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Cantata BWV 182
Himmelskönig, sei willkommen
Discussions - Part 4 |
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Continue from Part 3 |
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Discussions in the Week of March 20, 2016 (4th round) |
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William L. Hoffman wrote (March 20, 2016):
Annunciation Cantatas BWV 182 and Anh. 199: Intro.
The incarnation of Jesus at the Feast of the Annunciation and his triumphal entry in Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, showing true God and True Man, crossed paths for Bach at least twice and initially produced his first regular service cantata on March 25, 1714, BWV 182 "Himmelskönig, sei willkommen" (Heavenly King, be welcomed). It was premiered in the small Weimar Schlosskirche court chapel, on March 25, 1714, when the Feast of the Annunication fell on Palm Sunday. It was Bach's most-often repeated cantata, documented reperformances at least five times: 1717-23 (twice, not in Weimar), March 25, 1724 (Annunciation, Saturday), March 21, 1728 (Palm Sunday), and after 1728.
Probably set to an unpublished text of court poet Salomo Franck, the original Cantata 182 Palm Sunday work in eight movements lasting a half hour features an opening instrumental sinfonia, two da-capo style choruses to open and close as well as three internal arias in succession (nos. 4-6), a single recitative-arioso paraphrasing biblical text as a Vox Christi (no.3), and a motet chorale fugue fantasia on Paul Stockman's Passion 1636 narrative hymn, “Jesu Leiden, Pein und Tod" (Jesus, suffering, pain and death).1 Bach set the penultimate Stanza 33, "Jesu, deine Passion/ Ist mir lauter Freude," (Jesus, your passion/ is for me pure joy") 1636. It is found in the NLGB as No. 77 under Passion hymns of "Jesus suffering and death." The melody (Zahn 6288) is by Melchior Vulpius (1609), "Jesu Kreutz, Leiden und Pein" (Jesus' Cross, Suffering and Pain).
Serendipity marked Bach’s only opportunity in Leipzig to repeat Cantata 182, since Palm Sunday was part of the Lenten season closed time. The exception was the Marian fixed Feast of Annunciation on March 25 when Bach in 1724 as part of Service Cycle 1, again was able to present two cantatas, before and after the gospel sermon. Before the sermon, Bach premiered lost Annunciation Cantata BWV Anh 199, "Siehe, eine Jungfrau ist schwanger" (Behold, a virgin is pregnant). Now contrast in form could be greater then these two works:
Cantata 182 has no formal structure while Cantata BWV Anh. 199 is one of 10 balanced structures using Alfred Dürr’s third group of six-movement musical sermon with opening biblical dictum (usually) chorus and closing plain chorale flanking aria-plain chorale-recitative-aria. These works fell between during de tempore (Ordinary Time), Septuagesimae to Ascension Feast (plus Reformation). The other distinction in the first cycle was that these two cantatas were part of Bach’s 15 “double” offerings that constitute a mini-cycle of six two-part cantatas (BWV 75, 76, 21, 147, 186, and 70) and nine double-headers (BWV 24+185, 179+199, 63+238, 181+18, 22+23, A199+182, 31+4, 172+59 and 194+165).
Initially, in the confines of the court chapel, Bach produced a simple five-part chamber music scoring of recorder, violin concertante with violin di ripieno, two violas and continuo with violoncello. For first Leipzig performance in 1724, Bach expanded the orchestra with a solo violin, oboe, and strings. It appears that in 1714, Bach may have simply repeated the opening chorus at the end in double-da-capo style and later composed a new closing joyous chorus, “So lasset uns gehen in Salem der Freuden” (So let us go in the Salem of joy). While the initial recorder in the sinfonia suggests the coming Passion, Bach in the first Leipzig revival for the Feast of the Annunciation strengthened the continuo group,” observes Nicholas Anderson in his essay on Cantata 182 in Oxford Composer Companions: J. S. Bach.2 In “the second, probably in 1728, he added an oboe” that “can be felt particularly in the instrumental Sonata. . . .”
Finally, Bach had achieved his calling of a “well-ordered church music to the glory of God,” stated in his resignation letter of 1708 in Mühlhausen, observes Eric Chafe in the chapter “The Way of the Cross: Cantatas 182 and 12,” in Tears into Wine: J. S. Bach’s Cantata 21 in Its Musical and Theological Contexts.3 Cantata 182 opening sinfonia (a miniature French overture in the Italian style) suggests “a new beginning” showing “Jerusalem, in its multiple meanings,” with Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, the beginning of Holy Week, “for the Passion is directed toward his coming to the church, to the hearts of the faithful, and at the end of time. . . .” The eschatological interpretation of Jesus in Jerusalem “connects up with the final chorus that refers to “Salem” or “Zion,” the other names for Jerusalem.
The merger of Palm Sunday and the Feast of the Annunication, particularly when they both occurred on March 25, enabled Bach to create music that explores the richness and uniqueness of Jesus Christ through the study of Christology, focusing on the dual nature of incarnation and passion. Central to this concept are the two paradoxical Martin Luther-affirmed doctrines of Jesus' nature in the gospels as Son of God (fully divine) and Son of Man (fully human). These embrace the three states of Christ in the kenosis (emptying) parabola (descent-ascent) hymn of Phillippians 2:5-11 or Col. 1:15-20: pre-incarnational glory, death, and resurrection, says noted theologian Cornelius Plantinga Jr. in the article "Christus Paradox" (Calvin College, Grand Rapids MI, nd). Other paradoxical images include Jesus as lamb and shepherd, prince and slave, steward and servant.
Palm Sunday coincided with the Feast of the Annunciation, March 25, three times when Bach presented service cantatas: 1714, Cantata BWV 182; 1725, Chorale Cantata BWV 1, "Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern" (How brightly shines the morning star); and 1736, when it appears Bach performed Stözel’s lost two-part Annunciation cantata, "Er soll Nazarener heißen" (He shall be called Nazarene, Matthew 2:23).
Bach’s first use in Leipzig of Cantata 182, "Himmelskönig, sei willkommen" (Heavenly King, be welcomed), with its incipit double meaning of welcoming Jesus into the world and Jerusalem, took place on the Feast of the Annunciation, on Saturday, March 25, 1724, just over a week before Palm Sunday on April 2. Because Leipzig tradition forbid any figural music during the “closed” Lenten period, except for the Marian Feast of Annunciation on the fixed date of March 25, Bach was able to piggy-back Cantata 182 on a double-bill with a new (lost) Annunciation Cantata BWV Anh 199, "Siehe, eine Jungfrau ist schwanger" (Behold, a virgin is pregnant). The music is lost but the surviving text shows music with two popular Annunciation chorales: verse 2 of Otto Niccolai’s 1699 "Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern" (How brightly shines the morning star), wedding hymn of the human Soul and the divine Jesus, and verse 7 of Luther’s 1524 Christmas nativity hymn "Gelobet seist du, Jesu Christ" (Praise be to you, Jesus Christ).
The double bill of Cantata BWV Anh. 199 and BWV 182 was presented at the early main service of the Thomas church, before and after the sermon on the AGospel, Luke 1:26-38 (Gabriel prophesies to Mary and Elizabeth) by Pastor Christian Weise Sr. (1671-1736), possibly the librettist of Cantata BWV Anh. 199, with the music by tradition repeated at the afternoon main vesper service at the Nikolaikirche, records Martin Petzoldt in Bach Commentary, Vol. 1.4
The Readings for "Mariä Verkündigung" (Feast of Annunciation of Mary) are: Epistle: Isaiah 7:10-16 (Behold, a virgin shall conceive; Gospel: Luke 1:26-38 (Gabriel prophesies to Mary, Elizabeth). The German text of Luther’s translation 1545 and the English Authorised (King James) Version 1611 are found at BCW, http://www.bach-cantatas.com/Read/Annunciation.htm. The Palm Sunday Readings are: Epistle: Philippians 2:5-11 (The humility of Christ) or 1 Corinthians 11:23-32 (The Last Supper); Gospel: Matthew 21:1-9 (Christ’s entry into Jerusalem). The German and English texts are found at BCW http://www.bach-cantatas.com/Read/Palm.htm.
Cantata 182 Weimar Origins
“Bach's concertmaster promotion dated from March 2, 1714, two days before Oculi Sunday, so that the fourth Sunday following his new appointment fell on March 25,” says Christoph Wolff in Bach: The Learned Musician.5 <<It was this double feast of Palm Sunday and Annunciation for which Bach prepared the inaugural cantata to be performed in his new capacity: "Himmelskönig, sei willkommen," BWV 182, scored for four voices (SATB), recorder, violin, two violas, violoncello, and continuo (violone and organ). The concurrence that year of Palm Sunday and the Marian feast, a rarity in the liturgical calendar, provided an incentive for the ambitious overall design of the piece. Consisting of eight movements, with ten-part scoring for the tutti movements, it permitted Bach to make a major artistic statement and, at the same time, to show the court capelle at its best.
The poetic makeup of the libretto links it to Salomo Franck, the secretary of the ducal consistory in Weimar, who was to publish two annual cycles of cantata texts, for 1715 and 1717. The text draws on Psalm 40: 8,9 for the recitative (no. 3) and on Paul Stockmann's 1633 Passion hymn "Jesu Leiden, Pein und Tod" for the penultimate movement (no. 7). In a typically Lutheran reinterpretation, the Marian feast of the Annunciation is given a Christological focus: instead of honouring Mary, it venerates Christ as the true King of Heaven. Through the sacred poetry of the cantata, the piece becomes an effective and expressive musical sermon on the Palm Sunday gospel (Matthew 21: Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem), lauding Christ the healer of the world (no. 4), admonishing the faithful to meet him properly (no. 5), praying "Let me not abandon, Lord, the banner of thy cross" (no. 6), foreshadowing Christ's Passion and its meaning (no. 7), and culminating in the anticipation of the believers' entry into the eternal Jerusalem, "the Salem of gladness" (no. 8) The Sonata is designed in overture manner and, by featuring a concerted violin-recorder duo accompanied almost exclusively by plucked strings, creates a distinct ensemble sound that draws immediate attention to the unfolding musical score and, no less important, insures that the leading role of the new concert master would not be lost on the audience.>>
Two versions of Cantata BWV 182 exist: the Weimar shorter one in B-Flat Major for Palm Sunday and the longer one in G Major in Leipzig for the Feast of Annunciation. Of the documented six performances, the first three involve the Weimar setting and the last three in Leipzig. The NBA KB I/8.1-2 [p. 123, Christoph Wolff, 1998] indicates how different parts and different arrangement/selection of movements from this cantata BWV 182 resulted in at least six different performances during Bach's lifetime [Cantata BWV 182, Details, BCW http://www.bach-cantatas.com/BWV182.htm]:
1st performance: March 25, 1714 - Weimar (B-Flat Major version]
2nd performance: 1717-1723 - Weimar (undatable, possibly performed away from the Weimar Court Chapel)
3rd performance: 1717-1723 - Weimar (undatable, possibly performed away from the Weimar Court Chapel)
4th performance: March 25, 1724 - Leipzig [G Major version]
5th performance: March 21, 1728 - Leipzig (and possibly another performance using this particular arrangement later on in Leipzig)
6th performance: After 1728 with the date being uncertain - Leipzig (again using the 1728 version).
The second and third performances of Cantata BWV 182 between 1717 and 1723 are still not documented but collateral evidence suggests that its music may have been performed at sacred services in the Köthen Court St. Agnes Church, required annually on December 10, Prince Leopold's birthday, and January 1 New Year's festival. Meanwhile, Bach presented newly-composed secular serenades for the court presentations on the same dates and these are documented. Further, surviving parts show that Bach reperformed all or sections of Weimar sacred Cantatas BWV 21, "Ich hatte viel Bekümmernis" (second version), and BWV 172, "Erschallet, ihr Lieder, erklinget, ihr Saiten (C Major version). Like Cantata BWV 182, these two works are among Bach's most elaborate cantatas, and also may have served as works for his 1719 probe for the position of organist at Jakobikirche in Hamburg that Bach declined. This is documented in Stephen Daw's Appendix C, "List of music attributed to Bach's Köthen period (December 1717 to May 1723) on positive documentary and/or historical grounds" (pp. 217ff) in Friedrich Smend's <Bach in Köthen> (St. Louis MO: Concordia, 1985.
Cantata 182 Movements, Socring, Incipits, Keys, Meters:6
1. Sonata Grave, 5-part writing [Flauto, Violino concertante, Violino di ripieno, Viola I/II, Continuo e Violoncello.]; G Major Weimar, B-Flat Major Leipzig; 4/4.
2. Chorus da-capo, A. fugue with homophonic closing, B. two-part vocal canon [SATB; Flauto, Violino, Viola I/II, Violoncello, Continuo]: A. “Himmelskönig, sei willkommen, / Laß auch uns dein Zion sein!” (King of heaven, welcome, / let us also be your Zion!; B. Komm herein, / Du hast uns das Herz genommen.” (Come within, / You have taken our hearts from us.); G Major/B-flat; 4/4
3. Recitative secco/Arioso Vox Christi [Bass; Continuo e Violoncello]: Siehe, ich komme, im Buch ist von mir geschrieben; deinen Willen, mein Gott, tu ich gerne.” (See, I come, in the Book it is written of me: your will , my God, I do gladly.); C/Eb; 4/4.
4. Aria free da-capo [Bass; Violino, Viola I/II, Continuo]: A. Starkes Lieben, / Das dich, großer Gottessohn, /
Von dem Thron / Deiner Herrlichkeit getrieben” (Mighty love / by which you, great Son of God, / from the throne / of your glory were driven); B. “Daß du dich zum Heil der Welt / Als ein Opfer vorgestellt” (so that for the salvation of the world / you presented yourself as a sacrifice); C/Eb; 4/4.
5. Aria da-capo [Alto; Flauto solo, Continuo): A. “Leget euch dem Heiland unter” (Put yourselves beneath the Saviour); B. “Tragt ein unbeflKleid / Eures Glaubens ihm entgegen” (Wear an unspotted robe / of your faith to meet him); e/g; 4/4.
6. Aria free da- capo [Tenor; Continuo e Violoncello]: A. “Jesu, laß durch Wohl und Weh / Mich auch mit dir ziehen!” (Jesus, through weal and woe / let me go with you!); B. Schreit die Welt nur "Kreuzige!" / So laß mich nicht fliehen” (If the world cries only "Crucify," / do not let me flee}; b/d; 3/4.
7. Chorale motet fugue with canto, Pachebel stytle [SATB; (Flauto, Violino, Viola I/II, Violoncello, Continuo): “Jesu, deine Passion / Ist mir lauter Freude” (Jesus, your passion / is for me pure joy); G/Bb; 2/2.
8. Chorus da-capo [SATB; Flauto, Violino, Viola I/II, Violoncello, Continuo]: A. “So lasset uns gehen in Salem der Freuden” (So let us go in the Salem of joy); B. “Er gehet voran / Und öffnet die Bahn.” (he goes before / and opens the way); G/Bb; 3/8 gigue style.
Note on the text: “The librettist has not been identified, but the Weimar court poet, Salomo Franck, has often been cited as a possible author. The text, which draws on Psalm 40 (vv.8-9), as well as incorporating a strophe of Paul Stockmann’s hymn ‘Jesu Leiden, Pein und Tod’ (1633), is closely related to the appointed Palm Sunday Gospel, in particular in the part of it which describes Christ’s entry into Jerusalem. (Information from Oxford Composer Companions: J. S. Bach: 221)
Paul Stockman Passion Chorale
<<Francis Browne wrote (February 17, 2005): BWV 182/7, ‘Jesu deine Passion ist mir lauter Freude.’ In next week's cantata Bach uses in the seventh movement a chorale ‘Jesu deine Passion ist mir lauter Freude. “This, I have discovered, is the 33rd (and penultimate) strophe of a hymn by Paul Stockmann ‘Jesu Leiden, Pein und Tod’ which Bach used also in BWV 159 ‘Sehet, wir gehn hinauf gen Jerusalem’ and three times in the Saint John Passion (four times in the 1725 version).
In his discussion of the background of Bach's Passion settings Christoph Wolff mentions ' the traditional practice under which the congregation sang rhymed Passion paraphrases in the form of the twenty three stanza hymn by Sebald Hayden “O Mensch, beweine dein Sünde” gross of 1525 or the twenty four stanzas of Paul Stockmann's ‘Jesu Leiden, Pein und Tod of 1633' (p290, Johann Sebastian Bach, The Learned Musician).
Whether the hymn is 24 or 34 stanzas it is not included in the 900 pages of my Evangelisches Gesangbuch and it is not included in sites that usually have most of the texts of the hymns used by Bach.>> (BCML Cantata 182 Discussions, Part 2, http://www.bach-cantatas.com/BWV182-D2.htm)
The same stanza and melody, “Jesu deine Passion ist mir lauter Freude,” is found in the soprano canto insertion into the bass aria, "Himmel reiße, Welt erbebe" (Heaven tear, world shake; in the 1725 second version of the St. John Passion, BWV 245a(=245II/11(a) from Bach's1717 Weimar/Gotha Passion, as well as the closing pain chorale (No. 5) in the 1726 Estomihi Cantata BWV 159. Other uses are the St. Luke Passion, BWV 246, and the St. Mark Passion, BWV 247/21(S.8). The full NLGB texts and translations of Stockman’s and Haydn’s Passion chorales will found in this week’s BCML St. John Passion Discussion.
Annunciation Chorale Usages7
Bach's Feast of Annunciation chorale usages and associations embrace connecting hymns related to similar thematic events in the church year. This is because there were no chorales assigned specifically to the Feast of the Annunciation in Bach's Leipzig hymn book, <Das Neu Leipziger Gesangbuch> (NLGB) of 1682. In Bach's time in Weimar and Leipzig, the strongest associated Annunciation hymns, based on Dresden as well as other hymnbooks, were:
1. "Jesu Leiden, Pein und Tod" (Jesus suffering, pain and death), Paul Stockman's 33-stanza 1636 Passion hymn of "Jesus Suffering and Death" with the dual nature of Incarnation and Passion, that in Bach's time was sung on Palm Sunday preceding Holy Week and Good Friday and found in Bach presentations of the Passions of John, Luke, and Mark, BWV 245-47. Another related Passion chorale is "Herr Jesu Christ, wahr' Mensch und Gott" (Lord Jesus Christ, truly man and God) set as Chorale Cantata BWV 127 for Estomihi Sunday, February 11, 1725, the work that preceded Bach's Chorale Cantata BWV 1 for Annunciation on March 25.
2. "Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern" (How brightly shines the morning star), Otto Niccolai's 1599 <omne tempore wedding hymn of the human Soul and the divine Jesus under the hymnbook heading "God's Word and the Christian Church," that is Bach's most versatile chorale in cantatas for Advent, Ascension, Trinity 20, and Pentecost and now is associated with Christmas.
3. "Gelobet seist du, Jesu Christ" (Praise be to you, Jesus Christ), Martin Luther's 1524 Christmas hymn that Bach used in Christmas Cantatas BWV and the Christmas Oratorio.
4. "Herr Christ, der einge Gottes Sohn" is a Catechism Justification chorale (NLGB No. 231 (Zahn melody 4297a). Bach's uses of only of Stanzas 1 and 5 are in Cantata BWV 22/5 (S.5, Estomihi), Chorale Cantata BWV 96 (S.1, 5; Trinity 18), BWV 132/6 (S.5, Advent 4), and BWV 164/6 (S.5, Trinity 13). See BCW, "Musical Context of Bach Cantatas, Motets & Chorales for 13th Sunday after Trinity" [ http://www.bach-cantatas.com/LCY/M&C-Trinity13.htm.
Bach’s Annunciation Performance Calendar
Bach's Annunciation performance calendar is a fascinating study of his motives, methods, and opportunities for music he presented on the Feast of the Annunciation. It shows eight different cantatas involving only two original, surviving works, BWV 182 (double duty for Palm Sunday, six performances) and Chorale Cantata BWV 1, with one lost cantata (Anh. 199), and a Picander text for Annunciation 1729 that Bach did not set, Cantata P-27, "Der Herr ist mit mir" (The Lord is with me/on my side, Psalm 118:6). Meanwhile, there are five works of colleagues with strong Annunciation associations: a lost Johann Ludwig Bach cantata probably presented in 1726, "Ich habe meinen Konig eingesetzt auf Zion, meinem heiligen Berg." (I have set my king upon my holy hill of Zion, Psalm 2:6); a Johann Friedrich Fasch work probably presented in 1732, two Gottfried Heinrich Stözel cantatas performed in the second half of the 1730s, and a Georg Philipp Telemann piece once attributed to Bach and possibly performed by him with no established date, BWV Anh 156 "Herr Christ der einge Gottessohn" (Lord Jesus Christ, God's only son), is catalogued TVWV 1:732.
G. H. Stözel's two cantatas cycles were probably performed by Bach in the second half of the 1730s. On Annunciation, March 25, 1736, Bach probably performed a Stözel two-part cantata, "Er soll Nazarener heißen" (He shall be called Nazarene, Matthew 2:23), for the "Fest Mariae Empfängnis" (Festival of Mary's Immaculate Conception), that is not extant, as part of the cycle "Saitenspiele testeddes Hertzens" (Music Playing of the Heart), text by Benjamin Schmolck, with two chorale settings not identified. Again on March 25, perhaps 1737, Bach also may have performed a Stözel two-part cantata, "Ich habe dich zu Lichte der Heiden gemacht" (I have made thee the light to the heathens, Isaiah 49:6) from the cantata cycle "Das Namenbuch Christi," (Book of Names of Christ), using a Schmolck text. No musical source with the presumed chorales is extant.
The diversity of music for the Annunciation and Conception of Jesus, with appropriate biblical and poetic texts and popular chorales, suggests that while Bach left little original music, he did present acceptable works of well-known colleagues that explored various facets of this crucial, allowed Lutheran Marian festival that fell during the austere Leipzig closed period of Lent. Themes teachings range from the Messianic prophecies, Jesus' conception and birth, and Christ's Passion and death, to the dual nature, the so-called Christus Paradox of truly man and truly God embodied in Christian belief. Other themes are the "Wedding of the Soul and Jesus" and the importance of the Nicene Creed passage that begins the affirmation of Jesus Christ.
1714-03-25 So (Palmsonntag) - Cantata BWV 182 Himmelskönig, sei willkommen (1st performances, Weimar)
1724-03-25 Sa - Cantata BWV Anh 199 Siehe, eine Jungfrau ist schwanger 1st performance, Leipzig; Music lost) (?) Cantata BWV 182 Himmelskönig, sei willkommen (4th performance, Leipzig)
1725-03-25 So (Palmsonntag) - Cantata BWV 1 Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern (1st performance, Leipzig)
1726-03-25 Mo - J.L. Bach: Cantata Ich habe meinen Konig eingesetzt, JLB (1st performance, Leipzig; lost)
1727-03-25 Di – no performance documented
1729-03-25 Fr -- Picander P-27, "Der Herr ist mit mir" (The Lord is with me, Psalm 118:6), text only
1732-03-25 Di - J.F. Fasch: Cantata Gottes und Marien Kind (1st performance, Leipzig)
1736-03-25 So (Palm Sunday) - Stözel "Er soll Nazarener heißen" (lost)
?1737-03-25 Do - Stözel "Ich habe dich zu Lichte der Heiden gemacht" (lost)
Vocal works with no definite date
(Weimar Years) - Cantata BWV 182 Himmelskönig, sei willkommen (2nd & 3rd performances, Weimar)
(After 1728) - Cantata BWV 182 Himmelskönig, sei willkommen (6th performance, Leipzig)
(?) - G.P. Telemann: Cantata BWV Anh 156 Herr Christ der einge Gottessohn, TVWV 1:732 (not known if performed by J.S. Bach)
Lost Cantata BWV Anh. 199
Cantata BWV Anh 199, "Siehe, eine Jungfrau ist schwanger" (Leipzig, 1724? [double bill with BWV 182] survives only in the text; the music is lost [Details, BCW, http://www.bach-cantatas.com/BWVAnh199.htm. Only the printed text survives, along with the text of Cantata BWV 22 for Quinquagesima Estomihi Sunday (February 20, 1724) in the collection of S. W. Dehn (1799-1856), found in Leningrad in 1938. It is quite possible that the librettist was the same as for Cantata 22, which originally served as the first part of Bach's successful Leipzig probe in early 1723. The poet has been designated as "Author A" by Albert Schweitzer and could be St. Thomas Pastor Christian Weiss Sr., Bach's probe host. The full text is found in Wolf Hobohm's "Neue `Texte zu Leipziger Kirchen-Musik" (<Bach Jahrbuch> 1973: 16-17).
The opening dictum, "Behold, a virgin is pregnant, is from Isaiah 7:14, "Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Emmanuel." It is found as an alto recitative (No. 8) in Handel's "Messiah."
1. Chorus, "Siehe, ein Jungfrau ist schwanger, und wird einen Sohn gebähren, dein wird sie heissen Immanuel."
2. Aria, "Ihr frohen Lippen reget euch!" (Ye joyful lips, raise yourselves)
3. Chorale: Ei meine Perl', du werte Kron',
Wahr'r Gottes- und Mariensohn,
Ein hochgeborner König!
Mein Herz heißt dich ein Lilium,
Dein süßes Evangelium
Ist lauter Milch und Honig.
Ei mein Blümlein,
Hosianna, himmlisch Manna,
Das wir essen,
Deiner kann ich nicht vergessen!
Ah my pearl, my precious crown,
true son of God and Mary,
a king of most noble birth!
My heart calls you a lily,
your sweet gospel
is pure milk and honey.
Ah my dear flower,
hosanna, heavenly manna,
that we eat,
I cannot forget you!
[Philipp Nicolai: verse 2 of "Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern" (details, see below, Cantata BWV 1);
English translation Francis Browne, BCW Chorale: Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern - Text & English Translation.]4. Recitative, "Wir Menschen waren weyland tod in Sünden" (We mortals were previously dead in sins)
5. Aria, "Nur, der Immanuel/ Schafft, daß das Freuden-Oel" (Only Emmanuel makes the oil of joy)
6. Chorale
Das hat er alles uns getan,
Sein' groß' Lieb' zu zeigen an.
Des freu' sich alle Christenheit
Und dank' ihm des in Ewigkeit.
He has done all this for us
to show his great love,
at this all Christendom rejoices
and thanks him for this in eternity.
[Martin Luther: verse 7 of "Gelobet seist du, Jesu Christ" (Praise be to you, Jesus Christ) (Mvt. 6), NLGB No. 16, Christmas (Zahn melody 1947); other Christmas usages: Cantata BWV 64/2 (S.7, Xmas 3), 91/6=64/2 alternate setting (S. 7, Xmas 1), 248/28; also BWV 604 (OB), 697 (Kirnberger), 722-23 (Misc.).]
Feast of the Annunciation/Conception/Incarnation
Since the Reformation, the three special Marian Festivals honoring the Virgin Mary, Jesus' mother, were celebrated as festivals of Jesus Christ and were observed with festive main service music during Bach's Leipzig tenure. In particular, the Lucan Gospel readings are part of the Vespers evening and Compline night prayer services of the Canonical Hours or Offices. The Feast of the Purification of Mary (Mariä Reinigung, February 2) became the Feast of the Presentation of the baby Jesus in the Temple (Darstellung [status of] Jesu) concluding with Simeon's canticle (Luke 2:29-32): "Now, Lord, let thy servant depart" (<Nunc dimittis>). The Feast of Gabriel's Annunciation to Mary (Mariä Verkündigung," March 25) became the Feast of the Conception of Jesus (Luke 1:31) (born nine months later on December 25), "And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS." The Feast of Mary's Visitation (Mariä Heimsuchung, July 2) to her sister, Elizabeth, became the Magnificat (Luke 1:46), the Canticle of Praise, "My soul doth magnify the Lord."
Previous BCW Discussion on Annunciation THE ANNUNCIATION OF THE LORD - 25 MARCH – SOLEMNITY Ed Myskowski (BCW) wrote (March 26, 2007): The First Joyful Mystery of the Rosary. Today the Church [RC] celebrates that day when the Archangel Gabriel requested Our Lady to be the Mother of God. Mary accepts and declares herself to be the handmaid of the Lord.
The Annunciation is one of the three most ancient feasts of Our Lady (with Purification and Visitation). The feast probably dates from the Council of Ephesus in 431, when Our Lady was proclaimed the Mother of God. This proclamation was because of a heresy which denied Mary's Divine Motherhood. It was also the Council of Ephesus which added the following words to the Hail Mary: "Holy Mary Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death, Amen."
This feast has been known by many names over the years including: "the Feast of the Incarnation," "the beginning of the Redemption," "the Conception of Christ" and "the Announcing of the Christ." <end quote>
BCW, Events in the Church Year, Part 3.
Lukan Series of Announcements, Canticles of Praise
"Annunciation" means "announcement." The term in the readings refers specifically to the so-called Marian Feast of the Annunciation, March 25, in the Catholic tradition, the announcement of the Incarnation of the Virgin Mary. The term annunciation, or announcement, also is applied to various announcements or activities and related canticles of praise in the first two chapters of the Gospel of Luke. Specifically, the Catholic Bible, Catholic Church Extension, contains the following sequence: Gabriel's Announcement of the conception of John the Baptist to his father, Zechariah (1:11-21); Gabriel's announcement six months later (March 25) to Mary of the conception of Jesus to (1:26-38); Mary's immediate Visitation to Elizabeth, wife of Zechariah Canticle (1:46-56) and < Magnificat>; Zechariah's prophetic Canticle on the birth of John the Baptist (June 24, 1:67-79); the Angel's Anto the Shepherds of the Birth of Jesus (Christmas, December 25, 2:8-14); and Jesus' Presentation (announcement, February 2, 40 days after Christmas) in the Temple with Simeon's Canticle, 2:22-32.
While Mary's Visitation to Elizabeth and <Magnificat> occurred immediately after her conception (March 25), the event originally was celebrated on July 2. Here is the dating: "The old date of July 2 goes back to 1389 when Pope Urban VI established it as a feast to be kept throughout the Western Church. It was moved to May 31 in 1969 by Pope Paul VI in the revision of the calendar. The date chosen was May 31st, which was already the minor commemoration of Mary as Queen of the Apostles. It would round out the month of May, which is particularly set aside for devotion to the Virgin. It would also bring the celebration in line with the timing of Christmas (six months before) and Annunciation (three months after) for Mary and for Elizabeth, it would coincide with the conception (six months after) and nativity (three months before) of John the Baptist," says Father Timothy Matkin, "Timoetheos Prologizes.”
Incarnation and Passion
Cantata BWV 182, BCW Discussion (Part 3) in the Week of May 23, 2010, Douglas Cowling wrote (May 23, 2010): The juxtaposition of the themes of the Incarnation and the Passion inspired Bach's imagination, not unlike the 17th century English mystic, John Donne [1572-1631] who wrote a poem, "The Annunciation and Passion," on the occurrence of Good Friday and the Annunciation: " ... this doubtful day /Of feast or fast, Christ came, and went away" (See BCML Cantata 182 Discussion, Part 3, http://www.bach-cantatas.com/BWV182-D3.htm).
Apostles, Nicene Creeds
While the concept of the Immaculate Conception and the Veneration of the Virgin Mary remain conflicting issues among Christians, the basic principle is established and affirmed in the two Christian Creeds generally affirmed by Catholics and mainstream Protestants.
+The Apostles Creed says, "I believe . . . in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord: Who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, Born of the Virgin Mary"; and . . . .”
+The Nicene Creed says: "I believe . . . in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God,/ Begotten of his Father before all worlds,/ God of God, Light of Light,/ Very God of very God,/ Begotten, not made, / Being of one substance with the Father, / By whom all things were made; / Who for us men, and for our salvation came down from heaven,/ And was incarnate by the Holy Ghost of the Virgin Mary, / And was made man . . ."
In Latin, the last part of the Nicene Creed text above reads: "Et incarnatus est de Spiritu sancto ex Maria virgine. Et homo factus est" (And was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the Virgin Mary, and was made man). In Bach's setting of the Nicene Creed in the <B-Minor Mass>, this passage is a five-part chorus in old motet style but the source of the presumed contrafaction has not been found. Bach harmonized Luther's original, vernacular setting of the Creed, "Wir glauben all an einem Gott (We all believe in One God) the second stanza (Jesus Christ), plain chorale BWV 437, with 32 measures in D Major in his complex style of the 1730s with full voicing, elaborate rhythm and chromaticism. The relevant text is: "Von Maria, der Jungfrauen, ist ein warer Mensch geboren durch den heiligen Geist" (Of Mary, the virgin, he is true man born through the Holy Spirit).
FOOTNOTES
1 Details Cantata BWV 182, BCW http://www.bach-cantatas.com/BWV182.htm. Score Vocal & Piano [2.63 MB], http://www.bach-cantatas.com/Scores/BWV182-V&P.pdf; Score BGA [3.19 MB], http://www.bach-cantatas.com/BGA/BWV182-BGA.pdf. References: BGA: XXXVII (Cantata 181-190, Alfred Dörffel, 1891); NBA KB 1/28.2 (Annunciation, Matthias Wendt/Uwe Wolf, 1995), NBA KB I/8.2 (Palm Sunday, Christoph Wolff, 1998); Bach Compendium BC A 53, A 172; Zwang K 10.
2 Anderson essay, Oxford Composer Companions: J. S. Bach, ed. Boyd, Malcolm (New York: Oxford University P ress: New York, 1999: 220f).
3Chafe, Tears into Wine (New York: Oxford University Press, 2015:474-507).
4 Petzoldt, Bach Kommentar: Theologisch Musikwissenschaftlicke Kommentierung der Geistlichen Vokalwerke Johann Sebastan Bachs; Vol. 2, Die Geistlichen Kantaten vom 1. Advent bis zum Trinitatisfest; Internationale Bachakademie Stuttgart (Kassel: Bärenreiter, 2007: 659f).
5 Wolff, Bach: The Learned Musician (New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2000: 156f).
6 German text and Francis Browne English translation and “Note on the text,” BCW http://www.bach-cantatas.com/Texts/BWV182-Eng3.htm.
7 Material source, BCW Chorales and Motets for Feast of Annunciation of Mary, http://www.bach-cantatas.com/LCY/M&C-Annunciation.htm.
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To Come: St. John Passion |
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Aryeh Oron wrote (March 30, 2016):
Cantata BWV 182 - Revised & updated Discography
The discography pages of Cantata BWV 182 "Himmelskönig, sei willkommen" (King of heaven, welcome) for Palm Sunday or for the Feast of Annunciation of Mary on the BCW have been revised and updated.
The cantata is scored for alto, tenor & bass soloists; 4-part chorus; and orchestra of flute/recorder, 2 violins (concertante & ripieno), 2 violas & continuo. See:
Complete Recordings (42): http://www.bach-cantatas.com/BWV182.htm
Recordings of Individual Movements (25): http://www.bach-cantatas.com/BWV182-2.htm
The revised discography includes many listening/watching options to recordings directly from the discography pages, just below the recording details.
I also put at the BCW Home Page: http://www.bach-cantatas.com/
2 audios and 2 videos of the cantata. A short description below the audio/video image is linked to the full details at the discography pages.
I believe this is the most comprehensive discography of this cantata. If you are aware of a recording of BWV 182 missing from these pages, or want to correct/add details of a recording already presented on the BCW, please do not hesitate to inform me.
You can also read on the BCW the recent discussion of the cantata in the BCML (4th round): http://www.bach-cantatas.com/BWV182-D4.htm
Enjoy, |
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Discussions in the Week of March 18, 2018 (4th round) |
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William L. Hoffman wrote (March 21, 2018):
Palm Sunday/Annunciation: Cantata 182
Palm Sunday and the beginning of Holy Week leading to Christ's sacrificial death on Good Friday was the only Sunday during Lent when Leipzig in Bach's time could hear figural music on the Feast of the Annunciation, when both fell on March 25, as it also does this year. Bach's first church-year cantata in Weimar, BWV 182, "Himmelskönig, sei willkommen" (King of heaven, welcome) premiered on Annunciation Feast and Palm Sunday, 25 March 1714. He was able to reperform this musical sermon on at least five occasions, including at least two in Leipzig at the Feast of the Annunciation with the omission of the Paul Stockman Passion plain chorale setting (Movement No. 7), "Jesu, deine Passion / Ist mir lauter Freude" (Jesus, your passion / is for me pure joy).1 Cantata 182 marked the beginning of Bach's calling for a well-regulated church music centered on church-year cantata cycles of musical sermons, starting with a work central to the Christological cycle, dealing with both the incarnation at Annunciation, a Lutheran Marian fixed festival held annually on March 25, and Palm Sunday, the beginning of Holy Week leading to "The Way of the Cross" or Via Crucis, Good and Jesus' sacrificial death on Good Friday.
Bach conceived this extended, eight-movementwork with opening sinfonia, two da-capo choruses, three successive da-capo form arias, one biblical recitative-arioso, and plain chorale). Lasting a half hour and scored for a recorder and strings, it is serendipitously set with dual references to both festivals, Palm Sunday and the Annunciation, to an unpublished text probably by Weimar Court poet Salomo Franck. Bach was able to embrace two essential Christological themes in Cantata 182, Jesus' incarnation or coming in the flesh articulated in the Annunciation Gospel (Luke 1: 26-38, http://www.bach-cantatas.com/Read/Annunciation.htm) and the "lifting up" beginning with Christ's Via crucis (way of the cross) leading to his death, resurrection and ascension, says Eric Chafe is his musical-theological study of Bach's Weimar cantatas.2 Thus, the Cantata 182 opening dictum, "King of heaven, welcome," signifies both the greeting of Christ on his Palm Sunday triumphal entry into Jerusalem and welcoming Jesus' incarnation into the world described in the Feast of the Annunciation. Cantata 182 is based on the Palm Sunday gospel (Matthew 21: Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem), lauding Christ the healer of the world (no. 4), admonishing the faithful to meet him properly (no. 5), praying "Let me not abandon, Lord, the banner of thy cross" (no. 6), foreshadowing Christ's Passion and its meaning (no. 7), and culminating in the anticipation of the believers' entry into the eternal Jerusalem, "the Salem of gladness" (no. 8).
Cantata 182 was premiered in 1714 at the main service in the Weimar Schloßkirche before the sermon (not extant) on the Annunciation gospel of General Superintendent Johann Georg Layritz (1647-1716), says Martin Petzoldt in his Bach Commentary, Vol. 2, Advent to Trinityfest.3 The Readings for "Mariä Verkündigung" (Feast of Annunciation of Mary) are: Epistle: Isaiah 7:10-16 (Behold, a virgin shall conceive; Gospel: Luke 1:26-38 (Gabriel prophesies to Mary, Elizabeth). The German text of Luther’s translation 1545 and the English Authorised (King James) Version 1611 are found at BCW, http://www.bach-cantatas.com/Read/Annunciation.htm. The Introit Psalm in Bach's time was Psalm 92, Bonum est confiteri (It is a good thing to give thanks, https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm+92&version=KJV), says Petzoldt (Ibid.: 655), which he describes as "Man shall praise God."
Performance History. From the various manuscript sources (with changes in orchestration and possible omission in Leipzig of one or two movements for Annunciation), Cantata 182 was repeated at least five times. There were two reperformances between 1717-24 but undatable, possibly in Cöthen for sacred New Year's performance and the Halle 1719 probe. There were three Annunciation performances allowed during Lent in Leipzig on March 25 in 1724 (Palm Sunday/Annunciation), and 1728 (also Maundy Thursday), and a sixth reperformance in 1731 when Annunciation fell on Oculi Sunday, or in 1736 again on Palm Sunday, or in 1742 on Easter Sunday (Annunciation performance calendar http://www.bach-cantatas.com/LCY/Maria-Verkundigung.htm).
Notes on the Text
There is no printed version of the text, probably attributed to Salomo Franck (https://www.bach-digital.de/receive/BachDigitalWork_work_00000220?XSL.Style=detail), while Petzoldt points out (Ibid.: 660) Franck's contrasting use of the words "Leib und Leben" (body and life), "Wohl und Weh" (good and ill), and "Lieben und Leiden" (love and suffering, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cHGJigaFLIU), as well as alluding to the Psalm Sunday Epistle (Philippians 2:5-9) in the bass aria (no. 4), "Starkes Lieben" (Mighty love), and the use of Psalm 40:8-9 (https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm+40%3A8-9&version=KJV), set in the preceding bass recitative-arioso (No. 3), "Siehe, ich komme" (See, I come), set as a Vox Christi (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iIiq3YMTVY8). Franck's "poetic style undoubtedly points to his authorship," says Alfred Dürr.4 "The text exhibits the transitional form between the old and new cantata type," without the "freely-versified recitative." The opening chorus gives the dictum in the old style of a sermon.5
"Jesu deine Passion ist mir lauter Freude" is the 33rd and penultimate stanza of Paul Stockmann's 34-stanza 1733 Passiontide account "Jesu Leiden, Pein und Tod" (Jesus suffering, pain, and death), set to the associated Melchior Vulpius 1609 melody, “Jesu Kreuz, Leiden und Pein,” Zahn 6288b. The 33rd verse is set as a chorale motet chorus in Cantata 182/7 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Ubc4pRo4oE, 22:58). The same verse is set as chorale trope to the bass aria "Himmel reisse, Welt erbebe" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bPOuxI4Vh2Y) in the 1725 version of the St. John Passion, BWV 245/11+, and as a pain chorale to close 1729 Estomihi Cantata 159/5 "Sehet! Wir gehn hinauf gen Jerusalem" (See! We are going up to Jerusalem, http://www.bach-chorales.com/BWV0159_5.htm). The final 34th stanza, "Jesu, der du warest tot" (Jesus, you were dead), in the bass aria "Mein teurer Heiland, laß dich fragen" (My beloved Saviour, let me ask you), as No. 32 at Jesus' death (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cO0AIP5ojw8). Two verses are found as plain chorales in the SJP, No. 14 (http://www.bach-chorales.com/BWV0245_14.htm, "Petrus, der nicht denkt zurück" [Peter, who does not think back], verse 10), and No. 28 http://www.bach-chorales.com/BWV0245_28.htm, "Er nanm alles wohl in acht" [He's probably all right], verse 20). Bach set the eight verse, "Jesus ohne missethat" (Jesus without misdeed) in the St. Mark Passion, BWV 247/21, possibly to the plain chorale, "Jesu der du selbsten wohl" http://www.bach-chorales.com/BWV0355.htm). The associated melody, “Jesu Kreuz, Leiden und Pein,” is set in the apocryphal St. Luke Passion, BWV 246, as plain chorale No. 54, Stanzas 6 and 7, "Ei, was hat er denn getan," "Ah, what hath he therefore done," and "Nein, fürwahr, wahrhaftig nein!" (No, in truth, most truly no!) of Stockmann's 18-stanza Passiontide chorale, "Siehe, mein getreuer Knecht" (Isaiah 52:13ff, 53), http://www.zeno.org/Literatur/M/Gerhardt,+Paul/Gedichte/Gedichte/Siehe,+mein+getreuer+Knecht). http://www.uvm.edu/~classics/faculty/bach/BWV246.html. The SLP chorale, No. 64 "Das Kreuz ist der Königsthron" (The cross is the kingly throne), is the 4th stanza of the Abraham Klesel (1636-1702) 7-stanza "Seele, mach dich eilig auf (Soul, hurry up, Leipzig Gesangbuch by 1730:91, http://www.musicanet.org/robokopp/Lieder/seelemac.html), to the melody "Christus, der uns selig macht," which is the related melody (Zahn 6285) set to Stockman's "Jesu Leiden, Pein und Tod," in the Schmelli Gesangbuch (Leipzig 1736), No. 275, under the Passiontide rubric, "Suffering & Dying Jesus Christ." The German text is found in the NLGB, Passiontide No. 77, https://books.google.com/books?id=UmVkAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA165#v=onepage&q&f=false, English (on-line) translation https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=de&u=https://hymnary.org/text/jesu_leiden_pein_und_tod&prev=search) and Bach settings https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=svntcnFoMGU.
Christ's entry into Jerusalem also is his entry into the human heart, says Dürr. This is expounded in the succeeding bass recitative and aria as love causes Christ "to fulfill the will of His Father and sacrifice himself for the salvation of the world." The two succeeding arias for alto and tenor (nos. 5-6), turn personal as the individual is encouraged to lay his heart at the feet of the Saviour, as the people in Jerusalem did with their garments, and not to leave him. The two closing choruses speak of the heavenly reward give through Christ's Passion. "The entire text has a mystical, enraptured character" in the character of Pietism, Dürr concludes. Cantata 182 is "delightful one and the buoyancy of the Schlußchor leaves one with the happiest of impressions,"says W. Gillies Whittaker.6 "It would be most effective in the original [Palm Sunday] service, providing relief from the severity of the plainchant recitation of the Passion which took the place of the Gospel."
With the exception of the Paul Stockman Passion chorale (no. 7), and references to the Passion in the closing chorus (no. 8, he goes before / and opens the way), Cantata 182 graphically portrays Jesus' entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, says Melvin P. Unger in his citation of biblical references and alluions: 2. Chorus “Himmelskönig, sei willkommen" (King of heaven, welcome) describes the "King of Heaven welcomed into the Zion of our hearts; No. 3. Bass Recitative-Arioso, "Siehe, ich komme" (See, I come), "Vox Christi: I come to do God's well: Ps. 40:7-8; No. 4. Bass Aria, "Starkes Lieben" (Mighty love), "Love made Christ leave glory & sacrifice himself"; No 5. Alto Aria, “Leget euch dem Heiland unter” (Put yourselves beneath the Saviour), "Lay down your very being before the entering king"; No. 6. Tenor Aria, “Jesu, laß durch Wohl und Weh (Jesus, through weal and woe), "Staying with Jesus through persecution and woe"; No. 7. Chorale motet, “Jesu, deine Passion / Ist mir lauter Freude” (Jesus, your passion / is for me pure joy), "Jesus' passion is my joy for it offers me heaven"; and No. 8. Chorus, “So lasset uns gehen in Salem der Freuden” (So let us go in the Salem of joy), Following Jesus into Zion; he opens way of salvation."
Palm Sunday Motets, Chorales, Cantatas.
For Palm Sunday (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palm_Sunday), now known as the "Passion Sunday," the designated chorales in Bach's time in the Neu Leipziger Gesangbuch (NLGB) of 1682 were: Hymn of the Day, "Aus tiefer Not schrei' ich zu dir" (From deep affliction I cry out to you), Wolfgang Dachstein's 1525 paraphrase of penitential Psalm 130 (http://www.bach-cantatas.com/Texts/Chorale085-Eng3.htm, http://www.bach-cantatas.com/CM/Aus-tiefer-Not.htm); and "Christus, der uns selig macht,"and "Christe, der du bist Tag und Licht" (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_cantata#Palm_Sunday). Other appropriate hymns were Johann Walther's chanted Passion setting of Matthew's Passion gospel (https://books.google.com/books?id=UmVkAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA179#v=onepage&q&f=false, http://www.bach-cantatas.com/Scores/SMP-Walter-Sco.htm), NLGB 84, as well as other Passiontide hymns (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gottfried_Vopelius#p._179). By 1766, the Passion hymns were sung on Palm Sunday in one of two Leipzig main churches, either St. Nikolaus or St. Thomas, while the Stockman hymn "Jesu Leiden, Pein und Tod," was sung in the other, says Günther Stiller.7
The Palm Sunday Readings in Bach's time were: Epistle: Philippians 2:5-11 (The humility of Christ) or 1 Corinthians 11:23-32 (The Last Supper); Gospel: Matthew 21:1-9 (Christ’s entry into Jerusalem). The German and English texts are found at BCW http://www.bach-cantatas.com/Read/Palm.htm. The introit Psalm is Psalm 92, Bonum est confiteri (It is a good thing to give thanks) and the alternative is Psalm 22, Deus, Deus meus "God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm+22&version=KJV), says Paul Zeller Strodach,8 which also is the sermon text, or Isaiah 53, Suffering Servant (https://www.kingjamesbibleonline.org/Isaiah-Chapter-53/), at the Leipzig Good Friday vespers alternating with a Passion oratorio between the two main churches since 1722. Psalm 22, a psalm of lament, characterizes the entire Holy Week, he says.
While there are no polyphonic motet settings extant, Bach in Leipzig did presented March 25 Annunciation cantata performances of other composers: Johann Ludwig Bach, "Ich habe meinen Konig eingesetzt," 1725; Johann Friedrich Fasch, "Gottes und Marien Kind," 1732; and Stözel "Er soll Nazarener heißen" 1736 and "Ich habe dich zu Lichte der Heiden gemacht," ?1737. Telemann: BWV Anh 156 Herr Christ der einge Gottessohn, also TVWV 1:732, has no date of Bach performance. Telemann's "Wer ist der, so von Sodom kommt," TWV 1:1585, opening movements reappear in the "Wer ist der, so von Edom kömmt" pasticcio Passion oratorio, 1750) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wer_ist_der,_so_von_Edom_kömmt, http://www.bach-cantatas.com/Vocal/BWV1088-Gen.htm).
Other Bach music appropriate for Palm Sunday today includes Year A, St. Matthew Passion, BWV 244; today's Year B, St. Mark Passion, BWV 247 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p89NgNz92AQ, and Year C (Luke 22), and memorial Cantata 106, "Gottes Zeit ist die allerbeste Zeit" (God's time is the very best time, Acts 17:28), says John S. Sutterlund.9 The apocryphal St. Luke Passion, BWV 246 also is appropriate for Year C (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QNaJ6lb0RjY, as well as the "Keiser" St. Mark Passion which Bach performed (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rLNBG16zUb4).
Settings of other composers appropriate for Palm Sunday (http://imslp.org/wiki/Category:Pieces_for_the_6th_Sunday_in_Lent_(Palm_Sunday) included: "Ach dass die Hülfe aus Zion über Israel käme," GWV 1125/19 (Graupner, Christoph see also https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_cantatas_by_Christoph_Graupner#GWV_1125); "Es sei fern von mir rühmen," TWV 1:52. (Telemann, Georg Philipp); Evangelische Gespräche" (Briegel, Wolfgang Carl); "Hosianna gelobet sei der da kommt," H.383 (Stölzel, Gottfried Heinrich); "Lucas-Passion," SWV 480 (Schütz, Heinrich); "Nun kommt er der König der Ehre," HoWV II.64 (Homilius, Gottfried August); "O Domine Jesu Christe" (Victoria, Tomás Luis de); Passio Domini nostri Iesu Christi secundum Matthaeum (Handl, Jacob); Passio Domini nostri Iesu Christi secundum Matthaeum (Longueval, Antoine de); Passio secundum Matthæum (Victoria, Tomás Luis de); and Pueri Hebraeorum (Victoria, Tomás Luis de).
Can182 Musical Qualities
The musical qualities of Cantata 182 are described in John Eliot Gardiner's 2000 Bach Cantata Pilgrimage on Soli Deo Gloria.10 << The elegant Sonata with which Bach introduces BWV 182 Himmelskönig, sei willkommen, was composed in 1714 when Palm Sunday coincided with the festival of the Annunciation. In effect the Sonata is a miniature French overture for solo violin and recorder in dialogue with a pizzicato accompaniment, faintly evocative of Christ’s donkey-ride to Jerusalem. With the magical moment when the strings play an arco swell for the first time, you sense yet again the coup de foudre of Bach’s first encounter with the music of his Italian contemporaries – Corelli, Vivaldi and others.
A madrigal-like welcome song for chorus (No.2) – and, as I see it, the idiomatic use of concertisten, with ripienisten joining as the strings and recorder enter – suggests a growing throng come to salute Christ as God’s representative on earth. Seldom is Bach so freshly light-hearted. The music’s chamber proportions, gaiety and airiness seemed perfectly attuned to the building. There is only one recitative (No.3), and that is more like an arioso, yet three successive and contrasting arias which treat Christ’s forthcoming Passion as a source of spiritual inspiration, the bass (No.4) and tenor (No.6) addressing Christ directly, the alto (No.5) exhorting all Christians to come out to meet the Saviour as the Gospel relates, spreading ‘their garments in the way’ while ‘others cut down branches from the trees and strewed them in the way’.
Bach pits a solitary recorder against the alto soloist for this slow and extended da capo aria (with a slightly quicker ‘B’ section), its curving, descending phrases suggesting the bending of branches and prostration before the Saviour. To me it felt like a musical Pietà, the alto Mary figure cradling the Saviour in her arms – and there in the northwest corner of the church we found a rare English example of Pietà statuary. The tenor aria, with an active and sometimes tortured continuo line (C sharp minor in this transposed Leipzig version!), suggests a later Passion-tide mood. Several abrupt stops and restarts presage Jesus’ stumbling under the burden of the Cross while reflecting his disciples’ failure to follow him all the way ‘through weal and woe’.
The cantata ends with a pair of choruses, the first a motet-like chorale fantasia built around Vulpius’ fine melody (1609) to the authorised hymn of Palm Sunday, the second a sprightly choral dance that could have stepped straight out of a comic opera of the period (and, come to that, would not seem totally out of place in Act I of Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin). It needs the poise of a trapeze artist with the agility of a madrigalian gymnast – and is altogether captivating.>>
© John Eliot Gardiner 2006
Cantata 182 Musical Details
Musical details are explored in Tadashi Isoyama's 1996 liner notes to the Masaaki Suzuki BIS complete cantata recordings (http://www.bach-cantatas.com/Performers/Suzuki.htm#C3). <<This tour de force was the first of Bach's cantata compositions after he assumed the position of Konzertmeister in Weimar, and marks a turning point in his development as a musician. It is intended for Palm Sunday, the Sunday which immediately precedes Passion week. The reading for this day from Matthew (2l:1-9) relates Jesus's entry into Jerusalem as king; the libretto is known to be by Franck (and contains three consecutive arias in the middle). In it,Jesus's entry into Jerusalem is likened to his entry into the hearts of believers, and the final triumphal return of the Lord in this world becomes the eternal triumph of Christ over suffering and death. Bach's scoring of this text uses only recorder, strings (including two viola parts) and continuo. Nevertheless, comprising a sonata, a chorale fantasia, two choruses, and arias in a variety of forms, the cantata is very colourful for a work on the chamber music scale. Movements two, five and eight are in standard da capo form (following the Italian opera aria figure, these are made up of three sections in ABA pattern); the other movements also follow this general pattern, which makes it tempting to think of this work as Bach s experiment in the da capo form. When the cantata was performed in 1724 at Leipzig for the Feast of the Annunciation, the instrumental parts were expanded to create a more concerto-like sound [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jmCRuKSdwQ4]. This recording features the Weimar version [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QTtP5wXm4oY].
The opening movement of the cantata is a G major sonata marked Grave. Adagio. The violin and recorder play a melody in dotted rhythm, imitating the motion of the donkey on which the 'Himmelskkönig' (Heavenly King) is mounted when he enters the city (this movement can also be seen to announce a new era in that it follows the French overture form [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0VhGlbMjm8Q]). At the conclusion of the sonata, a sprightly G major chorus begins (movement two). This movement takes as its text the words of the people who lined the streets of Jerusalem waving palm branches to welcome the Lord as He entered; a subdued fugato lifts the level of joyfulness without being exuberant. The third movement is a bass recitative in which Christ Himself speaks of his submission to his Father's will [Psalm 40:8-9]. After this there are three successive arias. The first, for bass (movement four) comments on the Lord's 'Starkes Lieben' (mighty love) in sacrificing Himself. It paints a strong musical image in C major, accompanied by the strings alone. Next is a meditative adagio alto aria (movement five) in E minor, urging Christians to prostrate themselves before their Saviour alone. This major aria with its recorder accompaniment is the central movement of the cantata. The last of the three arias (movement six, B minor) is sung by the tenor above a very busy continuo; it foretells the passion. The music illustrates each word of the aria and evokes the image of the scene of the crucifixion almost as if the listener were standing at the foot of the cross. Returning to G major, movement seven is a chorale fantasia in the Pachelbel stvle based on Paul Stockmann's passion chorale. The role of the chorale text is to enable the Passion to be understood at the common level. The final movement (movement eight, Chorus, G major) brings back the joy of the first two movements. Light and dancing 3/8 time, it nevertheless emphasizes the word 'Leiden (suffering), thereby incorporating the emotions of the middle movements in the conclusion of the cantata.
© Tadashi Isoyama 1996>>
Other Cantata 182 commentary: The Cantatas of Johann Sebastian Bach: A Listener and Student Guide by Julian Mincham, http://www.jsbachcantatas.com/documents/chapter-46-bwv-182/; Claude Role, BCW documentation, bibliographical sources, recordings, http://www.bach-cantatas.com/Guide/BWV182-Role.htm; Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Himmelskönig,_sei_willkommen,_BWV_182.
Cantata 182 Theology
Bach began his monthly charge in Weimar with Cantata 182 to explore the Christological and theological concepts of the Via Crucis or Way of the Cross beginning on Palm Sunday and the concept of Jesus' incarnation or conception on the Feast of Annunciation, thus it "also marked a symbolic beginning of the liturgy," observes Eric Chafe (Ibid.: 427) in his study of the key Weimar Cantata BWV 21, "Ich hatte viel Bekümmernis in meinem Herzen; / aber deine Tröstungen erquicken meine Seele" (I had much affliction in my heart, / but your consolations restore my soul). Liturgically, the time of Passover at the spring equinox alsoin Christian time was the observance of both Jesus' conception and his eventual death on the cross. It also marked the sacred time of new beginning that linked Palm Sunday with the 1st Sunday in Advent or the beginning of the church year. Both feasts in Bach's time were assigned the same gospel reading of Jesus' royal entry into Jerusalem (Matthew 21:1-9) with cross references to the same chorales and sermons for these two days. The two days also signified the coming of Jesus in low estate to earth at birth and to Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, reinforcing the dichotomy of Jesus' divine majesty and humble human origins central to Christian thought, "truly man and truly God."
A long (45-minute), varied, and multi-faceted work, Cantata 21 follows the Lutheran hermeneutical course of beginning in sorrow and ending in joy, a reflection of John's gospel farewell discourse (16:16-24) of Jesus to his disciples, the central theme that "Your sorrow will turn to joy" (https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John+16%3A16-24&version=KJV), stated symbolically by Chafe as "Tears Into Wine." Meanwhile, the Christological time was observed with the great three-day trinitarian feasts of Christmas as God the Father's feast, Easter as God the Son's, and Pentecost as God the Holy Spirit's, Chafe relates. Further, Cantata 182 "outlines a progression through the stages of Jesus' coming," says Chafe (Ibid.: 430, 475), culminating in his Passion with "his coming to Jerusalem, to the church, to the human heart, and at the end of time — as did Advent." The choral greeting at the beginning of Cantata 182, "Himmelskönig, sei willkommen" (King of heaven, welcome), reflects this indwelling (inhabitatio) also found in the 1st Sunday in Advent, as well as at Pentecost. Thus Cantata 182 reflects the three-fold Christological emphases on incarnation, the "Way the Cross," and the descent and indwelling of the Holy Spirit. This indwelling also is symbolic of the popular Baroque concept of the unio mystica (mystical union) of the Song of Songs, now representing Jesus and the Soul/Believer.
Bach beginning in 1714 was able to reinforce these ideas in his next two cantatas: BWV 12, "Weinen, Klagen, Sorgen, Zagen" (Weeping, lamentation, worry, apprehension) for the central 3rd Sunday after Easter, Jubilate, which moves from sorrow to joy, followed by the Pentecost Cantata 172, "Erschallet, ihr Lieder, erklinget, ihr Saiten!" (Ring out, you songs, resound, you strings!). Cantatas 182 and 12 are studies in "The Way of the Cross, while Cantata 172 focuses on "Descent and Indwelling." Bach's final three cantatas in 1714, BWV 61 Advent 1), 63 (Christmas), and 152 (Sunday after Christmas), are "Perspective on the Incarnation," says Chafe (Ibid. 427ff). As in Cantata 61, "Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland" (Now come, saviour of the gentiles), the opening chorus of Cantata 182/2 suggests the collective indwelling of Pentecost, "Du hast uns das Herz genommen" You have taken over our hearts), and the soul's individual words to the holy spirit in BWV 172/5, "Du hast mir das Herz genommen" (You have taken over my heart).
Cantata 182 Movements 1-2 and 7-8 are a Passion-focused frame for the intervening movements of the recitative and three successive arias (nos. 3-6) on the meaning of "The Way of the Cross": the bass recitative quoting Psalm 40:7-8, "Siehe, ich komme" (See , I come), God's plan of salvation, fulfilled in the Passion. The bass aria that follows (no. 4), describes God's "Starkes Lieben" (Mighty love, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dAwPp_WI8mc), as the motivation for the original Incarnation of Christ, says Chafe (Ibid.: 484). The alto aria (no. 5), "centers on the hearts of the faithful that are consecrated to Jesus through faith and humility" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mXCBdeZdjwI). The tenor aria (no. 6, Jesu, laß durch Wohl und Weh" (Jesus, through weal and woe), illustrates the need to overcome the contradiction between the Palm Sunday crowd singing"Hosanna" and the same people on Good Friday shouting "Kreutzige" (Crucify, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R3RwZ9WpN10) and "Wir haben keinen König denn den Kaiser" (We have no king other than Caesar, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7BW_oeM_nfE). The Cantata 182 tenor aria https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7E2nJMmrdp8) emphasizes Jesus' teaching (John 12:32), "And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me," Chafe says (Ibid.: 477, 487).
The processional opening instrumental sonata sets the stage with its anticipatory procession, followed by the first chorus (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=48DefABVBTc), which establishes "the association between Jesus's Incarnation (the Annunciation) and the [ultimate] coming of the Holy Spirit," says Chafe (Ibid.: 480). The penultimate, elaborated Passion chorale chorus (no. 7, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=luEYLbjJyNQ) describes Jesus' sacrificial death as "pure joy" that brings the "heart's pasture" and the soul roses leading to a place in heaven. The closing chorus, (no. 8) "So lasset uns gehen in Salem der Freuden" (So let us go in the Salem of joy, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7f6GSv4Qwgk), represents the entrance of the faithful into the eschatological heavenly Jerusalem (p. 477).
Cantata 182 Provenance
Both the original Cantata 182 Weimar autograph score as well as two parts sets survive, revealing various reperformances. Autograph Score (Facsimile): D B Mus. ms. Bach P 103, https://www.bach-digital.de/receive/BachDigitalSource_source_00000970; Parts Set, D-B Mus. ms. Bach St 47, https://www.bach-digital.de/receive/BachDigitalSource_source_00002366 (various copyists, Weimar, Leipzig); New Parts set, D B Mus. ms. Bach St 47a (Johann Andreas Kuhnau 1724), https://www.bach-digital.de/receive/BachDigitalSource_source_00002367. Provenance: J. S. Bach - C. P. E. Bach (J.C.F. Bach) - (G. Poelchau, 1805) - Sing-Akademie zu Berlin (1811?) - BB (now Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin Preußischer Kulturbesitz) (1855).
FOOTNOTES
1 Cantata 182, BCW Details & Discography http://www.bach-cantatas.com/BWV182.htm, Score Vocal & Piano, http://www.bach-cantatas.com/Scores/BWV182-V&P.pdf; Score BGA; http://www.bach-cantatas.com/BGA/BWV182-BGA.pdf; NBA Carus editions, Weimar A Major (Reinhold Kubik), https://carusmedia.com/images-intern/medien/30/3118203/3118203x.pdf; Leipzig G Major (Klaus Hofmann, https://carusmedia.com/images-intern/medien/30/3118250/3118250x.pdf. References: BGA XXXVII (Cantatas 181-190, Alfred Dörffel 1891); NBA KB I/8.2 (Palm Sunday, Christoph Wolff, 1998); Bach Compendium BC A 53, A 172; Zwang K 10.
2 Eric Chafe, Part IV, Cantatas for Weimar 1714, "The Way of the Cross: Cantatas 182 and 12," in Tears Into Joy: J. S. Bach's Cantata 21 in Its Musical and Theological Contexts (Oxford University Press, 2015, 474ff).
3 Petzoldt, Bach Kommentar: Theologisch Musikwissenschaftlicke Kommentierung der Geistlichen Vokalwerke Johann Sebastan Bachs, Vol. 2, Die Geistlichen Kantaten vom 1. Advent bis zum Trinitatisfest; IntBachakademie Stuttgart (Kassel: Bärenreiter, 2007: 659f).
4 Alfred Dürr, The Cantatas of J. S. Bach, ed. and trans. Richard D. P. Jones (Oxford University Press, 2005, 259ff).
5 Cantata 182 text as well as other background materials are found at BCML 4, http://www.bach-cantatas.com/BWV182-D4.htm.
6 W. Gillies Whittaker, The Cantatas of Johann Sebastian Bach (London: Oxford University Press, 1959: I:155).7 Günther Stiller, Johann Sebastian Bach and Liturgical Life in Leipzig, ed. Robin A Leaver, trans. Herbert J. A. Bouman etc (St. Louis MO: Concordia Publishing, 1985: 158).
8 Paul Zeller Strodach, The Church Year: Studies in the Introits, Collects, Epistles, and Gospels (Philadelphia PA: United Lutheran Publication House, 1924: 182ff).
9 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: 46f).
10 John Eliot Gardiner notes, http://www.bach-cantatas.com/Pic-Rec-BIG/Gardiner-P21c%5Bsdg118_gb%5D.pdf; BCW Recording details, http://www.bach-cantatas.com/Performers/Gardiner-Rec4.htm#P21.
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To Come: Passiontide chorales and motets. |
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