Ach Gott, wie manches Herzeleid, BWV 58
Ach Gott, wie manches Herzeleid | |
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The Flight into Egypt (Rembrandt, 1627) | |
Occasion | Sunday after New Year's Day |
Cantata text | Christoph Birkmann |
Chorale |
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Performed | 5 January 1727 Leipzig : |
Movements | 5 |
Vocal | |
Instrumental |
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Ach Gott, wie manches Herzeleid (Ah God, how much heartbreak),[1] BWV 58, is a church cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach. He composed the dialogue cantata in Leipzig for the Sunday after New Year's Day.
The text has been attributed to
Bach scored the work for a small Baroque instrumental ensemble of originally just strings and continuo, probably intended to ease the workload of musicians for the Christmas season. In a later version, he added a trio of oboes to the outer movements. Bach counted the work as part of his cycle of chorale cantatas, which he had begun in 1724. It was presumably first performed on 5 January 1727.
History and text
Bach composed the dialogue cantata the Sunday after New Year's Day, probably of 1727.[1][6][7] This occasion happens only in years with a Sunday between New Year's Day and Epiphany on 6 January. The prescribed readings for the day are from the First Epistle of Peter, the suffering of Christians (1 Peter 4:12–19), and from the Gospel of Matthew, the Flight into Egypt (Matthew 2:13–23).[8] In his first year as Thomaskantor (director of church music) in Leipzig, Bach had composed Schau, lieber Gott, wie meine Feind, BWV 153, for this occasion.
The text has been attributed in 2015 to
Bach performed the cantata presumably first on 5 January 1727. He performed it again on 4 January 1733 or 3 January 1734. Only this later version survived, for which Bach had added oboes to the orchestra and wrote a new third movement.[1][7] The surviving continuo part of the original aria suggests a significantly different character.[7] As only the continuo part of the first version of the central aria movement survived, it is unknown if the text was also changed.[1]
Bach counted the work as part of his cycle of chorale cantatas, which he had begun in 1724/25. In that year's Christmas season, the Sunday fell between Christmas and New Year, a different occasion with different prescribed readings. Ach Gott, wie manches Herzeleid is not similar to the early works of that cycle which focus on one Lutheran hymn, such as a cantata on Moller's hymn, Ach Gott, wie manches Herzeleid, BWV 3, composed for the second Sunday after Epiphany of 1725.[1] According to the Bach scholar Alfred Dürr, the cantata is "to be numbered among the successors of the seventeenth-century dialogue compositions as a 'Dialogue of the Faithful Soul with God'".[1]
Scoring and structure
Bach structured the cantata in five movements in a symmetrical arrangement of two framing duets surrounding
In the following table of the movements, the scoring follows the
No. | Title | Text | Type | Vocal | Winds | Strings | Key | Time |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Ach Gott, wie manches Herzeleid | Moller + anon. | Chorale + Aria | S B | 2Ob Ot | 2Vl Va | C major | 3/4 |
2 | Verfolgt dich gleich die arge Welt | anon. | Recitative | B | a minor – F major | |||
3 | Ich bin vergnügt in meinem Leiden | anon. | Aria | S | Vl solo | D minor | ||
4 | Kann es die Welt nicht lassen | anon. | Recitative | S | F major – A minor | |||
5 | Ich hab für mir ein schwere Reis | Behm + anon. | Chorale + Aria | S B | 2Ob Ot | 2Vl Va | C major | 2/4 |
Music
The structure of the piece is unusually symmetric. It opens and closes with a duet including a chorale text.[12] Harmonically, the piece begins and ends in C major, and the central movement is in D minor. The second movement modulates from A minor to F major, while the fourth movement mirrors this motion.[6]
1
The first movement, "Ach Gott, wie manches Herzeleid" (Ah, God, how much heartache),
2
The
3
The third movement, "Ich bin vergnügt in meinem Leiden" (I am cheerful in my sorrow),[13] is a soprano aria with an obbligato solo violin. The da capo movement describes the spirit's confidence in God. The first section includes a "motto theme" transitioning into a "hectic" violin melody. The middle section is characterized by a "muscular" soprano line and "oddly bizarre" solo violin. The first section returns modified and unheralded.[7]
4
The soprano recitative, "Kann es die Welt nicht lassen" (If the world cannot cease),[13] begins by recounting persecution, but quickly becomes an arioso with a walking continuo.[7]
5
The final movement, "Ich hab für mir ein schwere Reis" (I have a difficult journey before me),
Recordings
- Karl Ristenpart, RIAS Kammerchor, RIAS-Kammerorchester, The RIAS Bach Cantatas Project (1949-1952), Recorded 1952, Published 2012.
- Frank Brieff, Bach Aria Group, Bach Aria Group, Decca, 1960.
- Karl Richter, Münchener Bach-Chor, Münchener Bach-Orchester, Bach Cantatas Vol. 1 – Advent and Christmas. Archiv Produktion, 1970.
- Hänssler, 1971.
- Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Tölzer Knabenchor, Concentus Musicus Wien, J. S. Bach: Das Kantatenwerk – Sacred Cantatas Vol. 3. Teldec, 1976.
- Michel Corboz, Ensemble vocal de Lausanne , Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne. Bach Cantatas. Erato, 1976.
- Holland Boys Choir, Netherlands Bach Collegium. Bach Edition Vol. 18 – Cantatas Vol. 9. Brilliant Classics, 2000.
- John Eliot Gardiner, Monteverdi Choir, English Baroque Soloists. Bach Cantatas Vol. 17: Berlin. Soli Deo Gloria, 2000.
- Ton Koopman, Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir. J. S. Bach: Complete Cantatas Vol. 17. Antoine Marchand, 2003.
- Masaaki Suzuki, Bach Collegium Japan. J. S. Bach: Cantatas Vol. 38 (Solo Cantatas). BIS, 2006.
- Alfredo Bernardini, Kirchheimer BachConsort, Hana Blažíková, Dominik Wörner J. S. Bach Dialogkantaten BWV 32, 57, 58. cpo
References
- ^ ISBN 0-19-929776-2.
- ^ a b Blanken, Christine (2015). "A Cantata-Text Cycle of 1728 from Nuremberg: a Preliminary Report on a Discovery relating to J. S. Bach's so-called 'Third Annual Cantata Cycle'" (PDF). Understanding Bach. Bach Network. pp. 9–30. Retrieved 29 December 2015.
- ^ "Ach Gott, wie manches Herzeleid / Text and Translation of Chorale". Bach Cantatas. 2006. Retrieved 14 January 2013.
- ^ "Herr (or O) Jesu Christ, meins Lebens Licht / Text and Translation of Chorale". Bach Cantatas Website. 2006. Retrieved 29 December 2015.
- ^ "Chorale Melodies used in Bach's Vocal Works / Herr (or O) Jesu Christ, meins Lebens Licht". Bach Cantatas Website. 2006. Retrieved 14 January 2013.
- ^ a b c d Leonard, James. "Johann Sebastian Bach / Cantata No. 58, "Ach Gott, wie manches Herzeleid," BWV 58 (BC A26)". Allmusic. Retrieved 8 August 2013.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Mincham, Julian. "Chapter 35 Bwv 58 – The Cantatas of Johann Sebastian Bach". jsbachcantatas. Retrieved 21 August 2022.
- ISBN 9780198167075.
- ^ a b c Hofmann, Klaus (2010). "BWV 58 Ach Gott, wie manches Herzeleid / Oh God, how much unhappiness" (PDF). Bach Cantatas Website. pp. 7–8. Retrieved 28 December 2015.
- ^ Gardiner, John Eliot (2008). Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) / Cantatas Nos 16, 41, 58, 143, 153 & 171 (Media notes). Soli Deo Gloria (at Hyperion Records website). Retrieved 31 December 2018.
- ^ a b Bischof, Walter F. "BWV 58 Ach Gott, wie manches Herzeleid". University of Alberta. Retrieved 3 August 2013.
- ^ a b Smith, Craig. "Cantata BWV 58". Emmanuel Music. Retrieved 21 August 2022.
- ^ a b c d e Dellal, Pamela (2021). "BWV 58 – Ach Gott, wie manches Herzeleid". pameladellal.com. Retrieved 23 December 2021.
External links
- Ach Gott, wie manches Herzeleid, BWV 58: Scores at the International Music Score Library Project
- Ach Gott, wie manches Herzeleid, BWV 58: performance by the Netherlands Bach Society (video and background information)
- Ach Gott, wie manches Herzeleid (concerto in dialogo) (early version) BWV 58; BC A 26a / Sacred cantata (2nd Sunday of Christmas) Bach Digital
- Ach Gott, wie manches Herzeleid (concerto in dialogo) (later version) BWV 58; BC A 26b / Sacred cantata (2nd Sunday of Christmas) Bach Digital
- BWV 58 Ach Gott, wie manches Herzeleid: English translation, University of Vermont