Aria for Soprano BWV 1127 - General Discussions

Unknown Vocal Work by J. S. Bach Discovered

Teri Noel Towe wrote (June 7, 2005):
With thanks to Isabella de Sabata Gardiner for sending this exciting news!

BACH-ARCHIV LEIPZIG

FORSCHUNGSINSTITUT ª BIBLIOTHEK ª MUSEUM ª ERANSTALTUNGEN

June 7, 2007

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

UNKNOWN VOCAL WORK BY J. S. BACH DISCOVERED

A completely unknown composition by Johann Sebastian Bach has been discovered at the Anna Amalia Library in Weimar, Germany by a researcher from the Leipzig Bach Archive. The discovery was made by Michael Maul in the course of a systematic survey of all central German church, communal, and state archival collections, an ongoing research project begun in 2002 and supported by the Packard Humanities Institute and the William H. Scheide Fund.

The score in Bach’s own hand dates from October 1713 and represents a setting of a strophic aria with ritornello for soprano, strings, and basso continuo composed on the occasion of the 52^nd birthday of duke Wilhelm Ernst of Saxe-Weimar, whom Bach then served as court organist. The twelve-stanza sacred poem with the text incipit „Alles mit Gott und nichts ohn’ ihn“ (Everything with God and nothing without him), the duke’s motto, was written by the theologian Johann Anton Mylius.

There has been no previous record of, or reference to, this composition. Moreover, in the seventy years since the 1935 discovery of the single-movement cantata fragment “Bekennen will ich seinen Namen” (BWV 200) no unknown authentic vocal work by Bach has come to light.

“It is no major composition but an occasional work in the form of an exquisite and highly refined strophic aria, Bach’s only contribution to a musical genre popular in late 17th-century Germany,” said Professor Christoph Wolff of Harvard University, chair of the Board of the Bach Archive, initiator, and supervisor of the current research project. “I am extremly proud of Michael who is a most resourceful researcher,” he added. “In less than three years he uncovered an unparalleled number of new archival Bach documents, but this is the first time he presented a musical discovery. The overall research project is far from being over and I am quite sure that sooner or later Michael Maul will make news again.”

A facsimile and performing edition of the newly discovered piece will be published in the autumn of 2005 by Bärenreiter-Verlag of Kassel, Germany. The first recording will be prepared by Sir John Eliot Gardiner, this year’s winner of the Bach Medal of the city of Leipzig, for release on his Soli Deo Gloria label.

For further information on the discovery, please contact the Bach-Archiv:
+49-(0)341-137102 www.bach-leipzig.de .

For further information on Sir John Eliot Gardiner’s involvement and the planned recording please contact Simon Millward PR, 020-7490-1591/07990-507-310.

Gary Hoffman wrote (June 8, 2005):
AFP is reporting the discovery of works by Bach and Handel. I have posted excerpts and a link at: http://www.operatoday.com/article/996/works-of-bach-and-handel-discovered

The Bach work consists of a two page composition that he performed in October 1713, for the 52nd birthday of Duke Wilhelm Ernst von Sachsen-Weimar (1662-1728). It is a setting of a religious poem by Johann Anton Mylius.

The Handel work is for soprano and harpsichord that appears to be an alternate version of the cantata "Crudel tiranno Amor" (HWV 97).

Interesting.

Anthony wrote (June 8, 2005):
[To Boyd Pehrson] I would really want to have a look at the work. Perhaps I can sing
that as well. Is there a soprano section?

Boyd Pehrson wrote (June 8, 2005):
[To Anthony] The article tells us the performance edition will be ready this Fall. We all look forward to hearing it soon, and hopefully choirs will obtain the new music as soon as it becomes available. The picture of the autograph score found at the Bach-Archive Leipzig website looks like the piece contains a coloratura soprano aria.

This is very exciting news.

Anthony wrote (June 8, 2005):
[Tp Boyd Pehrson] The fact is that Bach hates singers. From the unclear handwritten script, I can see that it's going to be quite complicated!

New recording of the Aria for Soprano BWV 1127

Aryeh Oron wrote (October 13, 2005):
I have not received yet my copy of Gardiner's recording of the new discovered Aria for Soprano BWV 1127, and a second recording is knocking on the door.

The following info appeared in the recent Ton Koopman Newsletter

A NEW BACH ARIA
On Monday, September 5th, 2005 Ton Koopman started the recording of a new discovered Bach Aria, found by Michael Maul/Bach Archiv and catalogued as BWV 1127. Soloist is the international highly esteemed soprano Lisa Larsson.Ton Koopman and his Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir are producing this new Bach Aria for the Bach Cantata CD series volume 20, which will be released beginning Novemer 2005.
On our webshop you can read the story of Michael Maul of how he discovered the new aria.
You can also pre-order your copy of this 3 CD-box at our webshop: http://www.antoinemarchand.nl

1127 aria

Continue of discussion from: Recordings of Bach Cantatas General Discussions Year 2006 [General Topics]

Juozas Rimas wrote (March 20, 2006):
John Pike wrote:
< The only work not in the Hänssler series I would guess is the work discovered last year. >
Is there any information available on when we can expect samples of this work (a movement only, IIRC) to be listened to online?

Aryeh Oron wrote (March 20, 2006):
John Pike wrote:
<< The only work not in the Hänssler series I would guess is the work discovered last year. >>
Juozas Rimas wrote:
< Is there any information available on when we can expect samples of this work (a movement only, IIRC) to be listened to online? >
The work is the aria for soprano BWV 1127 'Alles mit Gott und nichts ohn' ihn'. Gardiner, Koopman and Suzuki have already recorded it. If you want to hear samples from the recordings, please follow the links to Amazon at the page: http://www.bach-cantatas.com/Vocal/BWV1127.htm

And another excerpt to listen can be found at: http://www.bach-cantatas.com/Mus/BWV1127-Mus.htm

Bradley Lehman wrote (March 21, 2006):
[To Aryeh Oron] There is also a recording of it (three stanzas only) by soprano Amanda Balestrieri, not yet released. The conductor of that one is Daniel Abraham. They recorded this last October, during the week when they performed it and some Handel for the American Musicological Society. Concert details: http://www.bachsinfonia.org/concerts.shtml
I believe it's supposed to be released later this year in that same "Alexander's Feast" CD that I have already linked at: http://www-personal.umich.edu/~bpl/larips/recordings.html

As for the NBA/Barenreiter score recently published as one of their blue-bound offprints: a nice package with a complimentary copy arrived to me a few months ago, and presumably one was sent to all fellow-members of the American Bach Society: http://www.americanbachsociety.org/

Juozas Rimas wrote (March 23, 2006):
I've read at Amazon that the whole aria in Suzuki's rendition is 48-minute long. Is it a typo?

Bradley Lehman wrote (March 23, 2006):
[To Juozas Rimas] I don't know about Suzuki's rendition, but the composition as printed in the NBA (pre-print by Bärenreiter, #5246) does have 12 stanzas. The editor then suggests performing only stanzas 1, 10, and 12.

Thomas Shepherd wrote (March 23, 2006):
[To Juozas Rimas] No its not a typo. BWV1127 is indeed 4mins long and quite honestly I can't quite understand what possessed BIS allowing this recording as one of their FULL PRICED cds. Its getting quite an expensive series (£11.50 per vol. = £345 so far and another 30 vols. to go). As a church cantata, only BWV 51 is recorded for vol. 30. and it is a superb performance of Jauchzet Gott in allen Landen!, but is that really enough on a cd that is supposed to be devoted to the recording of the Cantatas in chronologica order of composition? I said in an earlier post (March 7th) that 1127 is a haunting little melody, but asked the question whether it is top notch Bach. Personally I'm waiting for Suzuki vol 31 and hope that vol 30 was a marketing aberration! Collectors of curios may buy it. I defy anyone to listen to it more than a couple of times in preference to some of the hidden gems of the cantatas.

Richard wrote (March 24, 2006):
[To Thomas Shepherd] This air shows that Bach himself could write bad music. After all, he was human.

Juozas Rimas wrote (March 24, 2006):
[To Richard] From my listening experience, JSB has written numerous generic pieces. I'm marking those for myself when listening, with the hope to come back later and find that it's yet another instance of music "opening" only after several listens in a certain period of time.

I suspect, though, that some 10 to 20 percent of all the cantata material will always sound average to me, regardless of the number of listens.

What are your percentages of mediocre vocal music by JSB?

Richard wrote (March 24, 2006):
[To Juozas Rimas] It is a matter of taste.. Very subjective. I know all the Cantatas. There are about 20 of them which are completely uninteresting. But the remaining 180 are so tremendous ! A bad cantata by Bach is anyway often stronger than a good one by Graupner...

Lex Schelvis wrote (March 25, 2006):
[To Richard] So there are only two categories: COMPLETELY uninteresting and tremendous. Nothing in between? That would be a problem for me. The category "completely uninteresting" is empty for me, but to call all cantatas tremendous is too much. BWV 1127 isn't in this category, not even the shorter versions of Koopman en Gardiner.

Douglas Cowling wrote (March 25, 2006):
[To Lex Schelvis] Am I alone in thinking that this is a pointless string and should be abandoned before a flame-war ignites?

BWV 1127 (was "Mache dich")

Bradley Lehman wrote (March 2, 2007):
< What we have here, ladies and gentlemen, is that rarest of rare things: a genuine world-premiere recording of a piece by Johann Sebastian Bach appropriately entitled Alles mit Gott und nichts ohn' (All with Got and Nothing Without).(...) In this recording by soprano Elin Manahan Thomas, (...) >

Is this the same as the Gardiner recording listed at|: http://www.bach-cantatas.com/Vocal/BWV1127.htm ?

"Genuine world-premiere recording" is sort of a misnomer, there. In June 2005 I'd already heard two other radio recordings of it (BBC, and National Public Radio in US), plus a local concert of somebody singing it with piano. Granted, these other performances ahead of Gardiner's were of only the first page of the piece! The concert version I heard was from parts faxed in by the harpsichordist (Joseph Gascho) who had played it on NPR, just a few days earlier.

By the way, the fourth commercial recording listed there at the BCW page -- conducted by Daniel Abraham -- is now available here, released in December: http://www.bachsinfonia.org/cd_buy.htm

=====

The Neue Bach Ausgabe's pre-print of the score, in their usual light-blue edition, showed up in my mail sometime in 2006, I don't remember which month. It was sent out automatically as a free perquisite, to all current members of the American Bach Society.

The most recent thing sent out by the ABS has been the terrific book Bach Perspectives 6 (dated 2007, arrived December 06) that has Rifkin's newest article in it. That's about BWV 1067, and the other two articles in there (by Jeanne Swack and Steven Zohn) are also about ouvertures.

Some of the back issues of their newsletter are available free, here: http://www.americanbachsociety.org/bachnotes.html
Don't miss the one about Geyersbach!

It's worth signing up to ABS for all this stuff; no requirements for membership other than interest in the topics, and paying the annual fee of $50 or $25.

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Last update: ýMarch 6, 2007 ý21:22:31