Gott, wie dein Name, so ist auch dein Ruhm, BWV 171

Background and words#

Bach had taken up his tenure as Thomaskantor in Leipzig in 1723. During his first year there he composed a first cantata cycle for almost all occasions of the liturgical year. The second year he composed a cycle of mostly chorale cantatas, based on Lutheran hymns. The third year, Bach began a third cycle but wrote the works more irregularly. was from a later incomplete cycle, which the Bach scholar Christoph Wolff calls the Picander cycle, after the librettist Picander with whom Bach had collaborated already for the St Matthew Passion, and worked together for several years. The preface of Picander’s 1728 collection of cantata texts written for Bach said that “lack of poetic elegance would be compensated for by the sweetness of the incomparable Kapellmeister Bach”.

Structure and scoring#

Bach structured the cantata in six movements. An opening chorus and a closing chorale frame a sequence of alternating arias and recitatives. Bach scored the work for four vocal soloists (soprano (S), alto (A), tenor (T), bass (B)), a four-part choir and a festive Baroque instrumental ensemble of three trumpets (Tr) and timpani (Ti), two oboes (Ob), two violins (Vl), viola (Va), and basso continuo. The heading of the autograph score reads: “J.J. Festo Circumcisionis Xsi. Concerto . à 4 Voci. 3 Trombe, Tamburi, 2 Hautb. 2 Violini, Viola e Contin: di Bach”, which means “Jesus help. Feast of the circumcision of Christ. Concerto for 4 voices, 3 trumpets, timpani, 2 oboes, 2 violins, viola and continuo”. The duration is given as 22 minutes. In the following table of the movements, the scoring follows the Neue Bach-Ausgabe. The keys and time signatures are taken from the book on all cantatas by the Bach scholar Alfred Dürr, using the symbols for common time (4/4) and alla breve (2/2). The continuo, playing throughout, is not shown.

1#

The first movement, "" (God, as Your name is, so also Your praise is to the ends of the world.), deals with universal praise of God’s name is a choral fugue. While the trumpets are independent, the strings and oboes mostly double the voices in the style of Bach’s motets. The first trumpet even plays the fugue theme. The Bach scholar Alfred Dürr argues that the work is probably no new composition but the reworking of an older lost movement, which forms the basis of both this movement and the later second part of the Credo of this music to the Mass in B minor, ( I believe in the almighty father, maker of Heaven and Earth). The idea of both is the “world-embracing almighty power of God”. John Eliot Gardiner, who conducted the Bach Cantata Pilgrimage in 2000, summarized:

2#

The tenor aria, "" (Lord, as far as the clouds stretch), is accompanied by two instruments not specified in the manuscript score, perhaps violins, according to the range.

3#

An alto recitative, "" (O You sweet name of Jesus), is secco. The musicologist Julian Mincham notes the development from the initial F-sharp minor, illustrating “introverted contemplation”, to “confident assertion” in D major.

4#

The soprano aria, "" (Jesus shall be my first word uttered in the new year), is a parody of an aria from the secular , in which a virtuoso solo violin represents a gentle wind, while in the church cantata solo it serves the praise of the name Jesus.

5#

A tripartite bass recitative, "" (And as You, Lord, have said), begins as an arioso, only accompanied by the continuo, leading to prayers, accompanied by two oboes, concluding in an arioso with the oboes.

6#

The final chorale,"" (Let us complete the year), is taken from Jesu, nun sei gepreiset, BWV 41, written for the same occasion in 1725. While the earlier cantata used the third stanza, this one has a setting of the second and is transposed up a step. It matches the opening chorus with a support of the voices by oboes and strings, while trumpets and timpani play interludes which add weight to the movement.

Recordings#

The entries are taken from the listing on the Bach-Cantatas website. Instrumental groups playing period instruments in historically informed performances are marked green under the header .

Sources#

• Gott, wie dein Name, so ist auch dein Ruhm BWV 171; BC A 24 / Sacred cantata (New Year/Circumcision) Bach Digital
• BWV 171 Gott, wie dein Name, so ist auch dein Ruhm: English translation, University of Vermont
• Luke Dahn: BWV 171.6 bach-chorales.com

External links#

• Gott, wie dein Name, so ist auch dein Ruhm, BWV 171: performance by the Netherlands Bach Society (video and background information)