Christum wir sollen loben schon, BWV 121

History, hymn and words#

Bach composed the cantata in his second year in Leipzig for the Second Day of Christmas as part of his second cantata cycle. The prescribed readings for the feast day were from the Epistle to Titus (), and the Gospel of Luke (), of the shepherds at the manger. The hymn’s first stanza and eighth stanza are retained unchanged for an opening chorus and a closing chorale. The inner stanzas were freely adapted as madrigalian recitatives and arias by an unknown poet, one stanza for each of the two arias, movements 2 and 4, and two stanzas for each of the two recitatives, movements 3 and 5. The librettist created a sermon in versed poetry, devoting the first three free movements to the miracle of the birth of Jesus and the other three to the believer’s reaction to it. The hymn tune that Bach used goes back to the “A solis ortus cardine” hymn from the 5th century. Bach’s version was first published in Strasbourg in 1537. Bach led the first performance in the service on 26 December 1724.

Structure and scoring#

Bach structured in six movements. Both the text and the tune of the hymn are retained in the outer movements, a chorale fantasia and a four-part closing chorale. Bach scored the work for four vocal soloists (soprano (S), alto (A), tenor (T) and bass (B)), a four-part choir, and a Baroque instrumental ensemble of cornett (Ct), three trombones (Tb), oboe d’amore (Oa), two violin parts (Vl), one viola part (Va), and basso continuo. The duration of the cantata is given as 21 minutes. In the following table of the movements, the scoring, keys and time signatures are taken from Alfred Dürr’s standard work . The continuo, which plays throughout, is not shown.

Movements#

The opening choral motet, "" (Christ we shall praise splendidly), Bach used fugal techniques and an extended final cadence. The tenor aria, "" (O you exalted creature of God, do not understand, no, no, just marvel), is composed as a modern da capo aria, in which the symmetrical scheme is broken up by irregular periodising and harmonization. The third movement, "" (The unfathomable being of Grace), The early-church melody is illuminated in a modern major-minor tonality. \header tagline = ##f \layout indent = 0 \context \Score \remove “Bar_number_engraver” global = \key d \major \time 4/4 \partial 4 soprano = \relative c’ \global \set Staff.midiPanPosition = -0.5 \set midiInstrument = “violin” e8 (fis) g4 g a (b~ b) e, a g fis2.\fermata a4 b8 (cis) d2 cis4 ( b) a b8 (cis) d4 d2.\fermata a4 b8 (cis d4~ d) cis b a b8 (cis d4~ d a8 g fis g ) a4 b2.\fermata e,8 (fis) g4 g8 (a) b (c d4~ d) b a8 ( g fis g a4) g fis2~ fis1~ fis1~ fis1\fermata \bar " ." alto = \relative c’ \global \set Staff.midiPanPosition = 0.5 \set midiInstrument = “viola” b4 e e e (fis~ fis) e dis e dis2. d4 g fis8 (g a4) e8 (fis g4) fis8 (e) d4 g fis2. fis8 (e) d (e fis4~ fis) fis8 (e) d (e) fis4 g (d8 e fis2.) e4 fis2. e8 (dis) e (fis) g4 fis8 ( e ) d! (c) b (c d e fis4. e8 dis4 e~ e d8 cis d e fis2 gis8 ais b1~ b4) ais8 (gis) ais2\fermata \bar " ." tenor = \relative c’ \global \set Staff.midiPanPosition = -1 \set midiInstrument = “cello” g8 (a) b4 b a2 g8 (a b4) a b b2. a4 e’ a,4. b8 (cis d e d) cis4 b b a2. d8 (e) fis4 (b,~ b) a b8 (cis) d4 g,8 (a b4~ b8 cis d4 cis8 dis) e4 dis2. b4 b b8 (c) d! (e) fis4 g (g, d'8 e fis4~ fis e8 d cis4) fis, b8 fis\noBeam b4~ (b8 ais b cis d1~ d4) cis8 (b) cis2\fermata \bar " ." bass = \relative c \global \set Staff.midiPanPosition = 1 \set midiInstrument = “cello” e4 e e8 (d) cis4 (dis e8 fis) g4 fis e b2. fis'4 e d8 ( e fis g a4) e fis g8 ( a ) b (cis) d2. d,8 (cis) b4. (cis8 d e) fis4 g fis e (b8 cis d e fis g a b) c4 b2. g8 (fis) e4 e d8 (c) b (a) g (a b c d4. c8 b4 cis8 g ais2 b8 cis d e fis4. e8 d cis b ais b d ) cis (b) fis'1 \bar " ." verse = \lyricmode Lob, Ehr und Dank __ sei dir ge – sagt, Christ, ge – born von __ der rei – nen Magd, samt Va – ter und dem heil – gen Geist von nun an bis __ in E – wig – keit. In E – wig – keit. \score \new ChoirStaff > \layout \score \midi \tempo 4=96 \context \Score midiChannelMapping = #‘instrument \context \Staff \remove “Staff_performer” \context \Voice \consists “Staff_performer” >

Manuscripts and publication#

Bach’s autograph score is preserved. It was probably inherited by his son Wilhelm Friedemann Bach, and went, via other owners, to the royal library in Berlin, together with four parts. While the parts remained there, the score was moved during World War II. It is held in the in Kraków, Poland. A set of 14 original parts was probably inherited by Anna Magdalena Bach who passed them to the . They are now held by the Bach Archive in Leipzig. The cantata was first published in a critical edition in 1878 in the first complete edition of Bach’s work, the . The volume in question was edited by Alfred Dörffel. It was published in 2000 in the , edited by Uwe Wolf.

Recordings#

A list of recordings is provided on the Bach Cantatas website.

External links#

• “BWV 121 Christum wir sollen loben schon, English translation, University of Vermont
• , Maria Keohane (soprano), Alex Potter (alto countertenor), Jan Kobow (tenor), Matthew Brook (bass), Concerto Copenhagen, Lars Ulrik Mortensen (conductor)