Cantatas for Sundays after Easter
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Sundays after Easter: Motets, Chorales, Cantatas, Themes

William L. Hoffman wrote (April 12, 2018):
Following the presentation of three cantatas for the three-day Easter Festival, Sunday through Tuesday, in Leipzig, beginning in 1724 Bach observed the first Sunday in Easter, called by the church fathers "Quasimodogeniti" meaning "new-born" (see Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Octave_of_Easter), giving his Thomas School/Church choirboys less challenging music until the next feasts of Ascension and Pentecost while preparing them for the close of the school year with exams and assessments. During the coming, 60-day period, Bach generally presented more intimate, less-challenging music, with selective use of Lutheran hymns appropriate for this time or having subjects complimenting the gospel Johannine teachings of Jesus' Farewell Discourse to his disciples (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Farewell_Discourse), emphasizing sorrow turned to joy. For the second Sunday in Easter, Misericordias Domini, the mood changes dramatically from Jesus appearing to his disciples post-resurrection, to the Johannine Easter theme of Jesus as the Good Shepherd (see below). The gospels for the remaining Sundays take up the Johannine theme instead of other events during the final 50 days of Jesus on earth in the synoptic gospels.

Quasimodogeniti

The First Sunday in Easter is known as Quasimodogeniti infantes, being Latin for "Like newborn babes." It is the opening phrase of the Introit reading appointed for the church's worship that day, "Like newborn babes desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby" (1 Peter 2: 2-3). Quasimodogeniti Sunday, also is known as the Second Sunday of Easter as well as the Octave of the Resurrection, Low Sunday or Thomas Sunday for the doubting disciple. The early church had made special reference to the newly baptized neophytes, as well as in the general allusion to peoples' renewal through the Resurrection in the readings: Gospel, John 20-19-31 (Jesus appears to the disciples), and the Epistle, 1 John 5:4-10 (Faith overcomes the world), see http://www.bach-cantatas.com/Read/Quasimodogeniti.htm. The polyphonic setting of the Introit was Psalm 116, Dilexi quoniam (I love the Lord), and the text is found at http://www.kingjamesbibleonline.org/Psalms-Chapter-116/. Other appropriate Introit motets settings Bach may have used were Orlando di Lassus' 1575 motet Christus resurgens ex morituis (Christ has risen from the dead), based on an Easter Sunday chant, and a 1573 motet Jam non dicam vos servos (I will not now call you servants, John 15:15), as well as a Monteverdi vesper motet, Tres sunt qui testimonium dant caelo (For there are three that bear record in heaven), 1 John 5-7, day's Epistle).

Bach selectively reduced his calling of well-ordered church music to two pieces instead of the usual three cyclic cantatas, presenting in 1724 Cantata 67 (“Halt im Gedächtnis Jesum Christ” (Keep in memory Jesus Christ, 2 Timothy 2:8), and in 1725 non-chorale Cantata 42, “Am Abend aber desselbigen Sabbats” (On the evening of the same Sabbath, Gospel John 20:19). The next year (1726) Bach presented Meiningen cousin Johann Ludwig Bach's Cantata JLB 6, “Wie lieblich sind auf den Bergen” (Ah, how beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bring good tidings, Isaiah 52:7). In addition, a seven-bar score sketch of an opening orchestral ritornello (3/4, E minor) exists in Bach’s hand for a cantata for Quasimodogeniti 1725, possibly the beginning of a chorale cantata. It is designated in Bach Compendium as BC A 64, and BWV deest (Bach Digital, https://www.bach-digital.de/rsc/viewer/BachDigitalSource_derivate_00002156/db_bachp0122_page010v.jpg). It could have been the beginning of a chorale fantasia setting of Nicolaus Herman’s 1560 14-stanza Easter hymn, “Erschiennen ist der Herrlich’ Tag” (Here shining is the splendid day, which Bach had set as plain chorales closing Cantata 67 in 1724 and Cantata 145 for Easter Tuesday, probably 1729.

For the first three Sundays in Easter, Bach could chose from the chorales designated for the Easter Festival in his hymnbook, Neu Leipziger Gesangbuch (NLGB) of 1682: Martin Luther’s Hymn of the Day, "Christ lag in Todesbanden” (Christ lay in death's bonds), the Pulpit Hymn, Luther’s “Christ ist erstanden” (Christ is arisen); and the Hymns for Chancel, Communion, and Closing: anonymous "Erstanden ist der heil'ge Christ (Arisen is the holy Christ), the Stoltzhagen-Gesius “Heut triumphieret Gottes Sohn” (This day in triumph, God’s Son) and Nicolaus Hermann's “Erscheinen ist der Herrlich’ Tag” (Here shining is the splendid day). Following the three festive Sundays, chorales could be chosen in accordance with the Gospel while the "hymn schedules of the Leipzig and Dresden hymnbooks for the Easter days also frequently contained the general direction, "The Hymns of This Festival," says Günther Stiller.¹

Selecting chorales for his Easter cantatas, Bach had a variety from which to choose. These included the familiar Easter hymns of Luther on the Theology of the Cross and Doctrine of Justification and hymns of praise to thematic hymns that this Sunday addressed with Jesus as Prince of Peace, based on the iconic gospel greeting, "Peace be with you," notably the closing hymns of Cantata 67, Jakob Ebert's 1601 eschatological "Du Friedefürst, Herr Jesu Christ" (Thou Prince of Peace, Lord Jesus Christ" (http://www.bach-cantatas.com/Texts/Chorale001-Eng3.htm), and Cantata 42, Luther's 1529 “Verleih uns Frieden, gnädiglich” (Graciously grant us peace), expansive paraphrase of the Dona nobis pacem Mass Ordinary closing. Bach also was flexible and could choose Easter chorales related to the sermon since his Thomas Church confessing pastor Christian Weise Sr. may have begun an annual cycle of emblematic sermons with Jesus as the model at Easter 1724, possibly involving the Leipzig tradition of "chorale-sermons,"² which would have also observed the 200th anniversary of the first publication of Lutheran hymnbooks. For Quasimodogeniti, the designated hymn was "Erscheinen ist der Herrlich’ Tag," "which in Weißenfels was always sung at vespers on this Sunday," says Stiller (Ibid.).

In today's three-year lectionary, the Gospel for Quasimodogeniti is the same, John 20:19-31. Bach's most appropriate works are Cantatas 67 and 42, as well as alternate Cantatas 149, "Man singet mit Freuden vom Sieg" (Songs are sung with joy of victory, Psalm 118:15), BWV 134, "Ein Herz, das seinen Jesum lebend weiß" (A heart that knows its Jesus living), and BWV 158, "Der Friede sei mit dir" (Peace be with you, Luke 24:36), says John S. Sutterlund.³

Misericordias Domini Good Shepherd

The readings for Misericordias Domini are the Gospel of John 10:12-16, “I am the Good Shepherd” (found only in John’s Gospel) and the Epistle Lesson, I Peter 2:21-25 (You were as sheep gone astray). The German text of Luther’s 1545 and the English Authorised (King James) Version 1611 are found at http://www.bach-cantatas.com/Read/Misericordias.htm. The Introit Psalm for Misericordias Domini is Psalm 23, Dominus regit me (The Lord is my shepherd). The full text (KJV) is found on line at http://christiananswers.net/bible/psa23.html. Misericordias means the "Goodness (literally "tender mercies") of the Lord." It comes from the incipit of Psalm 89, “I will sing of the mercies of the Lord.” This Sunday is also called "Good Shepherd Sunday." It is so called from the incipof the Introit "Misericordia Domini plena est terra . . ." ("The land is filled with the mercy of the Lord") from Psalm 33. Motet & Chorales for Misericordias: Introit, Misericordia Domini; Motets of Victoria, di Lassus, Palestrina, the plainchant Alleluia: Surrexit Christus et illuxit ("Christ is risen, and has illumined us") and Surrexit Pastor Bonus (The Good Shepherd is risen); as well as the core Communion hymn, “Der Herr is mein getreuer Hirt” (The Lord is my faithful Shepherd), NLGB No.251, Bach's moist recent source being the Dresdener Gesangbuch, and the customary hymn for this Sunday in the various hymnbooks, says Stiller (Ibid.).

Bach was able to compose three Good Shepherd cantatas, all alluding to Psalm 23, for the 2nd Sunday in Easter: Cantata 104, “Du Hirte Israel, höre" (You Shepherd of Israel, Give Ear), in 1724; Cantata BWV 85, “Ich bin ein gutter Hirt” (I am a Good Shepherd), composed in 1725, and Chorale Cantata BWV 112, “Der Herr ist mein getreuer Hirt” (The Lord is my faithful Shepherd), completed in 1731 for a special Easter presentation of otherwise previously-composed church-cycle cantatas, the only time of Bach documented reperformances and return to systematic presentations (http://www.bach-cantatas.com/LCY/1731.htm), following the Good Friday premiere of the St. Mark Passion, BWV 247. Cantata 104 offers contrasts of hope and joy with doubt and perplexity, reflecting the mood of the apostles when Christ appeared to them after his resurrection. Cantata 112 in Wolfgang Meuslin's alternate setting of the melody "Allein Gott in der Höh sei Ehr" (To God alone on high be glory) offers a pastoral mood of calm to meet the increasing anxiety of the disciples, then and now, at life in the world without Jesus' physical presence.

Pure-hymn Cantata 112 is the only complete chorale setting for Easter that Bach composed, although he composed chorale choruses and internal settings in other cantatas. The record also shows that for the projected 1725 13 Easter chorale cantatas, Bach did provided chorale settings involving at least five cantatas: two pure-hymn chorale cantatas, Cantata 4, “Christ lag in Todesbanden,” for the Easter Festival, and Cantata 112, “Der Herr ist meine getreue Hirt,” for the Second Sunday After Easter 1725, completed about 1731; two chorale opening choruses, BWV 128/1, “Aus Christi Himmelfahrt Allein,” for Ascension Day 1725, and BWV 68/1, “Also hat Gott die Welt geliebt,” for Pentecost Tuesday in 1725; and a chorale aria, “Ach bleib bei uns,” BWV 6/3, for Easter Monday 1725, with a chorus dictum. It is possible that three later pure-hymn chorale works could have been presented during Easter: Cantata 100, “Was Gott tut, das ist wohlgetan,” for the Third Sunday After Easter; Cantata 117, “Sei Lob und Her dem Höchsten Gut,” for the Fifth Sunday After Easter; and Cantata 97, “In Allen meinen Taten,” for the Sixth Sunday After Easter, which Bach apparently began about 1725.

Sketches exist for the beginning of opening instrumental sinfonias for possibly chorale cantata fantasias for both the first and sixth Sundays after Easter (Quasimodogeniti and Exaudi), suggesting that Bach at least considered the possibility of other chorale cantatas for the Easter season without selecting the particular hymn to be paraphrased and soliciting a libretto. It is possible that Bach in the 1725 Easter Season had no appropriate chorale choices for chorale cantatas for the First and Fourth Sundays After Easter and was limited in the possibilities for Easter and Pentecost Tuesdays, and the Third Sunday After Easter.

The Easter chorales Bach used in the cantata for Misericordias Domini are Cornelius Becker's "Der Herr ist mein getreuer Hirt, dem ich," plain chorale closing Cantata 104/6 and chorale aria in Cantata 85/3; Muselin's "Der Herr ist mein getreuer Hirt" in Cantata 112 and "Ist Gott mein Schutz und treuer Hirt" (If God is my protection and faithful Shepherd), closing Cantata 85/6. Composed in 1725, Bach’s wholly original solo Cantata BWV 85, “Ich bin ein guter Hirt” (I am a good shepherd), is the bridge between the Easter festival with its celebration of the resurrection central to Christianity and the ensuing Great 60 Days of the Easter-Pentecost Season with the darkness of the disciples external threats without the protection of Jesus but the illuminating promise in his Farewell Discourse (John:16) that the sanctifier Holy Spirit will provide the Christian Trinitarian link of the advocate and protector to the figures of God the Father and Creator and Jesus Christ as the Son and Redeemer serving as the Good Shepherd of the Psalm 23 people of Israel under the law and the Christian Church under the Gospel, bringing a new sense of trust.

In today's lectionary for Misericordias Domini, now called the "Third Sunday of Easter," the gospel is Luke 24:13-35 (Walk to Emmaus) in Year A (usually Matthew), Luke 24:36b-48 (Jesus appearance with his disciples) in Year B (usually Mark), and John 21:1-19 (Jesus with the disciple, boatload of fish), the event which is found early in Luke 5:1-11), in Year C (Luke's gospel). The most appropriate Bach cantatas for these readings, says Sutterlund (Ibid.: 55f), (Easter cantatas except where noted) are Year A, Cantata 6, "Bleib bei uns, denn es will Abend warden" (Stay with us, for evening is coming, Luke 24:29) at the end of the Walk to Emmaus, and Cantata 66, "Erfreut euch, ihr Herzen" (Rejoice, you hearts); Year B, Cantata 134, "Ein Herz, das seinen Jesum lebend weiß" (A heart that knows its Jesus living), and Cantata 67 (“Halt im Gedächtnis Jesum Christ” (Keep in memory Jesus Christ, 2 Timothy 2:8); and Year C, Cantata 93, "Wer nur den lieben Gott läßt walten" (Whoever lets only the dear God reign), 5th Sunday after Trinity, and Cantata 6. The Good Shepherd gospel (John 10:12-16) for Misericordias Domini in Bach's day now is the reading for Year B in this year's lectionary for next Sunday, the Fourth Sunday of Easter.

The first two Sundays in Easter emphasize that all believers are “new-born children of God” (Quasimodogeniti) and that the earth and all hearts “should be full of the goodness of the Lord” (Misericordias). These two engender a sense of thankfulness in the remaining four Sundays with their musical qualities: “Make a joyful noise unto God (Psalm 66:2, Jubilate), “Sing unto the Lord a new song” (Psalm 98:1, Cantate Dominum); voices of gaiety (Voces jucunditas, Rogate); and “God will heart it” (Audit ubique Deus, Psalm 147:1, Exaudi). “Running throughout the season is the idea that human attributes, especially reason and the senses, are inadequate to sustain the life of faith, which inevitably succumbs to worldly pressures,” says Eric Chafe in his chapter “Spring 1725: An Overview, Easter through Misericordias: Cantatas 249, 6, 42, and 85 (Ibid.: 389).⁴ “Something more is needed – the Holy Spirit -- and it is the purpose of the season as a whole to set fourth both the need and the solution.”

Afterthought: Bach & Mahler at Easter

A common, contemporary connection in the Easter period is Bach the Lutheran and Gustav Mahler’s absorption in elements of Catholicism, particularly Resurrection and Pentecost. In the choral finale of Mahler’s “Resurrection” Second Symphony (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Symphony_No._2_(Mahler)), after the first two of the five verses of Friedrich Klopstock’s “Resurrection Ode,” Mahler added his own closing texts, including the line, “Sterben werd’ ich, um zu Leben” (Die shall I in order to live). ” Mahler had heard the ode sung to a hymn setting by a children’s choir at conductor Hans von Buelow’s funeral in Hamburg in March 1894. The Resurrection Ode motivated him to finish his symphony after completing the “Funeral Rite,” (as well as the andante and the St. Anthony scherzo movements), says Viennese psychologist Theodore Reik (1888-1969) in The Haunting Melody: Psychoanalytic Experiences in Life and Music (New York: Grove 1953, pp. 219-355).

While examining Mahler’s obsession with death and the significance of thethree blows of fate, Reik found that there was another important chorale hymn for Mahler, the Latin Veni, Creator Spiritus, Part 1 of the Eighth Symphony. Reik, one of Sigmund Freud’s earliest and most brilliant pupils and a life-long Mahler enthusiast, found connections involving the link of the Latin Pentecost hymn of the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit (spirit, wisdom, knowledge, counsel, strength, insight, and fear of the Lord; Isaiah 11:2) to the remainder of the Eighth Symphony.

The 9th Century Latin Hymn of Hrabanus Maurus (text and melody) for Pentecost (Vespers) was adapted by Martin Luther in 1524 in seven verses as “Komm Gott Schöpfer Heiliger Geist” (Come God Creator Holy Spirit) and set three times by Bach as a harmonized four-part vocal chorale, BWV 370; as a “Great Leipzig” Organ Chorale, BWV 667; and as an organ chorale prelude in the Orgelbüchlein (Little Organ Book), BWV 631. A most remarkable example of a Bach influence is Mahler’s use of a children’s choir in the fourth verse of the Pentecost hymn, Accende lumen sensibus in the Veni Creator Spiritus of the Eighth Symphony, entering in the midst of the adult double chorus. It is reminiscent of the entrance of the boy’s choir singing the chorale “O Lamm Gottes unschuldig” (O Lamb of God Unspotless) at measure 34 of the opening double chorus, “Komm ihr Tochter, helft mir klagen” (Come ye Daughters, Help Me Lament). Source: http://www.bach-cantatas.com/Articles/Bach-Mahler.pdf.

FOOTNOTES

¹ Günther Stiller, Johann Sebastian Bach and Liturgical Life in Leipzig, ed. Robin A. Leaver, trans. Herbert J. A. Bouman etc (St. Louis: Concordia Publishing 1984: 240).
² See Alfred Dürr, Chapter 1, "Development of the Bach Cantata," The Cantatas of J. S. Bach, ed. & trans. Richard D. P. Jones (Oxford University Prerss, 2005: 27, 29).
³ John S. Sutterlund, Bach Through the Year: The Church Music of Johann Sebastian Bach and the Revised Common Lectionary (Minneapolis MN: Lutheran University Press, 2013: 54f).
⁴ Eric Chafe: J. S. Bach’s Johannine Theology: The St. John Passion and the Cantatas for Spring 1725 (Oxford UPress, 2014: 379ff).

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To Come: the last four Sundays in Easter: music, joy, and the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost as reincarnation.