Süßer Trost, mein Jesus kömmt, BWV 151

History and text#

Bach composed this solo cantata in late 1725 in Leipzig, in his third year as Thomaskantor in Leipzig, as part of his third cantata cycle. He wrote it for the church service for the feast day of John the Evangelist, celebrated on the Third Day of Christmas. The prescribed readings for the feast day were from the Epistle to the Hebrews () and the prologue of the Gospel of John, also called Hymn to the Word (). The final movement is a setting of the final stanza of “Lobt Gott, ihr Christen alle gleich”, a Christmas carol with words and melody by Nikolaus Herman published in 1560. The autograph score and parts are now held by the Kunstsammlungen der Veste Coburg in Germany.

Scoring and structure#

The work is scored for four vocal soloists (soprano, alto, tenor, and bass), a four-part choir, flute, oboe d’amore, two violins, viola, and basso continuo. The cantata has five movements: #Aria (soprano): #Recitative (bass): #Aria (alto): #Recitative (tenor): #Chorale:

Music#

Because of its intimate scoring and lack of large-scale opening chorus, the work is a “treasureable miniature” and “the most personal of Bach’s Christmas cantatas”. This movement “dominates and casts a glow over the entire work”, with its “mood of iridescent transparency”. It is in G major and is accompanied by obbligato flute and strings doubled by oboe d’amore. The flute line is highly embellished, almost an arabesque, and expands on the melodic arches of the soprano. The da capo aria includes a sharply contrasting middle section, “an ecstatic alla breve dance of joy, part gavotte, part gigue”, built on a motif of “agile chains of triplets” forming a “mellifluous melody”. The second movement is a secco bass recitative. It provides a dual transition, both harmonically – moving from a major key to minor to prepare the third movement – and thematically – “progressing (or retrogressing) from the state of celebration to a recognition of the humility of Christ’s state”. The da capo alto aria is accompanied by unison oboe d’amore and strings. It expands on the minor mode and theme of privation established in the second movement. The movement emphasizes the interval of the seventh and the technique of inversion to support the meaning of the text. It begins with a chromatic string line led by solo violin, which when the vocal line begins “becomes inextricably, even obsessively, intertwined” with the singer. The tenor recitative reverses the motion of the bass, modulating from minor to major and changing the emphasis of the text from humility to celebration. It is secco, short, and simple in its melody. The final movement is a four-part setting of the eighth and final stanza of Herman’s chorale.

Recordings#

• Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir, Ton Koopman. J. S. Bach: Complete Cantatas Vol. 18. Antoine Marchand, 2002.
• Bach Collegium Japan, Masaaki Suzuki. J. S. Bach: Cantatas Vol. 43. BIS, 2008.
• Choir and Orchestra “Pro Arte” Munich, Kurt Redel. J. S. Bach: Cantatas Nos. 157 · 55 · 151. Erato, 1956.
• Frankfurter Kantorei / Bach-Collegium Stuttgart, Helmuth Rilling. Die Bach Kantate. Hänssler, 1971.
• Holland Boys Choir / Netherlands Bach Collegium, Pieter Jan Leusink. Bach Edition Vol. 12 – Cantatas Vol. 6. Brilliant Classics, 1999.
• Monteverdi Choir / English Baroque Soloists, John Eliot Gardiner. Bach Cantatas Vol. 15: New York. Soli Deo Gloria, 2000.

External links#

• Süßer Trost, mein Jesus kömmt, BWV 151: performance by the Netherlands Bach Society (video and background information)
• Süßer Trost, mein Jesus kömmt BWV 151; BC A 17 / Sacred cantata (3rd Christmas Day): Bach Digital
• BWV 151 Süßer Trost, mein Jesus kömmt: English translation, University of Vermont
• Luke Dahn: BWV 151.5 bach-chorales.com