Ich geh und suche mit Verlangen, BWV 49

History and words#

Bach composed in his fourth year in Leipzig for the 20th Sunday after Trinity. It is counted as part of his third cantata cycle. The prescribed readings for the Sunday were from the Epistle to the Ephesians, “walk circumspectly … filled with the Spirit” (), and from the Gospel of Matthew, the parable of the great banquet (). The German term used in Luther’s Bible translation is (wedding meal). The cantata is termed a . Dialogue cantatas were a common feature in the 17th century, especially dialogues between Jesus as the Bridegroom and the Soul of the believer as the Bride, based on the Song of Songs which was traditionally interpreted that way. Christoph Birkmann, the librettist, connected the wedding feast of the Gospel to imagery from the Song of Songs: Jesus, sung by the bass as the invites the bride to the wedding, while the other characters and aspects of the parable are not mentioned. The poet alludes to the Bible several times, comparing the bride to a dove as in and , referring to the Lord’s feast (), to the bond between the Lord and Israel (), to faithfulness until death (), and in the final movement to “Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with loving kindness have I drawn thee.” (). Instead of a closing chorale, Bach combines this idea, sung by the bass, with the seventh stanza of Philipp Nicolai’s mystical wedding song “”, given to the soprano. Bach led the first performance of the cantata at the on 3 November 1726; the sermon was given by . No repeat performance is known with certainty.

Structure and scoring#

Bach structured in six movements and scored it for soprano (S) and bass (B) soloists, and a Baroque instrumental ensemble of oboe d’amore (Oa), violoncello piccolo (Vcp), organ (Org), two violins (Vl), viola (Va) and basso continuo (Bc). Klaus Hofmann summarizes: “Bach has clothed his music in the ‘wedding garments’ of exquisite scoring”. The Bach scholar Alfred Dürr gave the duration as in his book . In the following table of the movements, the scoring is based on the . The keys and time signatures are taken from Dürr, using the symbol for common time (). The continuo, playing throughout, is not listed.

1#

The cantata is opened by a sinfonia for concertante organ and orchestra, probably the final movement of a lost concerto composed in Köthen, the model for the Concerto II in E major, BWV 1053, for harpsichord. Two weeks before, Bach had used the two other movements of that concerto in his cantata .

2#

The bass as the sings an aria, "" (I go forth and seek with longing for you, my dove, my loveliest bride), based on imagery from the Song of Songs as if Jesus said so.

3#

In a secco recitative, "" (My meal is prepared and my wedding table ready) the groom invites the bride to the prepared wedding, and they talk about kisses, the meal and dressing up.

4#

In the soprano aria "" (I am glorious, I am beautiful) the bride reflects her beauty as dressed in "" (The justice of His salvation), accompanied by oboe d’amore and violoncello piccolo.

5#

In a recitative accompanied by strings, "" (My faith itself has drawn me here), the bride speaks of her faith, and the groom speaks of faithfulness until death.

6#

The cantata ends not with the usual four-part chorale, but with a love duet of the Soul (soprano) and Jesus (bass). It incorporates a chorale, stanza 7 of Nicolai’s hymn sung by the soprano, ending with the line "" (I wait for Thee with longing), while the bass responds: “I have always loved you, and so I draw you to me. I’m coming soon. I stand before the door: open up, my abode!” Nicolai subtitled his hymn a “Geistlich Brautlied” (Spiritual bridal song). How happy I am, that my precious one is the A and O, the beginning and the end; He will claim me as his prize and take me to Paradise, which I will clasp in my hands. Amen! Amen! Come, you lovely crown of joy, do not delay, I await you with longing. John Eliot Gardiner describes the mood of the music, accompanied by the obbligato organ, as “religious-erotic”. Hofmann notes that the figuration of the organ expresses in sound what the cantus firmus words: "" (How sincerely happy I am!)

Recordings#

• Westfälische Kantorei, Wilhelm Ehmann. J. S. Bach: Cantatas BWV 49 & BWV 84. Nonesuch, 1961.
• Bach-Collegium Stuttgart, Helmuth Rilling. Die Bach Kantate. Hänssler, 1982.
• Ensemble Baroque de Limoges, Christophe Coin. J. S. Bach: Cantatas with Violoncelle Piccolo. Auvidis Astrée, 1993.
• La Petite Bande, Sigiswald Kuijken. J. S. Bach: Cantatas BWV 82 · 49 · 58. Accent, 1993.
• Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir, Ton Koopman, J. S. Bach: Complete Cantatas Vol. 16, Antoine Marchand 2004.
• Bach Collegium Japan, Masaaki Suzuki, J. S. Bach Cantatas BWV 149, 145, 174, 49, BIS.

Cited sources#

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External links#

• “BWV 49 Ich geh und suche mit Verlangen”, English translation, University of Vermont
• “BWV 49 Ich geh und suche mit Verlangen”, text, scoring, University of Alberta
• “Ich geh und suche mit Verlangen, BWV 49”, performance by the Netherlands Bach Society (video and background information)