Whoever loves me will keep my word, BWV 59
| Bach cantata | |
|---|---|
| Whoever loves me will keep my word | |
| BWV: | 59 |
| Occasion: | 1st day of Pentecost |
| Year of origin: | 1723? |
| Place of origin: | Leipzig |
| Genus: | cantata |
| Solo : | SB |
| Choir: | SATB |
| Instruments : | 2Tr Ti 2Vl Va BC |
| text | |
| Erdmann Neumeister | |
| List of Bach cantatas | |
Those who love me will keep my word ( BWV 59) is a church cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach . He composed it for the first day of Pentecost in Leipzig and probably performed it for the first time on May 28, 1724, but the first performance is possible as early as May 16, 1723 in the Paulinerkirche .
Story and words
Bach wrote the cantata for the first day of Pentecost in Leipzig and performed it on May 28, 1724, as the individual parts that have been preserved show. This was possibly the first performance, but the score dates from 1723, so Arnold Schering credibly proposed a first performance as early as May 16, 1723 in the Paulinerkirche , the university church , i.e. two weeks before Bach's term of office as Thomaskantor on May 1. The Sunday after Trinity began. This is supported by the relatively small line-up with only two voices, two trumpets instead of the usual three, and no woodwinds.
The prescribed readings for the feast day were Acts 2,1-13 LUT and Joh 14,23–31 LUT from Jesus' farewell speeches, the promise of the Holy Spirit as a supporter who will teach. The cantata is based on a text by Erdmann Neumeister published in 1714. Bach set only four of the seven movements to music. The first movement is based on the first verse of the Gospel, which Bach sounded out in Weimar as early as 1714 in his cantata for the 1st day of Pentecost , you songs, you sound, you strings! had relied on a text by Salomon Franck as a recitative . In sentence 2, the poet emphasizes the “great love of God for the decrepit human race” ( Alfred Dürr ). Movement 3 is a chorale , the first stanza of Martin Luther's Pentecostal song Komm, Heiliger Geist, Herre Gott , whose melody Bach had used as an instrumental cantus firmus in a duet in his Weimar cantata . In an unusual final aria , the poet describes the even greater joy in heaven.
Bach used and expanded parts of the cantata for Whoever Loves Me Will Keep My Word, BWV 74 , for Pentecost 1725.
Occupation and structure
The cantata is occupied by two soloists, soprano and bass , four-part choir in chorale, two trumpets , timpani , two violins , viola and basso continuo .
- Duetto (soprano, bass): Those who love me will keep my word
- Recitativo (soprano): O what are these honors
- Chorale: Come, Holy Spirit, Lord God
- Aria (bass): The world with all kingdoms
music
The first movement is an extended duet in which the text is recited five times. The voices are imitated in four sections, touching different intervals and keys. In the fifth section, they sing together in six parallel lines . The instruments present a motif in a short prelude, which is then sung to the words “Whoever loves me”. This motif begins each section.
Movement 2 begins as a recitative with string accompaniment, but it ends as an arioso with continuo on the last line “Oh, that everyone should love him as he wanted”.
In the chorale, Bach achieves a particularly full sound by leading violin II and viola partially independently. The chorale is followed by an aria with an obbligato violin. Bach researchers have discussed whether the unusual ending was Bach's intention or whether he intended to set the fifth movement of Neumeister's original text, a chorale, to music. John Eliot Gardiner decided to play the previous chorale on the third verse of the song after the aria.
Recordings
LP / CD
- Bach Made in Germany Vol. 2 - Cantatas II. Kurt Thomas , Thomanerchor , Gewandhausorchester , Agnes Giebel , Theo Adam . Eterna, 1959.
- JS Bach: Cantatas No. 27, 118, 158, 59. Jaap Schröder , Amsterdamer Kantorei , Concerto Amsterdam , Rotraud Hansmann , Max van Egmond . Telefunken , 1967.
- JS Bach: The cantatas - Sacred Cantatas Vol. 3. Nikolaus Harnoncourt , Tölzer Knabenchor , Concentus Musicus Vienna , soloist of the Vienna Boys' Choir , Ruud van der Meer . Teldec , 1976.
- The Bach Cantata Vol. 35. Helmuth Rilling , Gächinger Kantorei Stuttgart , Bach-Collegium Stuttgart , Arleen Augér , Niklaus Tüller . Hänssler, 1977.
- JS Bach: Complete Cantatas Vol. 6 , Ton Koopman , Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir , Ruth Ziesak , Klaus Mertens . Antoine Marchand 1997.
- JS Bach: Whitsun Cantatas / Whitsun Cantatas: No. 172, 59, 74, 34 . John Eliot Gardiner , Monteverdi Choir , English Baroque Soloists , Magdalena Kožená , Peter Harvey . Deutsche Grammophon , 2000.
DVD
- “Whoever loves me will keep my word”. Cantata BWV 59. Rudolf Lutz , choir and orchestra of the J. S. Bach Foundation , Joanne Lunn , Jan Börner , Walter Siegel , Ekkehard Abele . Including an introductory workshop and reflection by Verena Kast . Gallus Media, 2013.
literature
- Alfred Dürr : Johann Sebastian Bach: The Cantatas. Bärenreiter, Kassel 1999, ISBN 3-7618-1476-3 .
- Werner Neumann : Handbook of the cantatas JSBachs , 1947, 5. Auf. 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; Carus-Verlag, Stuttgart 2006 (Edition Bach-Archiv Leipzig) ISBN 3-374-02390-8 (Evang. Verl.-Anst.), ISBN 3-89948-073-2 (Carus-Verl.).
- Christoph Wolff , Ton Koopman : The world of Bach cantatas Verlag JB Metzler, Stuttgart / Weimar 2006, ISBN 978-3-476-02127-4 .
Web links
- Kantatae, BWV 59 : Sheet music and audio files in the International Music Score Library Project
- Data, text and sources at Bach Digital
- Cantata BWV 59 He who loves me will keep my word with Bach Cantatas (English)
- Those who love me will keep my word on the Bach website
- BWV 59 Whoever loves me will keep my word. University of Vermont
Individual evidence
- ↑ Julian Mincham: Chapter 58 BWV 59 Whoever loves me will keep my word ( en ) jsbachcantatas.com. 2010. Retrieved June 1, 2011.
- ↑ Carol Traupman-Carr: Cantata 59, Whoever Loves Me Will Keep My Word ( English ) The Bach Choir of Bethlehem. 2006. Archived from the original on July 28, 2011. Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved June 1, 2011.
- ^ A b John Eliot Gardiner : Cantatas for Whit Sunday / Holy Trinity, Long Melford ( en , PDF) monteverdiproductions.co.uk. 2006. Archived from the original on July 28, 2011. Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved June 1, 2010.
- ↑ Come, Holy Spirit, Herre Gott / Text and Translation of Chorale ( en ) bach-cantatas.com. 2006. Retrieved June 1, 2011.
- ↑ Chorale Melodies used in Bach's Vocal Works / Komm, Heiliger Geist, Herre Gott ( en ) bach-cantatas.com. 2006. Retrieved June 1, 2011.
- ↑ John Quinn: The Bach Cantata Pilgrimage - Volume 26 ( en ) musicweb-international.com. 2006. Retrieved June 1, 2011.
