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Cantata BWV 186
Ärgre dich, o Seele, nicht
Cantata BWV 186a
Ärgre dich, o Seele, nicht
Discussions - Part 4

Continue from Part 3

Discussions in the Week of July 19, 2015 (4th round)

William L. Hoffman wrote (July 20, 2015):
Cantata 186(a), Ärgre dich, o Seele, nicht,” Intro; Trinity 7 Chorales, Cantatas

For the Seventh Sunday after Trinity, July 11, 1723, Bach expanded 1716 Weimar chorus Cantata 186a, “Ärgre dich, o Seele, nicht” (Do not be scandalised, my soul,) into the two-part chorus Cantata BWV 186, same title. The 6 movement original as increased to 12 movements, doubling in length to 40 minutes playing time. He kept the original music from the opening chorus and the four succeeding arias, all to texts of Salomo Franck, altering two of the aria texts to fit the new service. Bach composed four new interspersed recitatives, all ending with ariosi, referring to the new service lectionary, discarded the original, now-inappropriate closing chorale, and closed both parts with two stanzas of an elaborated tutti chorale chorus, Paul Speratus’ 1524 Reformation hymn, “Es ist das Heil uns kommen her” (Salvation has come to us).1

Lutheran Church Year Readings for the Seventh Sunday After Trinity are: Epistle: Romans 6:19-23, “The wages of sin is death”; Gospel: Mark 8:1-9, Miracle, Christ feeds the four thousand; The German text is that of Martin Luther’s translation published in 1545, the English is the Authorised (King James) Version 1611; BCW, http://www.bach-cantatas.com/Read/Trinity7.htm. Cantata 186 was premiered at the early main service in the Nikolaikirche, Superintendent Salomon Deyling (1677-1755) preached the sermon (not extant) between Parts 1 and 2 on the Gospel, says Martin Petzoldt in Bach Commentary, Part 1, Trinity Time Sundays.2 Cantata 186 was reperformed on the same Sunday about 1746-49.

The text authors of Cantata 186 are: Salomo Franck (Mvts. 1, 3, 5, 8, 10), Evangelisches Sonn- und Fest-Tages-Andachten, Weimar and Jena, 1717; Paul Speratus (Mvt. 6, 11); Anon (Mvts. 2, 4, 7, 9). The Cantata 186 text and Francis Browne English translation is found at BCW, http://www.bach-cantatas.com/Texts/BWV186-Eng3.htm.

Parts 1 and 2 of Cantata 186 close (Nos. 6 and 11) with elaborate tutti chorale setting of Paul Speratus, “Es ist das Heil uns kommen her” (Stanzas 12 and 11). It is found in the1682 Neu Leipziger Gesangbuch (NLGB) 230 (Catechism, Justification): S. 12, “Ob sichs anließ, als wollt er nicht” (Although it seems that he is unwilling), and S. 11, “Die Hoffnung wart' der rechten Zeit” (Hope waits for the right time). The 1524 hymn is “generally acknowledged as the hymn of the day for the Sixth Sunday After Trinity,” says Günther Stiller in JSB & Liturgical Life in Leipzig.3 Text and Francis Browne English translation, http://www.bach-cantatas.com/Texts/Chorale020-Eng3.htm; chorale melody, BCW http://www.bach-cantatas.com/CM/Es-ist-das-Heil.htm

Cantata 186: Familiar Movement Structure

Cantata 186 follows a familiar movement structure Bach developed in 1717 for cantatas composed in Weimar, says Julian Mincham’s introduction to Cantata 186, “ Chapter 9 BWV 186 Ärgre dich, o Seele, nicht,” http://www.jsbachcantatas.com/documents/chapter-9-bwv-186.htm.4 “C 186 is the last bipartite cantata which Bach presented before reverting to works of more manageable proportions. There would not be another for nearly six months when C 70, composed for the 26th Sunday after Trinity, brought the ecclesiastical year to a close. Thereafter there would be only one more, C 20 from the second cycle, in the following two years.

As with a number of the earlier compositions of the cycle, C 186 was largely composed in Weimar, several years before its Leipzig appearance (Dürr p 443, [see below]). It follows closely a movement structure that appears to have interested Bach at the time, an opening chorus and the same expanded version of the chorale closing each part. In between, sit four recitatives (for all voices except soprano) and four arias for which all voices are required. The soprano, however, has both a solo aria and a part in the duet, largely compensating for the lack of a recitative. Unlike the first three cantatas of the cycle, there is no sinfonia.

One might note that there are a number of stratagems which Bach tried out early in his appointment at Leipzig and then abandoned until much later on. They include the use of the organ as a solo instrument, the solo and two-part cantatas and the inclusion of sinfonias.>>

Probably the high point of Cantata 165 is the soprano-alto duet with tutti instruments, “Laß, Seele, kein Leiden / Von Jesu dich scheiden” (My soul, let no sorrow, / Separate you from Jesus). Here is Aryeh Oron’s commentary, <<And later in his review of this cantata, Young [W. Murray Young, 'The Cantatas of J.S. Bach,’ London: MacFarland, 1989] wrote about the duet for soprano and alto (Mvt. 10): “This is the jewel of the whole cantata. It is a gigue in its rhythm with an uninhibited joy-motif in the oboes and the strings, probably taken from the Weimar version. The lines sung in canon are appealing, because Bach filled them with an emotional transcendental happiness to feet their thought… This idea of death as a necessary preliminary to happiness is with Bach." Personal Viewpoint: In most of the soprano/alto duet movements of Bach cantatas, usually the soprano represents the soul and the alto represents the Spirit. But I do not see such a division of roles here. Sometimes the soprano repeats an idea expressed by the alto; sometimes the soprano sings the first clause, while the alto sings the second; sometimes they sing in canon and sometimes they answer each other, or encourage each other. Therefore, the match between the two voices is very important here. So is the relation between them and the rich instrumental accompaniment, among them we can find the rarely heard Taille (a tenor oboe). I agree with Whittaker, when he writes: "There are more than 200 bars of this engaging duet, and one would not have it shortened by a single beat". But we have to admit that no one of us would dare shortening any movement of a Bach cantata. AFAIK, there are more than a thousand movements in the whole oeuvre of Bach cantatas, but we do not have enough of them and each one of them is always too short!>> (BCML Discussions, Parts 1, August 6, 2000, http://www.bach-cantatas.com/BWV186-D.htm).

The other three arias and the opening chorus of the original Weimar Cantata BWV 186 are all striking examples of Bach’s sacred cantata compositional art that he resumed in 1723 in Leipzig. The original version, Cantata 186a, was composed for the Third Sunday in Advent, which was not observed in Leipzig. The original Franck text is based upon the Gospel reading, Mathew 11:2-10), about messengers from John the Baptist confronting Jesus. Jesus response, “And blessed is he, whoever shall not be offended in me,” (Matthew 11:6 KJV) is paraphrased in the opening line of the cantata, “Ärgre dich, o Seele, nicht” (Do not be scandalised, my soul).

The original craftsmanship of the opening chorus, virtually unaltered eight years later, is a spacious rondeau structure involving the entire ensemble, contrasting a fugal texture (A) of the entire ensemble with a predominantly homophonic a capella B section, observes Alfred Dürr in The Cantatas of JSB.5 The shared opening instrumental and vocal materials in g minor are “a deeply expressive two-subject combination,” says Richard D. P. Jones in The Creative Development of JSB.6 Part B, with lines 2-4 of Franck’s text, is “in characteristically Bachian motet-style: that is largely in homophony, but with imitation in the outer two voices,” says Jones.

All four arias are in non-da-capo form, with sritornelli and progressive enhancement in scoring, although not as engaging or diverse as the four Weimar recycled solo arias in Cantata 147 for the Visitation Feast of July 2, 1723. The first aria and final duet are in dance style. The first and second arias of BWV 186 involved textual changes from the original. The first aria, bass with continuo, “Bist du, der mir helfen soll” (If you are the one who shall help me, Matthew 11:3), somewhat altered text, is in ¾ time sarabande style with dotted rhythms and triplets, involving “major mode [B-flat] and dancing rhythms [originally] expressing confidence in Jesus’ reply” to John’s messengers, says Jones (Ibid.: 292). Now, the messengers in the altered text are simply comforting “soul friends in the church’s garden.”

The second aria, a trio for tenor sung in two contrasting sections, needed significant text changes and some musical alteration, since it originally paraphrased Jesus answer to the messengers that he is the Messiah. Now the Saviour’s “works of mercy” become “deeds of grace” and in the second section of the “weak spirits,” “feeble in body,” the “spiritually lame walk” and the “spiritually blind see” in this resetting for the Trinity 7 Gospel (Mark 8:1-9), the miracle of Christ feeding the four thousand.” The succeeding, unaltered soprano trio aria again, “Die Armen will der Herr umarmen” (The Lord will embrace the poor), addresses “the compassion with which Jesus embraces the poor,” in “deeply expressive writing in the tonic key of G minor” recalling the opening chorus, says Jones (Ibid.: 293). The closing, unaltered 3/8 gigue duet “dancing rhythms might represent the Christian’s refusal to be separated from Jesus,” suggests Jones.

The additional recitatives added in Leipzig, while lacking in the engagement and diversity of the Cantata 147 additions, each end with “with a few bars if arioso, and these constitute some of the most expressive passages in the cantata,” says Malcolm Boyd” in his monograph on Cantata 186 in the Oxford Composer Companions: JSB.7

Cantata 186a Original Text, Music

To begin the new cycle of Salomo Franck cantatas, for the final three Sundays in Advent 1716, Bach in Cantatas 70a, 186a, and 147a, respectively, originally composed similarly complex opening choruses and simple closing chorales, with challenging arias in between and no recitatives. Cantata 186 originated from a lost cantata BWV 186a, composed and performed in Weimar, on the Third Sunday in Advent, December 13, 1716. Bach ceased further composition since he was not granted the title of Weimar Kapellmeister, going instead to Samuel Drese, vice-Kapellmeister and son of the late Kapellmeister Johann Samuel (d. December 1, 1716).

The original Franck text for Cantata 186a is found at http://www.bach-cantatas.com/Texts/BWV186a-Ger5.htm, with the English translation of Dürr in The Cantatas of JSB (Ibid.: 85f). Only the opening chorus, Aria (No. 4), “Die Armen will der Herr umarmen,” and aria No. 5, “Laß, Seele, kein Leiden” have no text changes. The original closing chorale, was Ludwig Helmbold’s 1563 “Darum, ob ich schon dulde” (Therefore, even if I endure) stanza 8 of “Von Gott will ich nicht lassen” (I shall not abandon God, NLGB No. 310, (Word of God & Christian Church), which probably survives recycled as the closing plain chorale of Cantata 73, “Herr, wie du willt, so schicks mir mir (Lord, as you will, deal with me), for the Third Sunday after Epiphany, 1724. The “Von Gott will ich nicht lassen” chorale text and Francis Browne English translation are found at BCW, http://www.bach-cantatas.com/Texts/Chorale079-Eng3.htm.

The alterations in text for the other two arias of BWV 186/2 and 186/5 shows that 186/2, “Bist du, der mir helfen soll” (If you are the one who shall help me), was slightly changed from BWV 186a/2,“Bist du, der da kmmen soll” (Is it You who shall come):

Bist du, der mir helfen soll,
If you are the one who shall help me,
Eilst du nicht, mir beizustehen? “Seelenfreund in Kirchengarten?”
Do you not hurry to stand by my side? (Friends of souls, into the church’s garden?)
Mein Gemüt ist zweifelsvoll,
My mind is filled with doubt,
Du verwirfst vielleicht mein Flehen; “Soll ich eines andern warten?”
Perhaps you scorn my plea; (Should I await another?)
Doch, o Seele, zweifle nicht,
Yet, O soul, do not doubt,
Laß Vernunft dich nicht bestricken/verstricken.
Do not let reason entrap/ensnare you.
Deinen Helfer/Schilo, Jakobs Licht,
Your helper/Shiloh, Jacobs light,
Kannst du in der Schrift erblicken.
You can see in the scriptures.

Cantata movement BWV 186/5, “Mein Heiland lässt sich merken” (My saviour lets himself be known) was radically changed from BWV 186a/3, “Messiahs läßt sich merken” (The Messiah lets himself be known):

Mein Heiland lässt sich merken “Messiahs läßt sich merken”
My saviour lets himself be known (The Messiah lets himself be known)
In seinen Gnadenwerken. “Aus seinem Gnadenwerken”
In his works of mercy. “Through his deeds of grace,
Da er sich kräftig weist, “Unreine warden rein.”
Since he reveals himself powerfully (And lets the impure become pure)
Den schwachen Geist zu lehren, “Die Geistlich Lahme gehen”
To teach the weak spirits (The spiritually lame walk)
Den matten Leib zu nähren, “Die geistlich Blinde sehen”
To feed the feeble body (The spiritually blind see)
Dies sättigt Leib und Geist. “Den hellen Gnadenschein”
This satisfies body and soul. (The bright appearance of grace)

The reconstruction of “Messiahs läßt sich merken” in the original Weimar version from “Mein Heiland lässt sich merken” in the surviving Leipzig version was done by Alfred Dürr, the author of NBA KB I/1 (Kassel: Bärenreiter, 1955: 91). It is included in the BWV 186a reconstruction by Diethard Hellmann, Hänssler Verlag (Stuttgart, 1963). While the original Franck text survives and portions of the original BWV 70a, “Wachet, betet” and BWV 147a, “Herz und Mund” music survive, it is difficult to tell if Bach actually performed the original Weimar versions on the Sundays in Advent 1716.

No music from Cantata 186a survives and in all likelihood Bach destroyed the original score since the new autograph score of Cantata 186 “is so clean and neat that it suggests a rewritten of an earlier work,” observes W. Gillies Whittaker in The Cantatas of JSB. 8 As to the provenance of the BWV 186(a) materials, Emmanuel inherited the new score on Cantata 186, found in his estate catalog of 1789, while the parts set, later lost, probably went to Friedemann in the Cycle 1 1750 division and distribution. As John Eliot Gardiner observes below in his liner notes, “the absence of the new Leipzig parts for this revised cantata (lost since 1906)” makes it difficult to determine the pitch and instrumentation is certain passages. Only two original parts (possibly dublets) survive, the soprano and alto, but disappeared from the Thomas School in 1906 (Schmieder BWV 1990: 297).

Cantata 186: Masterful Opening Chorus

The opening chorus of Cantata 186 is an especially masterful movement in Bach’s works, while Passion utterances are found in the succeeding No. 2 recitative, observes John Eliot Gardiner in his 2009 liner notes to the 2000 Bach Cantata Pilgrimage on Soli Deo Gloria recordings.9 <<All three of Bach’s cantatas for this day (BWV 186, 187 and 107) have masterly opening movements. None of them is particularly flamboyant or festive, yet each in its way is individually expressive. This time Bach is using pastel shades rather than primary colours. The kernel of BWV 186, “Ärgre dich, o Seele, nicht,” is the injunction to the soul ‘not to fret’ when it sees heavenly light represented on earth in humble guise. Here was the nub of eighteenth-century rationalist criticism of Christianity: the concept of Christ as creator and Christ in majestic splendour they could tolerate, but Christ humbled and diminished by poverty and suffering – this to them was patently unsatisfactory and indeed risible. It may seem strange to us now, but in Bach’s day it was a live issue. Bach of cotook the Lutheran line, and in the opening choral statement he sets out to evoke the fretting Christian soul communing with itself by means of a chain of cumulative dissonances. But as so often in the cantatas we have performed to date, you sense that the intelligence and added bonus that Bach’s music brings to his texts goes well beyond verbal discourse and follows its own trajectory. Take, for example, the way he follows this opening choral motto, how each voice leads off in turn with a fugal theme to the same words via a simple device of three rising notes in speech rhythm with the third suspended over a dominant ninth. It gives exactly the right yearning, forward momentum to the music, the harmonic tension of its three-note incipit ebbing and flowing within a longer eight-bar paragraph. It is hard to say which adds more eloquence to the consoling mood, the instrumental lines (strings doubled by reeds) or the choral voices. Structurally, this movement is unconventional – in the way, for example, that the interleaving of fugal passages for the choir acts like a counter-theme to the partial reappearance of the main theme that is always played by the orchestra. In an overall [rondo] ABABA pattern, Bach gives the second clause (B) to his choir alone (‘God’s true gleaming image is concealed in a vassal’s form’), the sopranos leading off and answered by the other three voices homophonically with just continuo for support – the first clear hint that this music originated as an earlier work from Bach’s Weimar years.

Perhaps it’s not too fanciful here to detect the famished pleading of the 4,000 in the wilderness, the subject of the set Gospel (Mark 8:1- 9), their hunger being both physical and spiritual. These imploring gestures are given renewed expression at the arioso conclusion to the opening bass recitative [No. 2] ‘Ach Herr, wie lange willst du mein vergessen?’ (‘Ah Lord, how long wilt Thou forget me?’). It could almost be a sketch for one of the great Passion setting utterances. The bass amplifies this cry for help in his aria with continuo (No.3), urging the doubting soul not to let reason ‘ensnare you: you can see your Helper, Jacob’s light, in the Scriptures’. Again in recitative giving way to arioso, the tenor expatiates on the value of Holy manna: ‘So, though sorrow gnaws and eats the heart, taste and see, how friendly Jesus is’. It expands into an aria referring to His ‘works of mercy’ that ‘nourish weary bodies’ and ‘satisfy body and soul’.

We have proof that this cantata did indeed start life as a Weimar work in six movements (BWV 186a) for the Third Sunday in Advent in 1716, to a text by Salomo Franck. Unable to use it in Leipzig because of the tempus clausum, the ban on singing on the Second to the Fourth Sundays in Advent, Bach decided to recycle it early on in his first Jahrgang [annual cycle] in Leipzig for the Seventh Sunday after Trinity as a two-part cantata in eleven movements. This entailed major structural revisions on account of its changed liturgical position: alterations to the aria texts, and three new recitatives (the four arias initially followed without a break). In addition, Bach decided to compose new chorale conclusions to each of the two parts, using verses 12 and 11 respectively of Paul Speratus’ 1523 hymn ‘Es ist das Heil uns kommen her’, which had formed the basis of one of last week’s cantatas (BWV 9) [for the 6th Sunday after Trinity].

If Part I of this cantata emphasises the true source of faith in the Scriptures Part II, as Eric Chafe says, ‘completes the idea of the Glaubensbahn [path of faith] with the nature of the life of faith – life under the cross, so to speak’. So as in BWV 170 No. 3 last week, we start out in a topsy-turvy world, this time with a powerful bass accompagnato emphasising the world as a wilderness (‘heaven turns to metal, earth to iron’). This is contrasted sharply with the ‘Saviour’s word, that greatest treasure’ (Salomo Franck was the court numismatist at Weimar, which helps explain his fondness for coin and metal similes).

Bach, following Franck, maintains this antithesis throughout the second part, between the ‘Jammertal’ (‘vale of tears’) of the present life and the joy and fulfillment of the afterlife. This he articulates in a series of vivid musical gestures – such as the descending tetrachord arpeggios of the continuo in the soprano aria (No.8), to represent the poor (‘die Armen’) whom God will ‘embrace’ (‘umarmen’ – a play on words), matched by an extended chromatic ascent of the violins. Contrary movement is also a feature of the instrumental lines in the identical chorales which conclude each part (Nos.6 and 11), the oboes rising and strings falling in alternation and playful banter, a musical equivalent to the antithesis between tribulation and hope expressed in the text. As so often, there is a lot more going on beneath the surface of the music than at first seems apparent – a (deliberate?) tension between musical figures and underlying Affekt and, no doubt also, a numerological aspect, witness

the curious thirteen-bar structure of the duet for soprano and alto (No.10), a C minor gigue with full oboe and string band, in which the crucial injunction ‘Sei, Seele, getreu!’ (‘O soul, be true!’) is reserved until the last two bars.

In the absence of the new Leipzig parts for this revised cantata (lost since 1906) several problems emerge, for example the bottom B flats in the continuo part of No.9: was this originally a basse de violon part with its lower string tuned to B flat? Then there is the pitch and instrumentation of the tenor aria (No.5) – oboe da caccia in the Weimar version, yet annotated as ‘oboe and violins I & II’ on the autograph score used for the Leipzig revival. Dürr and Kubik both recommend an upward octave transposition, which seems unlikely and unsatisfactory: it pushes the oboe off its upper edge (E flat) and separates the voice (tenor) and obbligato by a far wider series of intervals than we have so far encountered. So we kept it at the original pitch, doubling the oboe da caccia with violins and violas, and it worked rather beautifully.>> © John Eliot Gardiner 2009; From a journal written in the course of the Bach Cantata Pilgrimage

[The liner notes to the Masaaki Suzuki BIS complete sacred cantata recordings, Vol. 10, mistakenly has the liner notes for Vol. 1 (Cantatas 4, 150, 196), http://www.bach-cantatas.com/Pic-Rec-BIG/Suzuki-C10c[BIS-CD951].pdf, BCW Recording details, http://www.bach-cantatas.com/Performers/Suzuki.htm#C10]

Trinity 7: Motets & Chorales

Musical Context: Motets & Chorales for 7th Sunday after Trinity, http://www.bach-cantatas.com/LCY/M&C-Trinity7.htm. NOTES (Douglas Cowling, August 8, 2011).10

No motets are listed in either Part One (1618) or Part Two (1621) of Bodenschatz. Terry lists "Omnes Gentes Plaudite" and "Cibavit Nos" but does not cite his source, and the indices here prescribe those motets for other days. Almost all of the motets listed for the Sundays after Trinity do not have strong thematic connections with the readings. There may be an assumption that, like the Trinitytide chorales, these are general "Omnes Tempore" works, and a motet from another Sunday would be usable.

1) MOTETS for Introit, Before Sermon at mass and vespers for Choir II, and During Communion: No motets are prescribed for Trinity 7. 2) HYMN OF DAY (de tempore), "Nun lob mein Seel den Herren". 3) PULPIT HYMN: "Warum betrübst du meinen Herz"; 4) CHORALES for Pulpit and Communion Hymns: "Vater unser im Himmelreich," "Ich ruf zu dir Herr Jesu Christ," "O Herre Gott dein göttlichs Wort."

There are two possible Psalms for the Introit: Psalms 145 and 47: The Introit Psalm is 145, Exaltabo te, Deus (I will extol thee, my God, David’s Psalm of Praises, KJV), says Petzoldt (Ibid.: 145). The full KJV text of Psalm 145 is found at http://www.kingjamesbibleonline.org/Psalms-Chapter-145/. The opening Introit Antiphon and Psalm 47:1,3 is a song of triumphant rejoicing, anticipating the Epistle-Gospel sequence, observes Paul Zeller Strodach (see further commentary below, “Readings and Themes for the Seventh Sunday After Trinity”). [1] O clap your hands [Omnes gentes plaudite], all ye people; shout unto God with the voice of triumph. [3 ] He shall subdue the people under us, and the nations under our feet. The full KJV text is found at http://www.kingjamesbibleonline.org/Psalms-Chapter-47/

Chorales from Bach Cantatas for Seventh Sunday After Trinity

Bach utilized four different chorales for cantatas performed at the Seventh Sunday After Trinity:

1. BWV 186/6,11 (1723): Speratus, “Es ist das Heil uns kommen her” (S. 12, 11); omnes tempore chorales; hymn of the day, see: Sixth Sunday After Trinity (Stiller: JSB & Liturgical Life in Leipzig: 242); in 1682 Neu Leipziger Gesangbuch (NLGB) 230: S. 12, “Ob sichs anließ, als wollt er nicht” (Although it seems that he is unwilling); S. 11, “Die Hoffnung wart' der rechten Zeit” (Hope waits for the right time). Text and Francis Browne English translation, http://www.bach-cantatas.com/Texts/Chorale020-Eng3.htm; chorale melody, BCW http://www.bach-cantatas.com/CM/Es-ist-das-Heil.htm

2. BWV 107 (1724): Heerman “Was willst du dich betrüben” (Why wilt thou thyself trouble), Johann Heermann (1630), 7 stanzas; not in NLGB. Set to 1557 anonymous popular melody “Von Gott will ich nicht lassen” (I will not leave God); composer unknown from French secular song 1557. ); melody set to 3 texts: 1. Ludwig Helbold 1563, 8 stanzas 73/5; 2. “Gott fähret auf gen Himmel” (God ascends to the Heavens) Gottfried Wilhelm Sacer (1697), 7 stanzas; 3. Heerman. Bach’s usages: chorale Cantata BWV 107/1,5,7 (Stiller: 243, “interesting choice,” Bach already used “Warum betrübst dich mein Herz” in BWV 47/5, “a hymn closely related in context” to No. 4 below)). Other Bach usages” plain chorales BWV 417 (B Major), 418 (A Major, “Trust in God, Cross & Consolation,” Hänssler v.85), 419 (A Major); 658a (Great 18 organ chorale prelude; w/BWV 417, 419 in Hänssler v.84, “Patience& Serenity”, http://www.bach-cantatas.com/Vocal/BWV250-438-Rilling.htm, CH 11-12); listed in Orgelbüchlein No. 93, “Christian Life & Conduct” (not set).

3. BWV 187/7 1726): “Singen wir aus Herzens Grund” (We sing from the bottom of our hearts), NLGB p. 589. Text, Erfurt, Hans Vogel 1563 (Frankfurt/Oder 1508); music, G.B. der Böhm. Brüder 1544. (Stiller 243: Table prayer; “assigned to this Sunday in the Leipzig hymn schedules of Bach’s time.) Bach’s only usage: S. 4, “Gott hat die Erde zugericht’” (God has set up the earth in such a way); S. 6, “Wir danken sehr und bitten ihn” (We give great thanks and pray to him

4. BWV Anh. 209/5 (S.1, 1727?), “Warum betrübst dich mein Herz” (Why grieve thee my heart), anonymous text and music (1565), attributed to Hans Sachs. NLGB p. 714 as pulpit and communion hymn for Trinity +7. (Stiller 243: “a hymn closely related in context” to “Was willst du dich betrüben”, No. 2 above; 1693 Leipzig hymn books list both as “Concerning the Cross, Persecution& Trial.” Popular in 17th& 18th century hymn books for Trinity +7 +15. Also Picander P-50, closing chorale, S. 10, no BCW text; Bach’s other usages: plain chorales BWV 420-421; Cantata BWV 47/5 (Trinity 17), Cantata BWV 138 (Trinity +15, 1723).

No chorales are found in BWV 54 and Anh. 1.

Trinity 7 Related Chorales

Two related chorales for the Seventh Sunday after Trinity are settings of Psalm 42 (Quemadmodum, As the hart panteth), “Freu dich sehr, o meine Seele” (Rejoice greatly, o my soul), and Johann Heermann’s “Was willst du dich betrüben” (Why wilt thou thyself trouble).

The full text of Psalm 42 (KJV is: “As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God. 2 My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God: when shall I come and appear before God? 3 My tears have been my meat day and night, while they continually say unto me, Where is thy God? 4 When I remember these things, I pour out my soul in me: for I had gone with the multitude, I went with them to the house of God, with the voice of joy and praise, with a multitude that kept holyday. 5 Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted in me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him for the help of his countenance. 6 O my God, my soul is cast down within me: therefore will I remember thee from the land of Jordan, and of the Hermonites, from the hill Mizar. 7 Deep calleth unto deep at the noise of thy waterspouts: all thy waves and thy billows are gone over me. 8 Yet the Lord will command his loving-kindness in the day time, and in the night his song shall be with me, and my prayer unto the God of my life. 9 I will say unto God my rock, Why hast thou forgotten me? why go I mourning because of the oppression of the enemy? 10 As with a sword in my bones, mine enemies reproach me; while they say daily unto me, Where is thy God? 11 Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God” [ https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm+42&version=KJV]

The best known musical setting of Psalm 42 is the chorale, “Freu dich sehr, o meine Seele” (Rejoice greatly, o my soul). The author is Christoph Demantius (1620) and the melody is the Louis Bourgeois chorale/Psalm melody for the Geneva Psalm 42 “Ainsi que la biche rée” (1550), based on secular song “Ne l’oseray je dire” (c1510). The 10-stanza text is found in the NLGB No. 358, in the final thematic section under “Death and Dying,” Zahn melody 6543. The hymn moves from the negative to the positive. Bach set the final two stanzas as closing plain chorales in Cantata 70, “Wachet! betet! betet! wachet! (Watch, pray), for the last (26th) Sunday after trinity 1723, Stanza 10, “Freu dich sehr, o meine Seele, / und vergiß all Not und Qual” (Rejoice greatly, o my soul, / and forget all misery and torment), and in *Cantata 19, “Es erhub sich ein Streit” (There ara strife), for the Feast of St. Michael’s 1726, Stanza 9: “Laß dein’ Engel mit mir fahren / Auf Elias Wagen rot” (Let your angel travel with me / on Elias’ red chariot). The full German text and Francis Browne’s English translation of “Freu dich sehr, o meine Seele” is http://www.bach-cantatas.com/Texts/Chorale030-Eng3.htm.

Johann Heermann’s 1630 chorale “Was willst du dich betrüben” (Why wilt thou thyself trouble), and the anonymous (?Hans Sachs) 1565 chorale "Warum betrübst du dich mein Herz" (Why grieve thee my heart) are based on the same Psalm verse, Psalm 42 verse 6, “O my God, my soul us cast down within me.” Günther Stiller (Ibid.: 243) points out that the two hymns are “closely related in context" and that the 1693 Leipzig hymn books list both as "Concerning the Cross, Persecution & Trial," and that they were popular in 17th & 18th century hymn books for Trinity +7 +15.

Chorale Theme and Use

The general heading for these chorales is “In time of trouble (Christian Life & Conduct, Orgelbüchlein Collection, BWV 599-644, Ob) (Praise& Thanks) (Cross, Persecution & Challenge, NLGB). Bach OB listings and actual uses are:

OB 102. “Warum betrübst du dich, mein Herz”; CC BWV 138; BWV 420(PC), BWV 421(PC)=Anh. 159/2(motet); Pachelbel, PWC 483
OB 112. “Was Gott thut, das ist wohlgethan, es bleibt gerecht” (no NLGB); CC BWV 99 (Tr.+15)
OB 113. BWV 642 — “Wer nur den lieben Gott läßt walten”; CC BWV 93 (Tr.+5)
--- “Lobet den Herren, den Mächtigen König”(Praise & Thanks); CC 137(Tr.+12)
--- “Was willst du dich betrüben” (mel. “Von Gott will ich nicht lassen); CC BWV 107 (Tr. 7)
--- “Wohl dem, der sich auf seinen Gott” (Trust), CC (Tr.23); mel., “Machs mit mir, Gott, nach deiner Güt,”

The other chorales under these categories are:

One Bach plain chorale is found in the NLGB, No. 273, "Lobet Gott unsern Herren" (BWV 1126, Dietel); Author: Anon (1603); Chorale Melody: Befiehl du deine Wege (I) (BWV 272) | Composer: Bartholomäus Gesius (1603); BCW: http://www.bach-cantatas.com/Texts/Chorale074-Eng3.htm

The following pulpit and communion hymns for the 7th Sunday after Trinity are listed as NLGB chorales:

No. 261, Nun lob mein Seele der Herren (Psalm 103, "Praise & Thanks", Zahn melody 8244), used in Cantata BWV 17/7 (Trinity +14, 1726), Cantata BWV 29 (Council, 1729), plain chorales 389-390;
No. 175, Vater unser in Himmelreich (Lord's Prayer, Catechism hymn, Zahn melody 2561)); see Trinity +5
No. 275, "Warum betrübst dich mein Herz" (Zahn melody 1689; see above)
No. 269, Wohl dem der in Gottes Furcht steht (not used by Bach)

Others chorales not set by Bach but appropriate for Trinity Time as found in the NLGB under “Christian Life and Conduct: David Psalms include:
No. 257, "O Herre Gott begnade much" (Psalm 46)
No. 259, "Herr Gott du unsre Zuflucht bist" (Psalm 90)
No. 260, "Wer sich des Höchsten Schirm vertraut" (Psalm 91)
No. 262, Fröhlich wollen wir Allelujah singen (Psalm 117)
No. 263, Lobt Gott mit Schall ihr Heinden all (Psalm 117)
No. 265, "Ich heb mein Augen (sehnlich, No. 393) auf (Psalm 121)
No. 274, "Lobet Gott in seinem Heiligtum" (Psalm 150)
Readings and Themes for the Seventh Sunday After Trinity (KJV)

As was noted recently: The second group of Trinity Time Cantatas (the Sixth to the 11th Sunday After Trinity) "is rich with practical indications of the Right Manner of Life in the Kingdom of Grace," emphasizing the "new life of righteousness," says Paul Zeller Strodach in The [Lutheran] Church Year.11 Like the Christian comparison and contrast of the New Covenant in the Blood of Christ" with the Old Testament covenants between God and the People of Israel, the "new righteousness" the Old Testament models of righteousness of the law, from the Scribes and Pharisees, with the "new" Christian concept of righteousness through the Sacrament of Baptism, also known as the Sacrament of Initiation into Christianity.

This theme of the “new life of righteousness” “is being progressively developed Sunday after Sunday” (Ibid., p. 201f), and emerges in both Lessons for the Seventh Sunday After Trinity. While the two readings, especially the day’s appointed Gospel of the miracle of the feeding of thousands (Mark 8:1-9), suggest the bounty from the Heavenly Father, the “new life of righteousness” theme is particularly found in the Epistle Romans 6:19-23, “The wages of sin is death.” [19] “I speak after the manner of men because of the infirmity of your flesh: for as ye have yielded your members servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity; even so now yield your members servants to righteousness unto holiness.”

There is the exhortation, “even so now [ye] yield your members servants to righteousness unto holiness” (verse 19) to avoid the yielding of earthly “fruit” producing the “wages” (cost) of sin. Thus, the servant of sin earns the wages of death while the servant of God earns the gift of eternal life. The Gospel offers the compassion and assurance that Jesus has collective “compassion on the multitude” (verse 2), offering the bounty of sustenance. The reward for the righteous will be the blessings.

The Gospel reading emphasizes two themes for the Christian, the believer. The first theme is that the disciples at Jesus’ instruction furnished the “seven loaves” and “small fishes”; the people responded by provisioning (enabling) themselves the physical sustenance, after gaining spiritual sustenance from Jesus’ earlier preaching.

Gospel Patterns: Miracle, Teaching

The second theme is found in Douglas Cowling’s BCW on the Trinity Time “Gospel Thematic Patterns, Paired Miracle and Teachings (Part 2, Trinity +5 to +8).

* Trinity 7: Mark 8: 1-9, Miracle of feeding of the four thousand: [6] And he commanded the people to sit down on the ground: and he took the seven loaves, and gave thanks, and brake, and gave to his disciples to set before them; and they did set them before the people.
* Trinity 8: Matthew 7: 15-23, Teaching: Beware of false prophets: [15] Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. [16] Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles. The teaching, found in the Gospel for the succeeding Eighth Sunday After Trinity, cautions the Christian against “false prophets.”

The opening Introit Antiphon and Psalm 47:1, 3 is a song of triumphant rejoicing, anticipating the Epistle-Gospel sequence: [1] O clap your hands, all ye people; shout unto God with the voice of triumph.
[3 ] He shall subdue the people under us, and the nations under our feet.

Bach’s Trinity 7 Leipzig performance calendar

1723-07-11 So - Cantata BWV 186 Ärgre dich, o Seele nicht (1st performance, Leipzig)
1724-07-23 So - Cantata BWV 107 Was willst du dich betrüben (1st performance, Leipzig)
1725-07-15 So -- ?Cantata BWV Anh 209 Liebster Gott, vergißt du mich
1726-08-04 So - Cantata BWV 187 Es wartet alles auf dich (1st performance, Leipzig)
1727-07-27 So -- ? Cantata BWV Anh 209 Liebster Gott, vergißt du mich
1728-07-11 So – Picander P-50 text only, Ach Gott, ich bin von dir
1735-07-24 So 7.So.n.Trin. - G.H. Stölzel “String Cycle”: “Wie sich ein Vater über Kinder erbarmet, so erbarmet sich der Herr,” Mus. A 15:257 + “Fürchtet den Herrn, ihr seine Heiligen,” Mus. A 15:258
1736-07-15 So – music lost, G.H. Stölzel “Names of Christ” cycle
1749-07-20 So - Cantata BWV 187 Es wartet alles auf dich (3rd performance, Leipzig)

Vocal works for the Seventh Sunday after Trinity with no definite date:

+(Weimar years) - Cantata BWV 54 Widerstehe doch der Sünde (1st performance, Weimar) (? or Occuli)
+(1735-1740) - Cantata BWV 187 Es wartet alles auf dich (2nd performance, Leipzig)
+(1746-1749) - Cantata BWV 186 Ärgre dich, o Seele nicht (2nd performance, Leipzig)
+(February 12, 1725? - not a date of 7th Sunday after Trinity) - G.P. Telemann: Cantata BWV Anh 1 Geseget ist die Zuversicht (not known if cantata by this name was composed by J.S. Bach; Music lost)
+(June 7, 1727?) Cantata BWV Anh 209 Liebster Gott, vergißt du mich (?1st performance, Leipzig; Music lost)

It is also possible that Bach repeated BWV 107 in a reperformance of the chorale cantata cycle in the church years of the first half of the 1730s.

Trinity 7 “William L. Hoffman wrote (August 8, 2011): Intro. to BWV 186: Trinity +7 Cantatas, Readings, Chorales,” BCML Discussions, Part 3, http://www.bach-cantatas.com/BWV186-D3.htm.

The 7th Sunday after Trinity has a similar biblical theme and teaching as the 15th Sunday after Trinity, “Christian trust in God despite false teachings and appearances” through the parables, miracles, and teachings of Jesus. In 1723 Bach chose a chorale for the 15th Sunday after Trinity, also appropriate for the 7th Sunday after Trinity, the anonymous (Nürnberg 1561) “Warum betrübst du dich, mein Herz?” (Why are you afflicted, my heart), with the appropriate theme of “Cross, Persecution and Challenge.” He composed his first proto-chorale Cantata BWV 138, using Stanza 1 as an opening chorale chorus, an interpolated hymn stanza 2 sung by soprano and alto with an original bass recitative semonette, and closing (Mvt. 7) with Stanza 3 as a plain chorale.

Bach’s Music for Trinity 7

The Seventh Sunday After Trinity Sunday marks a milestone in Bach’s cantata production. It is the beginning of a series of 11 consecutive Middle Trinity Time Sundays with three surviving main service musical sermons (and occasionally a fourth), according to a cursory glance at the BCW Discussion list: www.bach-cantatas.com/Order-2011.htm and www.bach-cantatas.com/Order-2012.htm. This sis followed by another group of five Sundays, from the 19th to the 23rd Sunday After Trinity. For almost three months or the middle two-quarters of Trinity Time each summer Bach was free from feast day observances in addition to the normal Sunday services.

In the first six or Early Trinity Time Sundays, only two involve three cantatas, the First (BWV 75, 20, 39) and the Fourth (185, 24, 177). This is due to the church year calendar having the fixed Feasts of John the Baptist on June 24 and the Visitation of Mary on July 2, in the midst of the moveable observances of the Trinity Time Sundays starting as early as early May and ending about December 1st. The final six-plus Late Trinity Time Sundays usually also involve two feast days: St. Michael and All Angels, September 29, at the beginning of the Leipzig Fall Michaelmas Fair, and the Reformation Festival on October 31.

Beyond the usual requirements of the Christian Church year, for the Seventh Sunday After Trinity Bach settled into a routine after having explored various compositional elements in each of the three distinct cycles: the first involving the widest range of cantata forms set to various librettists, the second as a homogeneous cycle showing the chorale cantata in all its forms, and the third yielding mostly intimate works often utilizing previous Bach materials. Each cycle of his cantata trilogy showed Bach exploring significant facets of his compositional art. Bach’s three Cantatas for this Seventh Sunday of Trinity Time -- BWV 186, 107, and 187 -- are emblematic of their respective cycles and the surety Bach acquired as he progressed through the earliest stage of each cycle.

In his ambitious, initial 1723 first year of six Trinity Time Sundays and two feast days, Bach presented five two-part cantatas (BWV 75, 76, 21, 147, 186) and one double bill, BWV 185 and 24, leaving only the Feast of John the Baptist for a single work, Cantata 167, and no extant work for the Fifth Sunday After Trinity. This string of six double-efforts, presented before and after the sermon, ended with Cantata 186,< Ärgre dich, o Seele nicht> (Trouble thyself, o soul, not), for the Seventh Sunday After Trinity, June 23, 1724. Cantata 186. demonstrated his mastery of the expansion of his some 20 cantata previously composed in Weimar, particularly his crafting of the both the dramatic recitative form and the Lutheran chorale with its challenging permutations and combinations, including the first expansive, polyphonic chorale choruses.

Cantata BWV 186 represents Bach’s penultimate essay in the into the two-part cantata form in the first cycle, with Cantata BWV 70 presented on the last (26th) Sunday in Trinity Time (November 21, 1723). Bach opened his second, chorale cantata cycle with two-part BWV 20 for the first Sunday After Trinity (June 11, 1724). In the third cycle, he fashioned eight original two-part cantatas to Rudolstadt texts, as well as presenting most of the J. L. Bach 18 Rudolstadt-texted cantatas in two parts.

In his chorale cantata cycle, Bach produced a plethora of opening chorus movements using the chorale melody and its first stanza text: French Overture (BWV 20), motet-style (BWV 2), “violin concerto” (BWV 7) and the chorale fantasia (BWV 135) [Alfred Dürr <Cantatas of JSB> p. 32]. Then Bach created BWV 10 using an ancient psalm tone instead of a chorale for the Feast of Visitation/Trinity +4, followed two weeks later by the full use of both the chorale tune and text in Cantata BWV 93 for the Sixth Sunday After Trinity 1724. Meanwhile, Bach had put aside a pure-hymn text for the previous Sunday and finally setting it to music as Cantata BWV 9 a decade later in one of his last original essays into the cantata form. For the Seventh Sunday After Trinity 1724, Bach set his first Leipzig and second overall of 10 pure-hymn cantatas, BWV 107, <Was willst du dich betrüben> (Why wilt thou thyself trouble). They are BWV 4, 107, 137, 129, 192, 140, 117, 177, 97, 100)

For his third cycle, the record is murky and enigmatic. For Trinity Time 1725, after possible repetition of portions of his first two Cantatas, BWV 75 and 76, in one part each without the choruses, cantatas followed with documented texts of Erdmann Neumeister (1711, three), the German Magnificat and an Agricola chorale, <Ich ruf zu dir, Herr Jesu Christ> (I call to Thee, Lord Jesus Christ). The Neumeister texts were set by Georg Philipp Telemann (TVWV 1596, 1:310, 1:600) for the Fourth to Sixth Sundays After Trinity 1719.

In addition, a cantata once attributed to Bach and catalogued as BWV Anh. 1 (the first Appendix work), <Geseget ist die Zuversicht> (Blessed is the confidence), also was set by Telemann in 1719, TVWV 1:617, in the same cycle to the Neumeister text IV, for the Seventh Sunday After Trinity. See BCW: http://www.bach-cantatas.com/BWVAnh1.htm. The incipit attributed to Bach was listed in the Leipzig publisher Breitfkopf’s 1770 Catalog (NBA KB 1/18 118f) while that music is lost. The Leipzig performance is listed as February 12, 1725, a Monday following Quinquagesima Estomihi Sunday. The NBA KB I/18 p. 118 (Trinity 7-8, Alfred Dürr, 1967) gives no further information about this except that it is not by Bach. The Telemann text to TVWV 1:617, formerly attributed to Bach, also is available, http://imslp.org/wiki/Category:Telemann,_Georg_Philipp, scroll down to Gesegnet ist die Zuversicht, TWV 1:617 (Telemann, Georg Philipp), and click on, includes the Neumeister text.

Thus Trinity Time 1725 may have begun with two abridged Bach cantata reperformances, followed by a series of previously-composed cantatas by other composers, mostly drawn from Neumeister texts. It is possible that Bach, required to present a church piece at all Leipzig Sunday and festival services, relied primarily on this “extraneous” music for the remainder of this Trinity Time. There is documentation that Bach did present his own compositions on at least four occasions during Trinity Time 1725: Cantatas BWV 168 (Trinity +9), 137 (Trinity+12), Cantata 164 (Trinity +13), and 79 (Reformation Day). Bach increasingly performed works of his colleagues in place of his own, not only from numerous cantata cycles of Telemann and Stözel but also Fasch, Graupner, and others.

For the Seventh Sunday After Trinity, July 15, 1725, when Bach returned from his first vacation, he had on hand possibly two other Weimar cantatas appropriate for this Sunday: BWV 54, <Wiederstehe doch der Sünde> (Resists then the sin, 1714, originally for Oculi Sunday), www.bach-cantatas.com/BWV54.htm, and BWV Anh. 209, <Liebster Gott, vergißt du mich> (Loving God, forget me not, 1714), both based on the 1711 cantata cycle libretto, Gottgefälliges Kirchen-Opffer, of Georg Christian Lehms www.bach-cantatas.com/BWVAnh209.htm.

In this five-month hiatus in the second half of 1725, Bach probably began searching for appropriate, already published (and acceptable) libretto texts for his third cycle. At the beginning of this cycle, he used six and possibly two more Lehms cantata settings for the Christmas Season and the early Epiphany Time (January 1726), BWV 110, 57, 151, 16, 32, 13. There is no record that Bach reperformed Weimar Cantata 54 in Leipzig, while Cantata BWV Anh. 209 was presented in a double-bill with Cantata BWV 157 for a funeral on February 6, 1727.

During Early Trinity Time 1726, Bach used old Rudolstadt texts (1704), alternating cantatas of his cousin Johann Ludwig Bach or setting the text to his own work. On the Sixth Sunday After Trinity (July 28, 1726), Bach utilized another Lehms text for Cantata 170, “Vergnügte Ruh, beliebte Seelenlust” (Pleasant rest, beloved stirring of the soul). For the next Sunday, he resumed using Rudolstadt texts for five original Trinity Time works (BWV 88, 187, 45, 102, and 17). Cantata BWV 187, <Es wartet alles auf dich> (There wait all things on thee) is a typical Bach Rudolstadt-style work in two , with opening Old Testament dictum (Psalm 104:27-28) and New Testament dictum (Gospel, Matthew 6:31-32), in palindrome form with three successive central arias (later parodied as Gloria Mass movements in BWV 235), flanked by recitatives, opening with a chorus (also used BWV 235 Gloria), and the closing chorale.

It turns out that Bach wasn’t through with cantatas for the Seventh Sunday After Trinity. On July 27, 1727, he may have presented Cantata BWV Anh. 209. However, there is no record of any Bach church year performances after the three Gesima Pre-Lent Sundays in 1727. Further, there was a closed mourning period in for the late Saxon Princess Christine Eberhardine, from September 27, to December 24, 1727, involving the 16th to the 25th Sundays of Trinity Time.

The history of the lost music for BWV Anh. 209 (only the text survives) remains murky. It may have been composed for the same Trinity +7 Sunday, July 15, 1714, in Weimar. The Lehms text shows seven movements of four each alternating recitatives and arias with the chorale, “Warum betrübst dich mein Herz” (Why grieve thee my heart), placed as No. 5. Bach set it as a plain chorale, BWV 420. Verse 10 (no BCW translation available) of the chorale closes Picander’s text in his annual cycle to Cantata P-50 <Ach Gott, ich bin von dir> (Ah God, I am of Thee), for the Seventh Sunday After Trinity, July 11, 1728.

FOOTNOTES

1 Cantata 186, BCW Details & Discography, http://www.bach-cantatas.com/BWV186.htm. Scoring: Soloists: Soprano, Alto, Tenor, Bass; 4-part Chorus; Orchestra: 2 oboes, taille, bassoon, 2 violins, viola, continuo; Score Vocal & Piano [2.61 MB], BCW http://www.bach-cantatas.com/Scores/BWV186-V&P.pdf; Score BGA, BCW [3.10 MB], http://www.bach-cantatas.com/BGA/BWV186-BGA.pdf. References, BGA: XXXVII (Cantatas181-190, Afred Dörffel, 1891), NBA KB I/18 (Trinity 7-8, Alfred Dürr, 1967), Bach Compendium BC A 108, Zwang: K 34.
2 Petzoldt, Bach Kommentar: Die geistlichen Kantaten des 1. Bis 27. Trinitas-Sontagges, Vol. 1; Theologisch Musikwissenschaftlicke Kommentierung der Geistlichen Vokalwerke Johann Sebastan Bachs, Internationale Bachakademie Stuttgart (Kassel: Bärenreiter, 2004: Trinity 7 Commentary 145; Cantata 186-186a texts, 146-153; Cantata 186 commentary, 152-156).
3 Stiller, Johann Sebastian Bach and Liturgical Life in Leipzig, ed. Robin A. Leaver (Concordia Publishing: St. Louis, 1985: 242).
4 Mincham, The Cantatas of Johann Sebastian Bach: A listener and student guide, Revised 2014; Home Page, http://www.jsbachcantatas.com/index.htm.
5 Dürr, Cantatas of J. S. Bach, revised and translated by Richard D. P. Jones (Oxford University Press, New York, 2005:443).
6 Jones, The Creative Development of Johann Sebastian Bach, Vol. 1, 1695-1717, “Music to Delight the Spirit “ (Oxford University Press: New York, 2007: 291ff).
7 Oxford Composer Companions: J. S. Bach, ed. Malcolm Boyd (Oxford University Press: New York, 1999: 14).
8 Whittaker, The Cantatas of Johann Sebastian Bach (Oxford University Press: London, 1958: I:200).
9 Gardiner notes, http://www.bach-cantatas.com/Pic-Rec-BIG/Gardiner-P04c[sdg156_gb].pdf; BCW Recording details, http://www.bach-cantatas.com/Performers/Gardiner-Rec2.htm#P4.
10 SOURCES: * BACH'S HYMN BOOK: Jürgen Grimm, "Das neu [?] Leipziger Gesangbuch (NLGB des Gottfried Vopelius (Leipzig 1682)", Berlin: Merseburger, 1969, ML 3168 G75. * BACH'S MOTET COLLECTION: Otto Riemer, "Erhard Bodenschatz und sein Florilegium Portense," Schünigen: Kaminsky,1927, ML 410 B67R4. Dissertation on Bodenschatz Collection (https://etd.ohiolink.edu/ap/1?0).
11 Strodach, The Church Year: Studies in the Introits, Collects, Epistles and Gospels (Philadelphia PA: United Lutheran Publication House, 1924: 198ff).

Aryeh Oron wrote (July 26, 2015):
Cantata BWV 186 - Revised & updated Discography

The discography pages of Cantata BWV 186 “Ärgre dich, o Seele, nicht” for the for the 7th Sunday after Trinity on the BCW have been revised and updated.
The cantata is scored for soprano, alto, tenor & bass soloists; 4-part chorus; and orchestra of 2 oboes, taille, bassoon, 2 violins, viola & continuo. See:
Complete Recordings (11): http://www.bach-cantatas.com/BWV186.htm
Recordings of Individual Movements (9): http://www.bach-cantatas.com/BWV186-2.htm
The revised discography includes many listening/watching options to recordings directly from the discography pages, just below the recording details.

I also put at the BCW Home Page: http://www.bach-cantatas.com/
2 audios & 2 videos of the cantata. A short description below the audio/video image is linked to the full details at the discography pages.

I believe this is the most comprehensive discography of this cantata. If you are aware of a recording of BWV 186 missing from these pages, or want to correct/add details of a recording already presented on the BCW, please do not hesitate to inform me.

You can also read on the BCW the recent discussion of the cantata in the BCML (4th round): http://www.bach-cantatas.com/BWV186-D4.htm

 

Cantata BWV 186: Ärgre dich, o Seele, nicht for 7th Sunday after Trinity (1723)
Discography: Details & Complete Recordings | Recordings of Individual Movements
Discussions: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4

Cantata BWV 186a: Ärgre dich, o Seele, nicht [music lost] for 3rd Sunday in Advent (1717)
Discography: Details
Discussions: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4


Recordings & Discussions of Cantatas: Main Page | Cantatas BWV 1-50 | Cantatas BWV 51-100 | Cantatas BWV 101-150 | Cantatas BWV 151-200 | Cantatas BWV 201-224 | Cantatas BWV Anh | Order of Discussion
Discussions of General Topics: Cantatas & Other Vocal Works | Performance Practice | Radio, Concerts, Festivals, Recordings




 

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