Jesus is sleeping, what should I hope?

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Bach cantata
Jesus is sleeping, what can I hope for
BWV: 81
Occasion: 4th Sunday after Epiphany
Year of origin: 1724
Place of origin: Leipzig
Genus: cantata
Solo : ATB
Choir: SATB
Instruments : 2Fl 2Oa 2Vl Va Bc
text
unknown
List of Bach cantatas
The Storm on the Sea of ​​Galilee by Rembrandt , 1632

Jesus sleeps, what should I hope ( BWV 81) is a church cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach . He composed it in Leipzig for the 4th Sunday after Epiphany and performed it for the first time on January 30, 1724.

Story and words

In his first year in Leipzig, Bach wrote the cantata for the 4th Sunday after Epiphany and performed it for the first time on January 30, 1724. The 4th Sunday after Epiphany is rare and only occurs in years when Easter is late. The prescribed readings were Rom 13,8-10 LUT and Mt 8,23-27  LUT , the calming down of  the storm . The lyricist is unknown, Erdmann Neumeister and Christian Weiss were suggested. The poet refers to the Gospel and shows Jesus as hidden (sleeping) and manifest (acting), similar to My God, how long, oh long? , Written in Weimar in 1716 and performed again three weeks earlier. The words of the fourth sentence quote the Gospel: “You of little faith, why are you so fearful?” The final chorale is the second stanza of Johann Franck's Jesus, my joy .

Occupation and structure

The cantata is made up of three soloists, alto , tenor and bass , four-part choir in the chorale, two recorders , two oboe d'amore , two violins , viola and basso continuo . The flutes and oboes were played by the same musicians.

  1. Aria (alto, recorders): Jesus is sleeping, what should I hope?
  2. Recitativo (tenor): Lord! why do you step so far?
  3. Aria (tenor): The foaming waves of Belial's brooks
  4. Arioso (bass): You of little faith, why are you so scared?
  5. Aria (bass, oboe d'amore): Silence, piled sea!
  6. Recitativo (old): Happy me, my Jesus speaks a word
  7. Chorale: Under your umbrellas

music

Bach presents the questions of the fearful soul dramatically, similar to the dialogues in O Ewigkeit, du Donnerwort, BWV 60 . The first aria illustrates sleeping through recorders, low registers of the strings and sustained notes in the singing voice. Bach also used similar means of expression in the aria Gentle shall my death sorrow of his Easter oratorio . In movement 3, the lines of the instruments storm and waves trace, similar to the operas of the time. The central movement in the symmetrical arrangement of the cantata is movement 4. The bass as Vox Christi (voice of Christ) poses the question of Jesus. Continuo and singing voice use similar material in this Arioso , which intensifies the words. The following aria, labeled allegro , contrasts the storm in unison runs of the strings with calmer movement in the oboes. The final chorale is simply set in four parts.

Bach composed a similar symmetrical arrangement around a passage from the Bible in 1726 in Brich the Hungry Your Bread, BWV 39 .

Recordings

DVD

  • "Jesus is sleeping, what should I hope". Cantata BWV 81. Rudolf Lutz , Orchestra of the JS Bach Foundation , Roswitha Müller, Bernhard Berchthold, Wolf Matthias Friedrich. Including an introductory workshop and reflection by Rolf Dubs . Gallus Media, 2009.

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Julian Mincham: Chapter 39 BWV 81 Jesus is sleeping, what should I hope? ( English ) jsbachcantatas.com. 2010. Retrieved January 18, 2011.
Cantatas (BWV), oratorios and passions by Johann Sebastian Bach
Sacred cantatas

1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 5 • 6 • 7 • 8 • 9 • 10 • 12 • 13 • 14 • 16 • 17 • 18 • 19 • 20 • 21 • 22 • 23 • 24 • 25 • 26 • 27 • 28 • 29 • 30 • 31 • 32 • 33 • 34 • 35 • 36 • 37 • 38 • 39 • 40 • 41 • 42 • 43 • 44 • 45 • 46 • 47 • 48 • 49 • 50 • 51 • 52 • 54 • 55 • 56 • 57 • 58 • 59 • 60 • 61 • 62 • 63 • 64 • 65 • 66 • 67 • 68 • 69a • 70 / 70a • 71 • 72 • 73 • 74 • 75 • 76 • 77 • 78 • 79 • 80 • 80a • 81 • 82 • 83 • 84 • 85 • 86 • 87 • 88 • 89 • 90 • 91 • 92 • 93 • 94 • 95 • 96 • 97 • 98 • 99 • 100 • 101 • 102 • 103 • 104 • 105 • 106 • 107 • 108 • 109 • 110 • 111 • 112 • 113 • 114 • 115 • 116 • 117 • 118 • 119 • 120 • 121 • 122 • 123 • 124 • 125 • 126 • 127 • 128 • 129 • 130 • 131 • 132 • 133 • 134 • 135 • 136 • 137 • 138 • 139 • 140 • 143 • 144 • 145 • 146 • 147 / 147a • 148 • 149 • 150 • 151 • 152 • 153 • 154 • 155 • 156 • 157 • 158 • 159 • 161 • 162 • 163 • 164 • 165 • 166 • 167 • 168 • 169 • 170 • 171 • 172 • 173 • 174 • 175 • 176 • 177 • 178 • 179 • 180 • 181 • 182 • 183 • 184 • 185 • 186 • 187 • 188 • 190 • 191 • 192 • 193 • 194 • 195 • 196 • 197 • 199 • 244a

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Secular cantatas

30a • 34a • 36c • 134a • 173a • 198 • 201 • 202 • 203 • 204 • 205 • 206 • 207 • 207a • 208 • 209 • 210 • 210a • 211 • 212 • 213 • 214 • 215 • 216a • 249a

Cantatas not preserved

App. 1 • App. 2 • App. 3 • App. 4 • App. 4a • App. 5 • App. 6 • App. 7 • App. 8 • App. 9 • App. 10 • App. 11 • App. 12 • App. 13 • App. 14 • App. 15 • App. 16 • App. 17 • App. 18 • App. 19

Passions

St. Matthew Passion (BWV 244) • St. John Passion (BWV 245) • St. Luke Passion (BWV 246) (Bach's authorship questioned) • St. Mark Passion (BWV 247)

Oratorios

Ascension Oratorio (BWV 11) • Christmas Oratorio (BWV 248) • Easter Oratorio (BWV 249)