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Cantata BWV 189
Meine Seele ruhmt und preist
Cantata BWV 189 - My soul praises and extols |
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Event: Solo Cantata for the Feast of Visitation of Mary
Readings: Epistle: Isaiah 11: 1-5; Gospel: Luke 1: 39-56
Text: Unknown
Composer: Georg Melchior Hoffmann ? |
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Biblical quotations in green font , chorales in purple |
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1 |
Aria [Tenor] |
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Meine Seele rühmt und preist
My soul praises and extols
Gottes Huld und reiche Güte.
God’s grace and rich goodness.
Und mein Geist,
And my spirit
Herz und Sinn und ganz Gemüte
Heart and mind and whole nature
Ist in meinem Gott erfreut,
rejoice in my God
Der mein Heil und Helfer heißt.
Who is called my salvation and helper. |
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2 |
Recitativo [Tenor] |
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Denn seh ich mich und auch mein Leben an,
For when I consider myself and also my life,
So muß mein Mund in diese Worte brechen:
Then my mouth must break forth in these words :
Gott, Gott! was hast du doch an mir getan!
God, God!How much you have done for me!
Es ist mit tausend Zungen
With a thousand tongues
Nicht einmal auszusprechen.
It could not once be expressed,
Wie gut du bist, wie freundlich deine Treu,
How good you are, how friendly in your faithfulness,
Wie reich dein Liebe sei.
How rich your love .
So sei dir denn Lob, Ehr und Preis gesungen.
Then let glory, honour and praise be sung to you. |
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3 |
Aria [Tenor] |
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Gott hat sich hoch gesetzet
God has placed himself on high
Und sieht auf das, was niedrig ist.
And looks down on all that is lowly.
Gesetzt, daß mich die Welt
Supposing the world considers me
Gering und elend hält,
As slight and pitiable,
Doch bin ich hoch geschätzet,
Yet I am highly treasured
Weil Gott mich nicht vergißt.
Since God does not forget me |
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4 |
Recitativo [Tenor] |
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O was für große Dinge
O what great things
Treff ich an allen Orten an,
I meet with everywhere
Die Gott an mir getan,
That God has done for me,
Wofür ich mich mein Herz zum Opfer bringe;
So that in response I am led to make an offering of my heart
Er tut es, dessen Macht
He does this, whose might
Den Himmel kann umschränken,
Can encompass heaven,
An dessen Namen Pracht
On the glory of whose name
Die Seraphim in Demut nur gedenken.
The Seraphim can only think in humility.
Er hat mir Leib und Leben,
He has given me life and limb,
Er hat mir auch das Recht zur Seligkeit,
He has given me also the right to blessedness,
Und was mich hier und dort erfreut,
And all that gives me joy in this world and the next
Aus lauter Huld gegeben.
From pure mercy. |
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5 |
Aria [Tenor] |
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Deine Güte, dein Erbarmen ,
Your goodness, your mercy
Währet, Gott, zu aller Zeit.
Lasts, God, at all times
Du erzeigst Barmherzigkeit
You show mercy
Denen dir ergebnen Armen.
To the poor who are devoted to you. |
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Note on the text: |
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This cantata, once ascribed to Bach , is now thought to be by Georg Melchior Hoffmann.He was a Dresden musician who succeeded Telemann as musical director at the Neue Kirche in Leipzig in1704 and remained there until his early death at the age of about 30 in 1715. It was included in the earlier Bach Gesellschaft edition, but found no place in the Bach-Neue-Ausgabe. It was written for the Feast of the Visitation and the unknown author of the libretto has based his text on a loose paraphrase of the Magnificat. |
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This Translation in Parallel Format |
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English Translation by Francis Browne (December 2012)
Contributed by Francis Browne (December 2012) |
