Christians, etch this day
| Bach cantata | |
|---|---|
| Christians, etch this day | |
| BWV: | 63 |
| Occasion: | 1st Christmas Holiday |
| Year of origin: | 1713 or 1716 |
| Place of origin: | Weimar |
| Genus: | cantata |
| Solo : | SATB |
| Choir: | SATB |
| Instruments : | 4Tr Ti 3Ob Fg 2Vn Va Bc |
| AD : | approx. 23 min. |
| text | |
| presumably Johann Michael Heineccius | |
| List of Bach cantatas | |
Christians, etch this day ( BWV 63) is a church cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach .
Emergence
The cantata's echoes of works by theologians from Halle suggest that the composition of the cantata is related to the Church of Our Lady in Halle. It was possibly created in 1713, when Bach applied for a position as organist at this church, or in 1716, when he was involved in the organ approval there. In any case, this is Bach's oldest surviving Christmas cantata. The text may come from the pastor primarius of the Liebfrauenkirche, Johann Michael Heineccius , who also wrote the libretto for other Bach cantatas intended for Halle.
The assumption of the musicologist Philipp Spitta that the cantata was written in Leipzig in 1723 probably has its origin in several re-performances of the cantata by Bach; one of these took place in Leipzig in 1723, when Bach was organizing the first Christmas festival of his tenure as Leipzig Thomaskantor .
Subject
The cantata is intended for Christmas Day and refers to the Christmas story according to Luke 2 : 1–14 Lut , in which the birth of Christ, the announcement by the shepherds and the hymn of praise of the angels are described.
construction
The cantata has a festive character, but due to the lack of shepherd music, lullaby and "Glory to God in the highest", it has no specific Christmas character. The secco recitative »So now bange sorrow turns itself around« forms the symmetrical center of the cantata, around which the introductory and concluding chorus, an alto and a bass recitative as well as a soprano bass and an alto tenor Group aria. The individual titles of the cantata are:
- Christians, etch this day in metal and marble stones (choir)
- Oh happy day! o uncommon today (recitative old)
- God, you have put it together (duet soprano, bass)
- So today the anxious sorrow turns (recitative tenor)
- Calls and implores heaven (duet alto, tenor)
- So double yourselves (recitative bass)
- Most high, look upon grace (chorus)
literature
- Alfred Dürr : Johann Sebastian Bach: The Cantatas. Bärenreiter, Kassel 1999, pp. 119–122.
Web links
- Christians, Etch This Day : Sheet Music and Audio Files in the International Music Score Library Project
- Structure and complete text of the cantata at Bach Digital of the Leipzig Bach Archive
- BWV 63 Christians, etch this day text, structure and cast on the personal homepage of Walter F. Bischof at the University of Alberta
