The Lord God is sun and shield
| Bach cantata | |
|---|---|
| The Lord God is sun and shield | |
| BWV: | 79 |
| Occasion: | Reformation Festival |
| Year of origin: | 1725 |
| Place of origin: | Leipzig |
| Genus: | Church cantata |
| Solo : | SAB |
| Choir: | SATB |
| Instruments : | 2Co Ti 2Ft 2Ob 2Vl Va Bc |
| text | |
| unknown, Martin Rinckart , Ludwig Helmbold | |
| List of Bach cantatas | |
God the Lord is Sun and Shield ( BWV 79) is a church cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach . He composed it in Leipzig for the Reformation Festival and performed it for the first time on October 31, 1725.
Story and words
Bach composed the cantata in his third year in office in Leipzig . The prescribed readings for the feast were 2 Thess 2.3 to 8 LUT , exhortation to steadfastness against adversaries, and Rev 14.6 to 8 LUT , "Fear God and give him glory."
An unknown lyricist did not respond to the readings, but dealt with the festive occasion, starting with a psalm verse, Psalm 84.12 LUT . As sentence 3 he included the first stanza of Martin Rinckart's song " Nun danket alle Gott ", and as the final chorale the last stanza of Ludwig Helmbold's "Now let us God the Lord".
Bach first performed the cantata on October 31, 1725. For another performance, probably in 1730, he changed the instrumentation by doubling the oboes with flutes and using the flute as the obligatory instrument in the alto aria . He used the music of the opening choir and the duet in his Missa in G, BWV 236 and that of the alto aria in the Missa in A, BWV 234 .
Occupation and structure
The cantata is occupied by three vocal soloists, soprano , alto and bass , four-part choir, two horns , timpani , two flauti traversi , two oboes , two violins , viola and basso continuo .
- Coro: The Lord God is sun and shield
- Aria (old): God is our sun and shield
- Chorale: Now everyone thank God
- Recitativo (bass): Thank God! We know the right way to bliss
- Duetto (soprano, bass): God, oh God, never leave yours
- Chorale: Keep us in the truth
music
John Eliot Gardiner , who conducted the cantatas for the Reformation Festival in the Schlosskirche Wittenberg , where the Reformation began, describes the opening choir as a solemn entry and hears the " insistent drum beats " to the horn fanfares as the hammering of Luther's theses. The instrumental introduction introduces two themes , a festive march-like theme for horns and timpani, and a livelier counter-theme that starts from an often repeated note. The following aria brings similar thoughts to the opening choir, but with a personal, calm coloring. In movement 3, the first chorale, Bach uses the first theme of the first movement again, simultaneously with the chorale melody. Helmuth Rilling notes the thematic unity, “Price and Thanks”, of the first three sentences. Gardiner suspected that the sermon was delivered after this chorale.
The only recitative is sung by the bass and mentions the reason for the award and thanks: "You have shown us through your word", in a reference to a central concern of the Reformation, as Rilling emphasizes. In the “innocent” duet, Gardiner hears a foretaste of Papageno and Papagena , reinforced by echoes of A Little Night Music in the ritornelles of the violins. The cantata ends with a simple four-part choral movement that asks for truth and freedom.
Recordings (selection)
- The RIAS Bach Cantatas Project (1949–1952). Karl Ristenpart , RIAS Chamber Choir , RIAS Chamber Orchestra, Agnes Giebel , Lorri Lail, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau . Audite, 1950.
- JS Bach: Cantatas BWV 39 & BWV 79. Fritz Lehmann , Berliner Motettenchor , Berliner Philharmoniker , Gunthild Weber, Lore Fischer , Hermann Schey. Archive production , 1952.
- JS Bach: Cantata 'Gott, der Herr, ist Sonn' and Schild '. Karl Richter , Munich Bach Choir , members of the Bavarian State Opera, Antonia Fahberg , Beatrice Krebs, Kieth Engen , Decca , 1955.
- JS Bach: Cantata No. 140, Cantata No. 57. Karl Ristenpart , Chorus of the Conservatory of Sarrebruck, Chamber Orchestra of the Saar, Ingeborg Reichelt , Annelotte Sieber-Ludwig, Jakob Stämpfli . Accord, 1958.
- Les Grandes Cantates de JS Bach Vol. 19 , Fritz Werner , Heinrich Schütz Choir Heilbronn , Pforzheimer Chamber Orchestra , Edith Selig, Claudia Hellmann, Jakob Stämpfli. Erato , 1964.
- JS Bach: Cantatas BWV 80 & BWV 79. Wolfgang Gönnenwein , South German Madrigal Choir , Consortium Musicum , Elly Ameling , Janet Baker , Hans Sotin . EMI , 1967.
- JS Bach: The Cantata Work - Complete Cantatas - Les Cantates, Episode / Vol. 20 - BWV 76–79. Gustav Leonhardt , Knabenchor Hannover , Collegium Vocale Gent , Leonhardt-Consort , soloist of the Knabenchor Hannover, Paul Esswood , Max van Egmond . Telefunken , 1980.
- Bach Made in Germany Vol. 4 - Cantatas X. Hans-Joachim Rotzsch , Thomanerchor , Gewandhausorchester , Arleen Augér , Ortrun Wenkel , Theo Adam . Eterna, 1982.
- Lecture Concerts - New Recordings Cantatas. Helmuth Rilling , Frankfurter Kantorei , Gächinger Kantorei , Bach-Collegium Stuttgart , Sibylla Rubens , Ingeborg Danz , Markus Marquardt . Hänssler, 1997.
- Bach Edition Vol. 15 - Cantatas Vol. 8. Pieter Jan Leusink , Holland Boys Choir , Netherlands Bach Collegium , Ruth Holton, Sytse Buwalda, Bas Ramselaar. Brilliant Classics, 2000.
- For the 19th Sunday after Trinity; For for the Feast of Reformation. John Eliot Gardiner , Joanne Lunn, William Towers, Peter Harvey . Soli Deo Gloria, 2000.
- JS Bach: Complete Cantatas Vol. 16. Ton Koopman , Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir , Sandrine Piau , Bogna Bartosz, Klaus Mertens . Antoine Marchand, 2001.
- JS Bach: Cantatas Vol. 40 - BWV 79, 137, 164, 168. Masaaki Suzuki , Bach Collegium Japan , Yukari Nonoshita, Robin Blaze , Makoto Sakurada, Peter Kooy . UP TO 2007.
- JS Bach: Where the Lord God doesn't stop with us. Georg Christoph Biller , St. Thomas Choir , Gewandhaus Orchestra , soloists of the St. Thomas Choir, Gotthold Schwarz . Rondeau Production, 2008.
literature
- Alfred Dürr : Johann Sebastian Bach: The Cantatas. Bärenreiter, Kassel 1999, ISBN 3-7618-1476-3 and Deutscher Taschenbuchverlag, Munich 1995, ISBN 3-423-04431-4 .
- Werner Neumann : Handbook of the cantatas JSBachs . 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 2006, ISBN 3-374-02390-8 ; Carus-Verlag, Stuttgart 2006, ISBN 3-89948-073-2
- Christoph Wolff , Ton Koopman : The world of Bach cantatas Verlag JB Metzler, Stuttgart / Weimar 2006, ISBN 978-3-476-02127-4
Web links
- God the Lord is Sun and Shield , BWV 79 : Sheet music and audio files in the International Music Score Library Project
- God the Lord is Sun and Shield at Bach-Digital of the Bach-Archive Leipzig
- Cantata BWV 79 God the Lord is Sun and Shield at Bach Cantatas (English)
- The Lord God is Sun and Shield on the Bach website
- BWV 79 God the Lord is Sun and Shield Text, structure and cast on the personal homepage of Walter F. Bischof at the University of Alberta
Individual evidence
- ↑ Now let's God the Lord / Text and Translation of Chorale ( en ) bach-cantatas.com. 2007. Retrieved October 30, 2012.
- ↑ a b c Klaus Hofmann: God the Lord is Sun and Shield, BWV 79 (PDF; 2.0 MB) bach-cantatas.com. 2007. Retrieved October 26, 2012.
- ↑ a b c John Eliot Gardiner : Cantatas for the Feast of the Reformation / Schlosskirche, Wittenberg ( en , PDF; 76 kB) bach-cantatas.com. S. 5, 6. 2005. Retrieved October 26, 2012.
- ↑ a b Julian Mincham: Chapter 5 BWV 79 God the Lord is sun and shield ( en ) jsbachcantatas.com. 2010. Retrieved October 29, 2012.
- ↑ a b c Helmuth Rilling : God the Lord is sun and shield (God the Lord is sun and shield), BWV 79 ( en ) WKSU-FM. Retrieved October 29, 2012.
- ↑ Chorale Melodies used in Bach's Vocal Works / Now let's God the Lord ( en ) bach-cantatas.com. 2005. Retrieved October 30, 2012.
