We thank you, God, we thank you
| Bach cantata | |
|---|---|
| We thank you, God, we thank you | |
| BWV: | 29 |
| Occasion: | Council election |
| Year of origin: | 1731 |
| Place of origin: | Leipzig |
| Genus: | cantata |
| Solo : | SATB |
| Choir: | SATB |
| Instruments : | 3Tr Ti 2Ob 2Vl Va Bc |
| text | |
| unknown | |
| List of Bach cantatas | |
We thank you, God, we thank you ( BWV 29) is a sacred cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach . He composed it in Leipzig in 1731 for the council election. He later reworked the opening choir into the Gratias and Dona nobis pacem of his B minor Mass .
Occasion and content
Bach composed the cantata in Leipzig in 1731 for election to the council. This introduction by the elected city council was regularly celebrated on the Monday after St. Bartholomew (August 24) in a service that fell on August 27, 1731. For this occasion he already had prizes in the first year , Jerusalem, the Lord and later God, you are praised in silence . According to the occasion, the content of the text is thanks to God for the prosperity of the city, a request for future blessings and praise for his power.
Occupation and structure
The rich cast corresponds to the festive occasion, four soloists, soprano , alto , tenor , bass , four-part choir, three trumpets , timpani , two oboes , organ , two violins , viola and basso continuo make music .
- Sinfonia
- Coro: We thank you, God, we thank you
- Aria (tenor, violin): Hallelujah, strength and power
- Recitativo (bass): Thank God! we are well!
- Aria (soprano, oboe, strings): Remember us with your love
- Recitativo (alto, chorus): Don't forget, with your hand
- Aria (alto): Hallelujah, strength and power
- Chorale: Be praise and praise with honor
music
The cantata is one of the few sacred cantatas with an introductory instrumental sinfonia . This is an arrangement of the Preludio from Bach's Partita in E major for violin , BWV 1006. The organ takes on the virtuoso solo part, the orchestra plays an accompanying role.
The opening chorus, which sets the second verse of Psalm 75 to music, is written in the stile antico . The bass begins a theme of great simplicity in even steps that is imitated by the tenor after just one bar. The alto joins after two more bars, the soprano just one bar later. This creates a dense vocal structure. The more agitated counter-subject highlights the words proclaim and miracles . Initially, only the oboes and strings play colla parte with the voices. A trumpet reinforces the soprano as an intensification, then two trumpets with their own themes take part in the polyphony , until the work reaches a climax with the introduction of the third trumpet and the timpani. Bach needed little change in order to use the music for the 1733 Gratias in the Gloria of his B minor Mass , which expresses the same content. He later also used music as Dona nobis pacem to conclude his work.
In the da capo aria that follows , the tenor, solo violin, and continuo are equal partners.
The soprano aria, accompanied by oboe and strings, is in siciliano rhythm. The continuo is silent during the sung sections, a frequently recurring illustration of Bach's “groundless” love of God.
After a recitative that leads to an amen of all voices, the alto repeats the main part of the tenor aria, this time accompanied by the organ. Such a revival of theme (3 and 6) and instrument (1 and 6) is unusual in Bach's cantatas.
In the final chorale , the fifth stanza of Johann Gramann's Nun praise, my soul, the gentlemen , the trumpet choir accentuates a few line ends.
Recordings
- LP / CD
- JS Bach: Das Kantatenwerk - Sacred Cantatas Vol. 2 , Nikolaus Harnoncourt , Wiener Sängerknaben & Chorus Viennensis , Concentus Musicus Wien , Boy Soprano of the Vienna Boys Choir, Paul Esswood , Kurt Equiluz , Max van Egmond , Teldec , 1974.
- JS Bach: We thank you, God. Philippe Herreweghe , Collegium Vocale Gent , Deborah York , Ingeborg Danz , Mark Padmore , Peter Kooij . Harmonia Mundi France, 1999.
- JS Bach: Complete Cantatas Vol. 20. Ton Koopman , Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir , Sandrine Piau , Bogna Bartosz , James Gilchrist , Klaus Mertens . Antoine Marchand, 2003.
- JS Bach: Cantatas. Nikolaus Harnoncourt , Arnold Schoenberg Choir , Concentus Musicus Wien , Christine Schäfer , Bernarda Fink , Werner Güra , Christian Gerhaher . German Harmonia Mundi, 2007.
- DVD
- We thank you, God, we thank you. Cantata BWV 29. Rudolf Lutz , choir and orchestra of the JS Bach Foundation , Julia Sophie Wagner (soprano), Roswitha Müller (alto), Bernhard Berchtold (tenor), Fabrice Hayoz (bass). Including an introductory workshop and reflection by Meinrad Walter . Gallus Media, 2014.
literature
- Alfred Dürr : Johann Sebastian Bach: The Cantatas. Bärenreiter, Kassel 1999, ISBN 3-7618-1476-3
- Werner Neumann : Handbook of JS Bach's Cantatas , 1947, 5th edition 1984, ISBN 3-7651-0054-4
- Hans-Joachim Schulze: The Bach Cantatas: Introductions to all of Johann Sebastian Bach's cantatas . Leipzig: Evangelical publishing company; Stuttgart: Carus-Verlag 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
- We thank you, God, we thank you, BWV 29 : Sheet music and audio files in the International Music Score Library Project
- BWV 29 We thank you, God, we thank you Text, structure and composition on the personal homepage of Walter F. Bischof at the University of Alberta
- Text of the cantata "We thank you, God, we thank you"
- Cantata BWV 29 We thank you, God, we thank you, BWV 29 in bach-cantatas (English)
- We thank you, God, we thank you, BWV 29 on the Bach website
- We thank you God, we thank you : recording by the Nederlandse Bachvereniging (video and background information) Conductor: Jos van Veldhoven
