Bach cantata

Titles of the cantatas#

Although the German term (Bach cantata) became very familiar, Bach himself rarely used the title Cantata in his manuscripts. In , he wrote (Cantata for solo voice and instruments). Another cantata in which Bach used that term is . Typically, he began a heading with the abbreviation J.J. (, “Jesus, help”), followed by the name of the celebration, the beginning of the words and the instrumentation, for example in . Bach often signed his cantatas with SDG, short for (“glory to the only God” / “glory to God alone”). Bach often wrote a title page for the autograph score and copies of the original parts. For example, he titled the parts of , using a mix of languages to describe the occasion, the incipit, the precise scoring and his name: “Dominica 21. post Trinit / Aus tieffer Noth schrey ich zu dir. / â / 4. Voc. / 2. Hautbois. / 2. Violini. / Viola. / 4. Tromboni / e / Continuo. / di / Signore / J.S.Bach”. The occasion for which the piece was performed is given first, in Latin: "" (21st Sunday after Trinity Sunday, with Trinit short for Trinitatem). The title follows, given in German in the orthography of Bach’s time. The scoring and finally his name appear in a mix of French and Italian, the common languages among musicians at the time, partly abbreviated.

BWV number#

Bach wrote more than 200 cantatas, of which many have survived. In the Bach-Werke-Verzeichnis (BWV), Wolfgang Schmieder assigned them each a number within groups: 1–200 (sacred cantatas), 201–216 (secular cantatas), and 217–224 (cantatas of doubtful authorship). Since Schmieder’s designation, several of the cantatas he thought authentic have been redesignated as “spurious.” However, the spurious cantatas retain their BWV numbers. The List of Bach cantatas is organized by BWV number but sortable by other criteria.

Structure of a Bach cantata#

A typical Bach cantata of his first year in Leipzig follows the scheme: # Opening chorus # Recitative # Aria # Recitative (or Arioso) # Aria # Chorale The opening chorus () is usually a polyphonic setting, with the orchestra presenting the themes or contrasting material first. Most arias follow the form of a da capo aria, repeating the first part after a middle section. The final chorale is typically a homophonic setting of a traditional melody. Bach used an expanded structure to take up his position in Leipzig with the cantatas , and , both in two parts, to be performed before and after the sermon () and during communion (). Each part is a sequence of an opening movement, five movements with alternating recitatives and arias, and a chorale. In an exemplary way both cantatas cover the prescribed readings: starting with a related psalm from the Old Testament, Part I reflects the Gospel and Part II the Epistle. Bach did not follow any strict scheme but composed as he wanted to express the words. A few cantatas are opened by an instrumental piece before the first chorus, such as the Sinfonia of . A solo movement begins , because its first words speak of silence. Many cantatas composed in Weimar are set like chamber music, mostly for soloists, with a four-part setting only in the closing chorale, which may have been sung by the soloists. In an early cantata, , Bach marked a repeat of the opening chorus after the chorale. The chorale can be as simple as a traditional four-part setting, or be accompanied by an instrument, or be accompanied by the instruments of the opening chorus or even expanded by interludes based on its themes, or have the homophonic vocal parts embedded in an instrumental concerto as in the familiar , or have complex vocal parts embedded in the concerto as in , in a form called (chorale fantasia). In , for the first Sunday in Advent, the beginning of a new liturgical year, he rendered the opening chorus as a French overture.

Vocal#

Typically Bach employs soprano, alto, tenor and bass soloists and a four-part choir, also SATB. He sometimes assigns the voice parts to the dramatic situation, for example soprano for innocence or alto for motherly feelings. The bass is often the vox Christi, the voice of Jesus, when Jesus is quoted directly, as in , or indirectly, as in . In the absence of clear documentary evidence, there are different options as to how many singers to deploy per part in choral sections. This is reflected in the recordings discussed below. Ton Koopman, for example, is a conductor who has recorded a complete set of the cantatas and who favours a choir with four singers per part. On the other hand, some modern performances and recordings use one voice per part. Joshua Rifkin is well known is an advocate of this approach, although it has yet to be followed through in a complete set of cantatas. Nonetheless, Bach would have had more singers available at Leipzig, for example, while the space in the court chapel in Weimar was limited. One size of choir probably does not fit all the cantatas.

Instrumental#

The orchestra that Bach used is based on string instruments (violin, viola) and basso continuo, typically played by cello, violone (at the same octave) and organ. A continuo bass is the rule in Baroque music; its absence is noteworthy and often has a special reason, such as describing fragility. The specific character of a cantata or a single movement is rather defined by wind instruments, such as oboe, oboe da caccia, oboe d’amore, flauto traverso, recorder, trumpet, horn, trombone, and timpani. In movements with winds, a bassoon usually joins the continuo group. Festive occasions call for richer instrumentation. Some instruments also carry symbolic meaning, such as a trumpet, the royal instrument of the Baroque, for divine majesty and three trumpets for the Trinity. In an aria of BWV 172, addressing the Heiligste Dreifaltigkeit (Most holy Trinity), the bass is accompanied only by three trumpets and timpani. In many arias Bach uses obbligato instruments, which accompany the singer as an equal partner. These instrumental parts are frequently set in virtuoso repetitive patterns called figuration. Instruments include, in addition to the ones mentioned, organ, flauto piccolo (sopranino recorder), violino piccolo, viola d’amore, violoncello piccolo (a smaller cello), tromba da tirarsi (slide trumpet) and corno da tirarsi. In his early compositions Bach also used instruments that had become old-fashioned, such as viola da gamba. Alto recorders (flauti dolci) are sometimes used in connection with death and mourning as in .

Solo cantata#

Some cantatas are composed for a solo singer (Solokantate), as , for soprano, sometimes concluded by a chorale, as in , for bass.

Dialogue cantata#

Some cantatas are structured as a dialogue, mostly for Jesus and the Soul (bass and soprano), set like miniature operas. Bach titled them for example , concerto in dialogue. An early example is (1714). He composed four such works in his third annual cycle, (1725), , (both 1726), and (1727).

Text of Bach’s sacred cantatas#

Within the Lutheran liturgy, certain readings from the Bible were prescribed for every event during the church year; specifically, it was expected that an from an Epistle and from a Gospel would be read. Music was expected for all Sundays and holidays except the quiet times (tempus clausum) of Advent and Lent; the cantatas were supposed to reflect the readings. Ideally, a cantata text started with an Old Testament quotation related to the readings, and reflected both the Epistle and the Gospel, as in the exemplary . Most of the solo movements are based on poetry of contemporary writers, such as court poet Salomon Franck in Weimar or Georg Christian Lehms or Picander in Leipzig, with whom Bach collaborated. The final words were usually a stanza from a chorale. Bach’s Chorale cantatas are based exclusively on one chorale, for example the early , and most cantatas of his second annual cycle in Leipzig. The German text may pose difficulties in translation and comprehension. Sometimes caused by archaic language, these issues are also a result of the different social context of modern artists and listeners, who do not share the same biblical and theological knowledge and perspectives as Bach or his audience.

Periods of cantata composition#

The following lists of works (some marked as questioned) rely mainly on Alfred Dürr’s Die Kantaten von Johann Sebastian Bach. Usually the cantatas appear in the year of their first performance, sometimes also for later performances and then in brackets.

Mühlhausen#

Bach moved to Mühlhausen in 1707 when he was 22 to take up an appointment as the organist of St. Blasius church (). There is evidence suggesting that he composed a cantata as an audition piece for Mühlhausen, and this may have been . One or two more surviving cantatas may have been composed while Bach was at his previous post in Arnstadt, for example, . A couple of the surviving cantatas can be firmly dated to his time in Mühlhausen. For example, , was composed for the inauguration of the town council in 1708. By Bach’s own account, , was also composed at Mühlhausen. Other cantatas are assumed to date from this period: * , related to Psalm 146, likely for New Year’s Day * , assumed to be a wedding cantata * , a funeral cantata

Weimar#

Bach worked in Weimar from 1708. He composed a secular cantata, Was mir behagt, ist nur die muntre Jagd, BWV 208, in 1713. The composition of cantatas for the (court chapel) on a regular monthly basis started with his promotion to in March 1714. His goal was to compose a complete set of cantatas for the liturgical year within four years. The cantatas 54 and 199 were performed within the cycle but possibly composed earlier. *1713: ? * 63? *1714: * * 172 * 21 * 54 * 199 * 61 * 152 *1715: * 165 * 185 * 162 * 163 * 132 *1716: * 161 * 80a *70a * 186a * 147a

Köthen#

Bach worked in Köthen from 1717 to 1723, where he composed for example the Brandenburg Concertos. He had no responsibility for church music, but his employer Prince Leopold did commission secular cantatas. Later in Leipzig, he derived several church cantatas from congratulatory cantatas, such as , for Easter from the birthday cantata . *1726: Steigt freudig in die Luft, BWV 36a *1729:

Leipzig#

In Leipzig Bach was responsible for the town’s church music in the and and was head of the . Church cantata performances alternated in the two churches for ordinary Sundays and took place in both churches on high holidays such as Christmas, then one in the morning, one in the afternoon, and again alternating for the three days such an occasion was celebrated. Academic functions took place at the . There is debate whether Bach performed , there a week before he began his cantorate. Bach started it on the first Sunday after Trinity of 1723 and wrote a first annual cycle. Bach’s major works such as the Passions and the Mass in B minor are inserted in the listing for comparison. *1723: * (audition pieces)

First cantata cycle#

• 1723:
• 76
• (21)
• 24
• 167
• 147
• Magnificat
• 186
• 136
• 105
• 46
• 179
• (199)
• 69a
• 77
• 25
• 119
• 138
• 95
• 148
• 48
• (162)
• 109
• 89
• (163?)
• 60
• 90
• 70
• (61)
• (63)
• 40
• 64
• 1724: Singet dem Herrn ein neues Lied, BWV 190
• 153
• 65
• 154
• (155)
• 73
• 81
• 83
• 144
• 181 + (18)
• (22 23)
• (182)
• St John Passion
• (4)
• 66
• 134
• 67
• 104
• (12)
• 166
• 86
• 37
• 44
• 59
• 173
• 184
• 194

Second cantata cycle#

After Trinity of 1724 he started a second annual cycle of mainly chorale cantatas. The chorale was typically the chorale prescribed for that week ( or ). These cantatas were performed even after his death, according to Christoph Wolff probably because the well-known hymns were appealing to the audience. *1724: * 2 * 7 * 135 * 10 * 93 * 107 * 178 * 94 * 101 * 113 * 33 * 78 * 99 * 8 * 130 * 114 * 96 * 5 * 180 * 38 * 115 * 139 * 26 * 116 * 62 * 91 * 121 * 133 * 122 *1725: * 123 * 124 * 3 * 111 * 92 * 125 * 126 * 127 * 1 The new cantatas Bach composed for Easter of 1725 and afterwards were not chorale cantatas: *1725: BWV 249, early version (later versions known as the Easter Oratorio but the 1725 version was a cantata) * 6 * 42 * 85 * 103 * 108 * 87 * 128 * 183 * 74 * 68 * 175 * 176 Two of these, BWV 128 and BWV 68, both starting with a chorale fantasia, are sometimes seen as included in the chorale cantata cycle. Other cantatas by Bach that are usually seen as belonging to the chorale cantata cycle: * BWV 4 (version as performed again at Easter 1725, somewhat different from the early Mühlhausen version) * 137 (1725) * 58 (1727) * 129 (1727) * 80 (1727 or later, although an early version of this cantata, BWV 80b, may have been composed for or performed on Reformation Day in 1724) * 112 (1731) * 140 (1731) * 177 (1732) * 9 (1732) * 14 (1735) For four further chorale cantatas it is unclear for which occasion they were composed, and whether they were intended to be added to the cycle: * BWV 117 (1728–1731) * 192 (1730) * 100 (1732–1735) * 97 (1734?)

Third to fifth year in Leipzig#

After Trinity of 1725 Bach began a third annual cycle, but with less consistency. The first cantata is written for the ninth Sunday after Trinity, but the following year he added a substantial work for the first Sunday after Trinity. The cycle extends over several years, although the cantatas from 1727 have been termed as “between the third and fourth cycles”. Cantatas for some occasions are not extant.

Picander cycle of 1728–29#

There is some circumstantial evidence that a complete fourth cycle of Bach cantatas, in scholarship indicated as the Picander cycle, may have existed. Extant cantatas of the fourth cycle: *1728: 149 * 188 * 197a * 117 *1729: * * * 156 * 159 * 145 * 174