Oh how fleeting, oh how void
| Bach cantata | |
|---|---|
| Oh how fleeting, oh how void | |
| BWV: | 26th |
| Occasion: | 24th Sunday after Trinity |
| Year of origin: | 1724 |
| Place of origin: | Leipzig |
| Genus: | Choral cantata |
| Solo : | SATB |
| Choir: | SATB |
| Instruments : | Co Ft 3Oa 2Vl Va Bc |
| text | |
| Michael Franck , unknown | |
| List of Bach cantatas | |
Oh how fleeting, oh how void ( BWV 26) is a church cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach . He composed the choir cantata in Leipzig in 1724 for the 24th Sunday after Trinity and performed it for the first time on November 19, 1724. It is based on the hymn by Michael Franck (1652).
Story and words
Bach wrote the choral cantata in his second year in Leipzig for the 24th Sunday after Trinity .
The prescribed readings were Col 1,9-14 LUT and Mt 9,18-26 LUT , the resurrection of the daughter of Jairus. The cantata is based on the hymn in thirteen stanzas by Michael Franck (1652), who also wrote the melody - later slightly modified by Johann Crüger . It is a “meditation on the transience of human life and all earthly goods”. This aspect is the only connection to the gospel.
An unknown lyricist retained the wording of the first and last stanzas as sentences 1 and 6 of the cantata and reworked the internal stanzas into an alternating sequence of arias and recitatives . John Eliot Gardiner points out that many of Bach's cantatas for the end of the church year deal with the brevity of human life and the futility of earthly hopes.
Bach first performed the cantata on November 19, 1724.
Occupation and structure
The cantata is set for four soloists, soprano , alto , tenor and bass , four-part choir, horn to reinforce the chorale melody, flauto traverso , three oboes , two violins , viola and basso continuo .
- Coro: Oh how fleeting, oh how void
- Aria (tenor): How fast a rushing water shoots
- Recitativo (Alto): Joy turns into sadness
- Aria (bass): To hang your heart on earthly treasures
- Recitativo (soprano): The highest glory and splendor
- Chorale: Oh how fleeting, oh how void
music
The opening choir is a chorale fantasy. The instruments play concert music, to which the soprano sings the cantus firmus line by line. The lower voices are usually treated homophonically as a separate group and repeat the text in unison after each line , with the music being derived from the chorale line. Bach illustrates the text's images of transience and insubstantiality in "short, paused chord strokes and hurrying scale figures". In the first aria, the text “So fast a rushing water shoots” is translated into fast flowing music by the flute, violin and voice. In the last aria, an unusual oboe trio depicts the text "To hang your heart on earthly treasures". Gardiner compares the music to a dance of death. The final chorale is a simple four-part movement.
Recordings
CD
- Les Grandes Cantates de JS Bach Vol. 10. Fritz Werner , Heinrich Schütz Choir Heilbronn , Pforzheim Chamber Orchestra , Claudia Hellmann, Helmut Krebs , Erich Wenk. Erato, 1961.
- Bach Cantatas Vol. 5 - Sundays after Trinity II. Karl Richter , Munich Bach Choir , Munich Bach Orchestra , Ursula Buckel , Hertha Töpper , Ernst Haefliger , Theo Adam . Archive production , 1966.
- Bach Cantatas Vol. 5 - Sundays after Trinity II. Diethard Hellmann , Bachchor Mainz , Bachorchester Mainz , Herrat Eicker, Marie-Luise Gilles, Alexander Young, Siegmund Nimsgern . DdM-Records Mitterteich, 1968.
- JS Bach: The cantatas - Sacred Cantatas Vol. 2. Nikolaus Harnoncourt , Vienna Boys Choir & Chorus Viennensis , Concentus Musicus Vienna , soloist of the Vienna Boys Choir, Paul Esswood , Kurt Equiluz , Siegmund Nimsgern . Teldec , 1973.
- Bach Made in Germany Vol. 4 - Cantatas V. Hans-Joachim Rotzsch , Thomanerchor , Gewandhausorchester , Regina Werner, Rosemarie Lang , Peter Schreier , Hermann Christian Polster . Eterna, 1977.
- JS Bach: Cantatas / Cantatas BWV 80, BWV 26, BWV 116. Karl Richter , Munich Bach Choir , Munich Bach Orchestra , Edith Mathis , Trudeliese Schmidt , Peter Schreier , Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau . Archive production, 1978.
- The Bach Cantata Vol. 59. Helmuth Rilling , Gächinger Kantorei , Bach-Collegium Stuttgart , Arleen Augér , Doris Soffel , Adalbert Kraus , Philippe Huttenlocher . Hänssler, 1980.
- Bach Edition Vol. 11 - Cantatas Vol. 5. Pieter Jan Leusink , Holland Boys Choir , Netherlands Bach Collegium , Ruth Holton, Sytse Buwalda, Nico van der Meel, Bas Ramselaar. Brilliant Classics 1999.
- Bach Cantatas Vol. 19: Greenwich / Romsey. John Eliot Gardiner , Monteverdi Choir , English Baroque Soloists , Joanne Lunn, William Towers, Paul Agnew, Peter Harvey . Soli Deo Gloria, 2000.
- JS Bach: Complete Cantatas Vol. 14. Ton Koopman , Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir , Lisa Larsson , Annette Markert, Christoph Prégardien , Klaus Mertens . Antoine Marchand, 2000.
- JS Bach: Cantatas Vol. 28 - Cantatas from Leipzig 1724. Masaaki Suzuki , Bach Collegium Japan , Yukari Nonoshita, Robin Blaze , Makoto Sakurada, Peter Kooy . UP, 2004.
DVD
- “Oh how fleeting, oh how void.” Cantata BWV 26. Rudolf Lutz , choir and orchestra of the JS Bach Foundation , Antonia Frey, Daniel Johannsen , Klaus Häger. With an introductory workshop and reflection by Gerhard Schwarz . Gallus Media, 2010.
literature
- Alfred Dürr : Johann Sebastian Bach: The Cantatas. Bärenreiter, Kassel 1999, ISBN 3-7618-1476-3 and Deutscher Taschenbuchverlag, Munich 1995, ISBN 3-423-04431-4 .
- Werner Neumann : Manual of the cantatas by JS Bach , 1947, 5th edition 1984, ISBN 3-7651-0054-4 .
- Hans-Joachim Schulze : The Bach Cantatas: Introductions to all of Johann Sebastian Bach's cantatas . Evangelische Verlags-Anstalt, Leipzig; Carus-Verlag, Stuttgart 2006 (Edition Bach-Archiv Leipzig), ISBN 3-374-02390-8 (Evang. Verl.-Anst.), ISBN 3-89948-073-2 (Carus-Verlag).
- Christoph Wolff , Ton Koopman : The world of Bach cantatas . Verlag JB Metzler, Stuttgart / Weimar 2006, ISBN 978-3-476-02127-4 .
Web links
- Cantata BWV 26 : Sheet music and audio files in the International Music Score Library Project
- Cantata BWV 26 "Oh how fleeting, oh how null" by Bach Cantatas (English)
- Cantata “Oh how fleeting, oh how null” on the Bach website
- BWV 26 Oh how fleeting, also how void text, structure and composition on the personal homepage of Walter F. Bischof at the University of Alberta
Individual evidence
- ↑ Oh how fleeting, oh how void / Text and Translation of Chorale by Bach Cantatas (English)
- ↑ Chorale Melodies used in Bach's Vocal Works / Oh how fleeting, oh how void in Bach Cantatas (English)
- ↑ a b c Klaus Hofmann: Oh how fleeting, oh how void, BWV 26 / Ah how fleeting, ah how trivial (PDF; 4.0 MB) bach-cantatas.com. S. 15. 2004. Retrieved November 14, 2012.
- ^ A b John Eliot Gardiner : Cantatas for the Fourth Sunday after Epiphany / Abbey Church of St Mary and St Ethelflaeda, Romsey ( en , PDF; 85 kB) bach-cantatas.com. S. 9. 2006. Retrieved November 16, 2012.
- ↑ Christoph Wolff : Conclusion of the second yearly cycle (1724-25) of the Leipzig church cantatas ( en , PDF; 128 kB) P. 2, 3. 2000. Accessed on November 14, 2012.
- ^ Description on the website of the JS Bach Foundation; accessed on August 28, 2017.
