Cantatas for Oculi Sunday
Discussions

Oculi Sunday: Bach Cantatas 54, 80a

William L. Hoffman wrote (March 10, 2018):
In Bach's time, the 3rd Sunday in Lent, called Oculi from Introit Psalm 25:15, "Mine eyes are ever toward the Lord (kjv)" was a momentous time in the middle of Passiontide as Bach was able in Weimar to present two solo cantatas for this Sunday, BWV 54, "Widerstehe doch der Sünde" (Stand firm against sin), and BWV 80a, "Alles was von Gott geboren" (All that is born of God, 1 John 5:4), music that firmly helped to established his goal of a "well-ordered church music." Bach produced two intimate, striking church cantatas, BWV 54 a three-movement alto solo work with a two striking arias, and BWV 80a, a substantial four-voice work which includes a Bach chorale trope in the opening bass aria and closing with a plain chorale setting of the same Luther hymn, "A Mighty Fortress is our God," which was transformed into a hybrid chorale Cantata by 1740. Both works did not become part of Bach's church-year cantata cycles but were available for copying in 1761 by the Leipzig published Breitkopf (see below, "Cantata 54 Provenance" and "Cantata 80a Provenance").

Cantata 54 may have been Bach's first "official" Weimar musical sermon, coming two days after his official appointment as court concertmaster on 2 March 1714 to provide a new work every four weeks. Little is known about the actual dates of other works he may have composed earlier, such as BWV 21, 18, and 63. Bach's biggest initial challenge was to find a suitable text since Weimar Court poet Salomo Franck apparently did not begin providing annual church cycles until 1715. Franck may have provided unpublished texts later in 1714 for Bach Cantata 182 on Palm Sunday, Cantata 12 on the 3rd Sunday after Easter and Cantata 172 for Pentecost. Meanwhile, the Darmstadt poet Georg Christian Lehms had published a full year's cycle in 1711, Gottgefälliges Kirchen-Opffer, for court composer Christop-h Graupner. Bach also used these texts in 1714 as his settings for Cantatas BWV Anh. 209, “Liebster Gott, vergißt du mich” (Dearest God, forget'st thou me; music lost) on the 7th Sunday after Trinity on July 15 and "BWV 199, Mein Herze schwimmt im Blut" (My heart swims in blood), on the 11th Sunday after Trinity on August 12. In his 3rd Leipzig cycle of mostly solo cantatas Bach used more 1711 Lehms texts for Cantatas 110, 57, and 151 at Christmas 1725; Cantatas 16, 31, and 13 in January 1726; and Cantatas 35 and 170 in the summer of 1726 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georg_Christian_Lehms).

Meanwhile, Bach in Weimar during Lent also probably presented Orgelbuchlein Passiontide chorale preludes, based on the Witt Gotha Hymnal of 1715 (Ob. 21-27, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=isIsX4ReRGY): O Lamm Gottes, unschuldig, BWV 618; Christe, du Lamm Gottes, BWV 619; Christus, der uns selig macht BWV, 620; Da Jesus an dem Kreuze stund BWV 621; O Mensch, bewein´ dein´ Sünde groß, BWV 622; Wir danken dir, Herr Jesu Christ, dass du für uns gestorben" (We thank you, Lord Jesus Christ, that you have died for us), BWV 623; and Hilf, Gott, dass mer´s gelinge BWV 624.

The name of the 3rd Sunday in Lent, Oculi, comes from the first word of the Introit Psalm 25:16, "Mine eyes are ever toward the Lord, kjv" Psalm 25, Ad te, Dominum, levavi (Unto thee, O Lord, do I lift up my soul, https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm+25&version=KJV). The 3rd Sunday in Lent is variously named as Dies scrutinii (day of scrutiny), Dominica abrennunciationis (Lord's day of the renunciation), and Dom. exorcisimi (Lord's day of the exorcism), says Paul Zeller Strodach.¹ In the early church it was the Sunday when the Catechumens prepared for baptism on Easter night by renouncing the devil and all his ways, referring to the Oculi Gospel, Luke 11:14-28, Jesus casts out a devil, also known as "The Beelzebub Controversy" or "The Gospel of the Stronger."² This theme of purging evil from humanity, particularly through the recognition of the sacrificial Jesus Christ in the Passiontide chorales, was essential in the Christological symbolic great parabola of descent, life of Jesus, and ascent. At the same time, sin and death are inextricably linked while belief brings eternal life.

Bach's Cantata 54 probably was premiered on Oculi, 4 March 1714, while Cantata 80a on either 23 March 1715 or 15 March 1716, at the early main service before the sermon (not extant) on the day's gospel, Luke 11:14-28, by the general Superintendent Johann Georg Layritz (1647-1716), says Martin Petzoldt in Bach Commentary, vol. 2, Advent to Trinityfest.³ The introit psalm was Psalm 25, Ad te, Domine, levavi (O my God, I trust in thee, kjv https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm+25&version=KJV. Bach scholars disagree as to the actual dating of Cantata 54 although the work has the earmarks of an early Weimar solo cantata with its text by Georg Christian Lehms, published in 1711 and designed for Oculi, as well as its divided viola parts.⁴

Cantata 54 movements, scoring, text, key, meter (German text and Francis Browne English translation, http://www.bach-cantatas.com/Texts/BWV54-Eng3.htm):

1. Aria da-capo with ritornelli complex [Alto; Violino I/II, Viola I/II, Continuo]: A. "Widerstehe doch der Sünde, / Sonst ergreifet dich ihr Gift." (Stand firm against sin, / otherwise its poison seizes hold of you.); B. "Laß dich nicht den Satan blenden; / Denn die Gottes Ehre schänden, / Trifft ein Fluch, der tödlich ist." (Do not let Satan blind you / for to desecrate the honour of God / meets with a curse, which leads to death.); E-flat Major; 4/4 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z9nNHSU3Icw).
2. Recitative secco [Alto, Continuo: "Die Art verruchter Sünden / Ist zwar von außen wunderschön; / Allein man muss /Hernach mit Kummer und Verdruss / Viel Ungemach empfinden. / Von außen ist sie Gold; / Doch, will man weiter gehn, / So zeigt sich nur ein leerer Schatten / Und übertünchtes Grab. / Sie ist den Sodomsäpfeln gleich, / Und die sich mit derselben gatten, / Gelangen nicht in Gottes Reich. / Sie ist als wie ein scharfes Schwert, / Das uns durch Leib und Seele fährt." (The nature of loathsome sins / is indeed from outside very beautiful; / but you must / afterwards with sorrow and frustration / experience much hardship. / From outside it is gold / but if you want to look more closely / it is shown to be only an empty shadow / and whitewashed tomb. / It is like the apples of Sodom / and those who join with it / do not reach God's kingdom. / It is like a sharp sword / that goes through our body and soul.); c minor to a-flat Major; 4/4 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Ub8Lq_2Ico).
3 Aria free da-capo with ritornelli complex [Alto; Violino I/II all' unisono, Viola I/II all' unisono, Continuo]: "Wer Sünde tut, der ist vom Teufel, / Denn dieser hat sie aufgebracht." (Who commits sins is of the devil,for it is he who has produced them); B. "Doch wenn man ihren schnöden Banden / Mit rechter Andacht widerstanden, / Hat sie sich gleich davongemacht." (but if against its despicable mobs / with true devotion you stand firm, / sin has at once fled away.); E-flat Major; 2/2 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w-5-MfijHdE).
[Addendum? 4. plain chorale (SATB, tutti orchestra): "Jesum nur will ich lieb haben, / denn er übertrifft das Gold, / und all’ andre teure Gaben, / so kann mir der Sünden Sold / an der Seele gar nicht schaden, / weil sie von der Sünd entladen. / Wenn er gleich den Leib zernicht’, / laß ich meinen Jesum nicht." (Only Jesus I shall hold dear, / since he surpasses gold / and all other precious gifts, / therefore the wages of sin / do no to my soul
since it is free from sin. / If he destroys the body, / I shall not abandon my Jesus.); g minor (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2RbB-hO_p2Y), or B-Flat Major (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zZT6H6BTSYI).

Notes on Text

Many of the biblical sources in Cantata 54 are found in various Epistle readings of Paul's Letters: Romans, Galatians, 2 Corinthians, and Ephesians in the opening aria, as well as the Gospel of Matthew 23:27f (Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees) in the recitative, and John 1:3:8 (He who commits sin os of the Devil), and John 8:44 (Jesus condemns Pharisees), says Melvin P. Unger.⁵ The opening movement emphasizes "Sin: resist it or its poison will eventually kill you"; recitative, "Sin outwardly appealing but like a whitewashed tomb"; and (no. 3), aria, "Sinners are of the devil; resist him and her flees).

An overview of Cantata 54 is found in Tadashi Isoyama's 1996 liner notes to the Masaaki Suzuki BIS recording.⁶ <<BWV 54: Widerstehe doch der Sünde (Resist then sin) Cantata No. 54 is a small-scale cantata for alto, consisting only of two arias linked by a recitative. It has been suggested because of its short length, that it may be a fragment of a longer work. Since the original of the text by Georg Christian Lehms has come to light. however, (in Gottgefälliges Kirchen-Opfcr, Darnstadt, 1711), it seems clear that the work was meant to stand on its own. It is certainly a Weimar composition; it has come down to us in a manuscript prepared by Bach's pupil Johann Tobias Krebs and the Weimar organist J. G. Walther [1714-1717]. The division of the viola part into two also supports the idea that the cantata is an early work. It has recently beer suggested that it was first performed on the third Sunday in Lent (4th March) in 1714; as it predates Cantata No. 182 [Palm Sunday 1714], it can also be regarded as a kind of trial work. It is certainly based on the established subject of the conflict between sin and the will to resist it, however, and both the penmanship and the mood of the work are clearly Bach's.

The cantata begins with an aria in E-flat major which de cries the 'deception of sin'. The tension between the tonic and diminished seventh drives the movement, the unabating dissonances grating on the ear as the piece progresses.This aria was later arranged to form part of the St. Mark Passion, BWV 247 (of which only the libretto survives). The recitative which follows strips the mask from sin, revealing its contents to be nothing but an empty shadow (Matt. 23:27). The true nature of sin is likened to a sharp sword, reflected in the sharp movements of the continuo. The cantata closes with an aria in four-part fugal form declaiming that "Whoever commits sin is of the devil" 91 John 3:8].>> Copyright Tadashi Isoyama 1996.

Cantata 54 Provenance

Cantata 54 provenance and details of the4 Lehms 1711 text are found in the Ulrich Leisinger 2015 Forward to the Carus edition of Cantata (54, 31/054). <<The cantata Widerstehe doch der Sünde BWV 54 originated during Johann Sebastian Bach’s Weimar period. The only surviving copy of the cantata from the 18th century is a fair copy of the score by Johann Gottfried Walther (music) and Johann Tobias Krebs (text) with the title Cantata "à 2 Violini, 2 Viole, Alto Solo, / è Cont: del J.S.B."; no information is provided either concerning the occasion for which it was composed or the exact date of composition. The libretto also provides practically no clues. The short text, which consists of only three movements, originated from the 1711 collection Gottgefälliges Kirchen=Opffer in einem gantzen Jahr=Gange Andächtiger Betrachtungen über die gewöhnlichen Sonn= und Festtags=Texte by Georg Christian Lehms who, in the previous year, had been appointed court poet and court librarian at the Hesse- Darmstadt court. Bach apparently owned a printed copy of this text as he time and again, right into his Leipzig period, resorted to texts from this cycle. The printed text consists of two parts: It contains older type cantata texts (without recitatives) for the morning devotions and some of the newer type (with recitatives) for afternoon devotions at the Darmstadt court. Altogether, ten cantatas by Bach on literary texts by Lehms have survived, most of which are solo cantatas on texts from the second part of the collection. Lehms assigned the cantata to Oculi Sunday. The author warns about sin being the work of the devil, which he expresses in a recitative that is placed second in the cantata. These are severe words which clearly mirror that Sunday’s readings: The Gospel reading from Luke 12:14–21 refers to Jesus’s healing of a mute person by exorcism; the Epistle from Ephesians 5:19 describes how a sinner will never inherit the Kingdom of Christ and God. It is certainly no coincidence that Bach allocated this text to an alto voice, since at that time this singing voice was often understood to symbolize the penitent sinner.>>
Salzburg, May 2015 Ulrich Leisinger, Translation: David Kosviner. https://www.carusmedia.com/images-intern/medien/30/3105400/3105400x.pdf

<<Although the copy by Walther and Krebs was produced in Thuringia, strangely enough it was passed down by the publishing house Breitkopf in Leipzig. It is first found in the Verzeichniß Musicalischer Werke, allein zur Praxis, sowohl zum Singen, als für alle Instrumente, welche nicht durch den Druck bekannt gemacht worden [...]; welche in rich- tigen Abschriften bey Joh. Gottlob Immanuel Breitkopf, in Leipzig [...] zu bekommen sind of 1761 under “Geistliche kleine Cantaten und Arien. Mit Instrumenten.” Breitkopf seems to have purchased various sources from the Bach heirs around this time, including items from the estate of Anna Magdalena Bach, who had died in 1760. Although the manuscript bears no evidence of entries in Bach’s hand, it is difficult to imagine that it was not temporarily in his possession. Perhaps Walther and Krebs helped Bach to ob- tain copies of his own works when he left Weimar after a conflict and went to Köthen – and no longer had access to his compositions which were in the Weimar Hofkapelle’s possession.

The cantata was first published in 1863 in volume 12/2 of the Bach-Gesellschaft edition (edited by Wilhelm Rust); the Neue Bach-Ausgabe published it in 1966 (NBA I/18; edited by Alfred Dürr). The present edition is based on the copy of the score by Walther and Krebs which is housed in the Bibliothèque Royal Albert Ier in Brussels (shelf mark: Fétis 2444 (Ms. II 4196 Mus.). It is clearly and legibly written and completely figured and therefore did not make the edition problematic (D-B Mus.ms. Bach P 1036, https://www.bach-digital.de/receive/BachDigitalSource_source_00001993).>>

Cantata 54 Provenance: J. G. Walther / J. T. Krebs the Elder - ? - Breitkopf - Breitkopf & Härtel - F.-J. Fétis (1836) - Bruxelles, Bibliothèque Royal Albertler (1872). Breitkopf Catalogue 1761, p.10, "4. Small sacred cantatas and arias with instruments," Bach, no service designation. https://www.bach-digital.de/receive/BachDigitalWork_work_00000069, click on "Quellen: B-Br Ms II 4196 Mus (Fétis 2444)"

Cantata 54 Addendum. There is no closing chorale in Lehms' text; a possibly is plain chorale BWV 353 in g minor (http://www.bach-chorales.com/BWV0353.htm), says Petzoldt (Ibid.: 640, 645). Dresdener Gesanbuch 1725 , No. 287, Johann Rist 1662 melody (Zahn 6804), "Jesu, der du meine Seele" (Jesus, it is by you that my soul, http://www.bach-cantatas.com/CM/Jesu-der-du-meine-Seele.htm); Bar Form text stanza 16, "Jesum nur will ich lieb haben" (Only Jesus I shall hold dear); Martin Jahn 1661 "Jesu meiner Seele Wonne" (Jesus, delight of my so), http://www.bach-cantatas.com/Texts/Chorale023-Eng3.htm. The same stanza to the Johann Schoop 1642 melody, "Werde munter mein Gemüte" (Be alert , my soul), closes chorus Cantata BWV 147, "Herz und Mund und Tat und Leben" (Heart and mouth and deed and life), Feast of the Visitation 1723. The Bach Stiftung adds a closing four-part chorale (Mvt. No. 4) not in the Lehms libretto or Bach’s cantata: Martin Jahns’ text, “Jesum nur will ich liebhaben” (Only Jesus I shall hold dear), BWV 360 in B-flat Major (http://www.bach-streaming.com/stand-steadfast-against-transgression-bwv-54-video.html, http://www.bach-chorales.com/BWV0360.htm).

Problem of dating Cantata 54: There are some considerable problems here that make a definite assignment impossible. We are left with the possibilities indicated in the revised (English) Alfred Dürr. Klaus Hofmann (1993) in one of the Bach journals is primarily responsible for the 1715 date. The problem with the March 4, 1714 date is that it would have occurred two days after Bach’s appointment as Kapellmeister at the Weimar court. The only reason that Oculi has been assigned is because printed text book has this Sunday assigned. This is a good reason, but because the references to the Epistle and Gospel readings on Oculi Sunday are rather vague and because Bach composed a similar early cantata as “in ogni tempo”, Hans-Joachim Schulze considers the 7th Sunday after Trinity 1714 as a possibility because some possible references to the readings for that Sunday. Dürr (English + update, Cantatas of JSB: 292f) state: ‘most likely in summer or autumn’ of 1714. Konrad Küster dates this cantata to before 1714. The NBA KB [I/18 Dürr 1966] states that it could have been composed as early as 1713 possibly for Oculi or another suitable point in the year (in ogni tempo). [The theme of the 7th Sunday after Trinity is "The wages of Sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life."] Schulze also explains that the 1st mvt. was used by Bach with a different text as part of the St. Mark Passion (http://www.bach-cantatas.com/BWV54.htm).

Cantata 80a, Origins

A year or two after Cantata 54, Bach, after a closed period of mourning, resumed his monthly cantata production to compose Cantata 80a "Alles was von Gott geboren" (All that is born of God) when his turn occurred in Lent on Oculi, the 3rd Sunday in Lent. This time, using a 1715 printed text of Salomo Franck, Bach composed a more substantial, six-movement work of three arias, two recitatives and a closing chorale, Stanza 2, “Mit unsrer Macht ist nichts getan" (By our own power nothing is accomplished) of Luther's "A Mighty Fortress Is Our God," originally composed as a Lenten Psalm 46 paraphrase and later a Reformation battle cry of "The Church Militant." Likewise, Bach transformed this original cantata into an eight movement hybrid chorale Cantata 80 in Leipzig for the Reformation Festival, adding a monumental opening chorale fantasia to the first stanza (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jLbtZwH7-3o), putting in a sung Stanza 2 text to the oboe melody in the bass aria of Cantata 80a/1, adding a chorale chorus unison setting of Stanza 3, "Und wenn die Welt voll Teufel wär" (And if the world were full of devils. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Abowwa88F5Q), and closing with a plain chorale setting of the 4th and final stanza, "Das Wort sie sollen lassen stahn" (They shall pay no heed to God's word, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OeoWdHOtmis).

Cantata 80a movements, scoring, texts, key, meter (German text and Francis Browne English translation, http://www.bach-cantatas.com/Texts/BWV80-Eng3.htm):

1. Aria [Bass] free da-capo (ABA) with chorale melody [Oboe, Violino I/II, Viola all' unisono, Continuo]: A. “Alles, was von Gott geboren, / Ist zum Siegen auserkoren.” (All that is born of God / Is destined for victory); B. Aria “Wer bei Christi Blutpanier / In der Taufe Treu geschworen, / Siegt im Geiste für und für.” (Those who by the bloodstained banner of Christ / have sworn faithfulness in baptism / gain victory in the spirit for ever and ever) A. Aria text repeated at “Das Feld muss er”; D Major (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IpZwn-GqrS0).
2. Recitative secco, arioso [Bass; Continuo]: Recitative secco: “Erwäge doch, Kind Gottes, die so große Liebe, / Da Jesus sich / Mit seinem Blute dir verschriebe, / Wormit er dich / Zum Kriege wider Satans Heer und wider Welt, und Sünde / Geworben hat!” (Only consider, child of God how great his love, / since Jesus himself / with his blood has given his pledge for you, / by which / for the war against Satan's army and against the world and sin, / He has enlisted you!); “Gib nicht in deiner Seele / Dem Satan und den Lastern statt!" (Do not give any place in your soul / to Satan and depravity!); “Laß nicht dein Herz, / Den Himmel Gottes auf der Erden, / Zur Wüste werden! / Bereue deine Schuld mit Schmerz” (Do not let your heart, / God's heaven on earth, / become a desert! / Repent your guilt with sorrow); Arioso, “Dass Christi Geist / mit dir sich fest verbinde! (so that Christ's spirit / may be firmly united with you!); b to f-sharp minor; 4/4 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OTt-UEZ9umE
3. Aria free da-capo with ritornelli [Soprano, Continuo]: A. “Komm in mein Herzenshaus, / Herr Jesu, mein Verlangen!” (Come into my heart's house, / Lord Jesus, my desire!); B. “Treib Welt und Satan aus / Und lass dein Bild in mir erneuert prangen! / Weg, schnöder Sündengraus!” (Drive out the world and Satan / and let you image renewed within me shine in splendour! / Away, loathsome horror of sin!); b minor; 12/8 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lhZIp6HVgXc).
4. Recitative secco, arioso [Tenor, Continuo]: Recitative secco, “So stehe dann bei Christi blutgefärbten Fahne, / O Seele, fest / Und glaube, dass dein Haupt dich nicht verlässt, / Ja, dass sein Sieg / Auch dir den Weg zu deiner Krone bahne!” (Then take your stand by Christ's bloodstained banner, O soul, firmly, / and believe that your leader will not forsake you, / yes, that his victory / Will open the way to your crown!); “Tritt freudig an den Krieg! / Wirst du nur Gottes Wort / So hören als bewahren / So wird der Feind gezwungen auszufahren:” (March joyfully to war! / If only God's word, / is both heard and kept by you / then your enemy will be forced to withdraw); arioso, “Dein Heiland bleibt dein Hort!” (your saviour remains your protector!); b minor to D Major; 4/4 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5_ZoKUzkjDo).
5. Aria (Duet) canon in four parts with ritornelli [Alto, Tenor; Continuo]: A. “Wie selig sind doch die, die Gott im Munde tragen” (How blessed are those who bear God in their mouths); B. “Doch selger ist das Herz, das ihn im Glauben trägt!” (but more blessed is the heart that bears God in faith); C. “Es bleibet unbesiegt und kann die Feinde schlagen” (Such a heart remains unconquered and can strike its enemies); D. “Und wird zuletzt gekrönt, wenn es den Tod erlegt.” (and will in the end be crowned after death has been defeated); G Major; ¾ generic passepied style (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mAQNjDHrbwA).
6. Chorale plain (SATB; oboe, 2 Violini, Viola, Basso ed Organo): Stollen “Mit unsrer Macht ist nichts getan, / Wir sind gar bald verloren. / Es streit' vor uns der rechte Mann, Den Gott selbst hat erkoren.” (By our own power nothing is accomplished / We are very soon lost. / the man fights for us / Whom God himself has chosen.); Abgesang “Fragst du, wer er ist? / Er heißt Jesus Christ, Der Herre Zebaoth, / Und ist kein andrer Gott, Das Feld muss er behalten.” (Do you ask who he is? / he is called Jesus Christ, / the Lord of Sabaoth, / and there is no other god. / He shall hold the field of battle); D Major; 4/4 (BWV 303, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G8949oDXBR0).

Notes on Text, Music

The original Salomo Franck libretto had revisions perhaps by Bach, says Unger (Ibid.: 280), who summarizes the movements as follows: bass aria, "Battle led by Christ"; bass recit., "Ponder Christ's love which enlists us to the fight;" soprano aria, "World & Satan rejected; Christ invited into heart"; tenor recit., Stand firm with Christ in battle; victory assured"; alto/tenor duet "(some word changes in this version) Victory sure for those holding God in hearts by faith" and chorale, "victory assured for God's child." The original Franck text in printed in Petzoldt's study of Cantata 80a (Ibid.: 645f).

Bach's librettist, court poet Salomo Franck, wrote and published the text for Cantata BWV 80a, "Alles was von Gott geboren" in 1715 (http://www.bach-cantatas.com/BWV80-D5.htm, November 8, 2008): <<BWV 80a - Oculi Sunday Sources. It was performed at Weimar for Oculi Sunday, the third in Lent, on March 24, 1715. It was part of Bach's court responsibility to furnish a new cantata every four weeks for service performance. It is assumed that the other three composers were Samuel Drese, Kapellmeister; son Adam Drese, vice-Kapellmeister, and Prince Johann Ernst. The collaborative series began on March 24, 1714, on Pentecost Sunday with Cantata BWV 182, the libretto probably by Franck. With a few exceptions (texts by Lehms and Neumeister, and three-month hiatus mourning periods in the fall 1714 and summer of 1715), Franck produced as many as 23 librettos for Bach Weimar cantatas through 1716.

Cantata BWV 80a begins with a bass aria with oboe obbligato providing the ornamented melody of Martin Luther's chorale, "Ein' feste Burg is unser Gott" (A Mighty Fortress is our God). The melody was played by oboe alone but in subsequent versions is sung by soprano to the text of the second stanza of Luther's chorale. The bass introduces Franck's verse, "Alles, was von Gott geboren / Ist zum Siegen auserkoren" (All that is born of God / Is destined for victory, Francis Browne translation cited throughout). The soprano in the later versions sings the second verse, beginning "Mit unsrer Macht ist nichts getan" (By our own power nothing is accomplished)." The original version, BWV 80a/6, with the second verse, probably survives as plain four-part chorale BWV 303.

Bach's initial vocal treatment of Luther's famous Reformation hymn in 1715 reflects its origins in 1526-28 as a Lenten Psalm hymn, its first line and title equated with Psalm 46:1, "God is our refuge and strength." Later the sentiments in the hymn's four verses became a Reformation battle cry in which the enemy (the devils) was identified with the anti-Reformationists. The Lenten or Passiontide Season emphasizes repentance and preparation for Easter.

Luther's hymn is listed under Passion hymns in the Leipziger Kirchen-Andachten (Leipzig Church Devotion of 1694). The source is Friedrich's Smend's study, "Bachs Markus-Passion," Bach Jahrbuch, 1940-48, pp. 1-35, cited p.6). Smend explains Bach's use of the fourth verse of Luther's popular hymn just after the beginning of the crucifixion in the SMkP (BWV 247), BWV 248/112(38) in 1731. Beyond the Passiontide connections in Verse 4, "Das Wort sie sollen lassen stahn" (They shall pay no heed to God's word), Bach's use of the second stanza to close BWV 80a in 1715 emphasizes Christ's identity as humanity's defender, leading the forces in battle against Satan.

The Oculi Sunday readings show Bach's close attention to Luther's sentiments. My source is the Common Service Book with Hymnal (United Lutheran Church in America, Philadelphia 1917, pp. 73-74). "Oculi" means "look." It is alluded to in the initial Introit, "Mine eyes are ever toward the Lord. The succeeding Collect asks God to "look upon the hearty desires of the humble servants, and . . . be our defence against our enemies." The Epistle, "Living in the Light," Ephesians 5:1-9, warns in verse 6: "Let no man deceive you with vain words." The Gradual affirms that "When mine enemies are turned back: they shall fall and perish at Thy presence." The Gospel, "Jesus and Beelzebub," Luke 11:14-28, is Christ's explanation of casting out devils. The most salient Gospel verses are Luke 20-22: "But if I with the finger (Word) of God cast out devils, no doubt the Kingdom of God is come upon you. When a strong man armed keepeth his palace, his good are in peace: but when a stronger than he shall come upon him, he taketh from him all his armour wherein he trusted, and divideth his spoils."

Bach was most fortunate in Weimar to be able to compose cantatas for all Sundays of the church year, including those in Lent and Advent. He managed to compose some 30 church year pieces in less than three years. Bach was able to compose possibly another Oculi Sunday cantata, BWV 54, in 1714; and began a full cycle in Advent, December 1716, with the original versions of Cantatas BWV 70a, 186a, and 147a for the Second through the Fourth Sundays in Advent, respectively. A well-appointed church year indeed!

Beyond Bach’s original use of Stanza 2 in Franck’s text closing the original Cantata BWV 80a,⁷ Bach had little to change from the original text, observes Alfred Dürr in the Cantatas of J. S. Bach (p. 710). The incipit of the original duet (no. 5) for soprano and tenor was, “Wie selig is der Leib/ der / Jesu, dich getragen?” (How blessed os the body / that / Jesus, you bore, Luke 11:27b, was changed in the Leipzig version, to “Wie selig sind doch die, die Gott im Munde tragen” (How blessed are those who bear God in their mouths). The original “madrigalian text, which refers to the expulsion of the Devil recorded in the Lenten Gospel [Luke 11:14-28, Jesus casts out devils], could be retained without difficulty, especially in light of Luther’s third verse,” “Und wenn die Welt voll Teufel wär” (And if the world were full of devils), and his second verse, which celebrates Christ as the victor who must hold the field. The first line of Franck’s text, which now opens the second movement, is a paraphrase of 1 John 5:4, “Whatsoever is born of God overcomes the world’.” Plain chorale BWV 303, Dürr believes it probable that this setting came from the lost cantata BWV 80a, the earlier Weimar version of BWV 80. (See NBA III/2.2 KB, p.270.)>>

The prescribed readings for the Sunday were taken from the Epistle to the Ephesians, advice for a righteous life (Ephesians 5:1–9), and from the Gospel of Luke, casting out a devil (Luke 11:14–28). The cantata text was written by the court poet Salomon Franck and published in 1715 in Evangelisches Andachts-Opffer. The text of the first movement paraphrases a verse from the First Epistle of John, "For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?" (1 John 5:4). The closing chorale is stanza 2, "Mit unsrer Macht ist nichts getan" (By our own power nothing is accomplished)," of Martin Luther's hymn Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott, BWV 303 (http://www.bach-chorales.com/BWV0303.htm, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qMRMN-b29r4).

Provenance: Cantata 80a (Bach Compendium A-52) was listed in the Breitkopf Catalogue, Fall 1761, Church Music page 20 (between BWV 22 and Anh. 156), score (https://www.bach-digital.de/receive/BachDigitalSource_source_00024466, now lost) for copying (1 Oboe, 2 Violini, Viola, 4 Voci, Basso ed Organo), having at the 1750 estate division remained in Leipzig or given to Friedemann, either source making the woravailable for copy, Breitkopf fee (1 thl. 12 gl), while the original parts set was salvaged and integrated into succeeding versions of chorale Cantata 80 for Reformation which by 1740 was replaced by a new parts set and both going to Friedemann in Halle in 1746.

Today's common lectionary has the third Lenten covenant as the First Reading: 10 Commandments, Exodus 20:1-17, https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/texts.php?id=73; Introit Psalm 19, Coeli enarrant (The heavens declare, https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm+19&version=KJV\); Epistle, 1 Corinthians 1:18-25 (https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Corinthians+1%3A18-25&version=NIV); and Gospel, John 2:13-22 (Money changers driven from temple, https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John+2%3A13-22&version=KJV), not in Bach's one-year lectionary while Cantata 102 "Herr, deine Augen sehen nach dem Glauben!" (Lord, your eyes look for faith!, Jeremiah 5:3) is most appropriate for this year's text, says John S. Sutterlund.⁸

Bach's colleagues and previous composers set the following cantatas for Oculi Sunday: Georg Philipp Telemann, Wandelt in der Liebe, TWV 1:1498 (Harmonischer Gottes-Dienst, Hamburg 1726); Christoph Graupner, see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_cantatas_by_Christoph_Graupner#GWV_1122;

Gottfried Heinrich Stölzel, "Des Weibes Samen soll der Schlange(n) den Kopf zertreten" (4 March 1736, ?Leipzig, Bach), "Dazu ist erschienen der Sohn Gottes" (1738); Wolfgang Carl Briegel (1626-1712), Gotha 1660 cycle, "Ich elender Mensch," http://imslp.org/wiki/Evangelische_Gespräche_(Briegel%2C_Wolfgang_Carl); and Erlebach, Philipp Heinrich Erlebach (1657-1714), Rudolstadt, "Herr wer ist dir gleich unter den Göttern." Picander 20 March 1729, P-23, "Schliesse dich, mein Herze zu daß der Satan," chorale :Gott der Vater wohn uns bei."

FOOTNOTES

¹ Paul Zeller Strodach, The Church Year: Studies in the Introits, Collects, Epistles, and Gospels (Philadelphia PA: United Lutheran Publication House, 1924: 116).
² Oculi Readings: Ephesians 5:1–9, advice for a righteous life (kjv 1612, https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Ephesians+5%3A1-9&version=KJV; Luther 1545, https://newchristianbiblestudy.org/bible/german-luther-1545/ephesians/5/; Gospel, Luke 11:14–28, casting out a devil (kjv, https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke+11%3A14-28&version=KJV; Luther, https://newchristianbiblestudy.org/bible/german-luther-1545/luke/11/.
³ Petzoldt, Bach Kommentar: Die geistlichen Kantaten des 1. Bis 27. Trinitas-Sontagges, Vol. 1; Theologisch Musikwissenschaftlicke Kommentierung der Geistlichen Vokalwerke Johann Sebastan Bachs, Internationale Bachakademie Stuttgart (Kassel: Bärenreiter, 2004: 637).
⁴ Cantata 54 details & Discography, http://www.bach-cantatas.com/BWV54.htm; Score Vocal & Piano, http://www.bach-cantatas.com/Scores/BWV054-V&P.pdf; Score BGA http://www.bach-cantatas.com/BGA/BWV054-BGA.pdf; Carus ed. 31.054 (NBA), https://www.carusmedia.com/images-intern/medien/30/3105400/3105400x.pdf. References: BGA XII/2 (Cantatas 51-60, Wilhelm Rust, 1863), NBA KB I/18 (Dürr 1966), Bach Compendium BC A 51, Zwang K 14. Discussion, http://www.bach-cantatas.com/BWV54