Illuminate my dark senses too
The Bass -Arie Enlighten my sinister senses comes as piece number 47 from the fifth part of the Christmas Oratorio by Johann Sebastian Bach .
The aria is performed only by the voice, an oboe d'amore and a bass instrument and is the only piece in the Christmas Oratorio that is not accompanied by the continuo . It is notated in 2/4 time and has the basic key of F sharp minor .
The composition from 1735 is a lower parody of Bach's secular Bourrée -Arie for soprano voice Through the ardor inflamed weapons from the cantata prices your luck, blessed Saxony (Bach works directory 215.7), published in 1734 on the occasion of the election of the elector of Saxony August III. was written about the King of Poland.
In the original trio in the key of B minor , the singing part and an accompanying oboe d'amore form the upper part, the high strings form the lower part and two flutes playing in unison form the middle part. For the Christmas Oratorio, the singing part was moved to the middle part, which is accompanied by an oboe d'amore above and the bass below.
text
The text is addressed to Jesus pleading, promising and forgiving and was freely composed by an unknown author. It is divided into four sections A to D as follows:
- A: Light up my dark senses too,
- B 1 : Illuminate my heart
- B 2 : through the clear light of the rays!
- C: Your word should be the brightest candle in all of my works:
- D: This doesn't let the soul begin evil.
shape
Without the beginning with an eighth note, the aria consists of 144 bars and is largely interspersed with runs of sixteenth.
After an instrumental prelude, the A-text is heard briefly as the motto of the piece, followed by sections A and B, which are sung three times in pairs without repeating the melody. There is a longer interlude before the following C section and a shorter interlude between the C and D sections. Then the text pair AB is repeated. Finally, the B text is broken up and filled again with the text pair AB. At the end, the instrumental prelude sounds again as an aftermath:
| Text part | Number of cycles | Remarks |
|---|---|---|
| 24 | Instrumental foreplay | |
| A. | 4th | Singing voice mimicking oboe d'amore prelude |
| A. | 4th | Singing voice syncopated |
| B. | 6th | Begins with a seventh jump and a lead on the tone his |
| A. | 4th | The singing part begins in the middle of the bar |
| B. | 7th | Longer melisma on the syllable "-leuch-" of "enlight" ends in G sharp major |
| A. | 5 | The singing part begins in the middle of the bar |
| B. | 6th | Octave jump to the text "my heart" |
| 12 | Instrumental interlude as a melodic variation of the second half of the prelude | |
| C. | 12 | Top note e in the singing voice on the syllable "hell-" from "brightest", longest melisma on the syllable "al-" from "all works" |
| 4th | Small instrumental interlude as a melodic variation of the first bars of the prelude | |
| D. | 4th | Singing voice syncopated |
| A. | 5 | Melisma on the syllable "-leucht" of "illumin" |
| B. | 6th | Melisma on the syllable "Strah-" from "rays" |
| B 1 | 3 | Singing part mimics falling 1/32 notes of the oboe d'amore |
| A. | 4th | Singing part mimics 1/32 notes of the oboe d'amore |
| B. | 6th | Lower voice partially suspends and singing voice with melisms on the syllables "-leuch-" from "enlight" and "Strah-" from "rays" |
| B 2 | 4th | Instruments stop at first and start when the singing voice moves upwards |
| 24 | Repetition of the instrumental foreplay |
Interpretations
The aria was interpreted by innumerable singers during performances of Bach's Christmas oratorio . The tempo of the aria usually fluctuates between 60 and 80 beats per minute during various recordings and performances .
Outstanding interpretations:
- 1958: Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau , Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, conductor: Kurt Thomas
- 1965: Franz Crass , Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, conductor: Kurt Thomas
- 1966: Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Munich Bach Orchestra , conductor: Karl Richter
- 1973: Hermann Prey , Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra , conductor: Eugen Jochum
- 1987: Olaf Bär , English Baroque Soloists , conductor: John Eliot Gardiner
- 1987: Wolfgang Schöne , Bach-Collegium Stuttgart , direction: Peter Schreier
- 1987: Robert Holl , Staatskapelle Dresden , conductor: Peter Schreier
- 1996: Klaus Mertens , Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra , conductor: Ton Koopman
Individual evidence
- ↑ Meredith Little, Natalie Jenne: Dance and the Music of JS Bach. Indiana University Press, 2001, ISBN 0-253-21464-5 , p. 215.
- ^ Günther Zedler: Johann Sebastian Bach's cantatas that have survived (later sacred and secular works) - reviews in the form of analyzes, explanations, and interpretations. 2009, ISBN 978-3-8391-3773-4 , p. 350.
- ↑ BWV 248V - Glory to you, God, sung - Christmas Oratorio V
Web links
- Christmas Oratorio : Sheet Music and Audio Files in the International Music Score Library Project
- Autograph of the aria