The Israelites in the desert

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The Israelites in the Desert ( Wq 238, H.775) is an oratorio by Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach . The libretto is by Daniel Schiebeler .

Occupation and structure

The oratorio is made up of two parts. The cast requires four vocal soloists ( soprano , alto , tenor , bass ), choir and orchestra.

1st chapter

  • Chorus: The tongue sticks to the dry palate
  • Recitative and Aria: Is This Abrams God? - Does he want his people to perish? (First Israelite)
  • Recitative and aria: Worship the Eternal Will - He has brought you this far (Aaron)
  • Recitative and aria: why did we leave Egypt's prosperous land? - O bring us to those walls (Second Israelite)
  • Recitative: Moses always pleads for you (Aaron)
  • symphony
  • Recitative and chorus: What shouting can I hear in my ear? (Moses) - You are the source of our need
  • Recitative: ungrateful people (Moses)
  • Duet: Our tears are in vain (first, second Israelite)
  • Accompaniment: God, God of my fathers (Moses, choir)
  • Aria: God, see your people lying in the dust (Moses)
  • Choir: Oh wonder! (Choir of the Israelites)

Part 2

  • Aria: You have earned it Wrath of the Lord (Moses)
  • Aria: God of Israel, receive in exultant songs
  • Recitative and aria: How close was death to us! - Before midday hot rays (First Israelite)
  • Accompaniment: O friends, children (Moses)
  • Recitative and aria: Enviable who her son calls him - Oh blessed to whom the Lord grants (Second Israelite)
  • Recitative: Hopes for Ew'gen (Moses)
  • Choir: God's promise
  • Chorus: What the crowd of old fathers
  • Recitative: Oh salvation to the world (Aaron)
  • Choir: Leave your word

style

The "Israelites" is a work of sensitive style . The choice of material and the treatment of the text take this ideal of music into account. The Hamburg poet Daniel Schiebeler, author of further oratorios and song texts, dispenses with direct quotations from the Bible and instead uses poetic reflections on excerpts from the Old Testament that deal with the journey of thirsty and discouraged Jews through the desert. Only when Moses pointed out the life-giving spring of water did the people regain their faith and praise God.

In the instrumental introduction, Bach creates a tense crescendo in a few bars . Here there is a symbolic tone painting , similar to the “Presentation of Chaos” at the beginning of Joseph Haydn's oratorio The Creation .

Probably the most beautiful aria of the oratorio is that of Moses: "God, see your people lying in the dust". In a smooth flowing cantilena agree solo bassoon and singer at an expressive dialogue, without any coloratura .

The individual choirs are reflections of the most varied of moods. Some are reminiscent of the drooling tone of the high priest choirs from Johann Sebastian Bach's St. John and St. Matthew Passions , others are composed in plaintive gestures or characterized by the sounds of triumph and joy. But primarily, Bach strives for a sensitive, lyrical character. As in the Magnificat , the choirs are designed to be homophonic , with a few exceptions . The orchestral setting is not well developed, it is mostly performed in parallel with the choir.

effect

Right at the beginning of Bach's Hamburg activity as music director, in the second half of 1768 and at the beginning of 1769, "The Israelites in the Desert" was written. The oratorio occupies an important place in the history of the genre. Together with other works from this period, it forms the basis of the now less localized concert oratorio maintenance. Bach's explicit remark that this work could be played “not just with some kind of solemnity, but at all times, in and outside of the church”, which then happened several times in the following period, indicates a tendency: the shift so far has mainly been the Church reserved music in the concert hall.

The interest in Bach's oratorio after its first performances in Hamburg, Berlin and Leipzig was extraordinarily great, so that the composer felt compelled to print it. A copy of the first edition published in 1775 was in the possession of Johanna Elisabeth von Winthem, who later became Friedrich Gottlieb Klopstock's wife . There is no doubt that the Messiah's poet , who has lived in Hamburg since 1770 and was close friends with Bach, helped stimulate and promote the composition and publication of the oratorio. In a communication to Hamburg's music lovers, Bach announced that he would “ accept subscription until January 10, 1775, according to Mr. Klopstock's plan and persuasion ”.

After Johann Friedrich Reichardt got to know the oratorio in Bach's house - albeit only in a piano version - he wrote the following:

"And how fitting, how exhausted each expression was, how strong, how powerful the screams of the desperate people, how original the expression of their mockery and scorn against God and their leader, how majestic the language of Moses against the people, and how pleading, How humble, bent deep in the dust, his prayer to God, how ravishingly joyful the joy of the saved people, how lovely and pleasant the whole last scene contrasts with the former, terrible, wretched scenes, I cannot express that to you, there is no other signs than Bach's own notes. "

literature

  • Hans-Günter Ottenberg: Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach , Reclam 1982. pp. 162-169.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Hans-Günter Ottenberg: Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach , Reclam 1982. pp. 162-163.
  2. ^ Hans-Günter Ottenberg: Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach , Reclam 1982. p. 165.
  3. ↑ in: Staats- und Gelehrten Zeitung des Hamburger impartial Correspondents , No. 174, September 14, 1774.
  4. ^ JF Reichardt: Letters from an attentive traveler regarding music , Frankfurt am Main / Breslau 1776, part 2, p. 14f.