Also hat Gott die Welt geliebt, BWV 68

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Also hat Gott die Welt geliebt
Salomo Liscow
Performed21 May 1725 (1725-05-21): Leipzig
Movements5
Vocal
  • SATB choir
  • solo: soprano and bass
Instrumental
  • horn
  • cornetto
  • 3 trombones
  • 2 oboes
  • taille
  • 2 violins
  • viola
  • violoncello piccolo
  • continuo

Also hat Gott die Welt geliebt (God so loved the world),[1] BWV 68, is a cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach, a church cantata for the second day of Pentecost. Bach composed the cantata in Leipzig and first performed it on 21 May 1725. It is one of nine cantatas on texts by Christiana Mariana von Ziegler, which Bach composed at the end of his second annual cycle of cantatas in Leipzig. In a unique structure among Bach's church cantatas, it begins with a chorale and ends with a complex choral movement on a quotation from the Gospel of John. Bach derived the two arias from his Hunting Cantata.

History and words

Bach composed the cantata during his second year in Leipzig for Pentecost Monday.[2][3] The prescribed readings for the feast day were taken from the Acts of the Apostles, the sermon of Saint Peter for Cornelius (Acts 10:42–48), and the Gospel of John, "God so loved the world" from the meeting of Jesus and Nicodemus (John 3:16–21).[2]

In his second year in Leipzig, Bach composed

Salomo Liscow's hymn (1675). It is close to the beginning of the Gospel: "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life". In the final movement, she quoted verse 18 from the Gospel, set by Bach as an unusual choral movement.[2]

Bach first performed the cantata on 21 May 1725.[6]

Structure and instrumentation

The cantata in five movements is scored for two soloists,

violoncello piccolo and basso continuo.[2]

  1. Chorus: Also hat Gott die Welt geliebt
  2. Aria (soprano): Mein gläubiges Herze
  3. Recitative (bass): Ich bin mit Petro nicht vermessen
  4. Aria (bass): Du bist geboren mir zugute
  5. Chorus: Wer an ihn gläubet, der wird nicht gerichtet

Music

The opening chorus is a chorale fantasia, as in Bach's chorale cantatas. The hymn melody by Gottfried Vopelius (1682) is sung by the soprano, doubled by a horn.[7] Bach changed the rhythm of the tune from the original common time to 12/8.[6] The musicologist Julian Mincham notes that he "embellishes it to a degree whereby 'it hardly seems like a chorale any more'".[7]

The two arias are based on arias from Bach's 1713 Hunting Cantata (

Pan, "Ein Fürst ist seines Landes Pan" (A prince is his own country's Pan). Klaus Hofmann notes that the "splendid wind writing gives some hint of the pathos with which Pan ... is portrayed in Bach's hunting music".[6]

The final movement is not, as in many church cantatas, a simple four-part chorale, but a motet-like structure which conveys a verse from the Gospel of John. The juxtaposition of "wer an ihn gläubet" (Whoever believes in Him)[1] and "wer aber nicht gläubet" (but whoever does not believe)[1] is expressed by a double fugue with two contrasting themes. The voices are doubled by a choir of trombones.[6] Gardiner comments:

Invariably his settings of John's words are full of purpose, never more so than in the final chorus of BWV 68 Also hat Gott die Welt geliebt when, in place of a chorale, John postulates the chilling choice between salvation or judgement in the present life.[5]

Recordings

References

  1. ^ a b c d Dellal, Pamela. "BWV 68 – "Also hat Gott die Welt geliebt"". Emmanuel Music. Retrieved 22 August 2022.
  2. ^
    ISBN 3-423-04080-7
    .
  3. Allmusic
    . Retrieved 23 October 2012.
  4. ^ Wolff, Christoph. "Conclusion of the second yearly cycle (1724–25) of the Leipzig church cantatas" (PDF). Bach Cantatas Website. p. 2. Retrieved 1 June 2011.
  5. ^ a b c Gardiner, John Eliot (2006). Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) / Cantatas Nos 34, 59, 68, 74, 172, 173 & 174 (Media notes). Soli Deo Gloria (at Hyperion Records website). Retrieved 8 June 2019.
  6. ^ a b c d e Hofmann, Klaus (2007). "Also hat Gott die Welt geliebt / For God so Loved the World, BWV 68" (PDF). Bach Cantatas Website. pp. 5–6. Retrieved 16 May 2013.
  7. ^ a b Mincham, Julian (2010). "Chapter 49 Bwv 68 – The Cantatas of Johann Sebastian Bach". jsbachcantatas.com. Retrieved 22 August 2022.

Sources

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