Gott, wie dein Name, so ist auch dein Ruhm, BWV 171
Gott, wie dein Name, so ist auch dein Ruhm | |
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Thomaskirche, Leipzig | |
Related | Patrem omnipotentem of the Mass in B minor |
Occasion | New Year's Day |
Cantata text | Picander |
Bible text | Psalm 48:10 |
Chorale | "Jesu, nun sei gepreiset" by Johannes Hermann |
Performed | 1 January 1729 Leipzig ?: |
Movements | 6 |
Vocal | SATB choir and solo |
Instrumental |
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Gott, wie dein Name, so ist auch dein Ruhm (God, as Your name is, so is also Your praise),[1] BWV 171,[a] is a church cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach. He composed it in Leipzig for New Year's Day and probably first performed it on 1 January 1729.
Bach composed the cantata years after the complete cantata cycles from the beginning of his tenure as Thomaskantor in Leipzig in 1723. The text by Picander appeared in a 1728 collection of texts for all occasions of the liturgical year. The feast day also celebrated the circumcision and naming of Jesus. Picander focused on the naming, beginning with a psalm verse mentioning God's name. He used for the conclusion the second stanza from Johannes Hermann's hymn "Jesu, nun sei gepreiset".
Bach structured the cantata in six
Background and words
Bach had taken up his tenure as
The cantata was composed for New Year's Day.[3] The prescribed readings for the feast day, which also celebrated the naming of Jesus eight days after his birth, were from the Epistle to the Galatians, "by faith we inherit" (Galatians 3:23–29), and from the Gospel of Luke, the Circumcision and naming of Jesus (Luke 2:21). The text was written by Picander and published in 1728 in a collection of texts for all occasions of the liturgical year.[3] Picander included for the first movement a verse from Psalm 48 (Psalms 48:10 in the King James version, otherwise verse 11). He used as the closing chorale the second stanza from Johannes Hermann's hymn "Jesu, nun sei gepreiset".[3] Picander's poetry is focused on the name of Jesus, similarly to Bach's later cantata for the same occasion, Part IV of his Christmas Oratorio. The biblical quotation from the Old Testament already mentions the name of God. The first recitative adds the thought that the name of Jesus is a gift for the New Year. The second aria contemplates that the name of Jesus, being the first word in the new year, should also be the last in the hour of death. The last recitative refers to John 16:23, of Jesus saying: "Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you." The final movement combines prayers and hopes for the new year.[3]
Bach led the Thomanerchor in the first performance. The earliest possible date is 1 January 1729, but it could have been also around 1736-1737.[4]
Music
Structure and scoring
Bach structured the cantata in six movements. An opening chorus and a closing chorale frame a sequence of alternating
In the following table of the movements, the scoring follows the
No. | Title | Text | Type | Vocal | Winds | Strings | Key | Time |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Gott, wie dein Name, so ist auch dein Ruhm | Psalm | Chorus | SATB | 3Tr Ti 2Ob | 2Vl Va | D major | 2/4 |
2 | Herr, so weit die Wolken gehn | Picander | Aria | T | 2Vl | A major | ||
3 | Du süßer Jesus-Name du | Picander | Recitative | A | ||||
4 | Jesus soll mein erstes Wort | Picander | Aria | S | Vl solo | D major | 12/8 | |
5 | Und da du, Herr, gesagt | Picander | Recitative | B | 2Ob | A major | ||
6 | Laß uns das Jahr vollbringen | Herman | Chorale | SATB | 3Tr Ti 2Ob | 2Vl Va | B minor |
Movements
1
The first movement, "Gott, wie dein Name, so ist auch dein Ruhm bis an der Welt Ende." (God, as Your name is, so also Your praise is to the ends of the world.),
there is something old-fashioned and motet-like about the way the fugue unfolds with colla parte strings and oboes doubling. But then after twenty-three bars Bach brings in his first trumpet for a glittering restatement of the theme and the music suddenly acquires a new lustre and seems propelled forwards to a different era for this assertion of God's all-encompassing dominion and power.[8]
2
The tenor aria, "Herr, so weit die Wolken gehen" (Lord, as far as the clouds stretch),[1] is accompanied by two instruments not specified in the manuscript score, perhaps violins, according to the range.[3]
3
An alto recitative, "Du süßer Jesus-Name du" (O You sweet name of Jesus),[1] is secco.[3] The musicologist Julian Mincham notes the development from the initial F-sharp minor, illustrating "introverted contemplation", to "confident assertion" in D major.[9]
4
The soprano aria, "Jesus soll mein erstes Wort in dem neuen Jahre heißen" (Jesus shall be my first word uttered in the new year),
5
A tripartite bass recitative, "Und da du, Herr, gesagt" (And as You, Lord, have said),[1] begins as an arioso, only accompanied by the continuo, leading to prayers, accompanied by two oboes, concluding in an arioso with the oboes.[3][2]
6
The final chorale,"Laß uns das Jahr vollbringen" (Let us complete the year),[1] is taken from Jesu, nun sei gepreiset, BWV 41, written for the same occasion in 1725. While the earlier cantata used the third stanza, this one has a setting of the second[5] and is transposed up a step.[8] It matches the opening chorus with a support of the voices by oboes and strings, while trumpets and timpani play interludes which add weight to the movement.[2]
Recordings
The entries are taken from the listing on the Bach-Cantatas website.[10] Instrumental groups playing period instruments in historically informed performances are marked green under the header Instr..
Title | Conductor / Choir / Orchestra | Soloists | Label | Year | Instr. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
J. S. Bach: Cantatas BWV 171 & BWV 127 | Wolfgang GönnenweinSüddeutscher MadrigalchorSouth West German Chamber Orchestra | Cantate | 1961 | ||
Die Bach Kantate Vol. 20 | Helmuth RillingGächinger KantoreiBach-Collegium Stuttgart |
|
Hänssler
|
1983 | |
Bach Cantatas Vol. 1 – Advent and Christmas | Karl RichterMünchener Bach-ChorMünchener Bach-Orchester | Archiv Produktion | 1971 | ||
J. S. Bach: Das Kantatenwerk • Complete Cantatas • Les Cantates, Folge / Vol. 40 – BWV 170–174 | Nikolaus HarnoncourtTölzer KnabenchorConcentus Musicus Wien |
|
Teldec | 1987 | Period |
Bach Edition Vol. 12 – Cantatas Vol. 6 | Holland Boys ChoirNetherlands Bach Collegium
|
Brilliant Classics | 1999 | Period | |
Bach Cantatas Vol. 17: Berlin / For New Year’s Day / For the Sunday after New Year | John Eliot GardinerMonteverdi ChoirEnglish Baroque Soloists |
|
Soli Deo Gloria | 2000 | Period |
J. S. Bach: Complete Cantatas Vol. 19 | Ton KoopmanAmsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir | Antoine Marchand | 2003 | Period | |
J. S. Bach: Cantatas Vol. 49 – BWV 156, 159, 171, 188 | Masaaki SuzukiBach Collegium Japan | BIS | 2010 | Period |
Notes
- ^ "BWV" is Bach-Werke-Verzeichnis, a thematic catalogue of Bach's works.
References
- ^ a b c d e f g Dellal, Pamela (2021). "BWV 171 - Gott, wie dein Name, so ist auch dein Ruhm". pameladellal.com. Retrieved 23 December 2021.
- ^ a b c Wolff, Christoph (2003). "The cantatas of the period 1726-1731 and of the Picander cycle (1728-29)" (PDF). Bach Cantatas Website. pp. 12–13. Retrieved 19 December 2015.
- ^ ISBN 0-19-929776-2.
- ^ "Bach digital - Gott, wie dein Name, so ist auch dein Ruhm BWV 171". www.bach-digital.de. Retrieved 2023-09-02.
- ^ a b c Hofmann, Klaus (2010). "BWV 171 Gott, wie dein Name, so ist auch dein Ruhm / According to Thy Name, O God, So Is Thy Praise" (PDF). Bach Cantatas Website. pp. 7–8. Retrieved 19 December 2015.
- ^ a b Bischof, Walter F. "BWV 171 Gott, wie dein Name, so ist auch dein Ruhm". University of Alberta. Retrieved 19 December 2015.
- ^ Grob, Jochen (2014). "BWV 171 / BC A 24" (in German). s-line.de. Retrieved 23 December 2015.
- ^ a b 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.
- ^ Mincham, Julian (2010). "Chapter 39 BWV 171 Gott, wie dein Name, so ist auch dein Ruhm / God, as is Your Name, so is Your Renown". jsbachcantatas.com. Retrieved 7 September 2022.
- ^ Oron, Aryeh. "Cantata BWV 171 Gott, wie dein Name, so ist auch dein Ruhm". Bach Cantatas Website. Retrieved 19 December 2015.
Sources
- Gott, wie dein Name, so ist auch dein Ruhm, BWV 171: Scores at the International Music Score Library Project
- Gott, wie dein Name, so ist auch dein Ruhm BWV 171; BC A 24 / Sacred cantata (New Year/Circumcision) Bach Digital
- BWV 171 Gott, wie dein Name, so ist auch dein Ruhm: English translation, University of Vermont
- Luke Dahn: BWV 171.6 bach-chorales.com