Just as the rain and snow fall from the sky
| Bach cantata | |
|---|---|
| Just as the rain and snow fall from the sky | |
| BWV: | 18th |
| Occasion: | Sexagesimae |
| Year of origin: | 1713? |
| Place of origin: | Weimar |
| Solo : | STB |
| Choir: | SATB |
| Instruments : | 4Va Vc Fg Bc, 1724 + 2Fl |
| text | |
| Erdmann Neumeister , Lazarus Spengler | |
| List of Bach cantatas | |
Like the rain and snow falls from the sky ( BWV 18) is a church cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach . He composed them for sexagesimae in Weimar , probably as early as 1713.
Story and words
Bach worked for the Weimar court from 1708. On March 2, 1714 he was appointed concertmaster. In this position he had the task of composing a church cantata once a month, which was performed in the castle church. Bach wrote this cantata for the Sunday Sexagesimae, the penultimate Sunday before the Passion time. The prescribed readings were 2 Cor 11,19 LUT - 2 Cor 12,9 LUT and Lk 8,4–15 LUT , the parable of the sower .
Bach set to music a text by Erdmann Neumeister , which he had written for the court in Eisenach and published in Gotha in 1711 in the collection of spiritual singing and games . Georg Philipp Telemann had already set it to music. The text first quotes Isaiah ( Isa. 55.10–11 LUT ), who illustrates the effect of God's word through a comparison with rain and snow, with reference to the gospel. In the following sentence, the poet inserts a warning of the dangers threatening God's word, section by section, from Martin Luther's litany . The final chorale is the eighth stanza of Lazarus Spengler's hymn “ Adam's fall is completely corrupt ” (1524).
The cantata is an early work by Bach. Alfred Dürr dates it to February 24, 1715 at the latest, more likely a year or two earlier. Christoph Wolff , on the other hand, states: "The original performance parts have been preserved and can be dated to the year 1713". Bach performed the cantata again in Leipzig in 1724, with expanded instruments and in a different key. The work was then probably performed together with the newly composed cantata Leichtgesinnte Flattergeister .
Occupation and structure
Like other cantatas from the Weimar period, the work is set for a small ensemble, three soloists, soprano , tenor and bass , four-part choir, four violas and basso continuo with cello and bassoon . In a Leipzig version from 1724, two recorders octave the two highest viola voices. John Eliot Gardiner compares their use with that of a four-foot organ register. The cantata begins in the Weimar version in G minor , in the Leipzig version in A Minor .
The cantata, which begins with a sinfonia , contains five movements.
- Sinfonia
- Recitativo (bass): Like the rain and snow falling from the sky
- Recitativo e chorale (litany) (tenor, bass, chorus): My God, my heart will be here - you want your spirit and strength
- Aria (soprano): My soul's treasure is God's word
- Chorale: I ask, O Lord, from the bottom of my heart
music
The keys in this section are those of the Weimar version, while the recording by Masaaki Suzuki , annotated by Klaus Hofmann , uses the Leipzig keys. Hofmann notices the Lutheran character of the work, which quotes a litany of Luther's in the third movement, and describes it as a “recitative etude”, which uses the secco recitative of Italian opera , which Neumeister introduced in church cantatas, as well as a richly orchestrated Accompagnato.
The cantata begins with a sinfonia in G minor that illustrates falling rain and snow with falling phrases. It is in da capo form and is reminiscent of both a chaconne and a concerto . The four violas and the continuo with bassoon and cello create an unusual sound.
The quote from Isaiah is sung by the bass, the Vox Christi (voice of Christ), as a secco recitative. It is Bach's first use of a recitative in a church cantata.
The central movement is unique in Bach's cantatas: the choir soprano interrupts the male soloists' recitative four times with a request that the choir reinforces by shouting “Hear us, dear Lord God!”. The recitative is labeled Adagio and is in E flat major , while the inserted litany appears dramatic, Allegro in C minor .
The only aria , in E flat major, is accompanied by the four violas in unison . The cantata closes with a simple four-part movement from Spengler's Lied, the first of Bach's numerous choral movements to conclude church cantatas.
Recordings
LP / CD
- JS Bach: Cantatas 18, 152. Jürgen Jürgens , Monteverdi Choir Hamburg , Leonhardt Consort , Agnes Giebel , Bert van t'Hoff, Jacques Villisech. Telefunken , 1964.
- JS Bach: Cantatas “Like the rain and snow fall from the sky” BWV 18; “Now come, the Heiden Heiland” BWV 62. Erhard Mauersberger , St. Thomas Choir , Gewandhaus Orchestra , Adele Stolte , Peter Schreier , Theo Adam . Eterna, 1967.
- JS Bach: Das Kantatenwerk, Episode / Vol. 5. Nikolaus Harnoncourt , Vienna Boys Choir , Chorus Viennensis , Concentus Musicus Vienna , Soloist of the Vienna Boys Choir, Kurt Equiluz , Max van Egmond . Teldec , 1971.
- JS Bach: Complete Cantatas, Vol. 2. Ton Koopman , Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir , Barbara Schlick , Kai Wessel , Christoph Prégardien , Klaus Mertens . Antoine Marchand, 1995.
- JS Bach: Cantatas Vol. 5 - BWV 18, 143, 152, 155, 161. Masaaki Suzuki , Bach Collegium Japan , Midori Suzuki, Makoto Sakurada, Peter Kooij . UP, 1997.
- Bach Cantatas, Vol. 20: Naarden / Southwell / For Septuagesima / For Sexagesima. John Eliot Gardiner , Monteverdi Choir , English Baroque Soloists , Gillian Keith, James Gilchrist , Stephan Loges. Soli Deo Gloria, 2000.
- Bach Edition, Vol. 5 - Cantatas Vol. 2. Pieter Jan Leusink , Holland Boys Choir , Netherlands Bach Collegium , Marjon Strijk, Robert Getchell, Bas Ramselaar. Brilliant Classics, 1999.
- JS Bach: Cantatas for the Complete Liturgical Year Vol. 6 (Sexagesima and Estomihi Sundays): "How already the morning star shines" - Cantatas BWV 18, 23, 1. Sigiswald Kuijken , La Petite Bande , Siri Thornhill, Petra Noskaiová, Marcus Ullmann , Jan van der Crabben. Accent, 2007.
- Bach cantatas No. 8. BWV 7, BWV 18, BWV 107. Rudolf Lutz , choir and orchestra of the JS Bach Foundation , Nuria Rial , Julia Doyle (soprano), Alex Potter (alto), Makato Sakurada, Julius Pfeifer (tenor), Dominik Wörner , Wolf Matthias Friedrich (bass). Gallus Media, 2013.
DVD
- JS Bach: Cantata BWV 18 “Same as the rain”. Rudolf Lutz, Schola Seconda Pratica, Nuria Rial, Makoto Sakurada, Dominik Wörner. Including an introductory workshop and reflection by Hans Jecklin. Gallus Media, 2009.
literature
- Alfred Dürr: Johann Sebastian Bach: The Cantatas. Bärenreiter, Kassel 1999, ISBN 3-7618-1476-3 and Deutscher Taschenbuchverlag 1995, ISBN 3-423-04431-4 .
- Werner Neumann : Handbook of the cantatas by JS Bach . Breitkopf and Härtel, Leipzig 1947. 5th edition. 1984, ISBN 3-7651-0054-4 .
- Hans-Joachim Schulze: The Bach Cantatas: Introductions to all of Johann Sebastian Bach's cantatas . Evangelische Verlags-Anstalt, Leipzig, ISBN 3-374-02390-8 ; Carus-Verlag, Stuttgart 2006, ISBN 3-89948-073-2 (Edition Bach Archive Leipzig)
- Christoph Wolff, Ton Koopman : The world of Bach cantatas. JB Metzler, Stuttgart / Weimar 2006, ISBN 978-3-476-02127-4 .
Web links
- Cantata “Like the rain and snow fall from the sky” : sheet music and audio files in the International Music Score Library Project
- Cantata BWV 18 “Like the rain and snow fall from the sky” : Autographs and transcriptions from Bach Digital of the Leipzig Bach Archive
- Cantata BWV 18 Like the rain and snow falls from the sky History, scoring, sources for text and music, translations into several languages, recordings and discussion on the private website Bach Cantatas (English)
- Just like rain and snow fall from the sky on the private website bach.de
- BWV 18 Just like the rain and snow fall from the sky Text, structure and composition on the personal homepage of Walter F. Bischof at the University of Alberta
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i Alfred Dürr : Die Kantaten von Johann Sebastian Bach , 4th edition, Volume 1, Deutscher Taschenbuchverlag, 1981, ISBN 3-423-04080-7 , pp. 209-211.
- ↑ a b Christoph Wolff : "Just as rain and snow fall from the sky" BWV 18 (PDF), bach-cantatas.com, 1997, p. 15 (accessed on February 2, 2013).
- ↑ a b c d Klaus Hofmann : BWV 18: Just as rain and snow fall from the sky (PDF; 4.0 MB) bach-cantatas.com. Pp. 11-12. 2005. Retrieved February 3, 2013.
- ↑ Adam's fall is all corrupted / Text and Translation of Chorale ( English ) bach-cantatas.com. 2005. Retrieved February 3, 2011.
- ↑ a b Chorale Melodies used in Bach's Vocal Works / Through Adam's fall is verderbt ( English ) bach-cantatas.com. 2005. Retrieved February 3, 2011.
- ↑ Julian Mincham: Chapter 43: BWV 18 "Like the rain and snow fall from the sky" ( English ) jsbachcantatas.com. 2010. Retrieved January 23, 2013.
- ↑ a b c John Eliot Gardiner : Cantatas for Sexagesima / Southwell Minster ( English , PDF; 120 kB) bach-cantatas.com. Pp. 8-11. 2009. Retrieved January 30, 2013.
