Cantata BWV 5 - English Translation [interlinear format]

Event: Chorale Cantata for the 19^th Sunday after Trinity Readings: Epistle: Ephesians 4: 22-28; Gospel: Matthew 9: 1-8 Text: Johann Heermann (Mvts. 1, 7); Anon (Mvts. 2-6) Chorale Text: Wo soll ich fliehen hin
1	Chorus [S, A, T, B]
	Oboe I/II, Violino I/II, Viola, Tromba da tirarsi col Soprano, Continuo
	Wo soll ich fliehen hin, Where should I flee Weil ich beschweret bin since I am weighed down Mit viel und großen Sünden? by my many grievious sins? *Wo soll ich Rettung finden?* Where should I find rescue? *Wenn alle Welt herkäme,* If everybody in the world came to me, *Mein Angst sie nicht wegnähme.* they would not take away my anguish.

2	Recitative [Bass]
	Continuo
	Der Sünden Wust hat mich nicht nur befleckt The mess of my sins has not only stained me, *Er hat vielmehr den ganzen Geist bedeckt,* it has rather covered my whole soul, *Gott müßte mich als unrein von sich treiben;* God would have to drive me away from him as something unclean. Doch weil ein Tropfen heilges Blut But since a drop of his sacred blood So große Wunder tut, does such great wonders, *Kann ich noch unverstoßen bleiben.* I am still able to stay unrejected. Die Wunden sind ein offnes Meer, His wounds are an open sea Dahin ich meine Sünden senke, in which I sink my sins Und wenn ich mich zu diesem Strome lenke, and if I make my way to these waters, *So macht er mich von meinen Flecken leer.* they make me clean from my stains.

3	Aria [Tenor]
	Viola solo, Continuo
	Ergieße dich reichlich, du göttliche, Quelle Pour yourself out abundantly, you divine spring, *Ach, walle mit blutigen Strömen auf mich!* ah!, flow over me with streams of blood! *Es fühlet mein Herze die tröstliche Stunde,* My heart feels the hour of consolation, *Nun sinken die drückenden Lasten zu Grunde,* now my crushing burdens sink to the ground, *Es wäschet die sündlichen Flecken von sich.* the stains of sin are washed away from me.

4	Recitativo [Alto]
	Oboe I, Continuo
	Mein treuer Heiland tröstet mich, My faithful saviour comforts me, *Es sei verscharrt in seinem Grabe,* buried in his grave Was ich gesündigt habe; are the sins I have committed; *Ist mein Verbrechen noch so groß,* however great my offence, *Er macht mich frei und los.* he sets me free and at liberty. Wenn Gläubige die Zuflucht bei ihm finden, If believers find refuge with him, *Muß Angst und Pein* anguish and suffering Nicht mehr gefährlich sein can present no more danger Und alsobald verschwinden; and soon disappear; *Ihr Seelenschatz, ihr höchstes Gut* Their soul’s treasure, their greatest good Ist Jesu unschätzbares Blut; is Jesus’ priceless blood; *Es ist ihr Schutz vor Teufel, Tod und Sünden,* This is their protection from the devil, death and sin, *In dem sie überwinden.* in this they are victorious.

5	Aria [Bass]
	Tromba, Oboe I/II, Violino I all' unisono, Violino II, Viola, Continuo
	Verstumme, Höllenheer, Be dumbfounded, you hosts of hell, *Du machst mich nicht verzagt!* you do not make me disheartened! *Ich darf dies Blut dir zeigen,* I have only to show this blood to you, *So musst du plötzlich schweigen,* and you have to be quiet at once, *Es ist in Gott gewagt.* my courage depends on God.

6	Recitative [Soprano]
	Continuo
	Ich bin ja nur das kleinste Teil der Welt, I am indeeed only the smallest part of the world, *Und da des Blutes edler Saft* and since the noble sap of this blood Unendlich große Kraft Bewährt erhält, contains infinitely great power that has been tried and tested Dass jeder Tropfen, so auch noch so klein, so that each drop , however small, *Die ganze Welt kann rein* can make the whole world Von Sünden machen, pure from sins, *So lass dein Blut* then let your blood Ja nicht an mir verderben, not lose its power for me, *Es komme mir zugut,* may it benefit me Dass ich den Himmel kann ererben. so that I can inherit heaven.

7	Chorale [S, A, T, B]
	Violino I e Oboe I/II e Tromba da tirarsi col Soprano, Violino II coll'Alto, Viola col Tenore, Continuo
	Führ auch mein Herz und Sinn Guide then my heart and mind Durch deinen Geist dahin, through your Spirit Dass ich mög alles meiden, so that I may avoid everything Was mich und dich kann scheiden, that can separate me and you Und ich an deinem Leibe and in your body Ein Gliedmaß ewig bleibe. may I always remain a member.

Note on the text
Cantata for the 19^th Sunday after Trinity, BWV 5, first performed on 15 October 1724. It belongs to Bach's ambitious cycle of chorale cantatas, each based on a unifying theme, which he produced at Leipzig in 1724-5. The autograph score, once in the collection of the Austrian essayist and poet Stefan Zweig (1881-1942), is now in the British Library. In common with all the chorale-based cantatas of Bach's second Leipzig cycle, the author of the text for this piece is unidentified. It derives from a hymn (1630) by the 17^th-century writer Johann Heermann and, as usual with the chorale cantatas of this period, the librettist has included strophes in their original form in the opening and concluding sections of the work. In the Dresden hymn schedules for this Sunday in Trinity, Heermann's text was listed under the heading 'Hymns Concerning Repentance and Confession' (G. Stiller: Johann Sebastian Bach and Liturgical Life in Leipzig (St Louis, Miss., 1970),246). The five intervening sections incorporate paraphrased strophes of Heermann's hymn. The Gospel appointed for the day (Matthew 9: 1-8) recounts the story of the man healed of the palsy and from this derives the central theme of the cantata, drawn both from the Gospel and from the hymn text itself: 'Thy sins be forgiven thee'. (Information taken from Oxford Composer Companion: J S Bach)
--
English Translation by Francis Browne (March 2004) Contributed by Francis Browne (March 2004)

English Translations in Interlinear Format (English-3): Sorted by BWV Number | Sorted by Title | Sorted by Event | Note on English Translations

Back to the Top

Last update: ýApril 1, 2007 ý20:14:52