Musical Context of Bach Cantatas
Motets & Chorales for 25^th Sunday after Trinity

Readings: Epistle: 1 Thessalonians 4: 13-18; Gospel: Matthew 24: 15-28

Dates in the lifetime of J.S. Bach, including works composed for the event

Motets and Chorales for the 25^th Sunday after Trinity (Trinity 25)

Introduction to BWV 90: Trinity 25 Chorales & Lessons

William L. Hoffman wrote (September 23, 2012):
During his first four years of active composing of three cycles of church year cantatas in Leipzig, Bach managed to present two new cantatas in extended Late Trinity Time on the 25th Sunday after Trinity, using well-known affirmative chorales. They are "Nimm von uns, Herr, du treuer Gott" (Take from us, you faithful God), and "Du Friedefürst, Herr Jesu Christ" (Thou Prince of Peace, Lord Jesus Christ).

The two works are solo Cantata BWV 90, "Es reißet euch ein schrecklich Ende" (A dreadful ending carries you away) and Chorale Cantata BWV 116, "Du Friedefürst, Herr Jesu Christ" (Thou Prince of Peace, Lord Jesus Christ). The chorales in Cantatas 90 and 116, under the <omne tempore> heading of hymns of the "Word of God & Christian Church," are used to contrast with the Sunday's gospel of apocalypse and tribulation. This contrast represents the Christological concept of the "Christus Paradox."

The eschatological or End Times of the Last Days/Things are the subject of both New Testament lessons in the lectionary for the 25th Sunday after Trinity in Bach's time. They are:
+Epistle: 1 Thessalonians 4: 13-18 "Christ's Second Coming" (sleeping in Jesus, rapture); &
+Gospel: Matthew Chapter 24: Verses 15-28, "The Awful Horror," Christ's prediction (apocalypse, tribulation).

"The Epistle (is) filled with comfort and peace and glory for His own; the Gospel (is) a message of dread and terror and doom for His enemies," says Paul Zeller Striodach in <The Church Year: Studies in the Introits, Collects, Epistles and Gospels> (Philadelphia PA, United Lutheran Publication House: 261f).

Last Trinity Time Lessons

Interestingly, the eschatological Gospel lesson (Mat. 24:15-28) for the 25th Sunday after Trinity in Bach's historic, mixed One-Year Lectionary of teachings from all four Gospels is not found in the current, Three-Year Lectionary of Catholic and liturgical Protestant denominations, first adopted at Vatican II in the 1960s. The current Gospel readings are: Year A. Matthew, Year B. Mark, Year C. Luke, with John readings primarily in the Easter Season of all three years.

The two teachings from Matthew Chapter 25 for the final two Trinity Time Sundays (the 26th and 27th) in Bach's one-year lectionary are retained in the final three Sundays in the current Sundays after Pentecost (Trinity) in Year A of the <omne tempore> (Ordinary Time) non-festival half of the church year.

In the contemporary lectionary of service readings for the final three Sundays in Trinity, other Bach <omne tempore> cantatas are particularly relevant in these eschatological Last Days, Omega, or End Times. The Appendix to the 1994 <Evagelisches Kirchen Gesangbuch> (EKG) lists the following as appropriate for the Second to Last Sunday in the Church Year: Cantatas 105 (Trinity 9), 114 (Trinity 17), 115 (Trinity 22), and 127 (Septuagesima); Next to the Last Sunday, BWV 70 (Trinity 26), 94 (Trinity 9), 105 (Trinity 9), and 168 (Trinity 9); and the Last Sunday, BWV 140 (Trinity 27).

Here are the final three Sundays in the Three-Year Lectionary, with the lessons from Year A, Chapter 25 of Matthew's Gospel:

+Second to Last Sunday after Pentecost, Lectionary 32 (November 6-12), Mat. 25:1-13 (Bach's 27th Sunday after Trinity), "Parable of the 10 Young Women";

+Next to Last Sunday after Pentecost, Lectionary 33 (November 13-19), Mat. 25:14-30 (no Bach Sundays after Trinity), "Parable of the Three Servants";

+Last Sunday after Pentecost, Lectionary 34 (November 20-26), Christ the King Sunday, Mat. 25:31-46 (Bach's Trinity 26), "The Final Judgement."

Thus, in the final three Sundays in the one-year lectionary, Mat. 25:14:30, "Parable of the Three Servants" is omitted, while in the three-year lectionary Year A, Mat. 24:15-28, "The Awful Horror" (25th Sunday after Trinity in the One-Year Lectionary) is omitted.

Christus Paradox

That Bach late in 1724 chose to set the Christological hymn, "Du Friedefürst, Herr Jesu Christ," as Chorale Cantata BWV 116, for the 25th Sunday after Trinity with its End Times theme may seem paradoxical as it embodies the concept of the "Christus Paradox." The Christus Paradox is best expressed in the 20th century hymn, "Let all mortal flesh keep silence," set to the Byzantine Greek Liturgy of St. James and the 17th century French carol, "Picardy" (Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Picardy_(hymn). "Christus Paradox" is a 1991 "Chorale Variations for SATB abd organ, with the text of the late Sylvia Dunstan (incipit, "You, Lord, are both Lamb and Shepherd") and "Picardy" music arranged by Alfred Fedak (GIA Publications G5463.

Throughout Christian history, writers have explored the richness of what they perceive as the uniqueness of Jesus Christ through the study of Christology. Central to this concept are the two paradoxical doctrines of Jesus' nature in the gospels as Son of God (fully divine) and Son of Man (fully human) and 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.

Increasingly within churches using the Three-Year Lectionary, the Christological Feast days of Christmas, Easter, Ascension, and Christ the King Sunday incorporate the Christus Paradox readings of Phillippians 2:5-11 or Col. 1:15-20, as well as the two passages in Isaiah prophecying the two differet aspects of Christ's dual identity, Chapter 53, The Suffering Servant, and Chapter 11, The Peaceful Kingdom.

Bach's choice of another chorale for his other cantata for the 25th Sunday after Trinity, also reflects the Christus Paradox found in Late Trinity Time, in the transition from End Times of the Church Year to the Advent of the New Church year cycle. Cantata BWV 90, "Es reißet euch ein schrecklich Ende" (A dreadful ending carries you away) closes with the affirmative chorale, "Nimm von uns, Herr, du treuer Gott" (Take from us, you faithful God), set to the Lutheran melody of the Lord's Prayer. Both affirmative chorale texts, "Nimm von uns" and "Du Friedefürst," are <omne tempore> hymns on the "Word of God and the Christian Church." Both chorales "are found in the Dresden hymnbooks of that time among the "Hymns of Lament and Comfort," says Günther Stiller in <JSB and Luturgical Life in Leipzig>: p. 246f.

Cantata BWV 90, has as "its subject matter the polarity between the `schrecklich Ende', the terrifying outcome awaiting all sinners at the Last Judgement given graphic articulation in the tenor and bass arias, and the genial protection God gives to His elect described in the final recitative and chorale," says John Elliot Gardiner in his Bach 2000 Cantata Pilgrimage recording notes (see BCW cover page, http://www.bach-cantatas.com/BWV90.htm, Recordings, No. 8).


Christ the King & Christology

Christ the King Sunday is a 20th Century designation begun in the Roman Catholic Church (see Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christ_the_King): "Originally, the liturgical calendar had this feast on the last Sunday of October prior to All Saints' Day. . . ." Luther's Reformation rejected the Catholic All Saints Day, occurring on November 1, instituting instead the Feast of the Reformation on October 31. In Bach's Lutheran tradition, a similar day is the Feast of the Apost(St. Simon & St. Jude, October 28), listed in Bach's <Das Neu Leipziger Gesangbuch> of 1682 (NLGB: pp. 473-90). The Apostles Feast is recognized in Bach's <Orgelbüchlein> (OB, Little Organ Book) with preludes on two chorales:
OB No. 59. "Herr Gott, dich loben wir" (Te Deum, NLGB 167, Feast of the Apostles);
OB No. 60. "O Herre Gott, dein göttlich Wort" (NLGB 308, Word of God & Christian Church).
Although Bach set neither chorale in the <Orgelbüchlein>, he previously set both as organ chorale preludes and later as harmonized four-voice chorales.

The concepts of Christ the King and Christology are embedded in Lutheran theology. "The heart of Reformation theology was Christology, the <solus Christus> aspect of the Christian Gospel that was summarized by three further Latin formulae: <sola scriptura>, <sola fidei>, and <sola gratia>" (also knwn as the Word, Faith, and Grace Alone), says Robin A. Leaver, <Luther's Liturgical Music> (Luthern Quarterly Books, William B. Eerdmanns Publishing, Grand Rapids MI: 297).

These concepts are expressed in the Lutheran utilization of the Te Deum canticle of praise, both in Latin and vernacular German, and celebrated on the Feast of New Year's Day when Bach also used the popular hymn, "Du Friedefürst, Herr Jesu Christ" (Thou Prince of Peace, Lord Jesus Christ), found in three movements in Cantata BWV 143. It was an evolving work that Bach originally composed in Weimar about1708-14 and may have perfromed again between 1728-35. Bach did not include it in his three cantatas cycles of music for the church year.


Cantata BWV 90, Chorale `Nimm von uns'

For the 25th Sunday after Trinity, Nov. 11, 1723, Bach premiered Solo (ATB) Cantata BWV 90, "Es reißet euch ein schrecklich Ende." It was the penultimate Cycle 1 cantata for Trinity Time, that ended a week later, November 18, with Cantata BWV 70. Francis Browne's English translation of Cantata BWV 90 is found at BCW, http://www.bach-cantatas.com/Texts/BWV90-Eng3.htm.

Cantata BWV 90 closes with the last stanza of Martin Moller's 1584 7-stanza chorale text, "Nimm von uns": "Leit uns mit deiner rechten Hand" (Lead us with your right hand). It is set to the chorale melody (Zahn 2561), anonymous/Martin Luther 1539 "Vater unser im Himmelreich" (Our Father in Heaven). Moller's words are the "1^st Alternate Text:" to the melody, says BCW, http://www.bach-cantatas.com/CM/Vater-unser-im-Himmelreich.htm.

The other Bach use of "Nimm von uns, Herr, du treuer Gott" is for Chorale Cantata BWV 101, Trinity 10, 1724. The hymn is found in the NLGB No. 316, Word of God & Christian Church (<omne tempore> general use, no designated Sunday hymn). "Vater unser im Himmelreich" is the Hymn of the Day (<de tempore>) for the 25th Sunday after Trinity in Bach's NLGB, Chorale No. 175, under the <omne temore> general category of Catechism chorales and also is a designated hymn for Sundays after Trinity 5, 8, 11, 15, 25 and Epiphany 3.

Julian Mincham's telling commentary on the Cantata BWV 90/5 setting of Luther's chorale melody, and its harmonization as plain chorales in two other Bach words, BWV 245/5 (SJP), and Cantata BWV 102/7 (Trinity 10), is found at BCW, http://www.jsbachcantatas.com/documents/chapter-27-bwv-90.htm, "telling Chorale."


Chorale Cantata BWV 116, `Du Friedefürst"

For the final 25th Sunday after Trinity in 1724, on November 26, Bach premiered Chorale Cantata BWV 116, "Du Friedefürst, Herr Jesu Christ" (Thou Prince of Peace, Lord Jesus Christ). Cantata BWV 116 BCW cover page is found at http://www.bach-cantatas.com/BWV116.htm. Francis Browne BCW English translation is http://www.bach-cantatas.com/Texts/BWV116-Eng3.htm. The 1601 chorale text of Jakob Ebert (7 stanzas) is found in Francis Browne's BCW English Translation, http://www.bach-cantatas.com/Texts/Chorale001-Eng3.htm.

The associated, anonymous melody is "found in a collection by Bartholomäus Gesius (Gese) (1601) and is loosely based upon `Innsbruck, ich muß dich lassen' " (BCW, http://www.bach-cantatas.com/CM/Du-Friedefurst.htm. Of particular note in Julian Mincham's commentary on Cantata BWV 116 is the memorable alto trio free da-capo aria, "Ach, unaussprechlich ist die Not" (Ah, unspeakable is our distress), BCW, http://www.jsbachcantatas.com/documents/chapter-26-bwv-116.htm.

The established format of the chorale cantatas involves the use of the first and last stanzas unaltered in the opening chorale chorus fantasia and closing four-voice harmonization respectively. The melody "Du Friedefürst, Herr Jesu Christ" appears in the soprano in No. 1, the initial chorale chorus; No. 3. tenor secco recitative paraphrases Stanza 3, "Gedenke doch, O Jesu, daß du noch Ein Fürst des Friedens heißest!"
(Remember then, o Jesus, that you still are called a prince of peace!), with Bach using the chorale melody in the basso continuo; and in No. 6, "Erleucht auch unser Sinn und Herz" (Enlighten also our hearts and minds), the melody is harmonized in the closing plain chorale. Stanza 2 is paraphrased in No. 2, the alto aria cited in the previous paragraph; Stanza 4 is paraphrased in No. 4, a rare trio aria (terzette), "Ach, wir bekennen unsre Schuld" (Ah, we acknowledge our guilt),for soprano, tenor, and bass; and Stanzas 5 and 6 are paraphrased in No. 5, the alto recitative with strings, "Ach, laß uns durch die scharfen Ruten/ Nicht allzu heftig bluten!" (Ah, under the sharp rods/ do not make us bleed too heavily!)

Notes from Cantata BWV 143 Discussion: "The chorale, "Du Friedefürst, Herr Jesu Christ," was primarily used for weekly Penitential (Confessional) services on Fridays (Stiller, <JSB & Liturgical Life in Leipzig, p. 114) and occasionally during Easter season. Bach utilized all seven verses in his chorale Cantata BWV 116 for the final Sunday in Trinity, 1724, and as the closing plain chorale in Cantata BWV 67 for the first Sunday after Easter in 1724. The Jakob Ebert 1601 chorale originally was written as a prayer for peace, similar to the <Dona nobis pacem>. In Bach's time, peace through praise and thanksgiving was particularly appropriate on New Year's Day."

While the author(s) of the chorale cantatas of the second cycle of 1724-25 remain anonymous, there is a clear pattern of the production of weekly cantata texts with internal paraphrasing of the hymn stanzas (Harald Streck's 1971 dissertation). It appears that the writer of the first of four groups of cantata libretti began alternating the production of individual cantata texts with the lyricist of Group 3, who had begun a week earlier with Cantata BWV 33, "Allein zu dir, Herr Jesu Christ," for the 13th Sunday after Trinity, September 3, 1724. Their putative alternate production continued until the end of Trinity Time 1724 when the Group 3 poet produced the simple setting of "Du Friedefürst, Herr Jesu Christ".

Meanwhile, Bach had used "Du Friedefürst, Herr Jesu Christ" in three movements of Cantata BWV 143: No. 2 (Stanza 1), soprano aria; No. 7 (Stanza 3), closing chorale chorus; and the melody only in the upper strings, in No. 6, the tenor aria with text of original poetry

The chorale, "Du Friedefürst, Herr Jesu Christ," is listed as No. 331 in the NLGB, of the "Word of God & Christian Church," for general use, with no designated Sunday hymn. It also is appropriate for New Year's Day, the Easter Season, and Thanksgiving services.

The melody is listed in Bach's <Orgelbüchlein> chorale preludes (1713), under the heading of "In time of War" (Word of God & Christian Church): No. 125, "Du Friedefurst, Herr Jesu Christ," and previously set by 1700 in the Neumeister Collection of organ chorale preludes, BWV 1, found under the same heading, "Word of God & Christian Church."

Other Trinity 25 Chorales

The NLGB lists four chorales that could be sung on the 25th Sunday after Trinity: "Vater unser im Himmelreich" and three little-known pulplit and communion chorales, all under the heading "Last Days, Resurrection of the Dead, and Eternal Life" that Bach never set:

+"Es wird schier der letzten Tag herk," NLGB 393 (Last Days, Resurrection of the Dead, and Eternal Life); Bohemian brothers and martyrs; German, Michael Weissen 12 stazas (Zahn 1423);d
+"Gott hat das Evangelium" (Mat. 24), Erasmi Alberi, Magdeburg; Leipzig 1638), Last Days, 14 stanzas, NLGB No. 390 melody Zahn 1788; and
+"Ach Gott tu dich erbarmen"; Erasmi Alberi, Last Days NLGB 396, 12 stanzas Zahn 7228c


Bach's Other Trinity 25 Opportunities:

+It seems likely that Bach composed no cantatas at Trinity Time 1725, that ended with the 24th Sunday after Trinity, November 25. Instead Bach searched for published texts (Lehms, Rudolstadt) for the new and final third cycle, which began at the traditional start of the church year, the First Sunday in Advent, December 2, 1725.

+The Picander published annual cycle of 70 Cantatas for 1728-29, lists a libretto for the 25th Sunday after Trinity (November 14, 1728), P-69, "Eile, rette deine Seele" (Hurry, save thy soul), but with no closing chorale

+For the 25th Sunday after Trinity on November 11, 1731, it is possible that Bach repeated solo Cantata BWV 90, Es reißet euch ein schrechliche Ende" (There ripens for you a dreadful ending), possibly as part of Bach's first annual cantata cycle repeat in 1731 when he systematically reperformed cantatas from his first and third cycle during the entire Easter Season (see BCW, http://www.bach-cantatas.com/LCY/1731.htm.

+There is the possibility of a repeat of Cantata BWV 116 in the first half of the 1730s when Bach composed several <per omnes versus> chorale cantatas to fill gaps and may have presented a revival of the entire Chorale Cantata second cycle. The best possible date on the 25th Sunday after Trinity is November 22, 1733, the final Sunday of Trinity Time that year.

+About November 18, 1736, Bach may have performed a Stözel two-part cantata, from the cantata cycle "Das Namenbuch Christi," (Book of Names of Christ), Schmolck text, No. 68. No musical source with the presumed chorales is extant.

Last Trinity Time Sundays' Cantatas, Chorales

William L. Hoffman wrote (December 7, 2017):
The very last Sundays of the Church year, those in Ordinary Time (omnes tempore) address the gospel and chorale eschatological (Last Time) themes of “Last Days, Resurrection of the Dead, and Eternal Life found in the last pages of Bach’s hymnbook, Das neu Leipziger Gesangbuch (NLGB Nos. 390-396). These hymns follow the church year sequences of the de tempore (Proper Time) of the Christological cycle, from incarnation to reincarnation or the so-called “Second Coming” of Jesus Christ through his Great Parabola of descent and ascent. In the Trinity Times ending in the final themes of the Last Time, and Life Eternal is the reward of Catechism “Justification” through grace alone (sola fide) principle of Lutheran Theology (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Justification_(theology)). Other non-liturgical Catechism personal themes are found in the hymns for Morning and Evening prayers, Grace at Meals, and Prayer for Good Weather.

Bach’s first concern in Leipzig was the composition of church-year cycles of cantatas (musical sermons) for the 61 Sundays and feast days, usually ending in appropriate, four-part congregational chorales, often with familiar melodies, following Martin Luther’s practice. In the church-year calendar, the 24th to the 26th Sundays after flexible TrinityTime occurred less often so that Bach between 1723 and 1726 in his three cycles was able to compose five appropriate cantatas: BWV BWV 60, 26, 90, 116, and 70. In 1723, he composed successive Cantatas 60, 90, and 70, and in 1724 chorale Cantatas 26 and 116. For the rarest 27th Sunday after Trinity, which occurred in 1731, Bach compiled a special, hybrid chorale Cantata BWV 140. Besides the NLGB-designated chorales, Bach also utilized the Leipzig and Dresden hymn schedule themes of "Death and Dying," and Lament and Comfort," says Günther Stiller.¹

In addition, in the contemporary lectionary of service readings for the final Sundays in Trinity Time (now called Sundays after Pentecost), other Bach omne tempore cantatas are particularly relevant in these eschatological Last Days, Omega, or End Times. The Appendix to the Evagelisches Kirchen Gesangbuch (EKG) lists the following Bach cantatas (chorale cantatas in bold) as appropriate for the Second to Last Sunday in the Church Year: Cantatas 105 (Trinity 9), 114 (Trinity 17), 115 (Trinity 22), and 127 (Septuagesima); Next to the Last Sunday, BWV 70 (Trinity 26), 94 (Trinity 9), 105 (Trinity 9), and 168 (Trinity 9); and the Last Sunday, BWV 140 (Trinity 27). In the current three-year Revised Common Lectionary,² the Sundays in November, and the appropriate Bach Cantatas are: First Sunday of End Time (Reformation): BWV 57, 26, 55, and 126; 2nd Sunday of End Time (Last Judgement): BWV 116, 127, and 14; Third Sunday of End Time (Saints Triumphant): BWV 140, 60, 118, and 140; Last Sunday in End Time (Christ the King): BWV 134, 117, and 182.

24th Sunday after Trinity

The New Testament readings in Bach's one-year lectionary are particularly appropriate for the 24th Sunday after Trinity themes of grace and rising from the dead: Paul's Epistle to the Colossians 1:9-14 "Prayer for the increase of grace"; and the Gospel of Matthew 9:18-26, the miracle of Jesus' "Raising of Jairus's daughter" (full texts, BCW http://www.bach-cantatas.com/Read/Trinity24.htm).

Liturgical Psalms, Songs

The so-called variable Propers readings in the main service also were set to music in Bach’s time, most notably the opening Introit Psalm performed as a choral polyphonic motet and the congregational Graduallieder chorales, sung by the congregation between the Propers lessons of the Epistle and the Gospel (Source, http://www.bach-cantatas.com/LCY/M&C-Trinity24.htm.

The Introit Psalm for the 24th Sunday after Trinity is Psalm 90, Domine, refugium (Lord, Thou has been our dwelling place, https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm+90&version=KJV), says Martin Petzoldt in his BACH Commentary, Vol. 1, Trinity Sundays.³ Petzoldt calls Psalm 90 “The frailty of manly life.” Bach may have used Gregorian chant-based polyphonic motet settings of Psalm 90 by Palestrina, Josquin des Prez (http://www3.cpdl.org/wiki/index.php/Magnus_es_tu_Domine_-_Tu_pauperum_refugium_(Josquin_des_Prez), Heinrich Schütz, and Orlando de Lasso.⁴

The Gradual Song, a so-called Sequence Hymn, was sung in conjunction with the Pulpit Hymn as the culmination of the Service of the Word. It also played an important part in Bach chorales, particularly in organ prelude settings and the chorale cantatas, says Bach theologian Robin A. Leaver.⁵ "The primary examples of these Graduallieder, many of them written by Luther, figure prominently in Bach's compositions for the church. A major part of the Orgelbüchlein (BWV 599-644) is primarily a collection of chorale preludes on the principal Graduallieder of the church year. Similarly, many of the chorale cantatas of his second Jahrgang in Leipzig (1724-25) are based on such Graduallieder. . . ." Appropriate Luther Gradual-Psalm Songs (English translation Francis Browne) would be: “Nun bitten wir dem heiligen Geist” (Now we pray to the Holy Spirit,” Luther’s first Gradual Song), “Ach Gott, vom Himmel sieh darein” (Ah Lord, look down from Heaven, Psalm 12), “All Ehr' und Lob soll sein” (All glory and praise to God alone, Psalm 111), “Ein’ feste Burg ist unser Gott” (A mighty fortress is our God, Psalm 46), “Er Spricht der Unweisen Mund” (The unknown mouth speaks well, Psalm 14), “Es woll uns Gott genädig sein” (May God be gracious unto us, Psalm 67), “Wär Gott nicht mit uns diese Zeit” (If God were not with us at this time, Psalm 124), and “Wohl dem der in Gotts Fürcht steht” (Happy the man that fears God, Psalm 128; no Bach setting).

Varied Psalm Settings

Beyond the chorale paraphrases of psalms of penitence and ritual observance appropriate for communion are a varied group of Reformation psalms hymns and later settings under the rubric “The Church Militant,” found in the NLGB mostly under “Christian Life and Conduct: Psalm hymns,” NLGB 241-274. Bach set them in five chorale Cantatas: BWV 2, “Ach Gott, vom Himmel sieh darein” (NLGB 249, Psalm 12, Trinity 2); BWV 80, “Ein’ feste Burg ist unser Gott” (NLGB 266, Psalm 46, BWV 80a, Oculi 1715; Reformation); BWV 14, “War’ Gott nicht mit uns diese Zeit” (NLGB 266, Psalm 124, Epiphany 4); BWV 178, “Wo Gott der Herr nicht bei uns hält” (If the Lord God does not stay with us, NLGB 267, Psalm 124, (Trinity 8); and Cantata 112, “Der Herr ist meine Getreue Hirt, hält mir” (The Lord is my faithful shepherd, Psalm 23; mel. “Allein Gott,” NLGB 252, Misericordias Domini).

Bach also set 10 NLGB Psalm hymns as plain chorales: “Danket den Herren, denn er ist so freundlich” (Thank the Lord, he that is so friendly, NLGB 218 Catechism: Before Meal, Psalm 136), BWV 286; “Der Herr ist meine Getreue Hirt, dem ich” (NLGB No. 251, Psalm 23, mel.”Allein Gott”); BWV 83/3 cle. aria, BWV 104/6; “Es spricht der Unweisen Mund wohl” (The unknown mouth speaks well Psalm 14, NLGB 250), BWV 308; “Es woll’ uns Gott gnädig sein” (May God be gracious to us, NLGB 258, Psalm 67), BWV 311-12(PC); “Herr, straf mich nich in deinem Zorn” (O Lord, do not punish me in your anger, NLGB No. 244, Psalm 6), BWV 338; “Gott sei uns gnädig und barmherzig” (May God be merciful and compassionate for us, NLGB No. 319, Word of God, Psalm 67), BWV 323; “Lobet den Herren, denn er ist so freundlich” (NLGB No. 223, Catechism: After Meal, Psalm 147), BWV 374; “Lobet Gott, unsern Herren” (Praise God, our Lord, NLGB No. 273, Psalm 147), melody “Befiehl du deine Wege” (Commend thy ways, BWV 272, BWV 1126; "Wo Gott zum Haus nicht gibt sein Gunst" (Where God to the house gives not his goodwill, NLGB 268, Psalm 127), BWV 438, BWV 1123. One plain chorale setting is not found in the NLGB: Matthäus Appeles von Löwenstern’s 1644 “Wenn ich in Angst und Not” (When I’m in fear and distress, Psalm 121), BWV 427. In the NLGB as No. 271 Psalm hymn, Ob. 101 (Christian Life) is Wolfgang Dachstein’s 1525 Psalm 137 paraphrase, “An Wasserflussen Babylon” (By the flowing waters of Babylon, Psalm 138, NLGB 271, BWV 653 (18), BWV 267 PC).

Two Trinity 24 Cantatas: BWV 60, 26

For the 24th Sunday after Trinity, Bach's surviving cantatas BWV 60 and 26 and their prescribed NLGB chorales for this Sunday are particular relevant for the final Trinity Time services. Cantata BWV 60, "O Ewigkeit, du Donnerwort" (O Eternity, thou word of thunder), is a spirited, solo "dialogue" cantata framed by two well-known chorales of Bach's time: the opening dictum "Final Days" Hymn (NLGB 394, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eiRX59OUvJg), sung by an alto representing Fear, and the closing plain "Death & Dying" (NLGB 386) chorale, "Es ist genug, so nimm, Herr, meinen Geist" (It is enough! Therefore, Lord, take my spirit, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iwpwr0MYNWc). Chorale Cantata BWV 26 "Ach, wie flüchtig, ach wie nichtig is der Menschen Leben!" (Ah, how fleeting, how trivial is man's life!), is a paraphrase of pietist Michael's Franck's 13-verse 1652 hymn of "Death and Dying” (NLGB 371, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AVjKfYvvFrY, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=soBVNqRthUE).

Trinity 24 NLGB Chorales

The four chorales appointed to be sung for the 24th Sunday after Trinity involve a simple Luther teaching on death, a popular contemporary hymn with strong Passion undercurrents, a poignant personal Trinity Time sacred song, and a little-known setting of a favored text:

+"Mitten wir im Leben sind" (We are in the middle of Life), BWV 383; Martin Luther's three-stanza teaching hymn, in the NLGB, No. 344, "Death and Dying";
+Herr Jesus Christ wahr Mensch und Gott (Lord Jesus Christ, truly man and God, NLGB 338, Death & Dying; cf. chorale Cantata BWV 127, Estomihi 1725); and plain chorale, BWV 336;
+Allein zu dir, Herr Jesu Christ, (Trinity 3, 11, 22); chorale Cantata BWV 33, plain chorale BWV 261, and Neumeister chorale prelude BWV 1100;
+Ich weiß, das mein Erlöse lebt, ob ich schon (I know that my Redeemer lives, Hebrews 19, trust in death), NLGB Death & Dying No. 354; Prince Johann Wilhelm of Weimar 1573, 3 stanzas (Zahn 7539); not set by Bach.

Trinity 25: Cantatas 90, 116

Bach’s two cantatas for the 25th Sunday after Trinity, using well-known, affirmative chorales, are The two works are 1723 solo Cantata BWV 90, "Es reißet euch ein schrecklich Ende" (A dreadful ending carries you away), and 1724 Chorale Cantata BWV 116, "Du Friedefürst, Herr Jesu Christ" (Thou Prince of Peace, Lord Jesus Christ). The chorales under the omne tempore heading of hymns of the "Word of God & Christian Church," are used to contrast with the Sunday's gospel of apocalypse and tribulation. This contrast represents the Christological concept of the "Christus Paradox” (source, http://www.bach-cantatas.com/LCY/M&C-Trinity25.htm).

The eschatological or End Times of the Last Days/Things are the subject of both New Testament lessons in the lectionary for the 25th Sunday after Trinity in Bach's time (http://www.bach-cantatas.com/Read/Trinity25.htm). They are: Epistle: 1 Thessalonians 4: 13-18 "Christ's Second Coming" (sleeping in Jesus, rapture); & Gospel: Matthew Chapter 24: Verses 15-28, "The Awful Horror," Christ's prediction (apocalypse, tribulation). "The Epistle (is) filled with comfort and peace and glory for His own; the Gospel (is) a message of dread and terror and doom for His enemies," says Paul Zeller Strodach.⁶ The Introit Psalm for the 25th Sunday after Trinity is Psalm 70, Deus, in adjutorium (Make haste, O God, to deliver me, KJV), says Petzoldt (Ibid.: 669). He calls Psalm 70 “David’s plea for help against the devil.” The full text is found at http://www.kingjamesbibleonline.org/Psalms-Chapter-70. Polyphonic motet settings for the 12th Sunday include Orlando di Lasso (6 voices) and Monteverdi’s also setting for his 1610 Vespers for the Virgin Mary.7

Christus Paradox

That Bach late in 1724 chose to set the Christological hymn, "Du Friedefürst, Herr Jesu Christ” (Thou Prince of Peace,Lord Jesus Christ), as Chorale Cantata BWV 116, for the 25th Sunday after Trinity, Its End Times theme may seem paradoxical as it embodies the concept of the "Christus Paradox." The Christus Paradox is best expressed in the 20th century hymn, "Let all mortal flesh keep silence," set to the Byzantine Greek Liturgy of St. James and the 17th century French carol, "Picardy" (Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Picardy_(hymn). "Christus Paradox" is a 1991 "Chorale Variations for SATB and organ, with the text of the late Sylvia Dunstan (incipit, "You, Lord, are both Lamb and Shepherd") and "Picardy" music arranged by Alfred Fedak (GIA Publications G5463.

Throughout Christian history, writers have explored the richness of what they perceive as the uniqueness of Jesus Christ through the study of Christology. Central to this concept are the two paradoxical doctrines of Jesus' nature in the gospels as Son God (fully divine) and Son of Man (fully human) and the three states of Christ in the kenosis (emptying) parabola (descent-ascent) hymn of Philippians 2:5-11 or Col. 1:15-20: pre-incarnational glory, death, and resurrection, says noted theologian Cornelius Plantinga Jr. in his article "Christus Paradox" (Calvin College, Grand Rapids MI, nd). Other paradoxical images include Jesus as lamb and shepherd, prince and slave, steward and servant. Increasingly within churches using today’s Three-Year Lectionary, the Christological Feast days of Christmas, Easter, Ascension, and Christ the King Sunday incorporate the Christus Paradox readings of Philippians 2:5-11 or Col. 1:15-20, as well as the two passages in Isaiah prophesying the two different aspects of Christ's dual identity, Chapter 53, The Suffering Servant, and Chapter 11, The Peaceful Kingdom.

Bach's choice of another chorale for his other cantata for the 25th Sunday after Trinity, also reflects the Christus Paradox found in Late Trinity Time, in the transition from End Times of the Church Year to the Advent of the New Church year cycle. Cantata BWV 90, "Es reißet euch ein schrecklich Ende" (A dreadful ending carries you away) closes with the affirmative chorale, "Nimm von uns, Herr, du treuer Gott" (Take from us, you faithful God), set to the Lutheran melody of the Lord's Prayer, Luther’s “Vater unser im Himmelreich” (Oiur Father in the heavenly kingdom, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bp_ZeApQxSA). Both affirmative chorale texts "are found in the Dresden hymnbooks of that time among the Hymns of Lament and Comfort, says Günther Stiller (Ibid.: 246f).

The NLGB lists four chorales that could be sung on the 25th Sunday after Trinity: Luther’s liturgical “Vater unser im Himmelreich" is the Hymn of the Day. and three little-known pulpit and communion chorales, all under the heading "Last Days, Resurrection of the Dead, and Eternal Life" that Bach did not set: +"Es wird schier der letzten Tag herk" (It will almost be the last day, NLGB 393; Last Days, Resurrection of the Dead, and Eternal Life); Bohemian brothers and martyrs; German, Michael Weissen 12 stazas (Zahn 1423); "Gott hat das Evangelium" (God gave the gospel, Mat. 24; no NLGB), Erasmi Alberi, Magdeburg; Leipzig 1638, Last Days, 14 stanzas, NLGB No. 390 melody Zahn 1788; and "Ach Gott tu dich erbarmen"; Erasmi Alberi, Last Days, NLGB 396, 12 stanzas Zahn 7228c.

Trinity 26: Cantata 70, Chorales

Serendipity enabled Sebastian Bach, at the end of Trinity Time in late 1723, to assemble easily a musical sermon from an existing Cantata 70 (http://www.bach-cantatas.com/BWV70-D4.htm

http://www.bach-cantatas.com/BWV70-D4.htm) with appropriate music and having the general textual and biblical theme of the "Last Judgement." Chorus Cantata BWV 70, "Wachet! Betet! Betet! Wachet!" (Watch, pray, pray, watch) uses three relevant chorale sources: "Freu dich sehr, o meine Seele” (Psalm 42 paraphrase), "Es ist gewißlich an der Zeit” and "Meinen Jesum laß ich nicht” (source: http://www.bach-cantatas.com/LCY/M&C-Trinity26.htm).

The Readings for the 26th Sunday after Trinity are most appropriate for End Times: Epistle, 2 Peter 3:3-13 Christ's second coming; Gospel: Matthew 25:31-46, The Last Judgement, see: http://www.bach-cantatas.com/Read/Trinity26.htm. The Introit setting for the 26th Sunday after Trinity is Psalm 126 In convertendo (When the Lord turned again, kjv, https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm+126&version=KJV , says Martin Petzoldt (Ibid.: 685). There are no designated introit Psalm music but most appropriate would be settings of Guillaume du Fay, Michael Praetorius, Heinrich Schütz, and Johann Hermann Schein.

Bach readily expanded his standard six-movement Weimar Cantata BWV 70a, same title, for the 2nd Sunday of Advent, into his favored two parts, inserting four alternating, didactic recitatives specifically addressing the new Sunday main service context, and adding a plain congregational chorale to close Part 1, "Freu dich sehr” (Rejoice greatly, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z0fxdgGj4nQ), as well as an incisive chorale tune on the trumpet, ”Es ist gewißlich an der Zeit” (It is certainly time; 9. Recitativo [tenor e chorale], https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=psTzPz4y2GE), and closing with "Meinen Jesum laß ich nicht” (I shall not leave my Jesus, melody (11. Choral).

Hymns & Organ Chorale Preludes

Bach wasn't through providing music for late Trinity Time. It is quite possible that he repeated Cantata BWV 70 several more times on this appointed final Sunday of the Church Year. It is documented that about 1730 Bach also composed several harmonized, free-standing plain chorales mostly listed under the last hymnal category of "The Last Judgement, Resurrection of the Dead, and Eternal Life" (Vom Jüngsten Tage, Aufferstehung des Todten und ewigen Leben) in the NLGB of 1682), and discussed below. They are: Trinity 26 Hymn of the Day, "Es wird schier der letzten Tag herkommen" in e minor, BWV 310; "Nun freut euch, lieben Christen g'mein" (alternate title "Es ist gewißlich an der Zeit," Trinity 26 Pulpit Hymn) in G Major BWV 388, as well as the same double title in B-Flat Major, BWV 307; "Gott has das Evangelium gegeben" in e major, BWV 319 - all "Last Judgement" chorales; and Trinity 26 Communion Hymn, "Gott der Vater wohn uns bei" (God, the Father, stay with us), in D Major, BWV 317. It is even possible that Bach substituted one or more of these harmonized hymns in services with further reperformances of Cantata BWV 70.

In addition, Bach had on hand early organ chorale preludes, including "Ach Gott tu dich erbarmen" in G Major, ending in D Major, BWV 1109, found in the early Neumeister Collection; the double title "Nun freut euch/Es ist gewißlich" Miscellaneous Chorale in G Major, BWV 734; the questionable Miscellaneous Chorale, "Es ist gewißlich" in G Major, BWV 755, in G Major; and Gott der Vater wohn uns bei," Miscellaneous organ chorale prelude BWV 748(a) in D Major.

FOOTNOTES

¹ Günther Stiller, Johann Sebastian Bach and Liturgical Life in Leipzig, trans. Herbert J. A. Bouman, Daniel F. Poellot, Hilton C. Oswald, ed. Robin A. Leaver (St. Louis: Concordia, 1985: 246).
² See: John S. Setterlund, “Lectionary: Christian Worship,” in BACH Through the Year: The Church Music of Johann Sebastian Bach and the Revised Common Lectionary (Minneapolis: Lutheran University Press, 2013: 174).
³ Petzoldt, Bach Kommentar: Die geistlichen Kantaten des 1. Bis 27. Trinitas-Sontagges, Vol. 1; Theologisch Musikwissenschaftlicke Kommentierung der Geistlichen Vokalwerke Johann Sebastian Bachs, Internationale Bachakademie Stuttgart (Kassel: Bärenreiter, 2004: 651).
⁴ Source: Bach’s Motet Collection: Otto Riemer, "Erhard Bodenschatz und sein Schünigen": Kaminsky, 1927 ML 410 B67R4; Partial Index of Motets in Florilegium Portense with links to online scores and biographies: http://www.cpdl.org/wiki/index.php/Florilegium_Portense and http://www3.cpdl.org/wiki/index.php/Florilegium_Portense; Dissertation on Bodenschatz Collection.
⁵ Robin A. Leaver, Luther’s Liturgical Music: Principles and Implications (Grand Rapids MI, Eerdmans Publishing, 2007: 302), and see Index, Leaver’s related Lutheran Quarterly articles on Luther and music, http://www.lutheranquarterly.com/lq--25-index.html.
⁶ Paul Zeller Strodach, The Church Year: Studies in the Introits, Collects, Epistles and Gospels (Philadelphia PA, United Lutheran Publication House, 1924: 261f).
7 Polyphonic motet settings are found in Jan Peter Sweelinck, http://www3.cpdl.org/wiki/index.php/In_te,_Domine,_speravi_(Jan_Pieterszoon_Sweelinck); Heinrich Schütz, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_compositions_by_Heinrich_Schütz; Josquin des Pres, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josquin_des_Prez; Nicolas Gombert, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aa4hXfDMPTA; Orlando de Lassus, http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2013/Apr13/Rex_orbis_MEW1267.htm; Hans Leo Hassler, http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2013/Apr13/Rex_orbis_MEW1267.htm; Jean-Baptiste Lully, http://books.wwnorton.com/books/detail-contents.aspx?ID=13401, as well as Palestrina.

—————

To come: Plain chorales and sacred songs of End Times: Life Eternal (Justification), preceded by the Catechism hymn-prayers of Morning, Evening, and Grace at Meals.

Musical Context of Bach Cantatas: Table of Motets & Chorales for Events in the Lutheran Church Year