainstream with full blooded chorale cantata. The form is classical - a bold opening chorus, two arias, two recitatives and concluding chorale. The only thing missing here is a movement for the soprano singer, but in last week we discussed BWV 84, which is a solo cantata for soprano, so that we are somehow compensated. As a background I shall use this time the linear notes to EMI Electrola LP (the recording of Wolfgang Gönnenwein). Those linear were written by Otto V. Irmer and translated into English by John Wilde.

"This cantata is one of a series of chorale cantatas dating from Bach's period in Leipzig between 1729 and 1744, when he showed an increasing preference for this new cantata form in his vocal music for the church. The composer was seeking to move his music away from the sphere of real life's joys and sorrows into a higher realm of mystical communication with God and in the process his cantatas grew away from free choruses and madrigal-like texts to acquire stricter forms, the principal basis for which was to be the chorale. For this cantata, which dates from 1735 (I assume this is a mistake, because this is the only source mentioning 1735 and not 1725 as the year of composition, A.O.), chorales by Martin Luther have been used at the beginning and the close while in the central sections, texts from verses of further Luther chorales have been arranged to suit the recitatives and the arias, although the message of the original text remains intact. The aggressive mood of his musical arrangement of the opening chorale led Bach to extend the melody in the form of a chorale fantasy and to invest the subsequent arias with an intensity of realistic expression which characterizes the whole work, inspired as it is by the message of the text. In the aria: 'Sende deine Macht von oben', (Send thy might from above), the words: 'Deine Kirche zu erfreuen und der Feinde bittern Spott augenblicklich zu zerstreunen', (To delight thy church and instantly to destroy the enemy's bitter scorn), are sung with breathtaking coloratura while the duet of the accompanying oboes together with the organ offers a heartfelt glorification in musical terms of God's mercy. Similarly, in the bass aria: 'Stürze zu Boden, schwülstige Stolze', (Cast down arrogant pride), the organ accompaniment realistically reflects the collapse, the recovery and then the final downfall of evil. There is immense beauty in the cantabile adagio introduced several times into the contralto recitative and in which tenor and contralto pray together for God's help. In the final chorale: 'Verleih uns Frieden gnädiglich', (In thy mercy give us peace), the restlessness of the work hitherto gives way to a certain calm in both the melody and the unchanged words of Luther's original text."

Complete Recordings

During last week I have been listening to 4 complete recordings of BWV 126 of the 5 I am aware of existing. I do not know of any recording of individual movements from this cantata. See: Cantata BWV 126 – Recordings.

(1) Wolfgang Gönnenwein (Late 1960’s?)
This is a first rate recording from almost every aspect. There is beauty in the clarity of the recording, each inner voice is distinct, the textures are well balanced, and one is able to follow Bach's involved musical thought. The singers are authoritative and aware of their roles. All of them have rich, sensitive and beautiful voice. Janet's Baker light coolness matches splendidly the velvety voice of Theo Altmeyer. Hans Sotin has dark and deep voice with penetrating quality that is simply irresistible. It is very rarely that we can hear such a unique voice nowadays, when most bass roles are given lighter voice baritone singers, who sounds as their main ambition is to sound as similar to each other as possible. And Gönnenwein is a conductor who gives you the impression that you are in safe hands, because he knows exactly where he wants to take you.

[2] Karl Richter (1973-1974)
I remember reading somewhere that Richter's cantata recordings from the first half of the 1970's were not recorded as integral performances, but were built up number by number according to the availability of the singers in his hometown Munich. As a result the final product was unpredictable. I have to admit that although generally I like Richter's approach, he might sound from time to time dry, ponderous, dogmatic and insensitive. But that is not the case here. I find that Richter's approach suits this cantata like a glove. He is lively and imaginative and the sweeping opening chorus is grabbing you in. Richter's singers are in fine form. He takes the tenor aria at a spanking pace, making the aria with its elaborating coloratura even more taxing, And Peters Schreier accedes to the challenge and succeeds to pass every obstacle. Anna Reynolds and Schreier pray heartily together in the recitative for alto and tenor. Theo Adam sings effortlessly the technically demanding aria for bass and also gives it emotional substance with his rich and warm voice. A special feature of this rendering is the bassoon that Richter adds to the continuo line. Its independent nature causes it to slide into the bass line and jumping occasionally out of it. A fascinating recording, of which the brave late Richter should be proud.

[3] Helmuth Rilling (1980)
Rilling goes in the same route of his predecessors, which means grand scale, authoritative and respectful. But his rendering sounds more colourful and somewhat lighter in comparison to Gönnenwein's and Richter's. His tempi are less brisk than Richter's are and therefore Kraus has more room to express himself in the first aria and not only to show that technically he has no problem to cope with the twists and turns of the aria. The movement in this aria is kept by the cheerful playing of the oboes. Regarding authority and understanding of his part, Schöne lacks nothing in comparison with Sotin and Adam. But his voice is less flexible, and for my taste he misses something in expression. The happiness that shrouds all this rendering of the cantata adds to it extra dimension, which is somewhat hidden in the previous recordings.

[4] Nikolaus Harnoncourt (1982)
The unique trumpet sound that opens the chorus and the timbre of oboes makes this rendering sound very different from the previous three recordings. The singing of the Tölzer Knabenchor here lacks volume and it not as unified as we expect. But the main fault lies in Harnoncourt's approach. It seems that he is working his way against the flow of the music. He almost stops the music from time the time and the opening chorus loses most of its glory and honour. I assume that it is done deliberately, but I do not understand what Harnoncourt wants to achieve. Things are getting better in the aria for tenor, where Equiluz conveys confidence both in his state as a human being and in his ability to perform the taxing aria well. The recitative for alto and tenor also comes out convincingly because Esswood and Equiluz are riding on similar wave and their singing transforms mutual listening. They want to pray together and they do. Thomas Thomaschke is not on the same par with his three predecessors. His voice is impressive but his singing is totally inexpressive and uninteresting. The concluding chorale is the best part of this rendition - clean, precise, sincere and touching.

[5] Pieter Jan Leusink (2000)
I do not have this recording yet.

Conclusion

It is very for me to choose between Gönnenwein (1), Richter (2) and Rilling (3). Harnoncourt [4] is less satisfying, especially in the opening chorus.

And as always, I would like to hear other opinions, regarding the above mentioned performances, or other recordings.

Roy Reed wrote (February 19, 2001):
I have but one CD for BWV 126: the 1980 reading by H. Rilling (3). Fine performance, but I wish I had an HIP reading for comparison, since I usually prefer them. Rilling, by the way, will conduct the B Minor Mass (BWV 232) here in Columbus, Ohio next year with the Cols. Orchestra and CSO chorus. Jan. 25 & 26.

BWV 126 is one of the particular Luther cantatas, since so much of the text, patchwork, though it is, is Luther text. Sometimes the close tie to Luther is a plus, sometimes a minus. I put this down as a minus. Here is the bellicose Luther. There was plenty of the warrior in him, most of it unattractive. Of course, he was up against some very heavy hitters.

I have a hard time coming up with the rationale for all of this fight and fury for Sexagesima. It isn't really there in the texts. The other cantatas for this day, BWV 18 and BWV 181 are quite obvious in their reference to the Gospel text. Admittedly, both the Gospel and Epistle texts deal with appositives. In the case of the Gospel (Luke 8: 4-15) with seed sown in rocky or good soil, and in the Epistle (2 Corinthians 11: 19 - 12: 15) with true and false and with apposite in St. Paul's character. There are some "warfare" opportunities back in chapter ten, but I don't see them here. Does something in the tensions of politics and local conflict bring this out? There was a peace treaty between Austria and the Ottoman Empire back in 1721, and I think that the conflicts that embroiled Saxony, Poland, Prussia, Russia, Sweden were not at a crises at this time, but I might be wrong about that.

The opening chorus (Mvt. 1) is a straightforward concerted chorale setting with martial trumpet obbligato, sopranos on the melody. Straightforward mix of Vivaldi and Pachelbel. You have to love it. Blast at the Pope and the Turk aside.

Mvt. 2 is a tenor aria imploring MIGHT from above. The tenor (Adalbert Kraus) has to put out some serious coloratura singing with really wild melismas on "erfreuen," and "zerstreuen." I have listened and looked at these passages to try to discern a specific "tone" for rejoicing or scattering. I conclude only that it takes three measures longer to scatter than to rejoice. In any case, these melismas seem to me rather alien and forced; rather "over the top," one might say. Extreme, anyway. For me it comes off with loss of conviction. Surely Mr. Kraus is a fine singer and delivers an excellent performance of a most difficult aria.

Mvt. 3 is a special little form of great charm and grace. And do we need it here! It is a lovely blending of recitative and an ornamented chorale melody...the same chorale tune as No.1. The tenor gets to have the tune first and then the alto takes it over. It is a prayer-conversation invoking the Holy Spirit. Thank God for an island of peace here. Not to worry, bellicosity makes a comeback with ruin, bombast and destruction.

Mvt. 4 is a lively aria for bass. And he is out there alone, with only a downward racing cello and the continuo realization for company. The cellist here, Jakoba Hanke, is wonderful. Fine precision and right in the mood of the aria. The Neue Ausgabe calls for organ on the continuo, but Rilling [3] uses harpsichord. Big mistake, I think. The piece wants the drama of some sharp organ sound. I like the singing of Wolfgang Schöne, except mss. 116 to 124 where he must carry on with a lengthy passage of bouncing 16^th notes on the vowel "O." In order to do this he sneaks in a tiny "h" before each note to help with the articulation. Big "no, no" in my book. In this case it seems to me to be over-accentuation and also leads to distortion of the "O" sound.

When I get to the final chorale (Mvt. 6): "Grant us peace, graciously," I want to say, "Not likely!!"...given the hostel tone of the whole presentation. I think that the parable of the sower deserves better than this. Ah, but the tunes are terrific.

Sounding off on postings for a time. We are off to Malta, Rome and Istanbul. Happy listening!!

Harry J. Steinman wrote (February 21, 2001):
Well, this has been an interesting cantata for me, one that I really haven't quite come to grips with. I did not own this cantata, so I went to Tower (always a dangerous trip; fortunately, I only purchased one other CD!) and picked up the Rilling version (3), the only one I could find.

And I turned to the discussion of the cantata in Malcolm Boyd's "Oxford Composers Companion: Bach" which I recommend to all.

The opening chorus...well, Boyd refers to the chorus glowingly, "Even among the jewels of Bach's second cantata cycle...the opening chorus of no. 126 shines brightly, if more briefly than in some other works." I like the chorus, but it doesn't hit me as hard as it does for Boyd. I really like the trumpet and oboes, and the way they are, again in Boyd's words, "busying themselves with independent ritornello material."

I think that this chorus is a really good candidate for an OVPP (One Voice Per Part) treatment. The movement is set as a soprano Cantus with the other three voices adding a contrapuntal flavour but I cannot hear the soprano well enough. I think that Junghänel and Cantus Cölln, or the Purcell Quartet need to record this!

As much as I enjoy the opening movement's accompaniment, I'm a bit puzzled by the libretto, as translated in this recording, for the line, "And fend off murderous Pope and Turk" Were the Lutherans under siege from the Catholic Church and the Moslem world (assuming that's what 'Turk' means in this context)

I did not care for the tenor in the Rilling recording [3], not at all! The melisma on the word, "erfreuen' sounds awful to me. First of all, if I understand a melisma correctly, it's an elaboration on a single syllable, but it sounds like two different sounds, an "ah" and an "uh" sound, and it sounds like the singer's voice is sort of closed off. I don't have the vocabulary to describe what I hear but I don't like it! Sounds goofy. The melisma on the word, "zerstreuen" was OK, but I guess I'm not a fan of tenor Adalbert Kraus.

But I did enjoy the interplay between oboes and bassoon (?) very much!

Loved the continuo accompaniment to the Bass aria!

Not much to say about the final chorus...it's very nice.

So, my overall reaction is not so much to the cantata than it is to the recording. Liked the opening chorus, but I'd love to hear it done with reduced forces. A big ugh! to the tenor aria (with an enthusiastic nod to the accompaniment). Bass aria is just fine, especially the continuo. OK to the chorus.

Well, that's it from sunny, chilly Boston this week. See ya' next week for BWV 127 which, happily, is on the same Rilling CD [3] I just bought.

Jane Newble wrote (February 22, 2001):
This is one of the weirdest cantatas I have heard for a long time. I haven't had much time to listen to it this week, but I just wanted to say a little bit about it.

I have the feeling that Bach must have greatly enjoyed composing this, but it sounds a bit hodgy-podgy, as if he had mixed feelings about it all.

(5) A tenor who can't have been '' singing that aria...I wonder if he had nightmares before singing it...I would! (Knut Schoch, the Leusink tenor, actually does very well here.) The bass (in my case Bas Ramselaar) who loves (that seems obvious) singing his bit in competition with the cello... And then in the middle, a lovely, unusual duet recitative...like I have never heard before. All very strange, and weird, and yet, so very beautiful.

Marie Jensen wrote (February 23, 2001):
Hello group (again)! Just a few remarks on cantata BWV 126, which I know in Leusink's (5) and Harnoncourt's (4) versions.

The tenor aria:
< Jane Newble wrote: I have the feeling that Bach must have greatly enjoyed composing this, but it sounds a bit hodgy-podgy, as if he had mixed feelings about it all. A tenor who can't have been 'erfreut' singing that aria...I wonder if he had nightmares before singing it...I would! (Knut Schoch, the Leusink tenor [5], actually does very well here.) >
This aria reminds me in a way about the aria "Es kömmt ein Tag" from cantata BWV 136. It is the same odd, quiet "Dies Irae" type.

Gods power to destroy human pride and let it fall down into the depths (the notes too!) is told about in the bass aria. Where the Harnoncourt version [4] (Thomaschke) is very serious and powerful, like Michelangelo's Christ raising his hand on Judgement Day, the Leusink version [5] (Ramselaar) has a twinkle in the eye: "Wait and see. Pride you will fall!".

Finally about the opening chorus: The Catholics and Moslems are (like in cantata BWV 18) terrible enemies according Luther. Bach also wrote masses for the catholic court in Dresden.

But this cantata is a prayer of saving the Word from falsehood. I hear the trumpet as a bright guide (Gottes Wort). The strings as the rein, in which the choir moves on, praying for the right direction.

Yoël L. Arbeitman wrote (February 23, 2001):
Marie Jensen wrote:
< Finally about the opening chorus: The Catholics and Moslems are (like in cantata BWV 18) terrible enemies according Luther. >
And Die Juden also, particularly in the Johannes-Passion (BWV 245) (but that's there in the N.T. itself). So what can we do, but hope that Luther and Bach do not influence persons any more to have such hatreds. If we want to love the music, we have to see that the text does not infect mankind any more than these texts have. These texts have done and/or contributed to some of the worst horrors of history.

Harry J. Steinman wrote (February 23, 2001):
[To Marie Jensen] So good to read your words again. I hope you're doing well!

Sybrand Bakker wrote (February 23, 2001):
[To Yoël L. Arbeitman] Read the book by Michael Marissen on anti-Judaism in the St John Passion (BWV 245). You can buy it from Amazon and it has a richly annotated literal translation of the libretto. Marissen tries to proof that according to Lutheran theology of the time and according to Bach's interpretation of it, Man killed Christ, not the Jews On a theological side-note: The problem with the Gospel of St-John is how you translate the word 'hoi judaeoi'. You can translate that as 'the Judeans' i.e. the people from Judea as opposed to the Galileans (and the animosity between Galileans and Judeans is important in this Gospel) or you can consider 'Judeans' as a pars pro toto for the Jews, which is why the phrase became translated as 'the Jews'.

As a Christian I can't agree with your comments on the text of the Gospel and I can't agree with your comments on Bach's position. Bach simply wasn't anti-Semitic as he continually stressed 'Ich bin's, ich sollte buessen' This line of thought occurs both in the St-John Passion as it occurs in the Saint Matthew Passion (BWV 244). IMO, the Gospel of St-John isn't anti-Semitic, it is maybe a bit anti-Judean, but in the same fashion as Belgians don't like the Dutch and Dutch usually don't like German It is quite clear in subsequent centuries (starting at 70 CE, after the destruction of the Temple and the fall of Jerusalem) Christians started to interpret the Gospels in a way that instirred hatred against the Jews, with the Holocaust as a final consequence. It is also quite clear most Gospels received a final review, by people who didn't know anything about the Jewish roots of the Gospels, who weren't aware of the exact situation in Jerusalem some 60 to 70 years ago, when Christ was killed. I believe many Christians nowadays acknowledge this fact and repent it.

Frank Fogliati wrote (February 23, 2001):
[To Marie Jensen] Welcome back Marie. It was wonderful to see your words on the screen again!

Andrew Oliver wrote (February 24, 2001):
As we all know, every one of Bach's cantatas is unique. This one is particularly unusual, and it puzzles me a little, mainly because it seems to have little to do with the Gospel for the day (Luke 8: 4-15) Perhaps it has some reference to the perils suffered by the apostle Paul, as mentioned in the Epistle for the day, which is 2 Corinthians 11: 19 - 12: 15.

The two recordings I have are those made by Harnoncourt (4) and Leusink (5). I like them both, but I think I prefer the Leusink overall. I have not always regarded the singing of the tenor Knut Schoch (with Leusink) favourably, but in the aria here he acquits himself well. It is true that in the melisma on 'erfreuen', the vowel sound is rather variable, but I think that any singer who has the courage to sing this while being recorded deserves only praise.

I can see why Harnoncourt [4] used Thomas Thomaschke as his bass soloist. He may not be as technically proficient as some others (there are one or two questionable entries here), but he has a real bass voice which is what is needed for this aria. It is possible to hear coughing in the background during this number.

One thing I enjoyed in Leusink's recording [5] was the organ continuo. It is not intrusive, but the volume and registration is well judged and combines well with everything else.

Most of all, I enjoyed that very special duet between alto and tenor. Both recordings are good, but I like particularly the almost ethereal performance of Buwalda and Schoch. They seem to have more sensitivity here than Esswood and Equiluz (with Harnoncourt [4]).

I would sum up this cantata as unusual, slightly strange, but beautiful and packed with interesting inventions. More please, Sebastian.

Discussions in the Week of March 11, 2007

Chris Kern wrote (March 10, 2007):
Introduction to BWV 126 - Erhalt uns Herr, bei deinem Wort

Discussion for the week of March 11, 2007

Cantata BWV 126 - Erhalt uns Herr, bei deinem Wort

Date of first performance: February 4, 1725 (Sexagesima Sunday)

Information about recordings, biblical readings, translations, etc: http://www.bach-cantatas.com/BWV126.htm

Music example (Leusink [5]): http://www.bach-cantatas.com/Stream/BWV126-Leusink.ram

Each cantata has its own set of problems and challenges. Definitely in this cantata it is the trumpeter and the tenor that are given the greatest difficulty.

The text is problematic for some modern listeners. The first verse of the chorale exhorts God to beat back the "muderous rage of the Papists and Turks". It would be curious to know what Bach and the Leipzig audience thought of this chorale; whether they actually felt that it applied to their life orwhether it was just something of a historical relic that survived primarily due to its association with Martin Luther. (Emmanuel Music suggests replacement lyrics but all the recordings I know of use the original ones.)

Mvt. 1
It's been a while since the trumpet was used in a chorale cantata, and it sounds a rousing battle cry here. Interesting to me is the use of the oboes -- on both the Leusink [5] and Harnoncourt [4] recordings (particularly H's), the oboe lines in the opening ritornello almost sound like mini-trumpets due to the high register and the music played. Rilling's oboes [3] are too quiet for this effect, and I have no idea whether this was intentional on Bach's part or not. The fantasia is relatively short. Also interesting is that in the third line ("Dei Jesum Christum, deinen Sohn"), rather than the usual fugal entries, the bass starts and then the alto and tenor come in together.

Mvt. 2
This movement continues the battle cry with a tenor aria supported by oboes. The movement contains treacherous and extremely difficult melismae that none of the recordings seem to be able to do well, despite the aria not being taken at a particularly fast speed in any of them. It's hard to know what Bach was going for with this.

Mvt. 3
The text of this movement deals with an interesting theological question -- one of the tents of fundamentalist Protestantism has always been that mankind is utterly undeserving of anything from God except punishment. So the question is, why should God pay any attention to the cries for help in the first movement? "The wish and will of mankind are of little use, if You do not choose to protect your little flock" is the answer this text gives.

The movement itself is another chorale/recitative combination except that this time the chorale segments are in duet. Whittaker predictably calls it unsatisfactory.

Mvt. 4
Another continuo-only bass aria. Continuo-only arias rarely do much for me, and I did not find much of interest in this one. It is very blustery and continues the battle call theme.

Mvt. 5
The tenor recitative represents an abrupt shift towards the concluding chorale -- the text here is all about peace and God's blessing.

Mvt. 6
Unusually, the concluding 4-part chorale is not the same chorale as the one used for the opening fantasia. Rather it is a combination of two chorales ("Verleih uns Frieden gnadiglich" and "Gib unsern Fursten und all'r Obrigkeit") that are both complementary and opposing to the mood and tenor of the opening number. The text calls for peace and good government, but the implication is there that this will happen through God's support of the "good" armies.

I listened to three recordings of this cantata: Rilling [3], Harnoncourt [4], and Leusink [5].

[3] Rilling:
Rilling's opening fantasia has a very clear, modern trumpet that sounds a clarion call to arms. The oboes in the tenor aria do not sound good (in general the R oboes are inconsistent -- in some places, like here, they sound almost like an electronic keyboard simulating an oboe, but maybe this is just because I've gotten used to how HIP oboes sound). Overall, I found this performance a bit lacking after the opening

[4] Harnoncourt:
H's trumpeter seems to have trouble controlling his HIP instrument. It doesn't necessarily sound bad, it's just not as clean as the other versions. The recitative/chorale movement is the best of the three -- the tempo slows and the duet is done in legato style with the two voices blending together very well. The concluding chorale here is very well done; not the usual fragmented staccato affair that we expect from this cycle. I would probably put this at the top of this week's offerings, although I do like Rilling's opening movement [3] better.

[5] Leusink:
The organ in the first movement is distracting, but the trumpeter seems to have better control of the instrument than H's trumpeter does. However, the trumpet is too quiet for the most part. The tenor aria is good -- I like Van Der Meel's singing. He is a rare tenor who is able to sing without operatic vibrato (of course he falters on the melisma, but it's hard to imagine somebody doing this correctly).

I hope we can put aside some of the squabbling over HIP trumpets and get some discussion or thoughts on other aspects of the cantata as well.

Yoël L. Arbeitman wrote (March 10, 2007):
Changing the text (was Introduction to BWV 126 - Erhalt uns Herr, bei deinem Wort)

Chris Kern wrote:
< The text is problematic for some modern listeners. The first verse of the chorale exhorts God to beat back the "muderous rage of the Papists and Turks". It would be curious to know what Bach and the Leipzig audience thought of this chorale; whether they actually felt that it applied to their life or whether it was just something of a historical relic that survived primarily due to its association with Martin Luther. (Emmanuel Music suggests replacement lyrics but all the recordings I know of use the original ones.) >
I fear we would have to have replacement lyrics in a lot of Bach and that is not really right. All one can do, as I see it, is to face the reality that Catholics and Muslims were felt by the creators of these lyrics to be a danger to their civilization in the same way that they believed that Jews had murdered their savior. To "clean up" Bach or any other music is certainly not an acceptable option. But we do need to accept the reality.

I know that in 1960 such danger was felt by many USA Protestants about the possibility of JFK becoming president and building a Papal Wing in the White House where the Pope would actually tell his presidential stooge what to do. If that seems ridiculous today, it was a true fear at that time.

Peter Bloemendaal offers his article (on our website) about his perceptions of what and why Bernstein chopped up the MP. Most of what he says sounds on target. However his analysis of what Bernstein did with Handel's Messiah does not sound right to me.

He asserts in the case of the MP that Bernstein wished to eliminate the Jews = Bad Guys parts. That makes sense. But then he asserts that Bernstein also mangled Messiah because he objected to Christianity and that does not make sense to me, not for Bernstein and not for Messiah. I cannot imagine feeling uncomfortable with Messiah or with Handel. I would really assume that Bernstein was just going his thing with Messiah with rather weird results.

Ed Myskowski wrote (March 10, 2007):
Yoël L. Arbeitman wrote:
< I fear we would have to have replacement lyrics in a lot of Bach and that is not really right. All one can do, as I see it, is to face the reality that Catholics and Muslims were felt by the creators of these lyrics to be a danger to their civilization in the same way that they believed that Jews had murdered their savior. To "clean up" Bach or any other music is certainly not an acceptable option. But we do need to accept the reality. >
How appropriate that this should follow immediately on the heels of a discussion of Bach's adherence to 'orthodox Lutheran theology' in the 17^th [sic] century. And how sharing that faith increases the 21st C. listener's appreciation of the music and texts.

Indeed, don't mess with the texts. Leave the warts shining through, to remind us of the validity and humor of Einstein's statement: 'There are only two things which are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I am not at all certain about the universe.' (quote courtesy Harry, from the back of the pub).

Peter Smaill wrot(March 10, 2007):
[To Chris Kern] How interesting that Emmanuel Music have tried to sanitise the text of BWV 126, with its reference to murderous Popes and Turks. Alas these sentiments would have been authentically held by German speaking congregations - from the Saxon viewpoint, because of the Thirty Years War ending in 1648, and from a more general Teutonic perspective, the attempted second sack of Vienna by the Ottomans in 1683. The choice of chorale text is not entirely due to Reformation antiquarianism.

However, the connection to Luther is perhaps the key textual feature. Quite apart from the authorship of the basic chorale, the repetitive bass line in the eighth line of the final Chorale IMO recalls "Dies sind die heil'gen Zehn Gebot", also by Luther and also introduced by Bach to the Ascensiontide Cantata BWV 37, "Wer da glaubet und getauft wird", emphasising in both cases the Lutheran quality of text and chorales.

Whittaker notes the insistent bass figure but none of the usual authorities spot the inference; I wonder what other BCW participants think of this possibility.

"Erhalt Uns, herr bei deinem wort" and its extension, "Verleih uns Friedn gnaediglich" until the middle of the eighteenth century was sung as the closing hymn in almost all Lutheran churches. (Fischer, "Das deutsche evangelische Kirchenlied des 17 Jahrhunderts, repr.1964).

Thus this fine Cantata will have resonated with the Leipzig congregation for many potent reasons of affekt and antipathy.

Ed Myskowski wrote (March 10, 2007):
Chris Kern wrote:
< The text is problematic for some modern listeners. [...] (Emmanuel Music suggests replacement lyrics but all the recordings I know of use the original ones.) >
The venue in which EM performs may offer a partial explanation, a congregation which takes pride in its social tolerance and outreach. They should be forgiven the occasional 'too much of a good thing'.

< Mvt. 3
The text of this movement deals with an interesting theological question -- one of the tenets of fundamentalist Protestantism has always been that mankind is utterly undeserving of anything from God except punishment. >
And they are the optimists! See my recent quote from Einstein, re human stupidity.

< I hope we can put aside some of the squabbling over HIP trumpets and get some discussion or thoughts on other aspects of the cantata as well. >
It is sometimes hard to realize what Aryeh has pointed out. The discussions in the second round have much wider participation than round one. If that also applies to the squabbling, so be it. Attendance is not mandatory, in any case, so we (BCML) probably represent a pretty good cross section of bright people having fun. If that doesn't scare you, you haven't been paying attention . See above, re optimists.

Douglas Cowling wrote (March 10, 2007):
Chris Kern wrote:
< Mvt. 1
It's been a while since the trumpet was used in a chorale cantata, and it sounds a rousing battle cry here. >
It is always interesting to compare Bach's writing for a single obligato trumpet with the festive ensemble of three trumpets and timpani. The obligato player gets a phenomenal workout. We see this kind of virtuoso writing in 'Wachet Betet" and "Herz und Mund".

Douglas Cowling wrote (March 10, 2007):
Chris Kern wrote:
< The text is problematic for some modern listeners. The first verse of the chorale exhorts God to beat back the "muderous rage of the Papists and Turks". It would be curious to know what Bach and the Leipzig audience thought of this chorale; whether they actually felt that it applied to their life or whether it was just something of a historical relic that survived primarily due to its association with Martin Luther. (Emmanuel Music suggests replacement lyrics but all the recordings I know of use the original ones.) >
I think this cantata is a classic case where we have to apply a rigorous historical method to understand the context in which such an intolerant diatribe against Catholics and Muslims was commonplace.. It is false to Bach to pretend that he didn't share his contmeporaries' beliefs. To change the text just avoids the problem.

If we look historically at 18^th century Germany, we would still see a lingering memory of the horrors of the Thirty Years Wars when the Catholic powers were a self-declared enemy. As late as the 1690's, Louis XIV had led Catholic France against the western German states. The Huegenot refugees from the Edict of Nantes were a constant reminder of "Catholic" aggression. It was only in 1683 that the Turks were defeated outside of Vienna and an invasion of Central Europe was stopped. The Catholic and Muslim powers were still military threats in Bach's life. The political talk in Zimmerman's coffee house must have frequently touched on the "Pope and the Turk".

Thomas Braatz wrote (March 11, 2007):
Peter Smaill wrote:
>>...the repetitive bass line in the eighth line of the final Chorale IMO recalls "Dies sind die heil'gen Zehn Gebot", also by Luther...emphasising in both cases the Lutheran quality of text and chorales.<<
The chorale melody for "Dies sind die heil'gen Zehn Gebot" begins with 5 repeated notes before ascending scalewise to a 4th higher than the beginning note. I find the following problems in relating this CM to the BWV 126/6 mm 17-20 vocal bass line with the words "ein geruh'g und stilles Leben führen mögen":

1. Instead of beginning with the repeated note as in the chorale melody incipit, this line begins a half step (semitone) below the repeated note.

2. Instead of having only 5 repeated notes as in the CM on the words "Dies sind die heilgen..." , there are 6 (or 7, repeated notes in a row, if you count the eighth note on "-ben").

3. The connection between the content of "Dies sind die heilgen Zehn Gebot" is very vague (both texts are by Luther, but why would it be cited at this particular point near the end of the chorale?)

Solution:

In this passage, Bach has found a way to express musically through word-painting the meaning of the text being sung at this point: "geruh'g und stilles" ("peaceful and quiet). By having the bass line (basso continuo and vocal bass) remain on the same note without moving off in any direction up or down, Bach stresses the notion of an unchanging status (lack of war and turmoil) so that people can lead a peaceful life.

I am reminded here of one of my most favorite passages found in the New Year's Cantata BWV 41/1 mm 103-119: "...daß wir in guter Stille, das alt Jahr hab'n erfüllet" ("that we have fulfilled/completed the old year in a wonderful state of quietude - literally: 'in good stillness'"). Notice the repeated and held notes particularly in the bass and the fact that there is hardly any movement in the other vocal parts. The instrumental parts, however, weave mysterious melodies around the vocal parts. [I like the Koopman recording [6] of this mvt. very much. It never fails to give me goose bumps whenever I play this recording.]

Peter Smaill wrote (March 11, 2007):
[To Thomas Braatz] Thomas has taken the trouble to consider whether the chorale "Dies sind die heil'gen Zehn gebot" is hidden in the bass line of the final Chorale of this Cantata. Like Whittaker the conclusion is that an unusual affekt is created by the repeated bass note, which Thomas suggests can plausibly be related to the call in the text for " a peaceable and quiet life".

This interpretation is indeed attractive but I would like to put forward another reason why there may also be an allusion to the Lutheran chorale which celebrates the Ten Commandments. It is precisely because the chorale refers to "good government" that the law of the Ten Commandments is apposite. In this the allusion is to the thinking of Jakob Arminius in which the State and Church conjoin in upholding Holy Law, known as Arminianism.

Thomas is right to say that although the incipit of "Dies sind..." is present, it has non-relevant introductory notes, and not exactly five hammered out repeated notes - six or seven in this case. But the Duerr example from BWV 37 has only four repeat notes before ascending to the fourth interval above.

A better example of the linkage to the chorale is the alternative harmonisation by Bach of "Verleih' uns Frieden".It is No.91 in Reimenschneider, and begins the ninth strophe on a repeated E, albeit rising after eight repetitions to the fourth tone above. Within this version the parallel is closer even if not a perfect match. But often Bach makes slight variations to received Chorales yet their distinctive pattern is still observable. Within the line is the Chorale incipit in every particular.

The context is BWV 42, "Am abend abe desselbigen Sabbaths", and, again there is the reference to good government:

"Gib unsren Fuersten und der Obrigkeit
Fried' und gut Regiment,
dass wir unter ihnen ein' geruhig und stilles Leben Fuehren moegen"

Neil Halliday wrote (March 11, 2007):
In addition to the interesting comments of Peter and Thomas concerning the final chorale, it might be worth noticing that variations of the four CM sections of 126/1 occur in the much-extended final chorale (126/6).

The first and second sections of the 1st movement's CM (cantus firmus) are quoted in the first two lines of BWV 126/6, but with variation of the first five notes of line one of the chorale. Line two is almost identical. This is noted in the OCC; I also see the 3^rd section of the CM in the second half of line nine, and line ten has a variation of the 4^th (last) CM section of BWV 126/1.

Russell Telfer wrote (March 13, 2007):
Chris Kern wrote:
(Introduction to BWV 126 - Erhalt uns Herr, bei deinem Wort)
< Each cantata has its own set of problems and challenges. Definitely in this cantata it is the trumpeter and the tenor that are given the greatest difficulty.
Mvt. 1
It's been a while since the trumpet was used in a chorale cantata, and it sounds a rousing battle cry here. >
It's an impressive movement. Put in a flute and take out the choir and what have you got? A quick alternative to Brandenburg 2's opener, which is quality indeed.

< Mvt. 2
This movement continues the battle cry with a tenor aria supported by oboes. The movement contains treacherous and extremely difficult melismae that none of the recordings seem to be able to do well, despite the aria not being taken at a particularly fast speed in any of them. It's hard to know what Bach was going for with this. >
- Indeed. There are 6 long bars of demisemiquavers. The first group of 2 bars has the soloist on the word 'erfreuen' and in the second group on the word 'streuen'. Apart from these horrendous passages I reckon the movement is not seriously challenging for a tenor: it's helped by having several runs and relatively few leaps.

To achieve the melismae, Bach uses the voice as an instrument. The double dots over repeated very fast high notes stop the singer's flow and make it near impossible to keep the continuity. As for meaning!? Practise saying
any word and interrupting yourself six or more times!

Neil Halliday wrote (March 14, 2007):
Chris Kern wrote:
<"Mvt. 4. Another continuo-only bass aria. Continuo-only arias rarely do much for me, and I did not find much of interest in this one. It is very blustery and continues the battle call theme.>"
I find that both Richter's [2] and Harnoncourt's [4] organists, through the addition of bright, higher pitched stops to their respective realisations, bring considerable colour to the otherwise stark continuo line of this aria.

The organ realisations of Leusink [5] and Koopman [6], with soft, lower pitched, (8-foot?) organ tones, are dull by comparison.

I especially like Harnoncourt's version [4], and would put Harnoncourt ahead of Richter [2] in this aria, because the latter's prominent staccato bassoon, in those 1/32 note descending runs, sounds a bit odd to my ears; Harnoncourt's singer projects the necessary authority while sounding quite musical, and the brilliant continuo runs on the cello are quite clear. I have only heard H's BCW sample, but I would expect the whole aria to maintain the impact demonstrated in the sample.

Rilling [3] has powerful, clear continuo strings, but the 'busy' harpsichord does not bring the appropriate counterbalancing force/colour to the vigorous continuo line in this aria, IMO.

Robertson is obviously impressed: "It is a superb piece of declamation, needing a very accomplished bass to make its due effect"

In the tenor aria (Mvt. 2), Rilling [3] has clarity of instrumental lines, with an effective continuo bassoon, and with Kraus managing to nail the astonishing melismas, at a more moderate tempo than Richter [2]. Richter is almost too fast for Schreier to present the individual notes of the melismas, otherwise this is a pleasing performance.

Richter [2] has a nicely flowing recitative with chorale (Mvt. 3); I'm surprised Whittaker did not appreciate this movement more, because the chorale sections for AT duet are quite musical. The chorale melody sections of the first movement, ornamented, are alternately given to one of the two voices (in the duet sections) in the order T,A,T,A.

The opening chorus is stirring, even exhilarating.

Robertson notes the "bloodcurdling runs" on the word "Murder"; I suppose he is referring to the bar in which the ATB parts, all in 1/16^th notes, are in close proximity with crossing of parts. The brilliant obbligato trumpet is cleanest in recordings with the modern instrument, as has been discussed. Rilling's c.f. [3] is a bit weak in the first two lines. Apart from the trumpet, which is soft at times, Suzuki [7] is ablaze with animation and rhythm, and, as with Rilling, the passage referred to above is very clear. Richter [2] has a crystal clear c.f. and despite occasional muddiness in the lower voices, his is also a stirring performance.

Robertson notes a thrilling moment when the long held A on the trumpet (sounding B) shrills above the stave for three bars leading into the final chorale section, with the trumpet still sounding as the first note of the c.f. is sung. This is most effective in the Rilling recording [3]. At the end of the choral section, the sopranos hold their final note for no less than six bars, joined halfway through with the ATB voices modulating from D minor and combining with the sopranos in a magnificent A minor chord.

Peter Smaill wrote (March 14, 2007):
Introduction to BWV 126 /BWV 63

[To Neil Halliday] One of the revelations relevant to this Cantata is that, according to Carol Baron's "Bach's Changing World" , there was a Roman Catholic chapel in Leipzig in Bach's time as a result of the influence of the Elector.

Another insight is that there was , at his instigation, an ostentatious marble altar with a metal-looking crucifix endowed in 1721 in the Thomaskirche . Whether it was installed then or took a while to be created begs a possible link with the strange text of BWV 63, "Christen , aetzet diesen tag/in Metall und Marmorsteine" ("Christians, etch this day /in metal and marble", which was first performed in Leipzig at christmas 1723, albeit originally likely a composition from Weimar.

The text omits all the usual Christmas paraphenalia of Shepherd, cribs and stars. The libretto (possibly by Hennecius) IMO may have be parodied from a secular original but the marble reference coincides with the relatively new altarpiece which was presuambly erected in St Thomas by December 25 1723 when the Leipzigers would be facing the gaudy object as a focus of veneration on Christmas Day.

Douglas Cowling wrote (March 14, 2007):
Bach's buildings

Peter Smaill wrote:
< One of the revelations relevant to this Cantata is that, according to Carol Baron's "Bach's Changing World" , there was a Roman Catholic chapel in Leipzig in Bach's time as a result of the influence of the Elector.
Another insight is that there was , at his instigation, an ostentatious marble altar with a metal-looking crucifix endowed in 1721 in the Thomaskirche. >
We need to rethink our mental image of the churches in which Bach served. They were not the austere undecorated buildings which immigrant Lutherans built in North America. They were for the most part large gothic buildings which retained their Catholic decoration. The Danish and Swedish Lutheran churches have retained much of their 16^th & 17^th century appearance. This link shows a Danish royal chapel. Note the elaborate altar reredos which is almost contemporary with that in St. Thomas', Leipzig. Interestingly, it is a visual representation of a popular chorale. The pulpit positioned in the nave for better acoustics and the large west gallery would have been a familiar arrangement to Bach: http://www.vorfrelserskirke.dk/history_tekst.htm

Yoël L. Arbeitman wrote (March 16, 2007):
Neil Halliday wrote:
< Robertson is obviously impressed: "It is a superb piece of declamation, needing a very accomplished bass to make its due effect" >

Certainly Harnoncourt's bass [4], Thomas Thomaschke, is rather perfect here. I have not listened to any other recordings. The bass aria puts one in mind of some Messiah arias and the accompaniment by b.c. only doesn't detract much for me here. A very powerful and declamative [non-word?] bass does this justice. This is not to say that either the text or the music is of the greatest type. Speaking of translation betrayal: The Harnoncourt English renders the "des Papsts und Türken Mord" phrase by "all them on evil bent".

Now I would not suspect a cleaning of the text here in particular inasmuch as almost all the English translations in H-L are of that sort.

Tom Lock wrote (March 17, 2007):
BWV 126

Chris Kern wrote (March 10, 2007): The text is problematic for some modern listeners. The first verse of the chorale exhorts God to beat back the "muderous rage of the Papists and Turks". It would be curious to know what Bach and the Leipzig audience thought of this chorale; whether they actually felt that it applied to their life orwhether it was just something of a historical relic that survived primarily due to its association with Martin Luther. (Emmanuel Music suggests replacement lyrics but all the recordings I know of use the original ones.)

In the Epistle (2 Corinthians 11: 19 - 12: 9) for the day St. Paul speaks of being attacked by Satan and that he had a thorn in the flesh. These things God allowed to happen to him so that His grace and strength would be revealed through his life of faith. The Gospel (Luke 8: 4-15) also speaks of the devil taking away God's Word so that the person would not believe (or would return to unbelief). These conditions will last until Christ comes again in triumph and His saints dwell with Him in heaven.

Not only had there been many physical battles with Rome and the Turks (Islam) but there was a continuing spiritual battle which Lutherans would see as the most important battle. The cantata text not only speaks of these two foes but also of false brethren within the Church (especially Mvt. 3). Confessional Lutherans like Bach and his pastors at Leipzig would include those who would spread Pietism and Rationalism through the Christian congregations. Leipzig was one of the relatively few hold-outs at this time; they continued to battle these two teachings by confessing what Scripture teaches and what Lutherans confess (as included in the Book of Concord). Primary in this teaching and confession is that a person is saved by grace alone (sola Gratia) through faith alone (sola Fide) in Christ alone (solus Christus) as He is revealed in Scripture alone (sola Scriptura). The aforementioned foes (as far as confessional Lutherans were concerned) placed their own heart or mind above Scripture. And this spiritual warfare will continue as long as we live in this world until Christ comes.

Now I know that not everyone on this list will go along with those sentiments, but they are the sentiments of the conservative/confessional branch of Lutheranism -- of which Bach was a worthy member.

Julian Mincham wrote (March 17, 2007):
[To Tom Lock] Welcome to the list.

Thanks for these observations--always interesting to get the views of those 'inside' the faith (if you know what I mean).

And, I think it probable that some of our list members may feel that, as a practising Lutheran you may appreciate these cantatas more deeply than those of us who are not! ( a teasing point, partly put in jest!)

Yoël L. Arbeitman wrote (March 17, 2007):
Tom Lock wrote:
< Primary in this teaching and confession is that a person is saved by grace alone (sola Gratia) through faith alone (sola Fide) in Christ alone (solus Christus) as He is revealed in Scripture alone (sola Scriptura). The aforementioned foes (as far as confessional Lutherans were concerned) placed their own heart or mind above Scripture. >
Are you giving ablatives or nominatives as the feminine phrases can be either since we don't write macrons any more than the Romans did while the one masculine phrase is in the nominative. If you are intending nominatives, is Fide a typo for Fides?

More importantly if what you call Scripture was no important to these persons, I repeat my question why did Luther create this substitution for what the Greek New Testament actually has and why has no one here who reads the Bible in either Latin or English or any translation express amazement at this part of Bach we all know so well. BTW, Luther did the same in Mark where, although much of the Greek is different from that of Matthew, the same substitution was created by Maartin Luther.
See below.
Certainly some scholar has dealt with this.

In Matthew 27:46 in the Greek Jesus's cry "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" is cited in ARAMAIC sabachthani (as correctly in all English bible translations that I know of).
Luther, followed by Bach reverts to the Hebrew that Jesus was citing, namely Ps. 22:1 with azavthani.

And so we have in the Bach passion Ps. 22:1 and its Hebrew rather than Matthew 27::46 with its Aramaic.

Thanks for any illumination,

Paul T. McCain wrote (March 18, 2007):
[To Tom Lock] Thanks for your post! Much appreciated.

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Last update: ýMarch 19, 2007 ý08:31:49