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Cantata BWV 80
Ein' feste Burg ist unser Gott


Ref.:

BWV 80; BC A 183b

German Title:

Ein' feste Burg ist unser Gott

English Title:

A Mighty fortress is our God (by Richard Stokes)

Event:

Choral Cantata for the Feast of Reformation
Readings: Epistle: 2 Thessalonians 2: 3-8; Gospel: Revelations 14: 6-8
Musical Context: Motets & Chorales for Feast of Reformation

Composed:

Composed partly in Weimar, 1715 for the 3rd Sunday in Lent (BWV 80a). Revised and expanded: Leipzig, around 1730. Cantata BWV 80 is as a reworking of cantatas BWV 80a and BWV 80b.
1st performance (BWV 80a): March 15, 1715 - Weimar
2nd performance (BWV 80b): 1728-1731 - Leipzig
3rd performance (BWV 80): 1735-1740 - Leipzig

Text:

Martin Luther (Mvts. 1, 2, 5, 8); Salomo Franck (Mvts. 3, 4, 6, 7)

BWV 80 Text: German-1 | German-6 | German-7 | NBA Text
Translations: English-1 | English-3I | English-3P | English-6 | English-8 | English-10 | English-13 | English-14
Catalan-1 | Chinese-2 | Dutch-0 | Dutch-3 | French-4 | French-5 | French-6 | Hebrew-1 | Hungarian-1 | Indonesian-1 | Italian-2 | Japanese-6 | Norwegian-1 | Polish-1 | Russian-1 | Russian-3 | Spanish-2 | Spanish-3 | Spanish-7 | Spanish/English-8
Emblemata: BWV 80/4
Chorale Text: Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott [BWV 80/1,2,5,8]

Scoring:

Soloists: Soprano, Alto, Tenor, Bass; 4-part Chorus
Orchestra: 3 trumpets, timpani, 2 oboes, 2 violins, viola, cello, violone (double-bass), organ continuo (the trumpets and timpani parts are thought to be later additions by Wilhelm Friedemann Bach)
Mvt. 1: Chorus (Chorale) | Mvt. 2: Aria w/ Chorale [S] | Mvt. 3: Recitative [B] | Mvt. 4: Aria [S] | Mvt. 5: Chorale | Mvt. 6: Recitative [T] | Mvt. 7: Aria - Duet [A, T] | Mvt. 8: Chorale

BWV 80 Scores: Score Vocal & Piano [2.89 MB] | Score BGA [5.04 MB] | Score BGA Anh [0.84 MB]
Autograph Score (Facsimile): D-B Mus. ms. Bach P 72 | D-B Mus. ms. Bach P 177 [Bach Digital]
Mvt. 1 | Mvt. 1 (Original) | Mvt. 2 | Mvt. 3 | Mvt. 4 | Mvt. 5 | Mvt. 5 (Original) | Mvt. 6 | Mvt. 7 | Mvt. 8 [PDF] [John Reese]
Chorales: Mvt. 8
Capella: Mvt. 1 | Mvt. 2 | Mvt. 5 | Mvt. 7 | Mvt. 8 [cap]
MuseScore: Complete Cantata | Mvt. 1 | Mvt. 2 | Mvt. 3 | Mvt. 4 | Mvt. 5 | Mvt. 6 | Mvt. 7 | Mvt. 8 [MuseScore]
Annotated Score with Analysis: Complete Cantata [Unger]
Chorale Melody: Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott [BWV 80/1,2,5,8]

References:

BWV 80=BWV 80.3 References: BGA: XVIII | NBA: I/31 | BC: A 183 | Zwang: K 95 | First Published: BG, 1821 | Autograph score (facsimile): ? | Bach Digital (Leipzig version 2)

Commentaries:

BWV 80 Commentaries: English: Crouch | All Music | Bethlehem | Emmanuel Music | Mincham | Bachipedia
Nielsen [Danish] | AL [Dutch] | EvH [Dutch] | HT [Dutch] | Chazot [French] | Role [French] | Kantate [Japanese] | B!52, Odcinek 47 [Polish] | Reyes [Spanish]

Music:

Music Examples

Discussions:

Week of October 22, 2000; Week of November 2, 2008; Week of March 17, 2013; Week of October 26, 2014 + Week of October 30, 2016


Contents

 

Discography

Discussions

BWV 80:
Part 1: Complete Recordings 1900-1949 (1)
Part 2: Complete Recordings 1950-1959 (4)
Part 3: Complete Recordings 1960-1969 (7)
Part 4: Complete Recordings 1970-1979 (5)
Part 5: Complete Recordings 1980-1989 (7)
Part 6: Complete Recordings 1990-1999 (6)
Part 7: Complete Recordings 2000-2009 (13)
Part 8: Complete Recordings 2010-2019 (27)
Part 9: Complete Recordings 2020-2029 (9) = 80
Part 11: Recordings of Individual Movements
Details of BWV 80a
Details of BWV 80b

Discussions - Part 1 (1st round)
Discussions - Part 2
Discussions - Part 3
Discussions - Part 4
Discussions - Part 5 (2nd round)
Discussions - Part 6 (3rd round)
Discussions - Part 7 (4th round)

Complete Cantatas Vol. 22 - conducted by Ton Koopman
Bach Edition Vol. 4 & 5 - Cantatas Vol. 1 & 2 - conducted by Pieter Jan Leusink
Cantatas Vol. 27 - conducted by Masaaki Suzuki
Bach Hits Back - by Swingle Singers

Prepared by Aryeh Oron (October 2000 - March 2024)

Cantata BWV 80: Ein’ feste Burg ist unser Gott for Feast of Reformation (1735-1740)
Details | Complete Recordings: 1900-1949 | 1950-1959 | 1960-1969 | 1970-1979 | 1980-1989 | 1990-1999 | 2000-2009 | 2010-2019 | 2020-2029 | Recordings of Individual Movements
Discussions: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7


Recordings & Discussions of Cantatas: Main Page | Cantatas BWV 1-50 | Cantatas BWV 51-100 | Cantatas BWV 101-150 | Cantatas BWV 151-200 | Cantatas BWV 201-224 | Cantatas BWV Anh | Order of Discussion
Discussions of General Topics: Cantatas & Other Vocal Works | Performance Practice | Radio, Concerts, Festivals, Recordings




 

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Last update: Friday, March 15, 2024 07:35