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Cantata BWV 54
Widerstehe doch der Sünde


Ref.

BWV 54

German Title

Widerstehe doch der Sünde

English Title

Stand Steadfast against Transgression (by Z. Philip Ambrose)

Event:

Solo Cantata (for Alto) for the Dominica Oculi [3rd Sunday in Lent]
Readings: Epistle: Ephesians 5: 1-9; Gospel: Luke 11: 14-28
Musical Context: Motets & Chorales for Sundays in Lent
or for 7th Sunday after Trinity
Readings: Epistle: Romans 6: 19-23; Gospel: Mark 8: 1-9
Musical Context: Motets & Chorales for 7th Sunday after Trinity

Composed

Weimar, 1714
1st performance: March 24, 1715 (?) - Weimar
There are some considerable problems here that make a definite assignment impossible. We are left with the possibilities indicated in the revised (English) Dürr. Klaus Hofmann (1993) in one of the Bach journals is primarily responsible for the 1715 date. The problem with the March 4, 1714 date is that it would have occurred two days after Bach’s appointment as Kapellmeister at the Weimar court. The only reason that Oculi has been assigned is because printed text book has this Sunday assigned. This is a good reason, but because the references to the Epistle and Gospel readings on Oculi Sunday are rather vague and because Bach composed a similar early cantata as “in ogni tempo”, Schulze considers the 7th Sunday after Trinity 1714 as a possibility because some possible references to the readings for that Sunday. Dürr (English + update) state: ‘most likely in summer or autumn’ of 1714. Küster dates this cantata to before 1714. The NBA KB states that it could have been composed as early as 1713 possibly for Oculi or another suitable point in the year (in ogni tempo). Schulze also explains that the 1st mvt. was used by Bach with a different text as part of the St. Mark Passion.

Text:

Author: Georg Christian Lehms

BWV 54 Text: German-1 | German-2 | German-6 | German-7 | NBA Text
Translations: English-1 | English-3I | English-3P | English-6 | English-10 | English-13 | English-14
Catalan-1 | Chinese-2 | Dutch-0 | Dutch-3 | French-1 | French-3 | French-4 | French-5 | French-6 | Hebrew-1 | Hungarian-1 | Indonesian-1 | Italian-2 | Lithuanian-1 | Norwegian-1 | Polish-1 | Polish-2 | Russian-1 | Russian-3 | Spanish-2 | Spanish-7 | Spanish/English-8

Scoring:

Soloist: Alto
Orchestra: 2 violins, viola, continuo composed of a cello, a double-bass and organ
Mvt. 1: Aria [A] | Mvt. 2: Recitative [A] | Mvt. 3: Aria [A]

BWV 54 Scores: Score Vocal & Piano [0.91 MB] | Score BGA [1.04 MB]
Autograph Score (Facsimile): [Bach Digital]
Capella: Mvt. 1 [cap]
MuseScore: Complete Cantata | Mvt. 1 | Mvt. 2 | Mvt. 3 [MuseScore]
Annotated Score with Analysis: Complete Cantata [Unger]
Arrangement for alto, treble-recorder and organ [by Iman de Zwarte]: Mvt. 1 | Mvt. 2 | Mvt. 3

References:

BWV 54 References: BGA: XII/2 | NBA: I/18 | BC: A 51 | Zwang: K 14 | First Published: BG, 1863 | Autograph score (facsimile): ? | Bach Digital

Commentaries:

BWV 54 Commentaries: English: Crouch | All Music | Emmanuel Music | Mincham | NBV-AOB | Bachipedia
Nielsen [Danish] | EvH [Dutch] | JdW [Dutch] | Role [French] | Kantate [Japanese] | B!52, Odcinek 68 [Polish] | Reyes [Spanish]

Music:

Music Examples

Discussions:

Week of March 26, 2000; Week of April 17, 2005; Week of May 16, 2010; Week of February 9, 2014


Contents

 
Part 1: Complete Recordings 1900-1949 (0)
Part 2: Complete Recordings 1950-1959 (6)
Part 3: Complete Recordings 1960-1969 (4)
Part 4: Complete Recordings 1970-1979 (4)
Part 5: Complete Recordings 1980-1989 (4)
Part 6: Complete Recordings 1990-1999 (13)
Part 7: Complete Recordings 2000-2009 (14)
Part 8: Complete Recordings 2010-2019 (22)
Part 9: Complete Recordings 2020-2029 (22) = 89
Part 11: Recordings of Individual Movements (9)

Discussions - Part 1 (1st round)
Discussions - Part 2
Discussions - Part 3 (2nd round)
Discussions - Part 4
Discussions - Part 5 (3rd round)
Discussions - Part 6 (4th round)

John Eliot Gardiner - Bach Cantata Pilgrimage - Vol. 21
Bach Cantatas 54, 169, 170 (for Alto) - conducted by Robert King
Bach Edition Vol. 4 & 5 - Cantatas Vol. 1 & 2 - conducted by Pieter Jan Leusink
Bach Arias - conducted by Andrea Marcon with Angelika Kirchschlager
Sacred Cantatas for Alto - conducted by Helmut Müller-Brühl w/ Marianne Beate Kielland

Prepared by Aryeh Oron (March 2000 - November 2023)

Cantata BWV 54: Widerstehe doch der Sünde for Oculi [3rd Sunday in Lent] or 7th Sunday after Trinity (1715 ?)
Details | Complete Recordings: 1900-1949 | 1950-1959 | 1960-1969 | 1970-1979 | 1980-1989 | 1990-1999 | 2000-2009 | 2010-2019 | 2020-2029 | Recordings of Individual Movements
Discussions: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6


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




 

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Last update: Sunday, December 03, 2023 12:19