Cantata BWV 149 - Discussions

Cantata BWV 149
Man singet mit Freuden vom Sieg in den Hütten der Gerechten
Discussions

Discussions in the Week of June 15, 2003

Leo Ditvoorst wrote (June 2, 2003):
BWV 149 mp3 and score

The mp3's of BWV 149 performed by Leusink [6] can be downloaded at: http://bach.pfcorner.net/bwv149/
The full score from the Bach Gesamtausgabe is in volume 30. This can be downloaded from: http://bach.pfcorner.net/score/

Matthew Davis wrote (June 9, 2003):
Bach Cantata Performance Practice

I'm doing an essay on performance practice in Bach Cantata 149, movements 1, 2, 3, 5 and 7. Can anyone help me out by giving me all their knowledge about this cantata?

Aryeh Oron wrote (June 9, 2003):
[To Matthew Davis] You are indeed lucky! Cantata BWV 149 is planned to be discussed in the BCML (the main Bach Cantatas Mailing List) in the Week of June 15, 2003. If you are not yet a member of that list, I warmly recommend to you joining by going to the page: http://www.bach-cantatas.com/How.htm and follow the instructions.

Couple of days after the discussion is over, the various messages will be compiled into the following page of the Bach Cantatas Website: Cantata BWV 149 - Discussions

If possible, you are also invited to publish your essay in the Articles Section of the Bach Cantatas Website.

Aryeh Oron wrote (June 18, 2003):
BWV 149 – Introduction

The chosen work for this week’s discussion (June 15, 2003) is the cantata for Feast of St. Michael ‘Man singet mit Freuden vom Sieg’ (Songs are sung with joy).

Background
The commentary below is quoted from the liner notes to CD re-issue of Werner’s recording of the cantata on Erato [1]. It was written by the English scholar Nicholas Anderson.

See: Cantata BWV 149 - Commentary

Recordings
The details of the recordings of the cantata can be found at the following page of the Bach Cantatas Website: Cantata BWV 149 - Recordings

Cantata BWV 149 has only 5 complete recordings, three of which are from the three complete cantata cycles – Helmuth Rilling (1983-1984) [4], Gustav Leonhardt (1985) [5] and Pieter Jan Leusink (1999) [6]. The other two are hard to get - Fritz Werner (1964) [1] and Wolfgang Gönnenwein (1967) [2].

Through the page of the Music Examples from this cantata: Cantata BWV 149 - Music Examples
you can listen to two complete recording: Leonhardt [5] (at David Zale Website) and Leusink [6] (at Leo Ditvoorst Website in its new location).

Additional Information
In the page of recordings mentioned above you can also find links to the original German text and various translations, three of which were contributed by members of the BCML: English (Francis Browne), French (Jean-Pierre Grivois), and Hebrew (Aryeh Oron). Francis Browne also translated Schalling’s chorale.

There are also links to the Score (Vocal & Piano version) and to commentaries: in English by Simon Crouch (Listener’s Guide) and Carol Traupman-Carr (Bethlehem), and in Spanish by Julio Sánchez Reyes (CantatasDeBach).

I hope to see many of you participating in the discussion.

Aryeh Oron wrote (June 21, 2003):
Most of the commentators consider the aria for soprano (Mvt. 4) and the duet for alto & tenor (Mvt. 6) as the most attractive movements of Cantata BWV 149. However, I could not resist the temptation to give the members the opportunity to listen to two great bass singers of the past - Erich Wenk (with Werner) [1] and Hans Sotin (with Gönnenwein) [2]. I uploaded into the BCW mp3 files of the aria for bass (Mvt. 2) from these recordings. For good measure, I also added the recording of Philippe Huttenlocher (with Rilling) [4]. You can listen to them all through the page of Music Examples from Cantata BWV 149: Cantata BWV 149 - Music Examples
The other two recordings of the cantata are located in their completeness in other websites, but can be listened through the same page. These are: Leonhardt (Bass: Max van Egmond) [5] [David Zale site] and Pieter Jan Leusink (Bass: Bas Ramselaar) [6] [Leo Ditvoorst site].

Simon Crouch, for example, wrote about the aria for bass: "The bass aria that follows provides an opportunity for the listener to relax after such a high octane start but certainly does not provide the same opportunity to the soloist. Although simply scored for continuo, bassoon and voice, the soloist has to be very mobile to match the staccato bassoon and make the most of this movement."

Enjoy, listen, and please write about your impressions.

Thomas Braatz wrote (June 22, 2003):
BWV 149 - Provenance:

See: Cantata BWV 149 - Provenance

Commentary:

See: Cantata BWV 149 - Commentary

Arjen van Gijssel wrote (June 22, 2003):
[To Aryeh Oron] First of all, thank you very much for these examples! They allow me to participate in the review of different recordings. My order of preference for the bass aria would be:

1. Leonhardt [5]
2/3 Gönnenwein [2]/Leusink [6]
4. Werner [1]
5. Rilling [4]

[4] Rilling
IMO, Rilling takes a too high tempo, which takes away the nice pulse which you hear in the other recordings. If Crouch is right ("you can relax with this aria"), then Rilling/Huttenlocher prevent that from happening. I cannot understand why the bass is not singing the melisma's legato. It results in a sort of bleating. Also, I found his pitch somewhat too high on the higer notes.

[1] Werner
In principle, I like the quiet tempo. However, cello and clavecin seem out a tune. The bass has a much better voice than in the Rilling recording. All in all, I wasn't taken away by this recording. An aria is being sung, but that's about it.

[6] Leusink
I like Bas Ramselaar's pleasant voice. It is uncomplicated (light) and he knows what he is singing about. The athmosphere of the aria is nice, and I like the pulse of the continuo-group.

[2] Gönnenwein
What a fantastic voice! This man must have a big chest. Now here is an example of somebody who knows to sing the melisma's without any difficulty, as if it is nothing, and very legato. But the problem is this: it is a voice for an opera buffa. The way he sings "Kraft", I almost get the impression that I am listening to Figaro. Another problem is that the continuo group is playing very softly (or is it a problem of recording?). In any case, I think there is a balance problem.

[5] Leonhardt
Nice tempo (perhaps a litte bit too quick), but very nice pulse from the continuogroup (with bassoon this time, what happened in the other recordings)? A very nice voice (clear, kräftlich, legato, no problems in the high range). My favourite.

A pity that I do not have the other movementavailable. In all recordings, interesting things happen.

Aryeh Oron wrote (June 23, 2003):
BWV 149 - Recordings

Last week I have been listening to 5 complete recordings of Cantata BWV 149:

[1] Fritz Werner (1964)
[2] Wolfgang Gönnenwein (1967)
[4] Helmuth Rilling (1983-1984)
[5] Gustav Leonhardt (1985)
[6] Pieter Jan Leusink (1999)

The Three Arias - Background and personal preferences

The short background preceding the list of my personal preferences for the recordings of the three arias, is quoted from the book ‘The Church Cantatas of J.S. Bach’ by Alec Robertson (1972).

Mvt. 2: Aria for Bass
The aria reports the struggle described in the Epistle (Revelation 12: 7-12); not in the powerful terms of the opening chorus of Cantata BWV 19, but by a solo bass accompanied only by the continuo! The declamatory vocal part ranges widely, taking its combative first phrases from the continuo ritornello. The reference to the Lamb becomes clear in the text of the second section as ‘Honour and victory… through the lamb’s blood come’.

Personal preferences: Sotin/Gönnenwein [2], Wenk/Werner [1], Egmond/Leonhardt [5], Ramselaar/Leusink [6], Huttenlocher/Rilling [4]

Mvt. 4: Aria for Soprano
This is a most beautiful aria. One can only marvel that in his noisy composer’s room at the St. Thomas’ School Bach could tranquilly and tenderly contemplate the angels who guard us in our waking and sleeping.

Personal preferences: I do not have any, because I like them all. Here we have four first-rate adult female singers (Agnes Giebel with Werner [1], Elly Ameling with Gönnenwein [2], Arleen Augér with Rilling [4], and Ruth Holton with Leusink [6]), and one excellent boy soprano (Sebastian Hennig with Leonhardt [5]). Although coming from different schools, each one of the singers gives a convincing and satisfying rendition.

Mvt. 6: Duet for Alto & Tenor
The melody of the bassoon part in this duet is remarkably evocative of the picture the words paint. It ends, just before the voices enter, in canon, with an astonishing cadence. Whittaker truly says that the choice of the bassoon is not fortuitous, ‘[it] gives a feeling of loneliness, almost of awesomeness… and is apt as Gluck’s use of the flute in the Elysian scene in Orpheus.’

Preferences: Baker-Altmeyer/Gönnenwein [2], Esswood-Equiluz/Leonhardt [5], [gap], Hellmann-Jelden/Werner [1], Georg-Baldin/Rilling [4], [big gap], Buwalda & Schoch/Leusink [6].

Baker-Altmeyer’s duet brings out the individuality of each singer; in Esswood-Equiluz’ duet the prominent characteristic is the chemistry between the singers, as if they sing in one voice. Both renditions reflect mutual listening of the singers and both approaches are valid.

Conclusion

Movements to take away: the aria for bass with Sotin/Gönnenwein [2] and the duet for alto & tenor with Baker-Altmeyer/Gönnenwein [2].

Alex Riedlmayer wrote (June 24, 2003):
Aryeh Oron wrote:
< Personal preferences: Sotin/Gönnenwein [2], Wenk/Werner [1], Egmond/Leonhardt [5], Ramselaar/Leusink [6], Huttenlocher/Rilling [4]>
Aryeh, thanks for uploading the arias, but my tastes in this aria seem to completely diverge from yours... unless, that is, you meant to indicate that you preferred the ones nearer to the end of your list. :-)

Thomas Braatz wrote (June 24, 2003):
BWV 149 - The Recordings:

This week I listened to the following recordings:

Rilling (1983-4) [4]; Leonhardt (1985) [5]; Leusink (1999) [6]

Without much to compare, I only had one non-HIP and 2 HIP recordings that bore all the characteristics for these two main types of interpretation.

[4] Rilling:
Compared to the HIP versions, the choral mvts. here were the only ones that achieved a true sense of ‘the joy of victory.’ Nevertheless, they lack the full force that a Richter recording, if there had been one, would have had. Rilling seems to be holding the choir back at times in order to vary the dynamics. The voices of the choir with their vibratos tend to diminish somewhat the solidity of sound that the choir should have. Huttenlocher’s singing style is entirely inappropriate for the bass aria. Only Augér’s aria stands out as being above average. The duet is acceptable even though the voices are rather operatic. The interpretation of the final chorale exhibits all the necessary reverence, dignity and sensitivity that this text and chorale melody demand. It is, after all, the same special hymn verse that Bach chose as the final mvt. in the SJP (BWV 245).

[5] Leonhardt:
In this HIP version, the voice parts are in relatively good balance with each other, but the interpretation of the choral mvts. suffers from the overuse of exaggerated accents. The squawking of the oboes on the heavy, syncopated, accents is out of all proportion to the rather weak trumpets. With the exception of all the relentless, strong accents on the 1st beat of each measure, there is airy lightness in the unaccented portions of each measure, so much so that an impression of insubstantiality is created. The steadiness of the accents soon becomes boring and resembles the crude, primitive efforts of a fledgling choir master who is attempting to keep his forces together at all costs. Both Esswood and van Egmond are slightly better than their Leusink counterparts (Buwalda, Ramselaar.) Equiluz’ efforts are above average and Hennig, the boy soprano, with only some insecurities (intonation, etc.), gives us a fairly good idea of what this aria may have sounded like in Bach’s time. The voices in the duet aria are rather unpleasant to listen to and are not much of an improvement over the operatic Rilling version. The final chorale is an utter disaster as far as interpretative performance style is concerned. Here it becomes difficult to imagine that Bach would have chosen this same chorale and verse as a conclusion to the SJP. Better yet, try to imagine Leonhardt ending a performance of the entire SJP in this manner!

[6] Leusink:
The usual grotesque sounds emanate from the choir with the top voice parts having considerable difficulty in actually sounding out all the notes. The choral mvts. are, for the most part light-weight and do not convey the idea of solid joy that comes from victory. The demi-voix singers generally lack much in the way of any kind of expressiveness and when expression is attempted, it does not sound genuine (Ramselaar.) The tiny, trembling voice of Holton which has no substance in the low range can not do justice to her aria. The duet has a few interesting moments with Buwalda holding back so much at times that he is barely heard. The beautiful chorale has its fermati cut short and the warbling sopranos sing the cf insecurely. As a whole the interpretation of this magnificent chorale is very boring and uninspired.

Aryeh Oron wrote (June 24, 2003):
[To Alex Ridelmayer] The order of my preferences is correct, starting from the most preferred adown.

I have been hoping that since I chose to move to the back seat couple of weeks ago, I would not need to explain my choices. After about 185 weekly cantata reviews in a raw, I assume that my taste is more or less familiar to the members of the BCML, and would not like to repeat myself. However, since you asked, here is a partial list of the factors according to which I rate the performers of a Bach's aria.

A. Range. The voice should have wide-range. Many Bach's parts are very demanding vocally. Singers with a low range, might sound stressed when trying to sing the high notes. Others, with a high range, might sound hollow singing lower notes.
B. Technical control. It has been noted many times that Bach's vocal parts are instrumental in nature. That means that in many cases they are technically very demanding. The singer should be sound at ease with the complicated vocal lines and let it flow.
C. Expressive abilities. Many Bach's arias have more than one possibility for expression. The singer should use his expressive abilities to bring out most of the potential of the aria, to reveal hidden corners, and to dig below the surface.
D. Taste. Good taste is always a good merit. By taste I mean that the singer should not exaggerate in his expression. Many of Bach's arias enough substantial material that may be conveyed to the listener even through mediocre rendition. In some cases, over-expression might stand in the way of the music and ruin the whole picture.
E. Rich and pleasant voice. The main tool of the singer should delight our ears. This is the most obvious characteristic of the singer. Sometimes the voice is so beautiful that we tend to forgive the singer for deficiencies he might have in other areas.
F. Feeling. The ability to convey to the listener the emotional content of the cantatas - sadness, joy, distress, happiness, etc.
G. Understanding of the Bach's idiom. Operatic techniques are not necessarily bad for singing Bach well. But when a singer sounds as if he/she is singing Verdi while performing a Bach aria, we feel inconvenience.

Few singers are well-equipped to meat most of the above factors. Names like DFD, Arleen Augér, Julia Hamari, Andreas Scholl, etc. come to mind. Others are good in some arias and less convincing in others. Some singers almost never keep a minimal satisfactory standard.

In many arias we find an instrument (sometimes instruments), whose part is no less important than the singer's. If that is the case, the player of this instrument should be judged according to similar criteria. The chemistry/match/blending between the singer and the player are also significant.

The role of the conductor is, of course, very important. He dictates the tempo, the rhythm, and the general approach. Not one promising rendition by a capable singer, was destroyed by super-speedy conducting.

And above all there is this mysterious factor, called personal taste. We might prefer certain rendition to others simply because we like it more, sometimes without any explanatory reason or detailed analysis. This is based on our individual listening experience, acquaintance with the singer through a live performance, his/her look, etc.

Regarding all the above factors I prefer Hans Sotin/Wolfgang Gönnenwein rendition [2] of the aria for bass from Cantata BWV 149 to any other recording of this aria.

And now I would like to hear the reasons for your personal preferences.

Neil Halliday wrote (June 25, 2003):
[To Aryeh Oron] The examples Aryeh gave of this Bass aria, BWV 149, seem to point to a choice that a conductor must make between a musical or a literal interpretation of the text: "Strength...be sung to God...who subdued and drove Satan away".

The Rilling/Huttenlocher example [4], with its relentless continuo (including a brilliant part for harpsichord) perhaps comes closest to a literal depiction of the text, and Huttenlocher pulls out all stops with his almost raucous rendition of his part; but in some ways this is the least satisfying version, from an 'aesthetically pleasing' point of view.

I certainly find the less dramatic versions by the other performers more 'musically accessible' from the listener's point of view, but neither do they suggest the subjugation of Satan. Perhaps music such as the opening chorus of BWV 79 is needed for this task - and it is therefore too much to ask of a lone bass vocalist and continuo.

BTW, I notice Simon Crouch, at least as quoted by Aryeh (shown below), speaks of scoring for bassoon and continuo as:
<"Although simply scored for continuo, bassoon and voice, the soloist has to be very mobile to match the staccato bassoon and make the most of this movement">;
but I believe this bass aria is scored for bass, violone and continuo.

Peter Bloemendaal wrote (June 26, 2003):
BWV 149 - Michaelis

Michaelmas, the 29^th of September, was my father’s birthday. I am almost certain, he never knew it was dedicated to St. Michael. These name days of Saints, which used to be so important in Bach’s day, seem to have been largely forgotten in our time. Yet, this is the day of St. Michael, [He who is as God], one of the archangels [lit. chief messengers], the highest ranking angels. The others are Gabriel [Hero of God], the angel who announced the births of John the Baptist and Jesus, Rafael [God is Healer], who appears in the apocryphal book of Tobit, and Uriel [My Light is God] from the apocryphal book of Ezra. In ages past, Michael appealed most to people’s imagination because in the book of Revelation it is he, who slayed the Dragon, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan (Revelation 12:7 ff.) and cast him out of Heaven onto the earth. Ironic, that St. John actually saw in his vision, that it was our hero Michael who did not only drive Adam out of Paradise, but was also responsible for the fact that Satan was exiled from Paradise in Heaven to fall down on earth, where he could do such devastating work throughout the history of mankind. Michael played another important part in Revelation 20 by chaining the old serpent and casting him into the bottomless pit.

One of the most touching representations of Michael’s victory is to be seen on the front of Coventry Cathedral, England, next to the main entrance. This impressive cathedral was rebuilt after World War II, when it was destroyed by heavy bombings, with contributions from all over the world, including the former enemy Germany. Here Michael also symbolizes the idea that we need higher powers to inspire us humans to the awareness that destructive powers must be chained forever and war must be put to an end. For ever and ever. Alas, not yet, it appears!

The adoration of St. Michael started in the fourth century and was especially prominent in Eastern Europe and the Middle-East, where, from 811 to 1320 A.D., a dynasty of nine successive Michaels ruled the Byzantine Empire. St. Michael soon gained general veneration in the Western world, too. Hundreds of churches were consecrated to him, numerous babies were given his name, and, as a matter of fact, the name has never lost its popularity until this day, although hardly anyone seems to be aware of its origin. Would Gorbatshov know, or Schumi, or Owen? Chance probably would. The name appears in almost a million entries through a recent search on the internet, not counted the synonyms/derivatives Micha, Michaela, Michel, Michelle, Mick, Mickey, Michiel, Michal, etc. Famous and impressive are the holy places on mountains in Europe, the abbeys on Skellig Michael in Ireland, Le Mont Saint-Michel in Normandy, France and Monte Gargano in Southern Italy.

Orthodox tradition has it that Michael was the angel in Genesis 3:24 with the flaming sword, which turned every way to keep Adam and Eve away from Paradise and the Tree of Life. In Genesis 22:11, Michael is the angel of the Lord, who prevented Abraham from sacrificing Isaac, his one and only son. Michael is also believed to have been the man, wrestling with Jacob all night long (Genesis 32:24), a decisive moment in the history of Israel. Jacob, meaning “”, showed himself here a man of character and of principle by not letting this man of God go, unless he blessed him. Consequently, he received a new name, Israel, which means “Warrior for God”. And Jacob called that place Pniel, which is in English “Face of God”.

In Numbers 22:24 ff. we read about Balaam or Bileam [devourer of the people] – interesting, these transparent names, aren’t they - a man with a reputation of having divine powers to either curse or bless people. Balaam was summoned by Balak [God has destroyed], the king of the Moabites, who was sore afraid of the expansion of the children of Israel. So he sent for Balaam to curse the Israelites. God’s anger was kindled when Balaam saddled his ass to follow the princes of Moab and he sent down his angel to thwart Balak’s plan. The story that develops is an extraordinary one. The ass, the only one to see the angel of the Lord standing in the way, his sword drawn in his hand, turned aside out of the way and into the field. But Balaam hit the ass to turn her into the way again. Then the angel of the Lord reappeared on a path through the vineyards with a wall on either side. The ass, seeing the angel, thrust herself against the wall and crushed Balaam’s foot. And Balaam again gave the ass a thorough beating. On they went. A bit further, where the path was so narrow that they could not move to the right or the left, the angel blocked the way completely and when the ass saw the angel, she fell down under Balaam, who went furious and beat his animal with his staff. And the Lord opened the mouth of the ass and she asked Balaam if she had not always been his faithful ass. Anyone interested in the ending of this amazing story of the talking ass, I would recommend to read Numbers, chapters 22-24. Wonderful stuff, that –by the way- caused fierce theological debates over the question: “Did the ass really talk or not?”.

Just before the fall of Jericho, Joshua beheld a man over against him with his sword drawn in his hand (Joshua 5:13), revealing himself as captain of the host of the Lord. The rest is common knowledge.

In the days of the great prophet Isaiah, during the reign of Hezekia, the king prayed before the Lord to be rescued from the Assyrian invaders. Then God promised him through the prophet that He would defend the city of Jerusalem. And it came to pass that night, that the angel of the Lord went out, and smote in the camp of the Assyrians an hundred fourscore and five thousand (185,000); and when they arose early in the morning, behold they were all dead corpses. (2 Kings 19:35)

In the book of Daniel, chapter 3:28, Michael is believed to be the angel sent by God to protect Daniel and his friends in the burning fiery furnace. And again Daniel is saved from certain death by God’s angel, who shut the lions’ mouths (Daniel 6:22), when through a treacherous plot Daniel was convicted to be cast into the lions’ den. In chapters 10 and 12, Michael is called one of the chief princes, the great prince, which stands firm for the children of Israel against the princes of Persia.

In Jude vs. 9, Michael is called the archangel who disputed with the devil about the body of Moses.

According to the medieval cult, St. Michael’s three principal assignments comprised weighing the souls of the deceased, in order to establish whether they were destined for Heaven or to be doomed, guiding the chosen to heaven, whilst protecting them from attacks by satanic powers and finally guarding the gates of Paradise.

Against this background, Bach composed his cantatas “zum Fest des Erzengels Michael”, with the epistle reading of Revelations 12: 7-12 and the Gospel reading from Matthew 18: 1-11, where Jesus tells his disciples they have to be converted and become as little children, if they wish to enter the kingdom of heaven. Of these, BWV 130 – “Herr Gott, dich loben alle wir”, BWV 19 – “Es erhub sich ein Streit”, and BWV 149 - “Man singet mit Freuden vom Sieg” have been completely preserved. All of them are festively scored with trumpets and timpani, plus oboi and the usual strings and basso continuo. Bach added an obligatory bassoon, the sound of which adds greatly to the atmosphere of the duet aria, Mvt. 6, for tenor and alto.

The opening chorus is an adaptation of the final chorus of the Hunting Cantata, BWV 208 – “Was mir behagt ist nur die muntre Jagd”. (See also message 5448) In this last movement, the four Greek gods, Diana, Endymion, Pan and Pales, sing out their “Long live our good Duke and his good wife” in words of obsequious flattering to our modern ears, but quite in accordance with contemporary ceremonial forms and manners. The original text is twice as long as the words of “Man singet mit Freuden vom Sieg”, but no problem, Bach turned the chorus in to a da capo movement. He replaced the horns for trumpets, and thus changed the rural atmosphere in one of triumph after the victory has been won. Dürr rightly observes that the movement is uncommonly homophonic for a movement, based on biblical words, and that we do not hear any contrapuntal or chromatic reference, which we might expect here, to the fierce battle that preceded the final victory. This applies to the entire cantata as well.

Listening to and comparing the original and the parody movement, I hear the difference in interpretation between Schreier and Leusink [6]. It becomes even more apparent in the arias. This is partly due to the disparities between the conductors’ ideas, the dates of the recordings and the distinctions in singing a secular text to a secular ruler and singing in honour of God, who is holy and transcends our understanding of wisdom, power and love. The Lord Almighty, whom you can not honour in a theatrical performance as the Hunting Cantata no doubt was.

We know Picander had the text printed in 1728 for the church year 1728-9. Thomas Braatz wrote: “The autograph score for BWV 201 contains 14 ms. of a sketch for a Michaelmas cantata. Where the choir begins singing the first word “Man”, Bach breaks off at this point, but the question remains: Was this the beginning of an original cantata called “Man singet mit Freuden vom Sieg?” Did Bach abandon this original beginning and turn to the final mvt. of the Hunting Cantata (BWV 208) because he was running out of time for composing an original cantata for this feast day?” Interesting thought. For, as BWV 201 - “The Dispute between Phoebus and Pan” - a highly interesting work, is thought to originate from 1729, this would imply that “Man singet mit Freuden” was also written for the autumn of 1729, the former for the annual St. Michael’s fair and the sacred cantata for the adornment of the service at Michaelmas. I wonder how many Leipzigers heard both performances and which of the two they preferred. I also wonder what the 14 measures of the sketch sound like?

Un fortunately, I only have the Leusink recording [6], and although I am very pleased with it, I would love to hear the Gönnenwein rendition [2]. Holton always touches me to the bone with her “minimal-maximal” singing, so full of nuances, that she expresses so much more than many a loud-voiced celebrity. I must say that the instrumentalists of Netherlands Bach Collegium play splendidly and Trudy van der Wulp’s bassoon solo in the duet of the night watchers could keep me awake all night.

It makes you feel totally alive and protected even shortly before dawn, when sleep is often threatening, vigilance may slacken and enemy attacks are most likely to take place, when not expected anymore.

The final chorale is a very moving one. I have heard it twice performed live at funerals, and I am sure that our digital era has made it a generally beloved piece for the occasion. Beautiful is the final confirmative th, marked by the trumpets and timpani to emphasize the choir’s “Ich will dich preisen ewiglich!”

Discussions in the Week of April 27, 2008

Francis Browne wrote (April 25, 2008):
BWV 149 Introduction

This week's cantata is BWV 149, Man singet mit Freuden vom Sieg. As always Aryeh has provided a wealth of material for the understanding and enjoyment of the cantata at: http://www.bach-cantatas.com/BWV149.htm

(Everyone who takes a turn at doing these introductions must come to appreciate how much has already been done by Aryeh: texts, translations, recordings, commentary, readings, scores, examples...... If there is ever any inclination to take it all for granted, all you have to do is to try to find the equivalent for another composer to appreciate what Aryeh has achieved)

It may be worth pointing out that there is a link to the Classical Music Library where it is possible to listen to the Rilling recordings [4] on line (and much else besides): http://www.bach-cantatas.com/Mus/BWV195-Mus.htm

If, as here in Liverpool, your local library subscribes to the Naxos Music Library it is possible to hear the recordings by Rilling [4], Montreal Baroque [9] and John Eliot Gardiner [7] on line. (There are some Koopman recordings also - but not BWV 149 - and also American Bach Soloists, Theatre of Early Music and of course Naxos cantata recordings.)

The earlier discussion contains much information about the cantata which it seems superfluous to repeat here. Nicholas Anderson (in the Oxford Companion) gives a succinct summary of some basic information:

Man singet mit Freuden vom Sieg (`One sings joyfully of the victory'), BWV 149. The last of Bach's three complete surviving cantatas for the feast of St Michael and All Angels, first performed at Leipzig either in 1728 or, more probably, on 29 September 1729. The music survives in a score and parts copied by C.F. Penzel; the first 14 bars of the opening chorus also exist in an autograph sketch (BC A 182). The text, by Picander, is inspired by the encounter engaged in by St Michael and his angels against the dragon (Satan) and his fiery companions. The story is contained in the Epistle reading for the day and was clearly one that greatly appealed to Bach, since each of his cantatas for this festival, as well as the chorus of BWV 50 (which is all that survives of a fourth cantata for the feast of St Michael), inspired him to write music rich in poetic imagery and instrumental colour.

Two of the recordings issued since the last discussion - Gardiner [7] and Montreal Baroque [9] - include all the cantatas for the feast of Saint Michael and listening to them it is impossible not to share Anderson's view that the 'story appealed greatly to Bach' and inspired him to write magnificent music.

Nobody on this list will be surprised by the excellence of what Bach wrote -but about angels? What exactly is being celebrated here? In the previous round of discussions Peter Bloemendaal made - as often - a valuable contribution -- giving some information about Michael in the Christian tradition. But I suspect for most people today, perhaps even many Christians,the concept of angels is vague and obscure. Neither Christmas tree decorations nor the enigmatic figures in the poetry of Rilke or Wallace Stevens prepare us for these cantatas. Perhaps the angels both fallen and loyal in Paradise Lost or the majestic figures Dante encounters at the gate of the city of Dis or on the cornices of purgatory may give us a more adequate idea.

In reading about this cantata the most helpful remarks about the background I have come across are those by Gardiner in the notes to his recording [7]:

"One only has to think of the Sanctus in the B minor Mass to realise that Bach took the Book of Revelation and the concept of the angelic hosts very seriously. Accordingly he believed in a cosmos charged with an invisible presence made of pure spirit, just beyond the reach of our normal faculties. As incorporeal beings, angels had their rightful place in the hierarchy of existence: humanity is ranked 'a little lower than the angels' in Psalm 8. The concept of a heavenly choir of angels was implanted in Bach as a schoolboy in Eisenach, when even the hymn books and psalters of the day gave graphic emblematic portrayal of this idea; the role of angels, he was instructed, was to praise God in song and dance, to act as messengers to human beings, to come to their aid, and to fight onGod's side in the cosmic battle against evil. Probably no composer before or since has written such a profusion of celestial music for mortals to sing and play. ....... A dazzling cluster of cantata - movements composed to honour the archangel Michael have survived from the most productive years of Bach's cantata composition, the 1720s.

Michael the archangel (the name means 'Who is like God?') is one of the few figures to appear in the Old and New Testaments, the Apocrypha and the Koran. He appears as protector of the children of Israel (Daniel 12:1), inspiring courage and strength, and was venerated both as the guardian angel of Christ's earthly kingdom and as patron saint of knights in medieval lore, and, significantly, as the being responsible for ensuring a safe passage into heaven for souls due to be presented before God (hence the Offertory prayer in the Catholic requiem mass: 'sed signifer sanctus Michael repraesentet eas in lucem sanctam' - 'may the holy standard-bearer Michael bring them into the holy light'). Since it was first established under the Roman Empire some time in the fifth century, Michaelmas (Michaelisfest) had become an important church feast, coinciding with one of the traditional quarter days on which rents are levied and agreed in northern Europe, the start for many of the new agricultural year, and in Leipzig, with one of its three annual trade fairs. When Lucifer, highest of the Seraphim, led a mutiny against God, he became transmogrified into the Devil, appearing either as a serpent or a ten-headed dragon; Michael, at the head of God's army in the great eschatological battle against the forces of darkness, was the key figure in his rout.

(I quote extensively because the CD notes for all of his cantatas recordings are generously available available in English, French and German at: http://www.solideogloria.co.uk/recordings/bach_cantatas.)

We may not share these views but having some knowledge of them is helpful in trying to understand some aspects of the Saint Michael cantatas.

I shall again make use of Whittaker's account of the cantata.(Vol.1, p313-18) Following a remark by Ed I have (with Aryeh's kind assistance) arranged for the examples from the score given by Whittaker to be available at: http://www.bach-cantatas.com/Scores/BWV149-Sco.htm

Mvt. 1: Chorus (SATB)

The opening chorus is recycled from the last movement of the Hunt Cantata (BWV 208) and, in 1740 he used the movement once again, this time as the conclusion to his cantata for the town council election, (BWV Anh. 193), the score of which has not survived. As Gardiner [7] points out, this first movement is festive rather than combative in tone.

Whittaker comments:

"The reconstruction must surely have caused as much labour as an original composition; one must assume that Bach desired to hear his old chorus once again. In the hunting cantata itstands in F, in 6/8, the scoring two corni, two oboes, taille, fagotti, violin I, II, viola and violoncello on separate staves, and violone plus continuo grouped together. In 'Man singet mit Freuden vom Sieg' it is in D, three trumpets, timpani, three oboes, bassoon, and strings in the normal manner. While the ritornelli are transferred bodily, the vocal parts are almost completely rewritten. The same general ideas are employed for the choir, but there is more imitative treatment and there is less squareness of phrase. One passage is reproduced intact, where the voices rise one after the other in long rolling phrases, to besieget' (` conquer ', to conquer sorrow) in the old, and erhöhet' ('exalted') in the new."

Dürr usefully adds:

"Bach adapts the chorus to the new text with great skill-a task facilitated by the fundamentally joyful mood of both texts, which even share certain verbal roots: 'freudige Stunden/mit Freuden' (joyful hours/with joy'); Trauren besieget/behalt den Sieg' ('what is victorious over sorrow/wins victory'). If we did not possess the `Hunt' Cantata, the parody character of movement would probably not be obvious from the setting of the text (the choice of a biblical passage for the parody text in any case called for a freer revision procedure than usual), but rather from the texture, which is strikingly homophonic* for a biblical-text chorus, and from the pure da capo* form. These features are in keeping with the jubilant, indeed almost playful nonchalance of movement, a mood that is no longer conscious of the `battle in heaven' that tookk place beforehand."

If Bach used parody for this opening movement, the obvious question arises of whether any other movements are also parodies.It is perfecly possible but all that can be said is that there is no clear proof. Dürr's opinion is "if they are [parodies], the original versions are lost, and the adaptations again exceptionally successful.

Mvt. 2: Bass Aria

On the second movement bass aria Whittaker comments:

"As the Epistle describes the victory of St. Michael and his angels over the dragon (Revelations 12: 7-12), it is only natural that such a tempting subject should be seized upon by writers of libretti for St. Michael's Day (in this case 29 September), and the four cantatas which Bach wrote for this Feast (the others are BWV 19, BWV 50, and BWV 130) contain opportunities to exploit musically the spectacle of conflict and victory. The tumultuous continuo of the bass aria is a splendid picture of the struggle, and a powerful voice is needed to do justice to the inspiring vocal line, even although there is nothing to battle against but continuo and violone. Bach's violonist at that time was evidently none too agile, for a simplified version of the continuo is provided for him:
[see examples 474 to 477: http://www.bach-cantatas.com/Scores/BWV149-Sco.htm]

The simplifications are made in the ritornelli only; perhaps the incompetent one was instructed verbally to be silent during the remainder. Bach's indifference to dissonant clashes is shown by the fact that the violone plays the essential note of the melody when the continuo decorates it from above or below by an auxiliary note of a tone or semitone, as may be seen above. The fine continuo idea is altered to provide the vocal material:
[Ex.478]

When the singer continues Gott, dem Lamme, das bezwungen und den Satanas verjagt' ('(to) God, to the Lamb, Who subdued and the Satan drives away'), the continuo resumes its theme and the voice adds new ideas, 'Kraft' being isolated on high notes and a mighty run occurring on 'Stärke'. 'Der uns Tag und Nacht verklagt' ('who us day and night accuses') is leaping, with chromatics on 'verklagt'. In the interlude semiquavers 9-16 of Ex. 476 are developed, and play an important role during the remainder of the text: und Sieg ist auf die Frommen durch des Lammes Blut gekommen' Honour and victory is upon the pious through the Lamb's blood come'). It is obvious that this is the outpouring from Christ's wounds, for similar figures are used in other works where the rushing of waters is mentioned. The singer's first five notes are an inversion of notes 1-5 in Ex. 474, and they occur elsewhere. Otherwise the line is new, splendidly vigorous, with syncopations and joyful leaps. The three ideas quoted supra, together with another from the introduction and a run rolling to the depths, form almost the whole material for the bassi, the outpouring' motive being given especial prominence.

Mvt. 3: Secco recitative

Mvt. 4: Aria soprano

Whittaker considers this to be 'one of the loveliest of angel arias:

the strings suggest gentle undulations of their wings (see (a) in Ex. 479) and ecstatic peace prevails. The hovering of the heavenly protectors above the bed of the sleeping believer is limned by the undulating motion set against sustained notes or chords. It is curious that this characteristic motive is practically identical with that indicative of tears, but Bach's treatment makes its effect totally different. Vocalists hesitate to separate these two-note groups, as a violinist would do, but there should always be a distinct break between them. Examples have already been given which prove that the idea that Bach should be invariably sung smoothly is quite false. The chief melody is exquisite:
[See Ex 479 ] http://www.bach-cantatas.com/Scores/BWV149-Sco.htm

The two clauses - 'Wenn ich schlafe' ('When I sleep') and wachen sie' ('watch they') - are set in antithesis; there is movement, naturally, to 'wenn ich gehe' ('when I go') and a sustained note to wenn ich stehe' ('when I stand') and the angel-motive appears for the first time vocally on the last word of tragen sie mich auf den Händen' ('bear they me on the hands')."

On this aria Dürr comments:

"a string piece of enchanting beauty. Dance character is manifest in its song-like melody and its clear articulation into four-bar phrases and their multiples; and even the text-engendered melodic figures that depict going, staying, and being borne up in the hands of angels do not alter this fundamental disposition.

Mvt. 5: Recitative tenor

Whittaker comments: "The low tessitura of most of the tenor recitativo secco suggests that Bach thought of the singer as lowly before the glory of these beings."

Mvt. 6: Aria Duetto Alto Tenor

Whittaker comments:

"One of the all-too-rare bassoon obbligati is heard in the arresting A.T. duet. (There is evidence that a good fagottist resided in Leipzig at that time. See Terry's Bach's Orchestra.) It is a poetic picture, the approach of darkness, the restlessness of the longing Christian and a plea to the holy watchers' to be vigilant, Seid wachsam, ihr heiligen Wachter, die Nacht ist schier dahin' ('Be wakeful, you holy watchers, the night is almost past'). The opening bassoon melody: [see example 480] serves, slightly modified, for the above text; the waving figures:[ex 481 and 482] typify the floating of the divine beings in the aether. Bassi and obbligato continue in the same strain during the next clauses: sehne mich and ruhe nicht, bis ich vor dem Angesicht meines lieben Vaters bin' ('I long and rest not, till I before the countenance of my dear Father am'). Sehne' is expressed by long-drawn syncopations, 'meines Vaters' is ecstatic. The colour of the fagotto tone gives a feeling of loneliness, almost of awesomeness; the choice of obbligato instrument is not fortuitous. It is as apt as Gluck's use of the flute in the Elysian scene in Orpheus'".

Dürr's view: a duet with obbligato* bassoon whose tone-colour, rare in a context, is possibly intended to reflect nocturnal darkness, or perhaps rather, in its lively figurations, the vigilance of the watchmen. movement is again notable for its approachable melody, and even the frequent canonic writing for the two voices nowhere creates the impression of an elaborate trapuntal texture, so unobtrusively is it adapted to the relaxed excitement of the piece.

Mvt. 7: Chorale

On the concluding chorale Whittaker comments:

"The treatment of the concluding chorale is unique. Strings, oboes,bassoon double the voices, trumpets and timpani are silent until thefinal bar-and-a-half, when they thunder out a few notes on the word ('eternally'). This unexpected blaze of glory is particularly thrilling. "

Anyone who is new to this cantata will find much to enjoy. It would be good to hear from some more of the many new members. It would also be interesting if anyone could point to any indication that other movements beside the first are parodies. There is a great variety of recordings -three new - on which to comment. Aryeh posted some interesting examples in the previous discussion.

Last week's discussion was to some extent diverted by general views of Whittaker, cantatas in English and the return appearance of the blessed blockflute. No great harm but perhaps it would be good to concentrate more on the musical feast Bach has provided for us. I look forward to learning more from others about a cantata I have come to regard highly.

Douglas Cowling wrote (April 25, 2008):
Francis Browne wrote:
< Since it was first established under the Roman Empire some time in the fifth century, Michaelmas (Michaelisfest) had become an important church feast, coinciding with one of the traditional quarter days on which rents are levied and agreed in northern Europe, the start for many of the new agricultural year, and in Leipzig, with one of its three annual trade fairs. >
Have any scholars discovered why September 29 was so important in Leipzig that these massive Michelmas cantatas were written? Tax-time and a trade fair don't seem to be sufficient causes for such celebratory works. In fact, if festive scoring is an indicatory of importance, then Michelmas was equal to Christmas and Easter, at least to the ears of Leipzigers.

Once again we see the 3x3x3 configuration in oboes, trumpets and strings to symbolize the nine orders of angels (as in the Sanctus of the B minor Mass (BWV 232))

Julian Mincham wrote (April 25, 2008):
[To Douglas Cowling] I don't know the answer but this statue of St Michaels at the Leipzig monument (which I visited a couple of years ago) is impressive enough to suggest that he must have been a figure of some significance in the traditions of the city.

Ed Myskowski wrote (April 25, 2008):
Julian Mincham wrote:
>...this statue of St Michaels at the Leipzig monument (which I visited a couple of years ago) is impressive enough to suggest that he must have been a figure of some significance in the traditions of the city.<
Without stumbling offensively into the theology, the Archangel Michael seems as important as the members of the Trinity (see Epistle for the day, Revelations 12: 7-12, in the fine Francis Browne translation). Bach's emphatically special music also seems to accord Michael that respect, and to fill out the quarter-days of the calendar.

Jean Laaninen wrote (April 25, 2008):
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/10275b.htm

This link will take you to historical information about the Feast of St. Michael, the Archangel. One bit of information I found interesting was that there is some parallel to our Thanksgiving Day in the US. So a comparison that has been made to Christmas and Easter seems to be very genuine. There are also many insights into how various cultures have related to the figure of Michael.

Lutheran children, and I hope this is not too simplistic or viewed as propaganda, are taught from early childhood to believe in angels, and to see angels as a link between God and humans providing care and protection and helping to solve problems. Mvt. 4 and Mvt. 5 have many parallels to the prayers young children are taught to pray before they go to sleep at night. So there would be a natural connection from even a very early age for families to celebrate the day in a special manner. The helpful aspect probably explains why debts might be re-figured or forgiven at that point in the year--in historical Germany.

As in many other cantatas the theme of death and new life is given together. Interesting parallels here...Advent is the season of hope for new life; Christmas it the initial promise of new life given; Lent is the season of repentance for life not taken with the seriousness we find in a variety of places in the cantatas or scripture; Easter is a paradigm of the new life, and Pentecost and Ascension the recorded fulfillment of preceding events. In nearly all of these major events of the church year angels play an important role. This factor supports a season or festival to appreciate angels in my mind.

Ed had written of the idea that Michael seemed almost equal to the Trinity. I remember <> saying correctly that Michael is the servant of the Trinity, rather than being equal. His involvement with overcoming evil is in my mind the reason this feast held an important place in the role of Bach's church year. Other's may be more articulate on this point, or wish to expand the idea.

I ordinarily look to the Emmanuel Music translation first unless I am going to work out a translation on my own - something I do a bit during the summer months.

Again, thanks to Francis for taking the reins here...you laid a good base.

Stephen Benson wrote (April 26, 2008):
Francis Browne wrote:
< This week's cantata is BWV 149, Man singet mit Freuden vom Sieg. As always Aryeh has provided a wealth of material for the understanding and enjoyment of the cantata >
Perhaps this has already been noted somewhere else, but, if not, I think it should be pointed out that at the end of the texts and translations in the liner notes for Gardiner's recording, readers are directed to the Bach Cantatas Website for "translations in other languages".

Neil Halliday wrote (April 27, 2008):
The Bethlehem site has some useful score examples: http://www.bach.org/bach101/cantatas/cantata149.html#149c

The second example has the 1st trumpet part (of the opening chorus) highlighted in a green rectangle. This important motif occurs regularly throughout the movement; first up on the bassoon (immediately after the trumpet) and then toward the end of the ritornello, under the trilling 1^st and 2^nd trumpets, again on the bassoon, in unison (an octave lower) with the 3rd trumpet. This prominent bassoon motif might sound like a horn, in places in some recordings. [The independent bassoon part throughout the opening chorus is an unusual feature suggesting, as does the very effective obbligato bassoon part in the attractive AT duet, that Bach had a skillfil bassoonist at hand]. In the central section, the motif also occurs in the unison upper strings alternating with the three unison oboes, over the lovely choral writing heard in an extended passage of parallel thirds, sixths and tenths on the word "exhalted". Notice the choral unison occuring just before this passage.

Organists might recognise the figuration of the rippling opening vocal BTAS phrases in the opening notes (in a very different context) of the second section of the "St. Anne" fugue BWV 552. (See the first score example on the Bethlehem page linked above).

As you can see in the Bethlehem score example of the following bass aria (Mvt. 2), there is no bassoon stipulated; I think I prefer this vigorous continuo line as an obligato cello line. I'm not sure Bach necessarily doubted the abilities of his violonist; the effect of the vigorous cello line being contindoubled an octave below by violone might not be very appealing. I'm wondering what the notated violone part might sound like if it were articulated as pizzicato. Rilling's Huttenlocher [4] is way too "operatic" for me; Werner [1], Gönnenwein [2], Leonhardt [5] and Koopman [8] all have better singers for the part.

In the soprano aria, Koopman's soprano [8] irritates me with her exaggerated "swelling" - likely to blast my eardrums one instant, and be inaudible the next.

The bassoon part needs to be highlighted in the appealing AT duet. Werner [1] nd Leonhardt [5] do this well; as does Rilling [4], except I don't like his sempre staccato articulation.

The entire score can be viewed here (because there happens to be a fault in the BGA CD ROM): http://www.kantate.info/BG/BGA_BWV149.pdf

Neil Halliday wrote (April 27, 2008):
Neil Halliday wrote:
>Organists might recognise the figuration of the rippling opening vocal BTAS phrases in the opening notes (in a very different context) of the second section of the "St. Anne" fugue BWV 552. (See the first score example on the Bethlehem page linked above).<
I see this "rippling" figure, introduced successively by the voices in BWV 149/1 (Mvt. 1) in the order BTAS, is a signicant departure from BWV 208/16 ("Hunt") in which the voices begin simultaneously with an entirely different motif. This is definitely a case of signicant re-writing for a parody (Bach knew the different effect he wanted to express Michael's victory over Satan); and the initial motif on the the 1^st trumpet, while still low in its range, sounds much higher than the corressponding part on the 1^st horn in BWV 208; the trumpet part (trumpet in D) sounds a tone higher than written while the horn part (horn in F) sounds a fifth lower than written.

Douglas Cowling wrote (April 27, 2008):
Neil Halliday wrote:
< As you can see in the Bethlehem score example of the following bass aria (Mvt. 2), there is no bassoon stipulated; I think I prefer this vigorous continuo line as an obligato cello line. I'm not sure Bach necessarily doubted the abilities of his violonist; the effect of the vigorous cello line being continuously doubled an octave below by violone might not be very appealing. I'm wondering what the notated violone part might sound like if it were articulated as pizzicato. >
That idea occurred to me as well. Do any of the recordings play the Violone part pizzicato?

I have to admit that I was terribly disappointed by Bach in the final chorale (Mvt. 7). The brass only enter in the last two bars to provide a symbolic flourish on "Ewigkeit". I was left wishing for an arrangement like the final chorale in Part One of the Christmas Oratorio (BWV 248). Perhaps the trumpet parts are fragmentary ...

A comparison of this chorale with the conclusion of the SJP (BWV 245) is a wonderful lesson in Bach's harmonic genius. Look at the final bars: solid, immovable chords in the SJP (BWV 245), joyous runs in the cantata. Two visions of heaven in two bars!

Ed Myskowski wrote (April 28, 2008):
Jean Laaninen wrote:
>Ed had written of the idea that Michael seemed almost equal to the Trinity. I remember (before I deleted my post, and I hope Aryeh has now deleted my errors) saying correctly that Michael is the servant of the Trinity, rather than being equal. His involvement with overcoming evil is in my mind the reason this feast held an important place in the role of Bach's church year.<
Thanks for taking my point without controversy, and for noting the important words <almost equal>. My key ideas were, and remain:

(1) Michael, unlike most (all?) other Saints, has a supernatural, rather than Earthly origin. The nature of Angels (Saints for that matter) within Christian theology, remains very unclear to me. I have given every one (including Earth) a capital letter, just to avoid discrimination.

(2) His Feast Day (Autumn equinox) neatly fills out the the fourth quarter day, along with Christmas (Winter solstice), Easter (Vernal equinox), and Pentecost (Whitsun, Summer solstice).

I am aware that the relations are not precise, see the calculation of Easter discussion for the fixed versus moveable feasts (correlation of solar and lunar calendars), and for other cumulative calendar miscalculations. I was mostly stimulated to speculate, by Dougs ongoing question as to why Michaelmas might have been so important to Bach.

Neil Halliday wrote (April 28, 2008):
Douglas Cowling wrote:
>I have to admit that I was terribly disappointed by Bach in the final chorale (Mvt. 7). The brass only enter in the last two bars to provide a symbolic flourish on "Ewigkeit". I was left wishing for an arrangement like thefinal chorale in Part One of the Christmas Oratorio (BWV 248).<
I agree with this. At a minimum, Bach should have brought the resplendent trumpets in for the whole of the final phrase, with its blazing major harmonies; the present scoring sounds truncated. Not all commentators agree; Robertson regards the entry of the brass on the last two syllables as a "master-stroke".

One point of difference with the SJP's chorale (BWV 245) is the 'modal' nature of the initial descending scale (soprano line), with the F# instead of the the F natural of the C major scale; there are some striking harmonisations along the way.

Francis Browne wrote (May 1, 2008):
BWV 149 recordings

Since BWV 149 was first discussed, three more recordings of the cantata have appeared: by Koopman [8], Montréal Baroque [9] and John Eliot Gardiner [7].

The recordings by Harnoncourt/Leonhardt [5], Rilling [4] and Leusink [6] generally have the virtues and limitations which have been often noted and are I think adequately dealt with by those who contributed to the earlier discussion. I shall concentrate therefore on the three new recordings -all of which I have enjoyed greatly.

Koopman's performance [8] has many of the substantial virtues of his cycle in general: good choral singing, excellent orchestral playing and generally good soloists. There is in this cantata at least no exaggeratedly fast tempi. The general result is a good performance which gives much pleasure.

But the two performances to which I have been returning are those by Montréal Baroque [9] and John Eliot Gardiner [7]. Montréal Baroque is OVPP (one voice per part) , and as often this gives the performance a more intimate quality and makes it easier to follow some of the detail of the score. For the arias and recitatives there is no disadvantage in having OVPP and all three arias here receive excellent performances which constantly delight with an original and generally convincing approach to the music. The opening chorus and concluding chorale are also enjoyable, but it is in these movements that I find JEG 's performance superior. In the resplendent opening of the cantata his larger, excellently disciplined choir simply generate more jubilation among the spheres than is possible for the soloists from Montréal. As for the concluding chorale, in the Montreal perfomance the trumpets and timpani in the final two bars seem like an ill considered afterthought.But Gardiner's performance of the chorale seems tome outstanding -the gravely beautiful melody of the chorale is marvellously sustained so that the intervention of drums and trumpets in the final bars seems to grow naturally out of what has gone before and as the tempo slows, brings the music to a convincing and triumphant close.

It is therefore Gardiner's version [7] to which I shall return most often and which I would recommend to others. While I was listening to the various recordings of BWV 149 my copy of the latest volume of Gardiner's cycle arrived - (Volume 25 :BWV 86, 87, 97, 44, 150, 183). Again and again I found fresh illumination and beauty even in cantatas I thought I know well. Of course in live recordings produced under the pressure of the year of pilgrimage not everything is uniformly excellent but there seems to me to be always an original, engaged approach that makes this series in some ways the most interesting and stimulating of all the cantata cycles.

Neil Halliday wrote (May 2, 2008):
Francis Browne wrote:
>the gravely beautiful melody of the chorale is marvellously sustained so that the intervention of drums and trumpets in the final bars seems to grow naturally out of what has gone before and as the tempo slows, brings the music to a convincing and triumphant close.<
A rallentando as described here (not heard in the sample) is probably the key to making the entry of the brass and drums sound convincing at the end of this chorale.

I found this site with samples of Gardiner's BWV 149 [7]: e-music

Good soloists and enjoyable music making - I agree, a pleasing recording overall - but I found the important continuo line in the bass aria, and also the obbligato bassoon in the duet to be understated (in the samples).

John Pike wrote (May 2, 2008):
Francis Browne wrote:
< It is therefore Gardiner's version to which I shall return most often and which I would recommend to others. While I was listening to the various recordings of BWV 149 my copy of the latest volume of Gardiner's cycle arrived - (Volume 25: BWV 86, 87, 97, 44, 150, 183) Again and again I found fresh illumination and beauty even in cantatas I thought I know well. Of course in live recordings produced under the pressure of the year of pilgrimage not everything is uniformly excellent but there seems to me to be always an original, engaged approach that makes this series in some ways the most interesting and stimulating of all the cantata cycles. >
I agree. I find Gardiner's BCP absolutely superlative. I also greatly enjoy Suzuki.

Cantata BWV 149: Complete Recordings | Recordings of Individual Movements | Discussions

Back to the Top

Last update: ýMay 3, 2008 ý09:09:28