Tönet, ihr Pauken! Erschallet, Trompeten! BWV 214

Background and text#

Bach composed in 1733, ten years after he became Thomaskantor in Leipzig, director of music in major churches in the town in the Electorate of Saxony. That year, Augustus succeeded his father as Elector of Saxony. Bach had hopes of being appointed composer to his court which was based in Dresden. He dedicated his Kyrie–Gloria Mass in B minor to the elector, a work which was to become the Kyrie and Gloria of his Mass in B minor. Bach also composed cantatas in honour of the elector’s family, , performed on 5 September 1733, the eleventh birthday of the son of the elector, and another for his wife, Maria Josepha. Bach composed to honour the 34th birthday of Maria Josepha on 8 December. It is also known by the description (Congratulation cantata for the Queen’s birthday), although Maria Josepha was not crowned Queen of Poland until January 1734. The librettist of the text is unknown. The action in the cantata is between four allegorical figures for goddesses from Roman and Greek mythology: Bellona, a Roman goddess of war, Pallas, a Greek goddess of wisdom and warfare, Irene, a Greek goddess of peace, and Fama, a Roman goddess of fame and rumor.

Publication#

Tönet, ihr Pauken! was published in 1887 as part of the first complete edition of the composer’s works, by the Bach Gesellschaft. The cantata was published as part of the Neue Bach-Ausgabe in 1962, edited by Werner Neumann.

Scoring and structure#

The cantata is structured in nine movements, with choral outer movements and alternating recitatives and arias as inner movements. The work features four vocal soloists who represent allegorical figures: Bellona (soprano), Pallas (alto), Irene (tenor), and Fama (bass). It is further scored for four-part choir (SATB ) and a Baroque instrumental ensemble of three trumpets (Tr), timpani, two flutes (Ft), two oboes (Ob), oboe d’amore (Oa), two violins (Vl), viola (Va) and basso continuo. In the following table, the scoring follows the (New Bach Edition). The keys and time signatures are from Alfred Dürr, and use the symbol for common time. The continuo, played throughout, is not shown. The timpani always play with the trumpets.

1#

The opening chorus, "" (Sound, you drums! Ring forth, trumpets!), is a complex long da capo form (ABA). Unusually for Bach, it opens with a timpani solo. It is followed by the trumpets, and then by the strings and woodwinds. Bach reused the movement as the opening movement of his Christmas Oratorio, “Jauchzet, frohlocket” (Shout for joy, exult). The voices imitate the sound of timpani and trumpets even with the new text.

2#

Irene is the first to address the dedicatee. The tenor recitative, "" (This is the day, when everyone can be happy), conveys imagery.

3#

Bellona sings an aria, "" (Blow the well-handled flutes). Matching the text, the soprano is accompanied by two obbligato flutes. The aria is in three parts, with the third part similar to the first but on different text.

4#

The soprano recitative, "" (My clashing metal), represents the “clashing of arms” and the battlefield, related to the goddess of war.

5#

Pallas refers to the muses in an alto aria, (Virtuous Muses! My followers!). It is the only movement in a minor key, accompanied by an obbligato oboe d’amore. Bach reused the music, transposed for a tenor, in Und es waren Hirten in derselben Gegend, Part II of his Christmas Oratorio, as the aria “Frohe Hirten, eilt, ach eilet”, with an obbligato flute, No. 15, in which the shepherds are called to rush to the manger.

6#

The alto recitative, "" (Our Queen of the land!), is accompanied by strings playing chords.

7#

Fama is the last character to appear, singing in a bass da capo aria, "" (Crown and trophy of royal ladies). The voice is complemented by a majestic obbligato trumpet line that underlines the “triumph, dignity and splendor” of the queen. The text focuses on the dual themes of fame and virtue. In this aria, the queen is addressed directly for the first time, “Königin! Mit deinem Namen füll ich diesen Kreis der Welt” (Queen! With your name I flood the entire world). The fanfares of the trumpet are used to illustrate her royal appearance. In his Christmas Oratorio, Bach used the music in the aria “Großer Herr und starker König” (No. 8).

8#

The bass recitative, "" (Thus throughout the whole round earth), is accompanied by woodwinds.

9#

The cantata is closed with the chorus "" (Bloom, you Saxon lindens, like cedars), a dance-like chorus. Three voices enter successively with parts of the text, first the tenor, the only voice without an aria, then the soprano followed by the alto. All voices repeat the text in homophony, with the first theme in the alto. After an interlude, the process is repeated for the other half of the text. Bach reused the music of this movement in his Christmas Oratorio to frame Part III, “Herrscher des Himmels” (No. 36).

Performances and recordings#

The cantata was performed at the BBC Proms in 1997 by the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir conducted by Ton Koopman. In contrast, the complete Christmas Oratorio was given in the same concert series in 1972 conducted by Paul Steinitz, and one aria had been performed as early as 1908. Recordings have been made by several ensembles, including: * Kantorei Barmen-Gemarke, Helmut Kahlhöfer, J. S. Bach: Cantatas BWV 207a & BWV 214, Cantate 1961 * Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir, Ton Koopman. J. S. Bach: Complete Cantatas Vol. 4. Antoine Marchand, 1996 * Collegium Vocale Gent, Philippe Herreweghe, J. S. Bach: Tönet, ihr Pauken! – Cantates profanes, Harmonia Mundi 2004 * Bach Collegium Japan, Masaaki Suzuki. J. S Bach: Secular Cantatas Vol. 5, BIS 2014 * J. S. Bach-Stiftung, Rudolf Lutz, J. S. Bach: Kantate BWV 214 “Tönet, ihr Pauken, erschallet, Trompeten”, 2015

External links#

• Berlin, Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin – Preußischer Kulturbesitz / BWV 214 Bach Digital
• BWV 214 Tönet, ihr Pauken! Erschallet, Trompeten!: English translation, University of Vermont
• Marva J. Watson: The Historical Figures of the Birthday Cantatas of Johann Sebastian Bach (Dissertation) researchgate.net
• Szymon Paczkowski (Institute of Musicology, Warsaw University): Sound-Encoded Politics: J. S. Bach’s Cantata 7 Tönet, ihr Pauken! Erschallet Trompeten! / (BWV 214) in Spring Notes, American Bach Society, 2008, p. 18