Cantata BWV 154 - Discussions

Discussions in the Week of January 13, 2002

Thomas Braatz wrote (January 15, 2002):
Provenance:

See: Cantata BWV 154 - Provenance

Commentary: [Spitta]

See: Cantata BWV 154 - Commentary

Thomas Braatz wrote (January 15, 2002):
BWV 154 Finding the unifying element (by chance, randomness, or sheer curiosity)

See: Cantata BWV 154 - Commentary

Dick Wursten wrote (January 15, 2002):
[5] I listened to the Leusink version of 154...

First the good news, the surprise: Knut Schoch is replaced by Marcel Beekman in this cantate. My compliments to him. 'Schade' he did not sing more often in this series. He makes the mvts in which he appears solo much more exciting. He has a clear voice, expressive but always natural, never forced... A relieve after Knut..

The alto aria mvt 4: the instrumental part of it is very interesting (Thomas Braatz already wrote about it). I think Leusink tempo is to fast and will not make any remark about Buwalda's voice, since more than enough is written about that already. In the duetto (mvt 7) he is completely overruled by Beekman, not because Beekman sings to loud, but simply because Buwalda's voice does not have the 'power and the depth' (can you say that from a voice??) to 'concertare' with the tenor. It's a pity, because I think this must be a lovely duetto.

Apart from the usual criticism on Leusink’s choir, I like the chorals they sing and I have heard them sing worse..

Comment on the text of this cantata will follow later..

Aryeh Oron wrote (January 15, 2002):
Introduction

The subject of this week's discussion (January 13, 2002) is Cantata BWV 154, according to Vicente Vida's proposed list of cantatas for discussion. In order to allow the members of the BCML preparing themselves for the discussion, I compiled a list of the recordings of this cantata. I put the details of the recordings in the following page of the Bach Cantatas Website: http://www.bach-cantatas.com/BWV154.htm

There are at least five complete recordings of this cantata - one of them from the 1950's (Grischkat, on LP only) and the 4 others from the Bach Cantata cycles (Rilling [2], Harnoncourt [3], Koopman [4] and Leusink [5]). If anybody is aware of a recording of this cantata not listed in the page of recordings, please inform me and send the relevant details, so that I shall be able to update the page.

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

Background

The background below is based on several sources (Albert Schweitzer, Alec Robertson, W. Murray Young, Hans Christoph Worbs, etc.) and something of my own. The English translations are taken from Richard Stokes’ book.

See: Cantata BWV 154 – Commentary

Review of the Recordings

[1] Hans Grischkat (Mid 1950’s?)
I know nothing about Karl Markus, the singer in the aria for tenor in this recording, but I can tell you that he is a fine singer. His voice has hidden intensity, his approach is dramatic and expressive, and his diction is impeccable. In short, a classic golden voice of the Haefliger type, most suitable to sing the Evangelist. Markus conveys the agony and despair very convincingly. When he reaches the climax of ‘O Schwert, das durch die Seele dringt’ (O sword that pierces my soul), every parent, who has ever lost his child, can easily identify with him. The accompaniment is also very good. The strings are weeping with the singer in the first two lines, and vibrating in the words ‘O Donnerwort in meinen Ohren’ (O thunderous word in my ears) to depict the thunder. The singing of the choir is so stable coherent in the chorales that you can hardly tell that it is a big choir. It is also warm and moving. The contralto Elisabeth Wacker is very moving in her plea. Michael Schopper sings the arioso for bass softly and tenderly, and I find this approach very much to my liking. The duet for tenor and alto is a triumphant tour de force. The two singers complement each other in their expression of joy. This is not as fast as some the other recordings, but it is more sweeping than most of them.

[2] Helmuth Rilling (1978)
Aldo Baldin has a beautiful voice, but here he shows that he has also dramatic qualities. He is helped also by good accompaniment. Both he and the conductor takes the hysterical approach, and I find this entirely legitimate remembering the circumstances, although I prefer other approaches in this aria. Nevertheless, in certain places Baldin sounds pressed, his expression is less penetrating, and the accompaniment is less sensitive than those of Grischkat are. The choir is too big, their singing is less clean and the expression less moving than Grischkat’s. Ann Murray is in good shape in the aria for alto in terms of expression, but she is using too much vibrato to my taste. In the arioso for bass the stiffness in Heldwein’s singing and his uninteresting approach are really disappointing. In long recitative for tenor we hear Baldin again and he has problems to put significant meaning into this demanding movement. Something in the mysterious factor that we can call chemistry between the singers is not working in the duet, which also lacks some enthusiasm.

[3] Nikolaus Harnoncourt (1985)
The instrumental introduction is fragmented as we have learnt to expect from Harnoncourt. But I am not disturbed, because it is not going against the direction of the music and the words. What indeed disturbed me is that even an excellent singer as Equiluz does not put any meaningful expression into his singing of the opening aria for tenor. Maybe he and Harnoncourt did not see eye to eye this aria. The result is very disappointing. I accept the right that everybody has to express his anxiety in a personal way, but here I almost do not hear it at all. The singing of the choir in the chorale is straight and clean, but not moving. Paul Esswood raises the general level of this recording in his touching singing of the aria for alto. The playing of the oboes d’amore intensify the feelings expressed by the singer. Hampson is an improvement after Heldwein, but although he has a beautiful voice his expression leaves something to be desired, especially when he is compared to Schopper. Equiluz handles the recitative for tenor better than Baldin does. The accompaniment to the duet is heavy up to being a burden for the two singers to express their joy more openly.

[4] Ton Koopman (1998)
The instrumental introduction of the aria for tenor is the most tender and transparent of all the recordings, and Prégardien is making the outmost of this aria. He touches your heart with his sincere delivery and sensitivity to every nuance of this aria. The singing of the choir in the chorales is both smooth and warm. Landauer has a beautiful voice, but in the aria for alto he gives the impression that he saves some of it for himself. Mertens is good as usual in the arioso for bass, but something, which is difficult to describe, is missing. I found it easier to identify with Schopper than with him. Overt and spontaneous joy characterises Koopman’s rendition of the duet. The voices of the two singers blend nicely, but in comparison to Grischkat this rendition is somewhat lightweight.

[5] Pieter Jan Leusink (1999)
It is very strange to hear Harnoncourt’s instrumental introduction being repeated in Leusink’s rendition. This is not the first time that I find Marcel Beekman’s singing better than most of the other tenor singers in Leusink’s cantata cycle. In the opening aria for tenor he is very good, sensitive to the words and therefore interesting. He misses some points, but it could bfixed with more preparation. In the two demanding recitatives less convincing. The singing of the choir in the chorales is fresh but unclean. Buwalda is not bad in the aria for alto. Although his technical command is less impressive than that of Landauer, his expression is more convincing. Ramselaar in the arioso is not bad either. The duet is a nice surprise. It is performed so well by all participants in so sweeping way, that it continued to ring in my head after I finished hearing it. I missed this in some of the apparently more respectable recordings.

Conclusion

Personal priorities:
Mvt. 1 Aria for Tenor: Markus/Grischkat [1] = Prégardien/Koopman [4], Baldin/Rilling [2] = Beekman/Leusink [5], Equiluz/Harnoncourt [3]
Mvts. 2 & 6 & Recitatives for Tenor: Markus/Grischkat [1] = Prégardien/Koopman [4], Equiluz/Harnoncourt [3], Baldin/Rilling [2] = Beekman/Leusink [5]
Mvts. 3 & 8 Chorales: Grischkat [1] = Koopman [4], Harnoncourt [3], Rilling [2], Leusink [5]
Mvt. 4 Aria for Alto: Wacker/Grischkat [1], Esswood/Harnoncourt [3], Landauer/Koopman [4] = Buwalda/Leusink [5], Murray/Rilling [2]
Mvt. 5 Arioso for Bass: Schopper/Grischkat [1], Mertens/Koopman [4], Hampson/Harnoncourt [3] = Ramselaar/Leusink [5], Heldwein/Rilling [2]
Mvt. 7 Aria (Duet) for Alto and Tenor: Markus/Wacker/Grischkat [1], Landauer/Prégardien/Koopman [4], Buwalda/Beekman/Leusink [5], Murray/Baldin/Rilling [2], Esswood/Equiluz/Harnoncourt [3]

My first priority for the complete recording of the cantata is definitely Grischkat [1]. Among the modern interpretations (and more widely available) I prefer Koopman [4].

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

Michael Grover wrote (January 16, 2002):
[2] I have Rilling's recording of this cantata on Hänssler.

There are primarily two main soloists: tenor and alto. Ann Murray is a fine alto, and I very much enjoy her aria (movement no. 4). She is one of the least operatic of Rilling's soloists I have heard. She sings in excellent counterpoint to the two oboe d'amore, which play a very pleasant accompaniment and end the movement very nicely.

I am less pleased with Aldo Baldin, the tenor soloist. The texts of the movements he is called on to sing are very emotional, and he sings accordingly. He is OK in the lower ranges, but when he needs to go high, he gets a shrill quality in his voice that is unpleasant to hear. And his singing is very choppy - which I suppose also fits the message of having lost Jesus, and the protagonist is nearly in a frantic panic about it. I just didn't like listening to it. The aria-duet between tenor and alto (Mvt. 7) is a very beautiful song, probably my favorite movement of the cantata, but I need to focus on Murray rather than Baldin to enjoy this rendition of it.

Walter Heldwein does a serviceable job with his bass arioso, and the chorales are sung very well by the Gächinger Kantorei.

Can I trade Baldin for Beekman [5] while retaining the rest of Rilling's forces? This would then be a very enjoyable rendition indeed.

Thomas Braatz wrote (January 16, 2002):
BWV 154 – Review of the Recordings

The recordings that I listened to were Rilling (1978) [2]; Harnoncourt (1985) [3]; Koopman (1998) [4]; Leusink (1999) [5].

[2] Rilling’s heavy bc throughout the cantata serves more as a distraction than an enhancement to the music. Specifically, some of the vocal soloists may have felt pressured to overexert they voices because of this, as if this were some Wagnerian orchestra that the soloist must try to ‘sing over.’ In a Wagnerian opera, it is even possible that problems that the soloist has may not even be noticed, but in a Bach cantata everything in the performance is much more transparent. It is essential that a balance be maintained between the capabilities of the voice and the conductor’s zeal in giving a powerful performance. Both Ann Murray and Aldo Baldin are not quite up to challenge required of them when the orchestra, and particularly the bc is very predominant. It is difficult to determine if Baldin almost immediately loses vocal control in the 1st phrase he sings, or whether he is attempting to act like an Italian operatic tenor with a sobbing voice. I personally would guess the former rather than the latter, because the latter would be entirely out of place in a Bach cantata. The aggressively fast tempo puts special pressure on Baldin to produce loud sounds in the high part of his range. The results are unpleasant to listen to. Yes, Baldin has expression, but perhaps at the expense of the melodic line that becomes more distorted than it has to be. Sometimes his wide vibrato is simply too much to bear. To Rilling’s credit, the orchestral effects in the 1st mvt. are impressive, particularly the effect of the trailing figures that accompany the voice in the 1st violin part. Both chorales sung by the choir are too operatic. There is lack of clarity in the soprano voice where the main melodic line is located. There is some strange (tape?) distortion in my recording for both chorales. It is as though the recording equipment suffered from a distortion overload with a waving in and out of what should be a solidly produced vocal line. Murray’s voice likewise suffers from Rilling’s blatantly operatic rendition of her otherwise beautiful aria. Having heard recently a broadcast of a recital that she gave about 12 years after this cantata was recorded, I can safely say that it was possible for her to control her voice, particularly her wide vibrato, better than she does here. It is simply unfortunate that she chose not to do so here, or she simply had no idea that Bach arias do not have to sound Wagnerian. With the dark quality in his voice, Heldwein expresses in a very dignified manner the words of the arioso that he sings. What can be worse than one singer having a wide vibrato? Just listen to the duet that sounds less like joy and more like there is heavy work being accomplished here!

[3] Harnoncourt’s beginning mvt. is slow and sad. In his appoggiaturas, the final note is frequently inaudible. This indicates how exaggerated the accent is on the first note of the appoggiatura! Here Equiluz is confronting the type of Bach aria that demands expressive angularity. With the orchestra lacking continuity because of Harnoncourt’s dissection of the musical lines, Equiluz is forced to resort to almost overstraining his voice. As a consummate artist, he does not quite allow this to happen. Hence the performance is acceptable, but not up to his usual standard. When he sings the recitatives, he immediately demonstrates the excellence that we have become accustomed to hearing from him. The chorales sung by the choir areremarkably legato, but then Harnoncourt can be full of surprises, usually negative ones. In the 1st chorale you can hear strange accents that are completely out of character for a serious chorale. Esswood, despite his fast vibrato, actually sings his solo aria quite well, if you discount the fact that he can not be heard properly because of the oboi d’amore players who seem more intent on finding the correct pitches to land on and who lack very much the ability to provide a sensitive accompaniment to a small voice that is constantly in danger of being overwhelmed by loud orchestral accompaniment. Sometimes I really wonder if Harnoncourt ever bothered to listen to the tapes before they were processed and made available to the public. Hampson’s sotto voce treatment of these significant words in the bass arioso makes a mockery of the biblical text. His fast vibrato and the reduced note values only make this worse than it would have to be. If you thought the accompaniment to the alto aria was crude, then you should listen to this ‘peasant’ orchestra treatment of this beautiful aria (duet). Harnoncourt’s signature appears at the end of ms. 6 in the bc just before the voices enter: he transforms into appoggiaturas notes that were never intended to be treated in such a manner. Actually, if I were sitting in a German Wirtshaus with live dance music provided by a group of musicians from the nearest farming village, this sound would be quite natural and even catching. In a day and age when cross-over is considered to be in vogue, Harnoncourt’s Bach cantata recordings should be experiencing a renewed interest just because of these aspects of performance that he presented to the world. Somehow, however, I have difficulty transferring this type of Harnoncourt sound to one of the main churches in Leipzig during the 1720’s.

[4] Koopman provides a very sensitive orchestral accompaniment to Prégardien’s interpretation of the words. His voice does not sound forced even in the high register. Now everything ‘hangs together’ well, even with a slow tempo. His recitatives are excellent as well. Of course the Harnoncourt Doctrine is mistakenly applied by Koopman to the bc. The chorale performances are clear and well-balanced. My only objections are that the final fermati are too short and the 2^nd chorale is not taken seriously enough. It sounds hurried and lacks substance. Not much in the way of belief in the words being sung is in evidence here. Koopman’s tempo in the alto aria is much too fast. The question here is whether Landauer’s beautiful voice would sound more interesting if a slower tempo were chosen. There is a slight resemblance to the Ruth-Holton-type voice, where not too much can be asked of such a voice since the volume and range are limited (the low range becomes very soft.) It is therefore judicious on the part of the conductor to choose an interpretation where the accompaniment is kept very light and fast. This way it will not be too obvious for the listener, when the soloist does not sing with a full voice, but rather settles for singing everything sotto voce. As a result the interpretation of the words suffers, as it will in all treatments of this type, where the soloist simply ‘taps’ each note lightly rather than singing with a full voice. A full voice means emotional commitment as opposed to the half voice penchant for thinking, “I’ve sung all the notes correctly, haven’t I? What more do you want?” The alto, tenor duet is also too fast. Prégardien has to hold back to preserve the balance between his voice and the lesser voice that Landauer has. Now everything becomes too light. I tire of these half-hearted treatments of such great music. This happens in part due to the insufficiencies of the many half-voices. The interpretation of the music has to be completely adjusted to fit their vocal deficiency.

[5] Leusink combines some of the worst aspects of Harnoncourt’s recording (cutting note values, emulating the primitive, amateurish sound – this may not have been too difficult to accomplish), which he must have studied assiduously, with a loud and clumsy bc that is one of the hallmarks of this series. Leusink now demonstrates his originality? by taking an extremely fast tempo in the 1^st mvt. Beekman’s vocal performance is clean and clear without very much in the way of expression. In the recitatives the Harnoncourt Doctrine prevails. (What else did you expect?) The chorales performed by the choir reveal the occasional yodelers with the sopranos having intonation problems. The pronunciation of German is poor indeed. It does not help Buwalda when the oboi d’amore are not in tune. Although these instruments sound rather soft and subdued when the aria begins, it is amazing how loud they seem when Buwalda is unable to conjure up very much in the way of volume in the lower part of his range. The tempo is simply too fast. Despite all these negative circumstances, Buwalda sounds better than usual, if you are able to hear him. Ramselaar’s sotto voce treatment makes one wonder if he was deliberately attempting to sound like a soft-spoken Jesus. Somehow this is not the picture of Jesus that I have in my mind, nor the sound of his voice that I might imagine. It takes quite a stretch of the imagination to even begin to believe in Ramselaar’s rendition. The duet begins with a thumpy bc. This causes Buwalda to push his demi-voice to the breaking point. This is the funny-sounding voice of Buwalda that I am used to hearing. It appears that the microphones were placed closer to the singers, lest the entire mvt. become a complete loss.

Summary:

I wish I had the Grischkat version [1] for comparison. It seems to be better than most of what I listened to in these four versions. Here are my favorites:

Mvt. 1: Koopman-Prégardien [4]
Mvts. 2 & 6: Equiluz [3]
Mvt. 3: Koopman [4]
Mvt. 6: Harnoncourt [3]
Mvt. 4: Heldwein [2]
Mvt. 5: ??

Marie Jensen wrote (January 16, 2002):
Cantata BWV 154 , Koopman [4] and Leusink [5].

"Mein liebster Jesus ist verloren". Tenor Marcel Beekman and Netherlands Bach Collegium don't seem to care. They are skating through the opening aria like they were reading the latest tv-news.

And could anything be worse for a Christian than if Jesus was completely gone, also for his mother Mary, who had to go all the way back to the temple in Jerusalem to find her 12 year old son ?

What a difference The Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra and Prégardien means. From the first bass chord and the mourning violins shouting into the emptiness to Prégardien’s dramatic text interpretation . It moves me deeply.

The tenor plays the great part here, on the personal level telling the drama about Jesus lost and found . Beekman sings better when he finds his Jesus again (Dies ist die Stimme) . But still I prefer Prégardien.

But first Mary (always an alto) has to go out and find her son. (Jesus lass Dich finden), Hirtenmusik , but the other way round. This time Jesus is not the shepherd but the lost sheep. There is no bass. (Jesus has gone), Landauer (Koopman [4]) sings much better than Buwalda. His voice also blend better with the tenor in the final joyful duet. The soul and Mary rejoice together. Jesus is always here, even if it does not seem so. He never disappears. There seems to be an error on my Leusink disc [5]. Somewhere in the middle of the duet there is a howling noise for about a second.

As usual Mertens (Koopman) [4] makes a fine Jesus, with kind authority. Ramselaar is not bad either. But Mertens voice has more volume.

For me the best Bach interpretation always is the one who takes the text seriously. It is because of the text, the cantata is composed.Today Koopman makes a wonderful example.

I have really enjoyed this cantata, because of its message and its wonderful music.

Thomas Braatz wrote (January 16, 2002):
BWV 154 Mvt. 4 (Alto Aria senza true bc)

Aryeh Oron commented:
“This aria is very moving in her plea to let her find Jesus. He repeats the opening words 'Jesu, laß dich finden' (Jesus, let Thyself be found), at the beginning of each clause. These repeats are very effective, as are the second and third lines, which evoke the imagery of her sins being thick clouds hiding Jesus from her. Much colour is added to this aria by the oboes d'amore and the strings. Bach did not provide parts for bass strings in this aria but specified the harpsichord (or organ) doubling the upper string parts an octave below.”

Correction: Bach specified the harpsichord only for the bc.

Marie Jensen commented:
“But first Mary ( always an alto) has to go out and find her son. (Jesus lass Dich finden), Hirtenmusik, but the other way round. This time Jesus is not the shepherd but the lost sheep. There is no bass. (Jesus has gone)”

The lack of a true bass part in a Bach aria has symbolic significance which was not lost on the important Bach scholars who made some observations on this phenomenon which is technically called a “Bassettchen” (“Bassetchen/Bassetgen” in German; “petit basse” in French, and “bassetto” in Italian). Previously, in my discussion of BWV 135 on this site, I quoted Eric Chafe who gives a definition of this term and some important indications regarding the significance of Bassettchen in Bach’s cantatas, passions and oratorios. He explains the term as one “used by theorists of the 17^th and 18^th centuries to designate basso continuo accompaniment in a register other than the bass, as well as a bass line that substituted for the basso continuo in the upper register." Regarding its significance, Chafe states: "Bach uses the bassettchen texture for a variety of purposes in the church music; in Cantata BWV 135, for example, it stood for the opposition of God's wrathful and loving natures through juxtaposition of the low and the high bass parts."

Some of the limited examples of mvts. without a natural bass that I had listed were BWV 243/10; BWV 135/1; BWV 11/10; BWV 46/5; BWV 234/3. This list can now be expanded to include BWV 244/49; BWV 154/4; BWV 105/3 and BWV Anhang 1, 196/5.

In the present cantata, BWV 154/4, the instrumentation consists of 2 oboi d’amore and a lower voice that makes use of the violins and the viola joined by the harpsichord (the usual organ and string bass accompaniment is lacking.)

Dürr comments as follows: Just as Bach did in the aria from BWV 244/49 (SMP) “Aus Liebe will mein Heiland sterben,” he wants the lack of a true bc to represent ‘Innocence.’ The “Bassettchen,’ Dürr surmises, consisted originally of violins and viola only, with the harpsichord added for a later performance. In order to understand Bach’s purpose in removing or weakening the bass line, we need to understand the function of the bc in Bach’s time: It is the basis, the foundation, the reliable support for every kind of music. The lack of it in Bach’s compositions generally carries symbolic significance and usually points to the person who does not need this support (BWV 244/49) or BWV Anhang 1, 196/5 “Auf! süß entzückende Gewalt” in the aria “Unschuld, Kleinod reiner Seelen” in which the bc is missing. The libretto terms the text for this mvt. „Schamhaftigkeit“ („modesty, chastity“), or it points to the individual who has lost it, a person who no longer has a firm foundation under his feet, or who had distanced himself from God. In BWV 170/3 (alto aria), the lack of the bc characterizes those (“die verkehrten Herzen, die dir, mein Gott, so sehr zuwider sein”) who are repulsive to God because they have turned away from him.

Christoph Wolff (1998) in his notes for the Erato/Koopman cantata series [4] misses the point entirely and comes up with this piece of ‘fluff’: “Bach achieves an unusual musical effect in the 4th mvt. with the introduction of a harpsichord.” This does not demonstrate very much in the way of insight into the Bach cantatas. Whatever great hopes anyone might have had for meaningful notes, not to mention the disastrous 3 volume set that accompanied this series, “The World of the Bach Cantatas” by Wolff and Koopman, they are dashed when information such as this is offered to the listeners who are eager to find out more about the cantatas.

Hans Christoph Worbs (1985) [3] reiterates Dürr’s ideas about the symbol of innocence indicated by the lack of a true bc. “An unusual feature is the harpsichord which doubles the upper string parts an octave lower.”

Clemens Romijn (1999) states: “The absence of the bass part is a remarkable effect, as Bach paints a picture of Jesus concealed behind the clouds.” This is based on Schweitzer’s observation that the continuo line symbolizes the dark clouds of sin which…conceal the soul of the Redeemer.”

Dick Wursten wrote (January 18, 2002):
As promised some remarks about the text of BWV 154

1. the connection with Luke 2:41-52 is clear and sufficiently commented on by others... the 'search for Jesus' by his father and mother is spiritualized, allegorized to the 'quest for Christ' of the faithful.
2. The link with the Song of Songs in mvt 6 (recitative, Tenor) is classic. The passionate search of the 'girl' for her ' lover', which is so vividly depicted in this beautiful lovepoem has always been allegorized both in the Jewish and the christian tradititon: the 'girl' = the soul..., her 'lover', whom she misses so is 'God' (or -christian- his representant = Jesus). This pattern of thinking, reading of the Song of Songs, is intertwined with the fact that Mary also symbolizes the church... The fact that she is desperately seeking Jesus makes the 'association' with the Song of Songs even more at hand.
3. Jesus is 12 and in the temple, and in discussion with the rabbis, about the law and the prophets I presume... Bar Mitsvah ?
4. I personally like this creative way of texttreatment... IMO The textwriter of BWV 154 (the famous Anonymous) succeeded very well in his spiritual application of the gospelreading...

Dick Wursten wrote (January 19, 2002):
BWV 154 revisited and re-evaluated

[5] I listened again to this cantata in the Leusink version, this time with better loudspeakers than the first time (now I at least could hear Buwalda, but still his performance lacks power, though -strange enough - he sounds as if he is doing the utmost..

In the discussion I noticed an interesting clash of opinions between the listeners, esp. about Marcel Beekmans guest appearance (Knut was ill perhaps??)...

1. Aryeh wrote: <<Marcel Beekman's singing better than most of the other tenor singers in Leusink's cantata cycle [5]. In the opening aria for tenor he is very good,sensitive to the words and therefore interesting. He misses some points, but it could be fixed with more preparation. In the two demanding recitatives
less convincing. >>
Marie Jensen on the other hand wrote: <<Tenor Martin Beekman and Netherlands Bach Collegium don't seem to care. They are skating through the opening aria like they were reading the latest tv-news. [...] . Beekman sings better when he finds his Jesus again (Dies ist die Stimme) >>

AND about the duet alto/tenor Aryeh wrote:
<<The duet is a nice surprise. It is performed so well by all participants in so sweeping way, that it continued to ring in my head after I finished hearing it. I missed this in some of the apparently more respectable recordings.>>
I wrote on the same: <<In the duetto (mvt 7) Buwalda is completely overruled byBeekman, not because Beekman sings to loud, but simply because Buwalda's voice doesnot have the 'power and the depth' (can you say that from a voice??) to 'concertare' with the tenor. It's a pity, because I think this must be a lovely duetto.>>

After relistening and re-evaluating I tend to agree with Marie considering the first movement. Here they all are too much in a hurry to give a worrying expression to the aria. But on the other you could argue that the more abrupt and note-shortened way of performing is a reflection on the the other aspect of this aria: The word about the 'sword, that is going through the soul', the 'Donnerwort'. Panic is the word.... mixed with anxiety. But I don't think Beekman and Leusink [5] were thinking this way... Harnoncourt [3] perhaps (but I have not heard his performance).

I even more strongly disagree with Aryeh (I'm sorry) about the recitatives. Here Beekman is at his best, not in the first (mvt 2), but in his second (mvt. 6: Dies ist die Stimme). I am very much pleased and satisfied with his performance of this text. clear, expressive, not overdone etc... well balanced.

In the duetto.. the fact that I said that Buwalda was completely overruled by Beekman, was partly due to the fact that I listened to it on my little computerloudspeakerset... The volume-balance on my livingroomstereo was better. But I still have difficulty in really appreciating the way Buwalda sings...

But I don't want to end with a negative note. My overall appreciation: The Leusink-club did a reasonably good job in this cantata [5]... Proficiat.

EXTRA: mvt 3, line 3: "Jesu, starker Schlangentreter" ... For those who are not familiar with the 'bible-jargon': The reference is to what theologians call the 'mother of all promises' : Genesis 3: 15, where the ' old snake' is condemned because one of Eve's offspring shall trample him to death..

Andrew Oliver wrote (January 19, 2002):
I had never heard this cantata before this week, but I am pleased that Vicente chose it, because it seems to me one of Bach's best.

As always, I particularly like the chorales, and, best of all, there is that lovely duet.

I have the Harnoncourt [3] and Leusink [5] versions. Of the two, I prefer Harnoncourt's for this cantata.

Tom Braatz wrote about Harnoncourt's version of the duet [3]:
"If you thought the accompaniment to the alto aria was crude, then you should listen to this 'peasant' orchestra treatment of this beautiful aria (duet)......... Actually, if I were sitting in a German Wirtshaus with live dance music provided by a group of musicians from the nearest farming village, this sound would be quite natural and even catching......"
Frankly, if I try to imagine Mary's happiness at finding her lost son, I think her reaction would have been expressed not in a refined, artistic manner but with a relieved, joyful abandonment. I feel sure that this is the emotion Bach was trying to convey here. Harnoncourt's version [3] works for me at this point. (I also like his interpretation of the first movement, apart from the over-exaggerations.)

The final chorale (words and melody, with different harmonization) was used as the original closing number of Part One of the SMP (BWV 244), performed on 15 April, 1729.

Discussions in the Week of February 5, 2006

John Pike wrote (February 4, 2006):
BWV 154 - Introduction

As we proceed with our chronological survey of Bach's cantatas, in order of composition, the cantata for discussion this week (beginning 5^th February 2006) is Cantata BWV 154 "Mein liebster Jesus ist verloren" ("My dearest Jesus is lost"

Basic Information

Event in the Lutheran church calendar:
Cantata for the 1st Sunday after Epiphany

Readings: Epistle: Romans 12: 1-6; Gospel: Luke 2: 41-52.
See: http://www.bach-cantatas.com/Read/Epiphany1.htm

Composed: Leipzig, 1724
1^st performance: January 9, 1724 - Leipzig
2^nd performance: 1736-1737 - Leipzig
Text: Martin Jahn (Mvt. 3); Luke 2: 49 (Mvt. 5); Christian Keymann (Mvt. 8); Anon (Mvts. 1, 2, 4, 6, 7)
See: http://www.bach-cantatas.com/Lib/Keymann.htm

Short Commentary

By Klaus Hofmann, from the liner notes to the album 'J.S. Bach: Cantatas Vol. 17', conducted by Masaaki Suzuki (BIS, 2001) [6]:

The cantata for the first Sunday after Epiphany was first heard at a church service in Leipzig on 9^th January 1724, a week after Schau, lieber Gott, wie meine Feind. It was probably performed on several other occasions during the next twenty-five years; from later additions to the pans we know for sure that there was at least one further performance around 1737. On the Feast of the Epiphany, 6^th January 1724, Bach had presented the cantata Sie werden aus Saba alle kommen, a work with a magnificent opening chorus and requiring a full complement of wind and brass players in the orchestra - in other words a piece that used all the available forces. For the cantata the following Sunday, just three days later, he again practised restraint: again he did without a solo soprano, again he limited himself to a small orchestra although he does call for two oboi d'amore in addition to the strings - and again he seems to go easy on his choir, asking them only to sing chorales (probably these were sightread when would he have had the opportunity to rehearse?). Bach's music, however, gives no idea of any such pragmatic limitations.

The text of the cantata (again the identity of the author is unknown to us) refers to the Gospel reading for that day, Luke 2, verses 41-52. This depicts an episode in Jesus's life known as the 'Twelve-year-old Jesus in the Temple', which in those days would have been as familiar as the Christmas story itself to a Christian who was well versed in the Bible; this episode is frequently portrayed in the fine ans. As was the custom among pious Jews, Mary and Joseph - together with Jesus and their friends and relatives - made an annual pilgrimage to celebrate the Feast of the Passover at the Temple in Jerusalem. On the way home they suddenly notice that the boy is missing; in desperation they look for him and eventually find him back in the Temple in Jerusalem, deep in theological argument with the learned doctors and, when his parents arrive, surprised that they had been looking for him: 'wist ye not that I must be about my Father's business', he asks them.

The cantata makes the story topical: it takes up motifs and moods, but transports the events to the personal realm of experience of the believer. The three arias represent three stages in the story: losing - searching - finding. The opening aria from the tenor, 'Mein liebster Jesus ist verloren' ('My dearest Jesus is lost'), is a despairing lament about loss, full of painfully sighing suspensions in the first violin and then in the vocal line, which also contains expressive rising sixths and is shot through with pathos-laden pauses. This all takes place above the insistent tread of a strongly chromatic basso ostinato. A distant rumble of thunder is heard in the strings at the words 'o Donnerwort in meinen Ohren' ('Oh thunderous word in my ear') - Bach's music is saying: 'Jesus is lost disaster is nigh', nothing less. The subsequent recitative adheres to this attitude, and not until we reach the chorale (Martin Jahn, 1661) do things take a positive turn with its words of expectation and hope - a trend maintained by the alto aria 'Jesu, laß dich finden' ('Jesus, let yourself be found'), a warm-hearted, song-like piece of great charm and sincerity. As so often when Bachuses the oboe d'amore, 'love' is the emotion with which the movement is concerned. The unusual instrumental forces used for the basso continuo are also of importance. Bach assigns this to the violins and viola, and later added a part for harpsichord (it is unclear whether this was done in 1724 or for a later performance), but the cellos, violone, bassoon and organ are silent. This decision has to do with the text and the content: in Bach's music, movements without a heavyweight basso continuo line are found especially when the subject matter is purity and innocence; the best-known (but by no means only) example is the aria 'Aus Liebe will mein Heiland sterben' ('For love my saviour would die') from the St. Matthew Passion.

The crucial part of the cantata is the fifth movement, the arioso 'Wisset ihr nicht, daß ich sein muß in dem, das meines Vaters ist' ('Wist ye not that I must be about my Father's business'; Luke 2, verse 49). It is assigned to the bass, the voice that plays the role of Jesus in the Passions. The strictly imitative, often canonic movement suggests that here some thing compelling, something necessary is being accomplished; Jesus steps forth on the way that has been ordained for him, The following recitative makes it clear: the temple, the house of God and the service of God are our place too; there we may find Jesus and experience him through words and sacrament..

The third aria, the duet 'Wohl mir, Jesus ist gefunden' ('Happy for me that I have found Jesus'), is filled with the expression of effusive joy. Its setting as a duet retains something of the old musical Bible story tradition; the alto may represent Mary and the tenor Joseph. Of course, however, Bach and his text author were alluding to Christians of their own era the eighteenth century. Bach provided a broad, lively setting of the joyful, heartfelt aria about Jesus being found again, and the profession that it contains 'Ich will dich, mein Jesu, nun nimmennehr lassen...' ('I would wish never to leave thee, my Jesus') is emphasized by a particularly dense imitative section. The chorale verse 'Meinen Jesum laß ich nicht' (Christian Keymann, 1658) confirms this statement in a simple, beautifully flowing setting..

Useful Information

Link to texts, translations, details of scoring, references, provenance, commentary, vocal score, music examples, and list of known recordings: http://www.bach-cantatas.com/BWV154.htm

Link to previous discussions: http://www.bach-cantatas.com/BWV154-D.htm

Chorales used in this cantata

Bach used two chorale melodies in this cantata:
1. Werde munter, mein Gemüth with the text Jesu, meiner Seelen Wonne. See:
CT: http://www.bach-cantatas.com/Texts/Chorale023-Eng3.htm
CM: http://www.bach-cantatas.com/CM/Werde-munter.htm
2. Meinen Jesum laß ich nicht. See:
CT: http://www.bach-cantatas.com/Texts/Chorale054-Eng3.htm
CM: http://www.bach-cantatas.com/CM/Meinen-Jesum-lass-ich-nicht.htm

Music

Streamed over the internet, it is possible to hear Leusink's recording of the complete cantata [5] and MIDI files of movements 3 and 8 from Greentree: http://www.bach-cantatas.com/Mus/BWV154-Mus.htm
Please note that the link to Harnoncourt's recording [3] is not working.

You can listen to short examples from other recordings through the links to Amazon provided at the Recordings page.

I look forward to reading your comments about this cantata and about the available recordings.

Douglas Cowling wrote (February 5, 2006):
John Pike wrote:
< As we proceed with our chronological survey of Bach's cantatas, in order of composition, the cantata for discussion this week (beginning 5^th February 2006) is Cantata BWV 154 "Mein liebster Jesus ist verloren" ("My dearest Jesus is lost" >
What is fascinating about the layout of this cantata is that it operates on two allegorical levels. Although it does not retell the biblical story, the tenor, alto and bass clearly represent, on one level, Joseph, Mary and Jesus. On another level, the tenor and alto are also the Believing Souls searching for Christ which we encounter so often in Bach's works. The bass is the Saviour. The most extraordinary moment is the arioso in which the bass sings the "dictum", the scriptural words of the 12 year old boy, Jesus, but in the voice of the adult Christ of the Passions!

An extraordinary literary and musical tour de force!

Scott Sperling wrote (February 5, 2006):
Text in Cantata 154

The Readings for the First Sunday after Epiphany, for which Cantata BWV 154 was written, are Romans Romans 12: 1-6 and Luke 2: 41-52. The text for Cantata BWV 154 concerns itself with the Reading in Luke. In the Luke passage, an interesting event of Jesus' childhood is recounted. When Jesus was twelve years old, the Holy Family (with other family members and acquaintances) journeyed to Jerusalem for a feast-day. Upon their return, the group walked a whole day before they discovered that Jesus was not among them. Joseph and Mary returned to Jerusalem to look for Jesus, and found Him after three days, in the Temple, listening to and answering questions posed to Him by the teachers of the Law. When Mary asked Him why He caused them such anxiety by remaining behind, Jesus answered, "Why did you need to seek me? Didn't you know I would be about my Father's business?"

I must say I was quite surprised at the librettist's handling of this Reading. I reviewed the Readings before I listened to the Cantata for the first time. After reviewing the Readings, and then seeing that the title of the Cantata is "Mein liebster Jesus ist verloren" ("My dear Jesus is lost"), I expected the words to be spoken by Mary in the Cantata. So I was quite surprised to hear the Tenor voice in the 1st Mvt Aria. (I suppose the Tenor could have been in the character of Joseph, but one thinks more of Mary expressing herself, than Joseph. In fact, in the Bible, there are no direct quotes from Joseph, whereas there are many from Mary). In any case, the singer in the 1st Mvt is neither Mary nor Joseph. It is a common Christian, feeling that Jesus is lost to him. In fact, it seems that the singer is reading the passage from Luke, and that the Reading causes him to reflect upon his own relationship to Jesus. He has come to the conclusion: "Mein liebster Jesus ist verloren" ("My dear Jesus is lost"). And then, "O Wort, das mir Verzweiflung bringt... O Schwert, das durch die Seele dringt, O Donnerwort in meinen Ohren" ("O Word, that brings me despair... O Sword, that pierces my soul, O thunderous Word in my ears"). Note the emphasis on "Word": it is the Word of God that is "piercing his soul" ("...durch die Seele dringt..."). This is a reference to Hebrews 4:12: "For the Word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart." The Word of God, through this story where Jesus is lost to Mary and
Joseph, "discerns the thoughts and intents of the heart" of the singer, and so the singer feels that Jesus is lost to him.

And why is Jesus lost to him? This we find in the 4^th Mvt Alto Aria (if I may be allowed to skip ahead): "Jesu, lass dich finden; lass doch meine Sunden keine dicke Wolken sein... Wo du dich zum Schrecken willst fur mich verstecken. Stelle dich bald wieder ein!" ("Jesus, let yourself be found; let not my sins be thick clouds... such that You Yourself, to my horror, will for me be hidden. Reveal Yourself again soon!"). It is the Christian's sins that causes him/her to feel that Jesus is lost.

Let me just note here, that this event in Jesus' life, where He is lost to His family for three days, can be seen as foreshadowing the time after the crucifixion and before the resurrection. Note well, it is "three days" that Jesus is lost to His family. One can imagine the disciples of Christ, during the three days after the crucifixion, expressing the same sort of despair as expressed in the first four movements of this Cantata. Jesus is lost to them. How can they now be saved?

The 2^nd Mvt Tenor Recitative is a meditation on the destitution the Christian feels when he perceives that Jesus is lost to him: "...Kein Ungluck kann mich so empfindlich ruhren, als wenn ich Jesum soll verlieren" ("No tragedy can disturb me to the core, as would the loss of Jesus"). The 3^rd Mvt Chorale expresses what Jesus means to his life: "Jesu, mein Hort und Erretter; Jesu, meine Zuversicht; Jesu, starker Schlangentreter; Jesu, meines Lebens Licht!" ("Jesus my refuge and deliverer; Jesus, my confidence; Jesus, strong serpent-trampler; Jesus, my life's light"). Thus, we can understand the Christian's strong desire to "find" Jesus again: "Komm, ach komm, ich warte dein. Komm, o liebstes Jesulein!" ("Come, O Come, I wait for You. Come, my dear Jesus").

The Christian reads on in the passage in Luke, and gets to the place where Jesus is found in the House of God: "Wisset ihr nicht, dass ich sein muss in dem, das meines Vaters ist?" ("Didn't you know I would be about my Father's business?"). This is the text for the 5^th Mvt Bass Aria, and this is the turning point in the Cantata. The Christian again hears the Word of God speaking to Him, this time in this passage, revealing to him where Jesus can be found: in the House of God. We hear the Christian's response to this in the 6^th Mvt Tenor Recitative: "Mein Jesu, mein getreuer Hort, lasst durch sein Wort, sich wieder trostlich horen" ("My Jesus, my faithful refuge, lets me through His Word, hear Him again and be comforted"). The Word of God spurs him to get up, and rejoin the fellowship of saints, to return to the House of God: "Auf, Seele, mache dich bereit! Du musst zu ihm in seines Vaters Haus, hin in den Tempel ziehn; da lasst er sich in seinem Wort erblicken" ("Up, soul, get ready! You must go to Him in His Father's house, enter into the Temple; there He reveals Himself in His Word").

The 7^th Mvt is an Aria, by both the Tenor and Alto, on the joy of finding Jesus again: "Wohl mir, Jesus ist gefunden" ("How happy I am, Jesus is found!"). The Cantata concludes, in the 8th Mvt Chorale, with a resolution: "Meinen Jesum lass ich nicht" ("My Jesus, leave I not"). This resolution reflects the sentiment: "If Jesus is not to be found, guess who moved!" It is our wandering that causes Jesus to be lost to us. As Jesus said to Mary (to paraphrase): "Why are you searching for me? I'm right where you should expect me to be!"

Scott Sperling wrote (February 5, 2006):
Cantata 154 - A Puzzlement

I have the Suzuki [6] and Koopman [4] recordings of this Cantata (no others), and I find Suzuki's rendering of the 3^rd and 4^th movements quite puzzling; so much so, that it renders the Suzuki recording unlistenable for me.

The first through fourth movements depict a Christian for whom Jesus is lost. The angst of the first and second movements is well depicted in the Suzuki recording [6], but the third movement is taken (what sounds to me to be) "forte". The singing of it sounds triumphant, yet the text depicts longing for Jesus with sorrow. Contrast this with the Koopman recording [4]. Mr. Koopman takes the movement "mezzo-piano" (I would say) and coaxes the choir to sound hesitant, and longing. It's marvelous conducting, in my opinion.

The fourth movement, itself, is a puzzlement to me. It speaks of a Christian's sins obstructing (like a thick cloud) her from Jesus, and also of the fear of Jesus being hidden from her. And yet, Bach wrote the movement in a major key, with a somewhat "jaunty" accompaniment. The contrast between the major-key music, and the "minor-key" text (if I may be allowed to express it in those terms), would make this movement (I should think) difficult to conduct. Mr. Suzuki [6], in my opinion, fails the test. He renders it at a somewhat fast tempo, and the movement sounds triumphant, and full of joy, peace, and happiness. The music forms quite a contrast with the text being sung. This movement by Mr. Suzuki really ruins the whole recording for me, because it is so out-of-sync with the text. Mr. Koopman [4], though, does an admirable job. His tempo is slower than Mr. Suzuki's, and the singer conveys some of the despair and longing found in the text.

I am curious about other people's opinions about these two movements, and about how other conductors render these two movements.

Douglas Cowling wrote (February 5, 2006):
Scott Sperling wrote:
< I must say I was quite surprised at the librettist's handling of this Reading. I reviewed the Readings before I listened to the Cantata for the first time. After reviewing the Readings, and then seeing that the title of the Cantata is "Mein liebster Jesus ist verloren" ("My dear Jesus is lost"), I expected the words to be spoken by Mary in the Cantata. So I was quite surprised to hear the Tenor voice in the 1st Mvt Aria. (I suppose the Tenor could have been in the character of Joseph, but one thinks more of Mary expressing herself, than Joseph. In fact, in the Bible, there are no direct quotes from Joseph, whereas there are many from Mary). In any case, the singer in the 1st Mvt is neither Mary nor Joseph. It is a common Christian, feeling that Jesus is lost to him. >
I didn't notice that the words of Mary were given to the tenor. It's interesting that Bach avoids turning the story into a mini-oratorio by quoting scripture directly, but rather allows the narrative to be the theological platform for another allegory of the Faithful Soul and Christ (another example would be "Wachet Auf").

It's noteworthy that the only scriptural "dictum" from the actual Gospel is the beginning of the bass aria which stands at the centre of the cantata. Thus we have the souls searching for Christ in the first four movements and following him in the final three (four if you count the second half of the duet). The first half is dominated by B minor and A major. In the bass aria, the tonalities pivot to D major.

Something of the same symmetry occurs in "Wachet Auf!" where the opening duet anticipating Christ is in the relative minor and the second celebrating his arrival is in the dominant.

Neil Halliday wrote (February 6, 2006):
Scott Sperling wrote:
>"The fourth movement, itself, is a puzzlement to me. It speaks of a Christian's sins obstructing (like a thick cloud) her from Jesus, and also of the fear of Jesus being hidden from her. And yet, Bach wrote the movement in a major key, with a somewhat "jaunty" accompaniment"<.
The solution to this puzzle, I think, is to work backwards from Bach's musical setting, and interpret the text from there.

As Thomas Braatz noted in the previous discussions, Dürr has pointed out that the lack of the normal basso continuo signifies, in this case, the innocence/purity of nearness to Jesus; it is the purity and joy of the attainment of this state (closeness to Jesus) described in the first and last lines of the text: "Jesus let (me) find you, .... reveal yourself again soon", that Bach is emphasizing, rather than the horror of the thick clouds of sin that threaten to hide Jesus, alluded to in the central lines of the text.

Hence we have a graceful A major melody in 12/8 time, minus the normal basso continuo, but with unison upper strings and gambolling oboes d'amore, expressing the blessedness of being close to Jesus. Nevertheless, listen for the incursions into minor keys, and especially note the dissonant, momentary B flats (of the diminished 7^th) on the 1^st oboe, at the second mof "Schrecken" (bar 30), clearly heard in the Rilling recording [2].

I agree that Suzuki [6], in this movement, is less pleasing than Koopman [4], and most of the other recordings for that matter, but for the simple reason that he (Suzuki) loses some of the grace that is attendant on a slower tempo. The charm of the instruments makes dealing with Ann Murray's vocal vibrato relatively easy in Rilling' recording [2]. (Rilling has no keyboard instrument).
__________

As for the other movements, I like Harnoncourt's [3] (and Koopman's [4]) `adagio' treatment of the opening tenor aria, but with the criticism of the former's excessive weakening of the 2^nd note under the slur in the 1^st violins, and the latter's weakness in various parts of the violins' phrases (is there only one 1st violin?). Rilling's vigorous performance [2], while it has his usual instrumental strength and clarity, lacks the depth of feeling attained by the more measured performances of either Harnoncourt or Koopman, IMO.

While noting the occurrence of interesting canon between the bass strings and voice, over the course of the bass arioso `vox Christi' movement, I'm not entirely happy with any of the continuo realisations heard in the recordings of this continuo only movement.

The A,T duet expresses unabashed joy, and I enjoy Rilling's performance [2] with its crisp, punchy continuo line. The harpsichord may be a distraction in the Suzuki recording. Others have commented on the attributes of the voices in the various recordings.

Julian Mincham wrote (February 6, 2006):
Scott Sperling wrote:
>"The fourth movement, itself, is a puzzlement to me. It speaks of a Christian's sins obstructing (like a thick cloud) her from Jesus, and also of the fear of Jesus being hidden from her. And yet, Bach wrote the movement in a major key, with a somewhat "jaunty" accompaniment"<.
Neil Halliday wrote:
< The solution to this puzzle, I think, is to work backwards from Bach's musical setting, and interpret the text from there. >
These comments raise issues of great interest (at least, to me). One is frequently surprised, not so say amazed at Bach's choice of major or minor key as it is, as in this case, not what one would expect. An interesting 'game' which one can play when approaching a 'new'cantata (or even revisiting one not heard for some time) is to read the text and to guess how Bach will set it--e.g. as chorus, recit, aria duet, in major or minor, with what instruments etc. One is usually WRONG. and that is particularly true of his choice of modes. In fact I believe that Bach's choice of maj/min did not depend only on the text for that particular movement. Frequently he took the overall structure of the work into account (this is perhaps more true of the second than the first Leipzig cycles). Thus a work which may be predominantly minor might suddenly produce a major movement at a time of hope, affirmation, optimism, belief in faith etc etc. Quite frequently it is worth looking at the last aria in the work as it's setting often sheds light upon Bach's developmental thinking for the whole work.

It is also the case that Bach's unfailing optimism meant that he seldom, if ever, gives us a work of unremitting grief. He usually finds the light at the end of the tunnel and accentuates the positive and joyful implications of the text (as in the case of this cantata's 4th movement) whilst playing down more tragic elements. It's often a masterly balancing act--but in general, for JSB, optimism wins out over pessimism. (Quite extraordinary when one considers, as already mentioned in this discussion0 the continuous tragedy which dogged his life).

Incidently, Malcolm Boyd suggests that this cantata (or some movements of it) might have come from an earlier Weimar work but he does not offer evidence. Does anyone have any info on this??

Lastly the comments in the introduction about Bach's little use of the choir in this work because of the workload are interesting. There seems to be internal evidence of the fact that at heavy load periods (e.g. Christmas, Ney Year and Easter) he would take the pressure off the choir. However in the second cycle of chorale cantatas he couldn't do this--at least not until he broke the pattern after the first forty (the last one of which was BWV 1) Here he required the choir to sing at leat one big chorus in each work. He may have had practical matters in mind right from the start of the cycle because he began the first few by giving the (easier) cantus firmus line to different voices thus spreading the load. OF course he also frequently used trombones and cornets to double vocal lines as a backup.

John Pike wrote (February 6, 2006):
[To Douglas Cowling] When I first heard Suzuki's recording of this cantata [6] a few months ago, I was completely knocked over by that wonderful alto Arioso and also by the alto and tenor duet.

I have now listened to Harnoncourt [3], Rilling [2] and Leusink [5] as well. I feel Suzuki hits the right tempo for the opening movement. I feel Rilling's faster tempo is less effective in conveying the sense of loss. One of the other recordings (?which one from memory) also has a faster tempo for this opening movement. The alto (and soprano) vibrato is, for me, a recurring problem with Rilling's recordings and this is evident here as well. Otherwise, I enjoyed all the recordings. My top choice for this cantata would be Suzuki.

Douglas Cowling wrote (February 6, 2006):
Neil Halliday wrote:
< it is the purity and joy of the attainment of this state (closeness to Jesus) described in the first and last lines of the text: "Jesus let (me) find you, .... reveal yourself again soon", that Bach is emphasizing, rather than the horror of the thick clouds of sin that threaten to hide Jesus, alluded to in the central lines of the text. >
The clouds, thunder and lightning also suggest the Passion when the Gospels relate the sun was darkened. The clouds of sin covering the Sun of Righteousness is a common devotional device, most notably the breathtaking storm of "Sind Blitzen und Donner in Wolken verschwunden" in the Matthew Passion (BWV 244).

Thomas Braatz wrote (February 7, 2006):
Julian Mincham asked:
>>Incidently, Malcolm Boyd suggests that this cantata or some movements of it) might have come from an earlier Weimar work but he does not offer evidence. Does anyone have any info on this??<<
Go to the BCW, locate the Recordings page for BWV 154, find in the box at the top of the page the word "Provenance" and click on this link.

Julian Mincham wrote (February 7, 2006):
[To Thomas Braatz] Thomas Many thanks for this.

Neil Halliday wrote (February 8, 2006):
The tritone in 154/1

Here is an interesting article about the tritone (augmented fourth, or diminished fifth) in music: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Augmented_fourth

The tenor aria of BWV 154 is not one of the many music examples mentioned, but a look at the score of 154/1 confirms that it might be a good example of music in which the unsettling effect of this interval is prominent.

Bradley Lehman wrote (February 8, 2006):
[To Neil Halliday] Sorry that this explanation has to be a bit technical....:

That Wikipedia entry is an accurate article, as far as the assumption of equal temperament goes for general theory. The tritone is exactly half the octave (geometrically), and its inversion is indeed the same size: the square root of 2.

But take out the assumption of equal temperament, or the rigid adherence to any keyboard temperament, and everything can shift dramatically on the way the tritones actually sound in music. Orchestras and a cappella vocal groups (at least inmusic of slow to medium speed) don't as a rule hit the tritones exactly where they would be in ET, but rather try to get it more consonant than that. Members of ensembles instinctively adjust their pitches slightly until they are better in tune with one another, on long sustained notes where there is opportunity to do so.

And switch to some milieu where the prevailing standard in pedagogy and practice is not equal temperament (an atonal system), but rather something more tonally focused, and the situation changes dramatically again. Take the example of 1/6 comma meantone (or the pedagogical 55-note division) that was the closest thing to a standard that 18th century Europe had. In that field of sounds, the tritone is an especially consonant-sounding and stable interval. It makes a pure sound that locks in: the interval 45/32.

To hear one on a harpsichord, which is a startling and valuable experience, set up a complete 1/6 comma regular temperament. Or, more directly and quickly, tune either of the following sequences of pure intervals (no tempering): C-G-D-F#, or C-E-B-F#. The resulting C to F# is one of these pure 45/32 tritones, and it sounds quite stable and harmonious. It rings out, loudly, as the notes reinforce one another.

Furthermore, the inversion of it -- F# up to the next C -- is not at all the same size, because we're nowhere near bisecting the octave C to C in the placement of that F#. F# up to C is 64/45, which is obviously a lot larger than 45/32.

A practical result: when playing basso continuo in 1/6 comma temperament, the dominant-7th chords in modulations sound especially consonant and stable themselves. The tritone in them locks in, and creates a big resonance. So do the fully-diminished 7th chords, for the same reason that the tritones in them are making pure intervals.

And playing simply that C-F# itself in isolation: the ear supplies a phantom pure D against both of them, making the harmony seem fuller than it actually is. It makes the C-F# interval seem like a 6-4-2 chord (in figured bass) all by itself, one of these stable 7th chords in inversion. The 45/32 tritone sounds like the two yet simpler intervals 9/8 (C to D pure) plus 5/4 (D to F# pure).

Notes about regular temperaments other than equal, including further remarks about 1/6: http://www-personal.umich.edu/~bpl/larips/meantone.html

The broader point: generic music theory is OK as far as the assumption of equal temperament goes. But, that's a huge "if". The only music that adheres absolutely rigidly to equal temperament is keyboard solo. And, it's mostly a 20^th century assumption that those keyboards would be tuned as a rule in equal temperament. Up through the 19^th, and some beyond that, tuners were still tuning artfully different balances of harmonies by ear, typically favoring the keys that are played more often than other keys. The obvious reason is that tonal music sounds better that way: more colorful and resonant.

The interchangeable-parts practice requiring equal temperament is one of the post-Industrial Revolution conceits: that it's generally more useful to be standardized than to put more specific and artful personality into the intonation. With easier travel and communications, performers can show up in a new city and know pretty much how the keyboard is going to sound, ahead of time. The sounds get averaged down to mediocrity, so theorists can control the general cases more easily, and so average musicians needn't think as much about fine issues of intonation as they would do at top levels of expertise. Wash it all down to a generally inoffensive standard. (And thereby wash a phenomenal amount of musical content right out of tonal compositions, but that's another story!) All transposition becomes interchangeable, whether it's key to key or venue to venue.

Take a composition that has a lot of diminished triads or diminished-7^th chords in it: BWV 154 movement 1 has been mentioned as a good example. There are diminished-7th chords on most of the downbeats! I'm simply pointing out that that series of sounds--if played by an experienced ensemble who are listening to one another and tuning their intervals reasonably well--sounds less disturbing than the same music does playing a piano reduction in equal temperament. Diminished-7th chords are crunchy and somewhat unsettling in general, yes, but they're not as unsettling as it would seem in abstract analysis at the piano.

Another thing to keep in mind about BWV 154: due to the Chorton transposing situation, the original organist was playing/reading in A minor, not the B minor of the rest of the orchestra. Any colorful sounds coming from the organ continuo, due to temperament, are considerably milder in A minor than in B minor, playing through the harmonies of this piece. In character they're much more prickly if played in B minor, than the comparatively sorrowful sound (and more appropriate to the sung text!) played in A minor. [I've tested this empirically; and it's true whether one has accepted my research about a specific temperament or not! All of the reasonable unequal temperaments exhibit plenty more tension within B minor than they do in A minor, playing full chords like this.]

Again back to that Wikipedia article, the sentence: "The sound of the tritone is what lends the strong tendency towards resolution that is characteristic of the diminished and Dominant 7^th chord." That's reversed if the ensemble is trying to play at or near the general sound of 1/6 comma. The tritones have a fairly strong tendency against resolution, because they're played at or near a simple pure interval. These 7th-chords are strong resonant shots in themselves, as a colorful stroke.

The expectation that they'd need to resolve forward, because of some allegedly "strong" dissonance in the tritone especially, is a 20^th century conceit somewhat tied to the analytical assumption of equal temperament. And in real practice that ain't necessarily so! Hand the music to any good ensemble that is accustomed to the 18th century general rules (by taste and experience/training play the sharps a bit lower, and flats a bit higher, than one would find in ET), and the notion of especially-piquant diminished 7ths goes out the window.

Whether they're listening closely to the organ or not, and whatever temperament the organ is playing in, good string players will still try to get the harmonies as well in tune amongst themselves as they can do, chord by chord. The organ might either suggest some specific characters to the music (in an unequal temperament, as I personally believe is vital to Bach's art) or be noncommittally neutral (in equal); and then whatever the string players do with that information is up to their musicianship and listening skills.

Peter Smaill wrote (February 9, 2006):
The tritone in BWV 154/1 also reflects, I believe, the interval achieved in succesive notes in the final chorale to BWV 60, "O Ewigkeit du Donnerwort". Duerr also identifies the implicit interval as the "diabolicus in musicum".

I wonder too if others find the chorale setting in BWV 154 especially affecting , the chorale also known as "Werde munter" and familiar via BWV 147 as "Jesu , Joy". The tenor line here , bouncing back and foth across five tones, has the effect of emphasising the cadence at the end of the first strophe and there is, as in BWV 147, a lovely passing discord in the second part of the chorale.

Neil Halliday wrote (February 9, 2006):
Bradley Lehman wrote:
<"Take a composition that has a lot of diminished triads or diminished-7th chords in it: BWV 154 movement 1 has been mentioned as a good example. There are diminished-7th chords on most of the downbeats! I'm simply pointing out that that series of sounds--if played by an experienced ensemble who are listening to one another and tuning their intervals reasonably well--sounds less disturbing than the same music does playing a piano reduction in equal temperament. Diminished-7^th chorare crunchy and somewhat unsettling in general, yes, but they're not as unsettling as it would seem in abstract analysis at the piano".>
I should have made it clear I was mostly referring to the striking tritone downward leaps in the continuo, eg, in the opening ritornello, A down to D#, and E down to A# (bass clef), repeated throughout the composition. These figures by themselves
(unaccompanied) are likely to sound striking in any reasonable temperament, given the chromatic nature of the continuo line.

Your point about a performance of the music of 154/1 given by the entire ensemble, accompanied with chords on a keyboard, sounding more jagged or more sorrowful depending on the keyboard's temperament - this is an interesting proposition indeed, well beyond the point I was making about the shape of the continuo line. Would the average listener be able to perceive such a change in the actual character of the music?

(BTW, one can play the continuo line on a pitch adjustable ET electric keyboard and sound in tune with the amazon samples of Harnoncourt [3] and Rilling [2]; I assume Harnoncourt and Rilling are both using ET keyboards).

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Peter draws attention to the lovely passing discord in the 4^th bar from the end, of 154/3 (second beat of the bar), indeed reminding us of the harmony in "Jesu, Joy".

Cantata BWV 154: Complete Recordings | Recordings of Individual Movements | Discussions

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Last update: ýJuly 20, 2006 ý14:14:24