Cantata BWV 145
Ich lebe, mein Herze, zu deinem Ergötzen
Discussions - Part 3

Continue from Part 2

Discussions in the Week of August 8, 2010 (3^rd round)

Douglas Cowling wrote (August 11, 2010):
Week of August 8, 2010: ³Ich liebe, mein Herze zu deinem Ergötzen², BWV 145

Week of August 8, 2010:

³Ich liebe, mein Herze zu deinem Ergötzen², BWV 145

Cantata for the Third Day of Easter (Easter Tuesday)

Is there scholarly consensus whether this cantata was written for Easter Monday (2^nd Day of Easter) or Easter Tuesday (3^rd Day of Easter)? The concluding chorale, ³Erschienen ist der herrlich Tag² is the proper chorale for Easter Tuesday,

Performance History:

1^st performance: April 19, 1729 - Leipzig

* BCML page: (texts, translations, scores and readings): http://www.bach-cantatas.com/BWV145.htm

* Live streaming: http://www.bach-cantatas.com/Mus/BWV145-Mus.htm

* Commentary (Mincham): http://www.jsbachcantatas.com/documents/chapter-42-bwv-145.htm

* Provenance (Braatz): http://www.bach-cantatas.com/Ref/BWV145-Ref.htm

* Previous Discussions: http://www.bach-cantatas.com/BWV145-D.htm

Notes on Movements:

Mvt. a Missing Opening Movement?

Given the provenance of the surviving scores, it is unlikely that we will ever know the shape of the various versions in the cantata¹s past. The possibility of a ³pastiche² chorus from a Telemann cantata or an orchestral movement raises the insoluble questions of what Bach thought of such works. It¹s not beyond the realm of possibility that Bach collected single vocal and instrumental movements which could be inserted into a work. It was certainly common practice in contemporary opera. Given the esteem in which Sebastian held the music of his contemporaries and family, we can well wonder if pastiche assemblies were more common than we thought.

Mvt. b: Chorus

The chorus is really a duet for soprano and alto, with the ³choir² entering with orchestral doubling at ³So wirst du selig.² The opening of the Easter Oratorio lurks closeby. The question of OVPP performance may be suggested as there are no ³solo² and ³tutti² markings. Although the counterpoint is vital and arguably Bachian, the four-bar coda is is rather unique. Is it meant to be sung subito piano to depict ³selig² (= holy)? This looks more like Handel than Bach.

Mvt. 1: Duet (Soprano & Tenor)

The use of a tenor as the Vox Christi is unusual for Bach¹s Easter cantatas, especially as the tenor has the following recitative.

Mvt. 2: Recitative (Tenor)

The text is one of the rare instances in the Bach cantatas where a real ³supersessionist² antagonism between Christianity and Judaism emerges in the free poetic movements. The Epistle reading was the nexus for the ³blind Synagogue² trope which Luther and Bach and his contemporaries inherited from the medieval church, a theme which does not appear in the Passions.

Mvt. 3: Aria (Bass)

The addition of the flute as a paired voice with the solo trumpet is very unusual, One would have to go to the Brandenburg Concertos to find a familiar example of trumpet and flute as concertante instruments. Does the pairing occur in any other cantata. The dramatic use of the unison glissando figure is more familiar in Handel than Bach: Satan¹s aria in ³La Resurrezione² is a roller coaster of similar figures.

Mvt. 4: Recitative (Soprano)

The Dialogue structure of the Christ/Soul duet returns.

Mvt. 5: Chorale

³Erschienen ist der herrlich Tag² was a proper chorale which was first sung on Easter Tuesday and then sung throughout the Easter season until Ascennsion Day.

Easter Tuesday (Third Day of Easter)

Introit: ³Aquae Sapientiae² (LU 789)
Motet: ³Heut triumphiret Gottes Sohn²
Hymn de Tempore: ³Christ Lag in Todesbanden²
Pulpit Hymn: ³Christ ist Erstanden²
Hymns for Chancel, Communion & Closing:
³Erschienen ist der herrlich Tag²

Julian Mincham wrote (August 11, 2010):
[To Douglas Cowling] Re the question of flute and trumpet pairing it is very unusual but they sometimes double occasionally in large orchestras e.g. BWV 119 first movement ( a marvellous French Overture which does NOT have a fugal middle section) bar 68 and the 7^th movement, also a chorus, from bar 31. But even here there is nothing that is sustained.

William L. Hoffman wrote (August 12, 2010):
Douglas Cowing, BWV 145 Intro. 8/11/10::
<Is there scholarly consensus whether this cantata was written for Easter Monday (2^nd Day of Easter) or Easter Tuesday (3^rd Day of Easter)? The concluding chorale, ³Erschienen ist der herrlich Tag² is the proper chorale for Easter Tuesday.>
Picander's printed 1728 text identifies BWV 145, same incipt, without the two added movements, as the 30^th cantata text (beginning with Advent 1 and including all Sundays in Advent and Lent) for the Third Day of Easter. Schmieder BWV 1990 identifies BWV 145 for the same day, as does the Bach Compendium, Easter Tuesday, A 60.

The confusion over the appropriate chorale comes, according to Stiller's <JSB and Liturgical Life in Leipzig> (p.239f), in the variants of the various hymn books and the flexibility of chorale usage during the Easter Season. Doug's listings, THE SUNDAY MUSICAL CONTEXT OF BACH'S CANTATAS IN THE EASTER SEASON, based on Terry's findings, conforms to a great extent with Stiller's.

Stiller lists three hymns in the Leipzig hymn schedules assigned for the Third Easter Day: "Ach bleibe uns, Herr Jesu Christ," "Erschienen ist der errlich Tag," and "Wenn mein Stündlein vorhanden ist." Interestingly, Stiller (p. 87), identifies "Heut triumphert Gottes Sohn" as the opening hymn in the morning and vesper services for Easter Tuesday and Ascension Day. Bach's use of the triple-beat "Erschienen ist der herrlich Tag" is found in two four-voice chorale settings in Cantata BWV 67/4 (S.1) Quasimodogeniti 1724 (?Ch. Weiss libretto), and in BWV 145/5 (S. 14), Easter Tuesday 1729 (Picander Text), as well as in chorale prelude BWV 629, Orgelbüchlein No. 38.

I erred recently when I said that "there is no primary chorale for the third day of the Easter Festival" and "Bach had no need to compose a chorale cantata for this feast day." Still, the Nicolaus Herman chorale text, "Erschienen ist der herrlich Tag," has 14 verses and Bach used the first and last stanzas; however, it would have been difficult to set it as a pure-hymn cantata with 14 stanzas or as a chorale cantata in 1725 with 4-5 internal movements paraphrasing 12 four-line stanzas, each concluding with a "Halleluja!"

Douglas Cowling wrote (August 12, 2010):
William L. Hoffman wrote:
< Stiller lists three hymns in the Leipzig hymn schedules assigned for the Third Easter Day: "Ach bleibe uns, Herr Jesu Christ," "Erschienen ist der errlich Tag," and "Wenn mein Stündlein vorhanden ist." Interestingly, Stiller (p. 87), identifies "Heut triumphert Gottes Sohn" as the opening hymn in the morning and vesper services for Easter Tuesday and Ascension Day. >
The interplay of chorales in Bach's service is more than just a tracking down of sources. They're not just quotations. There is a dynamic performance hermeneutic in play here. The placement of chorales in the service and in the cantatas creates sets of premontions and reminiscences of the most sophisticated sort.

For instance, in "Christ Lag in Todesbanden", the congregation would have just sung the complete chorale minutes before Bach's cantata began. In a very real sense, the congregation introduces the chorale upon which Bach now embarks on a series of partitas.

In "Gelobet Seist Du", the congregation had just sung the entire chorale. With the music fresh in their minds, Bach launches into a kaleidoscopic exploration of text and music that must have been compelling. He even keeps the key of the congregation's chorale. Could he have been teasing them to join in the concluding verse whose text and music they knew by heart?

We assume that Bach's listeners were the passive consumers of today's concerts. I don't believe it.

Ed Myskowski wrote (August 12, 2010):
William L. Hoffman wrote:
< I erred recently when I said that "there is no primary chorale for the third day of the Easter Festival" and "Bach had no need to compose a chorale cantata for this feast day." Still, the Nicolaus Herman chorale text, "Erschienen ist der herrlich Tag," has 14 verses and Bach used the first and last stanzas; however, it would have been difficult to set it as a pure-hymn cantata with 14 stanzas or as a chorale cantata in 1725 with 4-5 internal movements paraphrasing 12 four-line stanzas, each concluding with a "Halleluja!" >
Thanks for this clarification, and for detailing the distinction with the main body of the chorale cantata cycle (Jahrgang II).

Continue on Part 4

Cantata BWV 145: Ich lebe, mein Herze, zu deinem Ergötzen for Easter Tuesday (1729)
Discography: Details & Complete Recordings | Recordings of Individual Movements
Discussions: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4