Weichet nur, betrübte Schatten, BWV 202

History and text#

The cantata music survives only in a copy from the 1730s, which features a surprising style used by Bach only until around 1714. The librettist is not known with certainty, but Harald Streck suspects Salomon Franck, the Weimar court poet. Joshua Rifkin also argues for a Weimar date, rather than the more commonly assigned Köthen period, based on stylistic elements such as the short recitatives ending arioso, the slow–fast-slow tempo of the first aria, which Bach used only rarely after 1714, and the specific relation of voice and obbligato oboe in the seventh movement, which rarely occurs after 1715. The text relates beginning love to the arrival of spring after winter, mentioning shooting flowers in the first two movements, the sun climbing higher in the third movement, Cupid searching for “prey” in the following two movements, finally a bridal couple and good wishes for them. The tone is humorous and jesting, which suggests a civil wedding. The aria “Sich üben im Lieben” (“To practice sweet courtship, to joyously cuddle” or “To cultivate love” ) is frequently performed as a concert piece. The cantata was published in 1862 as in volume 11 of the Bach-Gesellschaft Ausgabe (BGA), edited by Wilhelm Rust. The New Bach Edition (Neue Bach-Ausgabe, NBA) published the score in 1969, edited by Werner Neumann, in volume 40, Hochzeitskantaten und Weltliche Kantaten verschiedener Bestimmung (wedding cantatas and secular cantatas for different occasions).

Scoring and structure#

Bach structured the work in 9 movements, alternating arias with varied texture and recitative. He scored it for a solo soprano voice (S), and a Baroque instrumental ensemble of oboe (Ob), violins (Vl), viola (Va), and basso continuo (Bc). In the following table of the movements, the scoring follows the Neue Bach-Ausgabe. The keys and time signatures are taken from Alfred Dürr, using the symbol for common time (4/4). The continuo, playing throughout, is not shown.

Music#

The first aria, “Weichet nur, betrübte Schatten” (Dissipate, you troublesome shadows), A recitative, “Die Welt wird wieder neu” (The world becomes new again), leads to the second aria, “Phoebus eilt mit schnellen Pferden” (Phoebus hastes with rapid horses) which is accompanied only by the continuo. The trotting of the horse mentioned in the text is illustrated in the continuo. The movement has been described as a “vividly melismatic depiction of warm breezes hurrying through the reborn world”. The aria shows similarity to the last movement of Bach’s Violin Sonata in G major, BWV 1019. A recitative, “Drum sucht auch Amor sein Vergnügen” (Therefore Love himself seeks his pleasure), leads to the third aria, “Wenn die Frühlingslüfte streichen” (When the springtime breezes caress), with a solo violin, in an elegiac mood. The recitative “Und dieses ist das Glücke” (And this is good fortune) prepares the aria “Sich üben im Lieben, in Scherzen sich herzen” (To cultivate love, to cuddle in playful tenderness) with an obbligato oboe. The melody of the dance-like music in a triple metre alludes to folk music. A recitative, “So sei das Band der keuschen Liebe” (So may the bond of chaste love) leads to the final aria, marked as a Gavotte, again with all instruments, “Sehet in Zufriedenheit tausend helle Wohlfahrtstage” (May you see in contentment a thousand bright happy days). The cantata develops from highly artificial composition to popular dance writing.

Recordings#

The cantata is one of Bach’s most recorded cantatas. * Agnes Giebel, RIAS Kammerorchester, Karl Ristenpart. The RIAS Bach Cantatas Project. Audite, 1951. * Anny Felbermayer. Orchestra of the Bach Guild, Felix Prohaska. J. S. Bach: Cantata No. 202; Cantata No. 161. Vanguard Classics, 1952. * Maria Stader, Münchener Bach-Orchester, Karl Richter. J.S. Bach: Kantaten BWV 51 & BWV 202. Archiv Produktion, 1959. * Elly Ameling, Concertgebouw Orchestra Amsterdam, Eugen Jochum. Centenaire Eugen Jochum 3. Tahra, 1973. * Barbara Hendricks, Kammerorchester Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, Peter Schreier. Bach Kantaten. EMI Classics, 1989. * Elly Ameling, Academy of St Martin-in-the-Fields, Neville Marriner. Bach Cantatas. EMI, 1973. * Emma Kirkby, Academy of Ancient Music, Christopher Hogwood. Wedding Cantatas. Decca, 1996. * Dorothee Mields, Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra, Ton Koopman. J. S. Bach: Complete Cantatas Vol. 5. Erato, 1996.

External links#

• Weichet nur, betrübte Schatten, BWV 202: performance by the Netherlands Bach Society (video and background information)
• BWV 202 Weichet nur, betrübte Schatten English translation, University of Vermont
• BWV 202 Weichet nur, betrübte Schatten text, scoring, University of Alberta
• , Danielle de Niese