The righteous must have light
| Bach cantata | |
|---|---|
| The righteous must have light | |
| BWV: | 195 |
| Occasion: | wedding |
| Year of origin: | 1727 |
| Place of origin: | Leipzig |
| Genus: | cantata |
| Solo : | S, A, T, B |
| Choir: | (S, A, T, B) |
| Instruments : | 2Co, 3Tr, Ti, 2Ft, 2Ob, 2Oa; 2Vl, Va, Vc; Bc |
| text | |
| Paul Gerhardt | |
| List of Bach cantatas | |
The light must be for the righteous ( BWV 195) is a church cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach , which he composed as a wedding cantata in Leipzig , probably in 1727. Only incomplete scores of later performances from the 1740s survived. The cantata uses two verses from Psalm 97 for the opening movement and the first stanza of Paul Gerhardt's hymn Nun danket all and bring honor for the final chorus . The librettist of the other movements is unknown.
Story and text
Bach composed this cantata for a wedding in Leipzig around 1727 . The original version of the work has been lost; an incomplete second version from 1742 and a complete revision from the late 1740s have been preserved. These dates coincide with repeated performances of the work.
The final chorus is the first stanza of Paul Gerhardt's hymn Nun thank all and bring honor with the melody of Praise God, you Christians all alike . The opening sentence is based on Psalm 97 ( Psalms 97, 11-12 EU ), the authors of the rest of the text are anonymous. Alfred Dürr deduced from allusions in the text that the work was intended for the wedding of a lawyer .
Occupation and structure
The cantata was written by soprano and bass soloists and a four-part choir . The line-up consists of three trumpets , timpani , two horns , two flutes , two oboes , two oboe d'amores , two violins , one viola , one violone and the figured bass .
The work is divided into two parts, which are performed before and after the sermon . In the original version, the second part consisted of three of a total of eight movements. In the surviving version, the second part only contains the finale of six movements.
- Chorus: The light must rise again and again for the righteous
- Recitative (bass): Pious people who are fair to the light of joy
- Aria (Bass): Praises God's goodness and faithfulness
- Recitative (soprano): Well, so tie a ribbon
- Chorus: We are coming, your Holiness
- Chorale: Now thank everyone and bring honor.
music
The cantata begins with a choral movement that combines two fugues , each with a psalm verse, with concertante parts. The singing at times suggests a ripieno . The movement has an "energetic and exuberant" instrumental introduction. The first section highlights the contrast between ripieno and full chorus, while the second section is dance-like.
The bass recitative is written as a secco recitative and "strictly". It is accompanied by a triplet line moving in sixteenth notes to end the movement.
The bass aria is in a modified ternary form and contains an instrumental ritornello with a characteristic scotch snap . The middle part moves in a minor key to increase the intimacy of personal expression. The movement ends with a short coda .
The soprano recitative “is a musical representation of the central part of the wedding ceremony” - the blessing of the community . It is accompanied by chordoboes and scale flutes.
The penultimate movement is a choir, similar to the opening choir. It combines da capo and ritornello form. The first section is dominated by motifs from the scale , while the middle section is chordal and "quasi-philosophical".
The cantata ends with a four-part harmonization of the chorale melody of Praise God, you Christians all equal .
Recordings
- Gächinger Kantorei Stuttgart , Württemberg Chamber Orchestra Heilbronn , Helmuth Rilling . The Bach Cantata Vol. 8 . Hänssler Verlag , 1984.
- Holland Boys Choir , Netherlands Bach Collegium , Pieter Jan Leusink . Bach Edition Vol. 18 . Brilliant Classics, 2000.
- Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir , Ton Koopman . JS Bach: Complete Cantatas Vol. 21 . Antoine Marchand, 2002.
- Bach Collegium Japan , Masaaki Suzuki . JS Bach: Cantatas Vol. 51 . UP, 2011.
Web links
- BWV 195 The Righteous Must Be Light Text, structure and composition on the personal homepage of Walter F. Bischof at the University of Alberta
- BWV 195 : Sheet music and audio files in the International Music Score Library Project
- BWV 195.1 (1st version of the cantata) Bach Digital
- BWV 195.2 (2nd version of the cantata) Bach Digital
- BWV 195.3 (3rd version of the cantata) Bach Digital
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d e f Alfred Dürr , Richard DP Jones: The Cantatas of JS Bach: With Their Librettos in German-English Parallel Text . Oxford University Press , 2005, ISBN 978-0-19-816707-5 , pp. 753-757.
- ↑ The righteous must have light in Bach Cantatas (English)
- ↑ a b BWV 195 . University of Alberta. Retrieved June 5, 2013.
- ↑ a b c d Cantata No. 195 . Allmusic. Retrieved June 5, 2013.
- ↑ a b c d e Mincham, Julian: Chapter 74 BWV 195 The light must be for the righteous / For the righteous, light is ever present. . jsbachcantatas. Retrieved June 5, 2013.
- ↑ Luke Dahn: BWV 195.6 . 2017. Retrieved May 18, 2018.
