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William L. Hoffman wrote (February 13, 2011):
BWV 218 -- Intro. & Bach-Telemann Connection
Bach-Telemann Connection
While Georg Philipp Telemann's Pentecost Cantata, "Gott der Hoffnung erfulle euch" (May the God of Hope fill you) has no proven direct connection to Bach, this festive, concise (10-minute long) gallant work composed in 1717 is emblematic of both composers' creative pursuit of the cantata form as well as their mutual interests and serendipitous connections.
The Bach-Telemann creative confluence is both broad and deep, speaking clearly of their mutual interests and practices. In less than two years, 1721-1723, they achieved their final callings as music directors and cantors at the two Lutheran cities of Leipzig and Hamburg, producing annual cycles of church service cantatas as well as Passion performances, creating most of their church works before 1730. A close examination of Telemann's Pentecost Cantata, listed as Telemann work TVWV 1:634 and Bach work BWV 218, shows similar techniques and common pursuits
Although there are no direct connections between Bach and the Telemann Pentecost Cantata, it is an attractive, influential work that could have fit effectively into Bach's well-ordered church music. A product of the Erdmann Neumeister (1671-1756) 1717 Sacred Poetry annual cycle, it reveals Telemann's formative production of mature cantatas in the Italian operatic style of biblical dictum opening, tutti non-da capo arias surrounding a plain recitative, and closing with a well-known Lutheran chorale. This cycle of concertante music fuses texts and music in an elaborate, appealing setting for orchestra and chorus.
Here are the particulars of this work: http://www.bach-cantatas.com/BWV218.htm
BWV 218, "Gott der Hoffnung erfulle euch" (May the God of Hope fill you)
Cantata for Whit Sunday [1st Day of Pentecost]
Readings: Epistle: Acts 2: 1-13; Gospel: John 14: 23-31
Composed: Eisenach, 1717, by Georg Philipp Telemann
Text: Erdmann Neumeister (German-5 Translation)
Scoring: Soloists: Soprano, Alto, Tenor, Bass; 4-part Chorus (SATB)
Orchestra: 2 horns, 2 violins, viola, continuo
Movements:
1. Introduction/Aria [Bass, tutti orchestra; 12/8, D Major]. Gott der Hoffnung erfülle euch (Romans 15:13)
2. Aria [Alto, tutti orch.; 4/4, D Major]. Glaub' und Hoffnung, Trost und Starke sind des heil'gen Geistes Werke (Faith and hope, consolation and strength are the works of the Holy Spirit)
3. Recitativo [Tenor, Bass, Soprano, Alto, continuo; 4/4, A Major] Weil wir nichts ohne dich vermögen, o gieb uns deinen Segen (Since we accomplish nothing without you, give us your blessing)
4. Aria [Soprano, tutti orch.; 6/4, D Major ] Ihr Christen, wollt ihr selig sein? (You Christians, do you want to be saved?)
5. Choral [S, A, T, B; tutti orch.; 4/4 D Major] Komm, Gott Schöpler, heiliger Geist (Come, God Creator, Holy Spirit), -- CPO Liner notes, Christoph Henzel; English translation, Susan Marie Praeder
Score BGA [1.51 MB]
The closing chorale (Mvt. 5) is set to a Martin Luther 1524 text as first found in the Joseph Klug Gesangbuch of 1535; Telemann four-part setting in L. Erk chorale collection of 1869 and published as B.F. Richter 219.
References: BGA: XLI, 223 (Alfred Dörffel, 1894) | NBA: - | BC: - | Zwang: - | BWV218/Appendix III 158; Telemann Vokal Werke Verzeichnis (TVWV) 1:634
Discussions: Week of October 26, 1999; Week of February 6, 2011
Complete Recordings: "The Apocryphal Bach Cantatas" [C-1], Cantata BWV 218 [10:25]; Wolfgang Helbich, Alsfelder Vokalensemble, Steintor Barock Bremen; Soprano, Johanna Koslowsky; Alto, Kai Wessel; Tenor 1726 Harry Geraerts; Bass. Philip Langshaw. CPO 999139, Feb 1991, 2-CD / TT: 101:23. Recorded at Radio Bremen, Germany. Buy this album at: 2-CD: Amazon.com | Amazon.co.uk | Amazon.de
Cantata BWV 218
Composed in 1717 as part of an annual cantata cycle for the Eisenach court, "Gott der Hoffnung erfulle euch" begins with a bass solo aria with tutti orchestra with the biblical dictum from Romans 13:15: "May the God of Hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the Power of the Holy Ghost."
This particular Pentecost text is not found in Bach's cantatas, although he used this Neumeister IV cycle selectively and strategically for Cantatas BWV 24 (Trinity +4, 1723), BWV 28 (Sunday After Christmas, 1725), BWV 59 (Pentecost, 1723/24), and 61 (Advent 1, 1714, 1723). Bach also set Cantata 18 (Sexageisma, 1715, 1724) to a Neumeister text and all five Bach Neumeister settings are found in Neumeister's Fünffache Kirchen-Andachten, published in Leipzig in 1716/17. Neumeister's text of Cantata BWV 59, "Wer mich liebet, der wird mein Halten," is for the three-day Pentecost Festival, as is the text for Cantata BWV 218.
The Telemann music was first heard on the Pentecost Festival Sunday-Tuesday, May 16-18, 1717, either in Frankfurt or Eisenach, and was repeated there in 1720 and 1731. Serendipitously, Bach in Weimar presented his Passion Oratorio at the nearby Gotha court six weeks earlier on Good Friday, March 26, where Telemann had strong connections and when he had no opportunity to compose Passion music as part of his municipal duties.
Telemann's setting of the Neumeister IV Cycle in 1717 is called the "<Erster (Italienischer) Concertenjahrgang> (First [Italian] Concertante Cycle)." Originally Neumeister wrote the cycle text only from Advent 1 to Pentecost Sunday; then Gottfried Simonis wrote the second half of the cycle through the 26th Sunday After Trinity). The Telemann cycle was repeated again in Eisenach, ? 1717-18, and later, in 1719-20, Neumeister complete the text, originally published as <Geistliche Poesien> (Sacred Poetry; Eisenach 1714, 1717), and then published the completed text in Forgesetzte Fünffache Kirchen-Andachten, Hamburg 1726.
The printed Telemann text book sources ("Texte zur Music") show at least three performances during Pentecost time: Frankfurt/Eisenach 1717; Neumeister <"Neue Geistliche Gedichte"> (New Sacred Poetry), Eisenach 1718, and unchanged, Eisenach 1719. Telemann presented portions of Cantata BWV 218 in at least three performances in Hamburg with only selected movements for Trinity Sunday 1722 (only Movements 1, 4, and 5); Pentecost Tuesday 1724 (only Movement 1); and Pentecost Sunday, 1726 (only Movement 1).
Cantatas from this cycle may have been used extensively in Leipzig in 1725 while playing a crucial role in Telemann's required production of Sunday cantatas simultaneously in Eisenach, Frankfurt, and Hamburg between 1721 and 1731. Telemann composed at least 20 annual cantata cycles, 12 of which survive. Of his 1700 original cantatas, about 1400 are extant. He often repeated cantatas and in Hamburg was required to supply one cantata before the sermon, one after the sermon, and concluding music at the end of the service, usually just one aria followed by the closing chorale from another cantata.
Four score copies of TVWV 1:634 are attributed to Bach:
A. in Amalien Bibliothek Berlin, AMb. 43/9, horns replace trumpets and timpani (1750-1800);
B. in University and State Library Köln 6820, same scoring as Score Copy A (after 1800);
C. in Deutsche Staatsbibliothek Berlin BB (SPK) 192, same scoring as Score Copy A (after 1800);
D. in Warsaw University Library Rps Mus 82 (formerly Breslau Mf 5016), same scoring at Score Copy A (after 1800)
Two score copies of TVWV 1:634 attributed to Telemann:
C. in Frankfurt State and University Library Ms. Ff Mus. 1055 (Telemann 324), same as Amb 43/9 (1750-1800);
D. in Thomas School Leipzig C. 84/38, in C Major, same scoring as Score copy A; also parts in C Major (organ in B Major) with trumpets and timpani, new copyist (after 1800).
The Breitkopf listing is <Verzeichniß Musikalischer Werke> (Musical Works Catalog), Leipzig Fall Fair 1761, Vocal, Sacred Cantatas, Individual Church Music, "Bachs, Joh. Seb. Capellm(eister) und Musikdirectors in Leipzig", "Cantate: In Fest. Pent. Fer. I. Gott der Hoffnung. a 2 Corni, 2 Violini, Viola, 4 Voci, Basso ed Org." (Page 20, same scoring as Score Copy A
8 "Bach" Cantatas by Telemann
It was Bach scholar Alfred Dürr in 1950 who first authenticated eight sacred cantatas formerly attributed to Bach as works of Telemann, in "Zur Echteit einiger Bach zugeschriebener Kantaten," Bach Jahrbuch 45 (1951/52, 35-46). They are: BWV 141 (Advent 3), 160 (Easter Sunday), 218 (Pentecost), 219 (St. Michael) and 145/2 (Easter), as well as BWV Anh. (Appendix) 1 (Trinity +7), 156 (Annunciation), and 157 (Purification).
Six of the cantatas -- BWV 141, 189 and 216 and Anh. 1, 156, 157 -- appeared in Leipzig publisher Breitkopf's catalogs, beginning in 1761 (11 years after Bach's death), sometimes attributed "di Bachi." The apocryphal works came most likely from various Leipzig sources, including Bach's musical library with extraneous compositions that were not shelved with Bach's church cycle works, from the University Church, the Thomas School, and the Leipzig Collegium musicum, as well as Bach students and the estates of local musicians. Sources: Breitkopf Catalog 1761 (BWV 189, Anh. 157, Anh. 156, BWV 218 and 141); and 1770 (Anh. 1). Dürr points out (p. 39), that Pentecost Cantata BWV 218 and Advent Cantata 141 have a similar provenance, from the 1761 Breitfkopf catalog to the Amalien Bibliothek in Berlin
Fortunately, these cantatas represent some of Telemann's earliest and most productive output, surviving in manuscript copies particularly from Hildesheim and Leipzig. Later in Hamburg, Telemann was able to published five cycles of cantatas (see below) that are extant as his production of new cantatas diminished while he repeated cycles from Eisenach and Frankfurt as well as early Hamburg cycles. Meanwhile, early copies and numerous annual cycle cantata texts books enable scholars to account for 1700 Telemann cantatas.
None of these Telemann cantatas is directly associated with a Bach performance. In recent years, however, Bach scholars have documented that Bach did indeed perform two Telemann cantatas, so identified. They are
1. TVWV deest, "Der Herr ist König" (The Lord is King), librettist unknown, was first performed by Telemann possibly as his Leipzig cantor test piece for the Town Council on Monday, August 25, 1722, listed as motet TVWV 8:6. Bach, between the fall of 1724 and spring 1725, modified an internal chorus and tenor aria, as found in the NBA KB I/41 (miscellaneous vocal adaptations; Andreas Glöckner 2000). The work was repeated in Leipzig, 1726/27, possibly for the Town Council on August 26, 1726, or Reformation Day, November 31, 1726. Because the text author is unknown, the work is not part of Telemann's annual cantata cycles.
2. TVWV 1:1074, "Machet die Tore weit" (Fling wide the doors), Helbig 1720 <Auffmunterung> for the First Sunday in Advent, Nov. 28, 1734, to begin his Christological cycle of oratorios for major feast days, including six Christmas season services, BWV 248, probably first performed by Telemann on Nov. 29, 1722, opening his second Hamburg church cantata cycle.
Other recent Bach scholarship also suggests that as many as six Telemann cantatas were performed early in the Trinity Season of 1725, when Bach took his first vacation since taking up the Leipzig cantor's post two years previous, in May 1723, leaving his perfect (assistant) in charge. According to a surviving church libretto book for the Third to the Seventh Sundays After Trinity and the Feast of the Visitation, June 17 to July 15, the following works, set to Neumeister 1711 texts, may have been composed by Telemann: TVWV 1,856/7, 1:596, 1:310, 1:1104/7/8, 1:1600, and 1:617.
In addition, Telemann music for motets and Passions, as well as instrumental music, has various associations with Bach. See BCW: http://www.bach-cantatas.com/Lib/Telemann-Georg-Philipp.htm
Telemann's Annual Cantata Cycles
Telemann's First Annual Cantata cycle was composed in Eisenach, 1711-12. The next series of church cantatas was written by Telemann while he was Frankfurt's Director of Municipal Music. In addition to composing music for civic occasions, he conducted and composed for several churches in the city, including the Katharinenkirche )Katherin Church) and the Barfüßerkirche (Barefoot Friars Church) where he was Kapellmeister.
During his time in Frankfurt (1712-1721), Telemann composed five new year-long cycles of sacred music for the Sundays and holy days of the ecclesiastical calendar (64 cantatas annually). He also completed several cycles that he had begun earlier in Eisenach where he had been the leader of the court singers. After taking up his post in Hamburg as Johanneum Cantor and director of the city's five main churches on October 16, 1721 (72 cantatas annually), Telemann continued to supply Frankfurt with cantata cycles - one complete cycle every three years, as part of an arrangement to maintain his citizenship of that city. Printed text books for Frankfurt cantata performances survive until 1725-26 (Wikipedia sources)
Telemann and Hamburg pastor and poet Erdmann Neumeister had for many years an active collaboration in cantata annual cycles. It began in 1711 and involved at least five original cycles (Neumeister I-IV and <Musicalisches Lob Gottes> 1744. Telemann set 156 cantatas to texts of Johann Friedrich Helbig (1680-1722) of Eisenach, found in three published cycles: <Auffmunterung zur Andacht>, Eisenach 1720; <Auszug der jemusicalischen und auf die gewöhnlichen Evangelien gerichteten Arien,> 1726-27 published Telemann cycle Hamburg; and <Harmonisches Lob Gottes>, 1726-27 cycle Hamburg, no music
1710-11, First "Eisenach Annual Cycle"; no text book sources extant, completed cycle performed in Frankfurt, 1717-19. Text source Neumeister III, <Geistliches Singen und Spielen> (Gotha, 1711):
TVWV1:617=BWV Anh. 1, "Geseget ist die Zuversicht" (Breitkopf Catalog 1770; 7th Sunday After Trinity;
performances: Frankfurt 1719, 1723; Hamburg 1722, 1726; presumably also Eisenach 1710-11.
1712-13, Second Eisenach Cycle; no text book sources, completed cycle performed in Frankfurt, 1717-19
1714-15, First Frankfurt Annual Cantata Cycle, "Sacred Poetry with Intermingled Biblical Passages" for the 64 Sundays and Festivals; apparently republished in 1721-22; known as a "French" (französischen) annual cycle"; poetic rondeau forms and French musical style elements (text source: Neumeister I, <Geistliche Cantaten>, Weißenfels, 1700, 1704; arias and recitatives only):
TVWV 1:877=BWV160, "Ich weiß, daß mein Erlöser lebt" Easter Sunday
1715-16, Second Frankfurt Cycle, no text book extant
1716-1717, Third Frankfurt Cycle (also known as the Concertante Cycle), with text book (burned 1944) from Neumeister IV, <Geistliche Poesien> (Eisenach 1714, 1717); Neumeister text to Pentecost Sunday then Gottfried Simonis
TVWV1:634=BWV 218, Gott, der Hoffnung erfulle euch (Breitkopf Catalog 1761); Pentecost Sunday 1717 in Frankfurt or Eisenach, repeated 1720 and 1731 (Hamburg); Telemann score, Frankfurt City & University archives.
TVWV1:617=BWV Anh. 1, "Geseget ist die Zuversicht" (Breitkopf Catalog 1770; 7th Sunday After Trinity;
1717-18, Frankfurt possible hybrid cantata cycle of Christoph Bodinus (Frankfurt deputy), at least five J. L. Bach cantatas (JLB 8, 13, 14, 22, 24), and Telemann:
??TVWV1:732=BWV Anh. 156, "Herr Christ, der ein'ge Gottes Sohn," Feast of Annunciation (Neumeister 1718 text, concertante style); Frankfurt Telemann score, no details, 1700-1750; Leipzig score, Breitkopf Catalog 1761, Warsaw University Library.
1718-19, First "Eisenach Annual Cycle" completed, with text book (Neumesier 1711-12);
repeat TVWV1:617=BWV Anh. 1, "Geseget ist die Zuversicht"
1719-20, "Fourth Frankfurt Cycle," "Neumeister's Harmonisches Zion."
1719-20, Eisenach cycle (Johann Friedrich Helbig, <Auffmunterung zur Andacht>, Eisenach 1720); later in second Hamburg Cycle; siciliano settings with pastoral atmosphere, Biblical dictum as opening chorus
TVWV 1:1074, "Machet die Tore weit" (Advent 1), JSB SPK 47, 2. CPEB 1789,
TVWV 1:1183=BWV 141, "Das ist je gewißlich wahr" (Advent 3), Breikopf Catalog 1761; first performance Dec. 12, 1723, St. Katharine, Hamburg.
TVWV 1:836=Anh. 157, `Ich hab Lust abzuschieden" (Purification), Eisenach 1720, Hamburg 1724; Breitkopf 1761
1720-21, "Fifth Frankfurt Cycle," Gottfried Simonis text book (Eisenach, 1718) preserved, music lost
?1720-21, 1721-22, Eisenach, <Erster Lingenscher Jahrgang> (text, Hermann Ulrich von Lingen), text only
1721-22, First Frankfurt Cycle republished
1721-22, First Hamburg Cycle
1722-23, Second Hamburg Cycle, cantatas before the sermon;
1723 Easter Cantata, "So du mit deinem Munde bekennest Jesum" TVWV 1:1350 (printed text, score & parts copy C. G. Meißner, Bach Main Copyist B, 1723-31); ??Leipzig Easter Sunday performance 1725; opening chorus in 1729 Easter Tuesday Cantata BWV 145b.
1723-24; St. Michael's Cantata, "Siehe, es hat überwunden der Löwe" (Neumeister), TVWV 1:1328=BWV 219; Helbig text, nd, Eisenach cycle; Hamburg 1723, repeated 1728; closing chorale
1724-24, Eisenach, Frankfurt; "Jahrgang ohne Rezitativ" (text, Benjamin Neukirch), no music
1725-25, Hamburg, <Harmonischer Gottes-Dienst> (Neumeister), post-sermon cantatas
1726-27, Hamburg, Frankfurt, Eisenach; <Harmonisches Lob Gottes> Helbig text, no music
1728-29, Eisenach, Hamburg, <Zweiter Lingenscher Jahrgang> (text Lingen
Five extant printed cycles:
1725-26, <Harmonischer Gottes-Dienst, oder Geistliche Cantaten zum allgemeinen Gebrauche>, post-sermon cantatas; 1v, 1 inst, bc (Hamburg, 1725-6); T ii-v (1725-6);
BWV 160=TVWV 1:877, "Ich weiß, das mein Erlöser lebt (Neumeister 1700), copy Bach student Heinrich Nicolaus Gerber (1724-31)
1726-27, <Auszug der jemusicalischen und auf die gewöhnlichen Evangelien gerichteten Arien> (J.F. Helbig, d.1722), 1v, bc (Hamburg, 1727) [cycle of 1726-7, arias only from pre-sermon cantatas
1731-32, <Fortsetzung des Harmonischen Gottesdienstes> (T.H. Schubart), 1v, 2 insts, bc (Hamburg, 1731-2) [undated cycle in reduced scoring] [1731-2], expanded versions in copyists manuscripts
1744, <Musicalisches Lob Gottes in der Gemeine des Herrn> (E. Neumeister), 3vv, str, bc [with tpts, timp for
festivals] (Nuremberg, 1744) [1744]
1748-49, Untitled cycle of cantatas. (D. Stoppe), 1 solo v, 4vv, str, bc [with tpts, timp for festivals] (Hermsdorff, 1748-9) [1748-9]
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