The Lord thinks of us
| Bach cantata | |
|---|---|
| The Lord thinks of us | |
| BWV: | 196 |
| Occasion: | wedding |
| Year of origin: | 1707/1708 |
| Place of origin: | Weimar |
| Genus: | Church cantata |
| Solo : | STB |
| Choir: | SATB |
| Instruments : | 2Vn Va Vc Bc |
| AD : | approx. 12 min |
| text | |
| Psalm 115.12 to 15 LUT | |
| List of Bach cantatas | |
The Lord thinks of us ( BWV 196) is a wedding cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach , which he probably composed for a friend's marriage .
Emergence
According to Philipp Spitta, the reason for the composition is the marriage of the pastor Johann Lorenz Stauber (born June 12, 1660 in Arnstadt ; † April 8, 1723 in Dornheim (Thuringia) ), who was a friend of Bach, and the Bach 1707 in St. Bartholomäi -Kirche in Dornheim had married his first wife Maria Barbara. The wedding for which this cantata was composed probably took place on June 5, 1708. However, this dating is controversial. On that day, Stauber married Regina Wedemann, an aunt of Bach's first wife. In contrast, Christoph Wolff dates the cantata, which he also interprets as a wedding cantata, to the years 1707/1708, without committing to a specific occasion, and considers it to be one of Bach's earliest cantatas.
occupation
- Vocal soloists: soprano , tenor , bass
- Choir: soprano, alto , tenor, bass
- Orchestra: violin I / II, viola I / II, cello as obligatory part, basso continuo
Classification
- Sinfonia
- Chorus: The Lord mindful of us ( Psalm 115.12 LUT )
- Aria (soprano): It blesses those who fear the Lord ( Psalm 115,13 LUT )
- Duet (tenor, bass): The Lord bless you more and more, you and your children ( Psalm 115,14 LUT )
- Chorus: You are the blessed of the Lord ( Psalm 115.15 LUT )
Text and music
The text is entirely tailored to the theme of Christian marriage and is based on Psalm 115 , verses 12 to 15 of which are used in Luther's translation . As always in Bach's early creative period, the cantata contains neither recitatives nor final chorals .
Like many cantatas from Bach's early days, the work begins with an introductory sinfonia . The praise and blessing scenario of the following sections is anticipated here aurally. The Andante movement is polyphonic and its dotted rhythm is reminiscent of the first part of a French overture .
In the second movement, in which the choir dominates, the cello emerges sonically. The organ plays the Corta figure , here (as evidenced by Albert Schweitzer ) to be understood as a “joy motif”. The vocal parts begin in imitation (soprano - tenor) with the text “Der Herr denket”. Alto and bass are added from the third bar. From the 13th bar a fugue begins that is characterized by the Corta motif. The strings partly support the vocal parts colla parte , but partly they add their own themes after the exposition of the fugue theme. The sentence develops as a permutation fugue .
The third movement, an aria , continues the theme of the Blessing. Here the violins and basso continuo make music with the solo soprano. In terms of motifs, the sixteenth-note figurations from the previous choral movement are continued. The violins play triplets , which in Bach's works often symbolize the divine trinity and which can be interpreted here on the divine blessing over the bridal couple.
In the following sustained duet in 3 ⁄ 2 time, short vocal sections alternate with equally short ritornelas of the strings.
The final choir consists of two parts. In the first part, the instruments play lively figurations in sixteenths, with the words "heaven" and "earth" being separated by an eighth rest and falling intervals . The second part of the cantata movement is formed by an Amen fugue.
literature
- Günther Zedler: The preserved church cantatas by Johann Sebastian Bach (Mühlhausen, Weimar, Leipzig I). Meetings in the form of analyzes - explanations - interpretations. Norderstedt 2008, ISBN 978-3-8370-4401-0 , pp. 44-46.
- Alfred Dürr : The cantatas by Johann Sebastian Bach. Volume 2. Bärenreiter, Kassel 1975, ISBN 3-7618-0227-7 , p. 601 f.
Web links
- Cantata BWV 196 : Sheet music and audio files in the International Music Score Library Project
- Sources and text at Bach digital
- BWV 196 The Lord thinks of us Text, structure and composition on the personal homepage of Walter F. Bischof at the University of Alberta
- Free scores of The Lord mindful of us in the Choral Public Domain Library - ChoralWiki (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Tadashi Isoyama: Cantata No. 196: The Lord thinks of us (BWV 196). (PDF; 5.2 MB) Bach-Cantatas, 1995, p. 8 , accessed on July 8, 2017 (English).
- ^ Alfred Dürr : The cantatas by Johann Sebastian Bach. Volume 2. Bärenreiter, Kassel 1975, p. 601
- ^ Christoph Wolff : Johann Sebastian Bach. 2nd Edition. S. Fischer, Frankfurt am Main 2000, ISBN 3-10-092584-X , p. 102
- ^ Christoph Wolff: Johann Sebastian Bach. P. 112
- ^ Günther Zedler: The surviving church cantatas by Johann Sebastian Bach (Mühlhausen, Weimar, Leipzig I). Norderstedt 2008, p. 24
