Bleib bei uns, denn es will Abend werden, BWV 6

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Bleib bei uns, denn es will Abend werden
BWV 6
Church cantata by J. S. Bach
Christ with Two Disciples, by Rembrandt
OccasionEaster Monday
Chorale
Performed2 April 1725 (1725-04-02): Leipzig
VocalSATB choir and solo
Instrumental
  • 2 oboes
  • oboe da caccia
  • 2 violins
  • viola
  • violoncello piccolo
  • continuo

Bleib bei uns, denn es will Abend werden (Stay with us, for evening falls),

Lutheran service. He composed it in Leipzig in 1725 for Easter Monday
and first performed it on 2 April 1725.

The prescribed readings for the feast day were

Philipp Melanchthon's hymn "Ach bleib bei uns, Herr Jesu Christ", one stanza written by Nikolaus Selnecker. The text ends with the second stanza of Martin Luther's hymn "Erhalt uns, Herr, bei deinem Wort
". Derived from the gospel scene, the topic is pleading for light in a situation of threatening darkness.

Bach structured the cantata in six movements and scored it for four vocal soloists, a four-part choir and a Baroque instrumental ensemble of oboes, strings and continuo. The extended opening chorus is formed like a French overture and has been compared to Ruht wohl, ihr heiligen Gebeine, the last chorus of Bach's St John Passion.

History and text

In 1723, Bach was appointed as

his second cantata cycle[2] that was not a chorale cantata.[3] The change was possibly due to the loss of a librettist.[4]

The prescribed readings

Philipp Melanchthon as a German version of "Vespera iam venit", and of similar content as the first movement, and the other the hymn's second stanza which was added by Nikolaus Selnecker. The closing chorale is the second stanza of Martin Luther's hymn "Erhalt uns, Herr, bei deinem Wort" (Maintain us, Lord, within thy word).[4] The libretto, of rather dry and didactic quality, is focused on the contrast between light and dark, viewing Jesus as the light of a sinful world. The author was possibly a theologian, who alluded to the Book of Revelation in the last aria.[3]

Bach first performed the cantata on 2 April 1725.[2] A subsequent performance is known for 13 April 1727, and later changes to instrumental parts are extant.[2]

Music

Scoring and structure

Bach structured the cantata in six movements. The first and last are set for choir, while the inner movements are set for soloists, in a sequence of aria – chorale – recitative – aria. Bach scored the work for four vocal soloists (

violoncello piccolo (Vp) and basso continuo (Bc).[2][3] The duration of the piece was stated as 26 minutes by Bach scholar Alfred Dürr[3]
but some currently available recordings last about 20 minutes.

In the following table of the movements, the scoring follows the

Neue Bach-Ausgabe. The keys and time signatures are taken from Dürr's book about the cantatas, using the symbol for common time (4/4).[3]
The instruments are shown separately for winds and strings, while the continuo, playing throughout, is not shown.

Movements of Bleib bei uns, denn es will Abend werden
No. Title Text Type Vocal Winds Strings Key Time
1 Bleib bei uns, denn es will Abend werden Luke 24:29 Chorus SATB 2Ob Oc 2Vl Va C minor
  • 3/4
  • cut time
  • 3/4
2 Hochgelobter Gottessohn anon. Aria A Oc (or Va) E-flat major 3/8
3
  • Ach bleib bei uns, Herr Jesu Christ
  • In dieser letzt'n betrübten Zeit
  • Melanchthon
  • Selnecker
 Chorale S Vp B-flat major common time
4 Es hat die Dunkelheit an vielen Orten anon. Recitative B common time
5 Jesu, laß uns auf dich sehen anon. Aria T 2Vl Va G minor cut time
6 Beweis dein Macht, Herr Jesu Christ Luther Chorale SATB 2Ob Oc 2Vl Va G minor common time

Movements

1

The cantata opens with "Bleib bei uns, denn es will Abend werden" (Abide with us; for it is toward evening),

fugue on two subjects at the same time: "denn es will Abend werden" (for it is toward evening) and "und der Tag hat sich geneiget" (and the day is far spent). A third motif, long notes on the same pitch, illustrates the "abiding" or staying.[4] The movement is closed by a shortened reprise of the beginning.[3] The Bach scholar Klaus Hofmann compares the slow-fast-slow structure of the movement to the French overture and notes that it opens a new series of cantatas.[4]

Supper at Emmaus by Caravaggio

Bach Cantata Pilgrimage in 2000, also noted the similarity to the last chorus, Ruht wohl, from the St John Passion, describing the cantata's "tender pleadings which become ever more gestural and urgent for enlightenment in a darkening world from which Jesus' presence has been removed."[5] He notes that while descending motifs and modulations illustrate the emotions of insecurity when left alone in the dark, Bach "introduces a counter-balance" of remaining steadfast, "by threading 25 Gs then 35 B-flats played in unison by violins and violas through the surrounding dissonance" and by repeated pleas to Jesus to remain sung on one note during the fugue.[5] Gardiner was reminded od a similar stark contrast of light and darkness in the painting Supper at Emmaus by Caravaggio.[5]

2

The second movement, "Hochgelobter Gottessohn" (Highly praised Son of God),

whole-tone steps.[3]

3

The third movement, "Ach bleib bei uns, Herr Jesu Christ" (Ah remain with us, Lord Jesus Christ),[1] is a setting of the chorale with a virtuoso part for violincello piccolo, while the two stanzas are sung by the soprano only.[3][7] This movement was later adapted as one of the Schübler Chorales, BWV 649.[2][3]

4

The only recitative is for bass, "Es hat die Dunkelheit an vielen Orten überhand genommen" (The darkness has taken over in many places).[1] Its "threatening chromatic bass line" reminds the listeners of "the gravity of the situation".[7]

5

The last aria, "Jesu, laß uns auf dich sehen" (Jesus, let us look upon You),[1] is for tenor with string accompaniment. The four notes for the name Jesu are a cross motif.[3] The movement is characterised by a persistent walking rhythm, somewhat mitigated by the flowing triplets in the violin line.[7] Hofmann notes that the lively violin figures illustrate from the start the text about the "light of the Word of God shining more brightly", which appears only in the second part.[4]

6

The four-part closing chorale, "Beweis dein Macht, Herr Jesu Christ" (Reveal Your strength, Lord Jesus Christ,),[1] chorale is "quarried very little for musical building blocks", according to Julian Mincham, ending the work on a sombre tone.[7]

Recordings

The selection is taken from the listing on the Bach Cantatas Website.[8] Instrumental groups playing period instruments in historically informed performances are marked green.

Recordings of Bleib bei uns, denn es will Abend werden
Title Conductor / Choir / Orchestra Soloists Label Year Instr.
J. S. Bach: Cantatas BWV 6 & BWV 19 Hans Grischkat
Stuttgart Choral Society
Bach-Orchester Stuttgart
Renaissance 1951 (1951)
Les Grandes Cantates de J. S. Bach Vol. 7
Heinrich-Schütz-Chor Heilbronn
Pforzheim Chamber Orchestra
Erato 1959 (1959) (reissued)
J. S. Bach: Das Kantatenwerk • Complete Cantatas • Les Cantates, Folge / Vol. 2 Nikolaus Harnoncourt
Concentus Musicus Wien
Teldec 1971 (1971) Period
Bach Cantatas Vol. 2 – Easter Karl Richter
Münchener Bach-Chor
Münchener Bach-Orchester
Archiv Produktion 1974 (1974)
Die Bach Kantate Vol. 11 Helmuth Rilling
Gächinger Kantorei
Bach-Collegium Stuttgart
Hänssler
 1980 (1980)
J. S. Bach: Easter Cantatas John Eliot Gardiner
Monteverdi Choir
English Baroque Soloists
Archiv Produktion 1999 (1999) Period
Bach Edition Vol. 11 – Cantatas Vol. 5
Holland Boys Choir
Netherlands Bach Collegium
Brilliant Classics 1999 (1999) Period
J. S. Bach: Complete Cantatas Vol. 14 Ton Koopman
Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir
Antoine Marchand 2001 (2001) Period
J. S. Bach: Cantatas Vol. 36 – Cantatas from Leipzig 1725 Masaaki Suzuki
Bach Collegium Japan
BIS 2006 (2006) Period
Bach: Ascension oratorio & Easter cantatas, BWV 43 & 6 Philippe Herreweghe
Collegium Vocale Gent
YouTube 2014 (2014) Period

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Dellal, Pamela (2012). "BWV 6 – Bleib bei uns, denn es will Abend werden". Emmanuel Music. Retrieved 20 August 2022.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g "Bleib bei uns, denn es will Abend werden BWV 6; BC A 57". Bach Digital. Bach Archive, SLUB, SBB and Leipzig University. 2017. Retrieved 21 March 2017.
  3. ^
    ISBN 978-0-19-929776-4
    .
  4. ^ a b c d e f Hofmann, Klaus (2007). "Bleib bei uns, denn es will Abend werden / Abide with us; for it is toward evening, BWV 6" (PDF). Bach Cantatas Website. pp. 8–10. Retrieved 21 March 2017.
  5. ^ a b c d Gardiner, John Eliot (2007). Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) / Cantatas Nos 4, 6, 31, 66, 134 & 145 (Media notes). Soli Deo Gloria (at Hyperion Records website). Retrieved 22 April 2019.
  6. ^ Schweitzer, Albert (1905). J. S. Bach: Le Musicien-Poète (in French). Vol. 2. Oxford University Press. pp. 338–339.
  7. ^ a b c d Mincham, Julian (2010). "Chapter 43 Bwv 6 – The Cantatas of Johann Sebastian Bach". jsbachcantatas.com. Retrieved 16 August 2022.
  8. ^ Oron, Aryeh (2016). "Cantata BWV 6 Bleib bei uns, denn es will Abend werden". Bach Cantatas Website. Retrieved 21 March 2017.

External links

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