Jesu, nun sei gepreiset, BWV 41
Jesu, nun sei gepreiset | |
---|---|
Thomaskirche, Leipzig | |
Occasion | New Year's Day |
Chorale | "Jesu, nun sei gepreiset" by Johannes Hermann |
Performed | 1 January 1725 Leipzig : |
Movements | 6 |
Vocal | SATB choir and solo |
Instrumental |
|
Jesu, nun sei gepreiset (Jesus, now be praised),
History and words
Bach wrote the cantata in 1724, his second year as Thomaskantor in Leipzig, for New Year's Day.[2] The feast also celebrated the naming and circumcision of Jesus. The prescribed readings for the feast day 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).
That year, Bach composed a cycle of chorale cantatas, begun on the first Sunday after Trinity of 1724.[3] The cantata is based on the hymn for New Year's Day in three stanzas by Johannes Hermann (1591) who was also a Thomaskantor.[4] Its melody is by Melchior Vulpius, who first published it in his Ein schön geistlich Gesangbuch, printed in Jena (1609).[5] The hymn calls Jesus by name first, fitting to the celebration of the naming.[6] Otherwise it is more concerned with the beginning of the New Year. It was popular in Leipzig and was used in two more of Bach's cantatas for the occasion,[7] Singet dem Herrn ein neues Lied, BWV 190 and Gott, wie dein Name, so ist auch dein Ruhm, BWV 171.[8] An unknown poet kept the first and the last stanza as movements 1 and 6, and paraphrased stanza 2 to a sequence of alternating arias and recitatives, expanding the 14 lines by additional ideas, but not specifically referring to the gospel.[6]
Bach first performed the cantata on 1 January 1725, and reprised it at least once, between 1732 and 1735.
Scoring and structure
The cantata in six movements is scored for four soloists (
No. | Title | Type | Vocal | Winds | Strings | Brass/Percussion | Key | Time |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Jesu, nun sei gepreiset | Chorus | SATB | 3Ob | 2Vl Va Bc | 3Trp, Tmp | C major | |
2 | Laß uns, o höchster Gott | Aria | Soprano | 3Ob | Bc | G major | 6/8 | |
3 | Ach! deine Hand, dein Segen muss allein | Recitative | Alto | Bc | ||||
4 | Woferne du den edlen Frieden | Aria | Tenor | VcPdS , Bc
|
A minor | |||
5 | Doch weil der Feind bei Tag und Nacht | Recitative | SAT, Bass solo | Bc | ||||
6 | Dein ist allein die Ehre, dein ist allein der Ruhm | Chorale | SATB | 3Ob | 2Vl, Va, Bc | 3Trp, Tmp | C major |
Music
In the opening chorus, a
In contrast, both
4 time; the final fanfare recalls the beginning.[2]
John Eliot Gardiner notes that Bach achieves a suggestion of the year's cycle by ending both the first movement and the end of the cantata as the work began, as a "closing of the circle".[7]
Recordings
- Bach Made in Germany Vol. 1 – Cantatas II, Gewandhausorchester, soloists from Thomanerchor, Gert Lutze, Johannes Oettel, Leipzig Classics 1950
- Bach Aria Group – Cantatas & Cantata Movements, Robert Shaw, Bach Aria Group Robert Shaw Chorale & Orchestra, Eileen Farrell, Carol Smith, Jan Peerce, Norman Farrow, RCA 1954
- Die Bach Kantate Vol. 19, Hänssler1973
- J. S. Bach: Das Kantatenwerk – Sacred Cantatas Vol. 3, Wiener Sängerknaben, Chorus Viennensis, Concentus Musicus Wien, soloist from Wiener Sängerknaben, Paul Esswood, Kurt Equiluz, Ruud van der Meer, Teldec1974
- J. S. Bach: Cantatas Nos. 27, 34 & 41, Sony1995
- J. S. Bach: Cantatas with Violoncelle Piccolo (Vol. 3), Ensemble Baroque de Limoges, Barbara Schlick, Andreas Scholl, Christoph Prégardien, Gotthold Schwarz, Astrée Auvidis 1995
- J. S. Bach: Complete Cantatas Vol. 11, Ton Koopman, Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir, Sibylla Rubens, Annette Markert, Christoph Prégardien, Klaus Mertens, Antoine Marchand 1999
- Bach Cantatas Vol. 17: Berlin, Peter Harvey, Soli Deo Gloria2000
- Bach Edition Vol. 21 – Cantatas Vol. 12, Holland Boys Choir, Netherlands Bach Collegium, Ruth Holton, Sytse Buwalda, Knut Schoch, Bas Ramselaar, Brilliant Classics2000
- J. S. Bach: Cantatas Vol. 33, Masaaki Suzuki, Bach Collegium Japan, Yukari Nonoshita, Robin Blaze, Jan Kobow, Dominik Wörner, BIS 2005
Notes
- ^ "BWV" is Bach-Werke-Verzeichnis, a thematic catalogue of Bach's works.
References
- ^ a b c d Dellal, Pamela (2021). "BWV 41 – Jesu, nun sei gepreiset". pameladellal.com. Retrieved 23 December 2021.
- ^ ISBN 3-423-04080-7.
- ^ Wolff, Christoph (2000). Chorale Cantatas from the cycle of the Leipzig / church cantatas, 1724–25 (III) (PDF). Bach Cantatas Website (Media notes). p. 9. Retrieved 28 August 2012.
- ^ "Jesu, nun sei gepreiset / Text and Translation of Chorale". Bach Cantatas Website. 2003. Retrieved 27 December 2012.
- ^ "Chorale Melodies used in Bach's Vocal Works / Jesu, nun sei gepreiset". Bach Cantatas Website. 2006. Retrieved 27 December 2012.
- ^ a b c d e Hofmann, Klaus (2006). "Jesu, nun sei gepreiset, BWV 41 / Jesus, now be praised" (PDF). Bach Cantatas Website. p. 4. Retrieved 30 December 2012.
- ^ a b c Gardiner, John Eliot (2008). "Cantatas for New Year's Day / Gethsemanekirche, Berlin" (PDF). Bach Cantatas Website. p. 3. Retrieved 31 December 2012.
- ^ a b Mincham, Julian (2010). "Chapter 32 Bwv 41 – The Cantatas of Johann Sebastian Bach". The Cantatas of Johann Sebastian Bach. Retrieved 20 August 2022.
External links
- Jesu, nun sei gepreiset, BWV 41: Scores at the International Music Score Library Project
- Jesu, nun sei gepreiset BWV 41; BC A 22 / Chorale cantata (New Year/Circumcision) Bach Digital
- Cantata BWV 41 Jesu, nun sei gepreiset: history, scoring, sources for text and music, translations to various languages, discography, discussion, Bach Cantatas Website
- Luke Dahn: BWV 41.6 bach-chorales.com