Schwingt freudig euch empor, BWV 36
Schwingt freudig euch empor | |
---|---|
36c | |
Occasion | First Sunday in Advent |
Cantata text | Picander? |
Chorale | |
Performed | 2 December 1731 Leipzig : |
Movements | 8 |
Vocal | SATB choir and solo |
Instrumental |
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History and words
Bach composed the cantata in 1731 in
Bach based parts of the music on a homage cantata of the same name, Schwingt freudig euch empor, BWV 36c, which he had composed for the birthday of a Leipzig University teacher and first performed in spring 1725.[4] The text was probably written by Picander, who modified it to a congratulatory cantata for Countess Charlotte Friederike Wilhelmine of Anhalt-Köthen, Steigt freudig in die Luft, BWV 36a, first performed on 30 November 1726. Another version was a congratulatory cantata for a member of the Rivinius family from Leipzig, Die Freude reget sich, BWV 36b, probably in 1735.[5]
Bach transformed the secular music to a cantata for the first Sunday in Advent, first by combining four movements and simply adding a chorale, the final stanza of "Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern". The librettist of this adaptation, who stayed close to the secular cantata without reference to the readings, is unknown. Klaus Hofmann notes that the jubilant opening matches the Gospel of the entry into Jerusalem "with the people's jubilant shouts of Hosanna".[5] The date of the adaptation is not certain, because the version is extant only in a copy by Bach's student Christoph Nichelmann.[4]
Finally in 1731, Bach reworked the cantata considerably and wrote a new score. He interpolated the arias not with recitatives, but with three stanzas from Luther's hymn for Advent, "Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland". This main hymn for the first Sunday in Advent had already opened his cantata for the same occasion in 1714, Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland, BWV 61, and he had used it as the base for his chorale cantata Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland, BWV 62, in 1724.[6] The hymn stanzas "serve to anchor the cantata to some extent in the Advent story, and to give it liturgical purpose and a clear focus".[5] John Eliot Gardiner terms it "structurally unusual".[7] Bach divided the cantata in two parts to be performed before and after the sermon, closing part I with a stanza from Nicolai's hymn. For context, he replaced stanza 7, which had closed the whole cantata, by stanza 6, and closed part II by the final stanza of Luther's hymn.[5][8][9]
Bach first performed the cantata on 2 December 1731, one week after Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme, BWV 140.
Scoring and structure
The cantata is scored for four soloists—soprano, alto, tenor and bass—a four-part choir, and a Baroque instrumental ensemble of two oboes d'amore, two violins, viola and basso continuo. It is structured in two parts of four movements each. Its interpolation of chorus and arias with chorales is unique in Bach's cantatas.[3]
No. | Title | Type | Vocal | Winds | Strings | Key | Time |
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1 | Schwingt freudig euch empor | Chorus | SATB | 2ObDa | 2Vl Va Bc | D major | 3/4 |
2 | Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland | Choral | Soprano, alto | 1ObDa (col Soprano), 1 ObDa (coll'Alto) | Bc | F# minor | |
3 | Die Liebe zieht mit sanften Schritten | Aria | Tenor | 1ObDa (solo) | Bc | B minor | 3/8 |
4 | Zwingt die Saiten in Cythara | Chorale | SATB | 1ObDa (col Soprano), 1ObDa (coll'Alto) |
1Vl (col Soprano), 1Vl (coll'Alto), Va (col Tenore), Bc |
D major |
No. | Title | Type | Vocal | Winds | Strings | Key | Time |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
5 | Willkommen, werter Schatz! | Aria | Bass | 2Vl, Va, Bc | D major | ||
6 | Der du bist dem Vater gleich | Choral | Tenor | 2ObDa | Bc | B minor | 3/4 |
7 | Auch mit gedämpften, schwachen Stimmen | Aria | Soprano | 1Vl (muted), Bc | G major | 12/8 | |
8 | Lob sei Gott dem Vater ton | Chorale | SATB | 1ObDa (col Soprano), 1ObDa (coll'Alto) |
1Vl (col Soprano), 1Vl (coll'Alto), Va (col Tenore), Bc |
B minor |
Music
The cantata is unique in Bach's church cantatas in its structure of arias combined with chorale instead of recitatives. Performed one week after Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme, BWV 140, it shows Bach's emphasis on the chorale even beyond his second cycle of chorale cantatas, begun in 1724.[10]
The opening chorus is opened by a ritornello, dominated by two contrasting motifs: the strings play a short rising figure in triplets, the oboes d'amore play an expansive melody. As in the secular model, the movement is in two similar parts, each consisting of two contrasting sections, "Schwingt freudig euch empor zu den erhabnen Sternen" (Soar joyfully upwards to the exalted stars)[1] and "Doch haltet ein!" (Yet stop!).[1][8] The bass voice, the lowest register, enters first, followed by the tenors, altos, and sopranos. This ascending sequence also reflects the text: "soaring aloft", literally "swinging upward".[5]
Gardiner, who conducted the three cantatas for the first Sunday in Advent during the
All three settings of the stanzas from Luther's chorale
The bass aria beginning part II, "Willkommen, werter Schatz!" (Welcome, worthy treasure!)
Recordings
A list of recordings is provided by the Bach Cantatas Website.
Title | Conductor / Choir / Orchestra | Soloists | Label | Year | Choir type | Orch. type |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Bach Made in Germany Vol. 1 – Cantatas I | Gewandhausorchester
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Leipzig Classics | 1952 | ||
J. S. Bach: Cantatas BWV 36, BWV 64 | Wilhelm EhmannWestfälische KantoreiDeutsche Bachsolisten |
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Cantate | 1969 | ||
J. S. Bach: Das Kantatenwerk • Complete Cantatas • Les Cantates, Folge / Vol. 2 | Nikolaus Harnoncourt
|
|
Teldec | 1974 | Period | |
Bach Made in Germany Vol. 4 – Cantatas VIII | Hans-Joachim RotzschThomanerchorNeues Bachisches Collegium Musicum |
|
Eterna | 1981 | ||
Die Bach Kantate Vol. 61 | Helmuth RillingGächinger KantoreiBach-Collegium Stuttgart |
|
Hänssler
|
1982 | ||
J. S. Bach: Advent Cantatas | John Eliot GardinerMonteverdi ChoirEnglish Baroque Soloists | Archiv Produktion | 1992 | Period | ||
J. S. Bach: Adventskantaten | Philippe HerrewegheCollegium Vocale Gent | Harmonia Mundi | 1996 | Period | ||
Bach Edition Vol. 14 – Cantatas Vol. 7 | Holland Boys ChoirNetherlands Bach Collegium
|
Brilliant Classics | 2000 | Period | ||
J. S. Bach: Complete Cantatas Vol. 18 | Ton KoopmanAmsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir | Antoine Marchand | 2002 | Period | ||
J.S. Bach: Cantatas for the Complete Liturgical Year Vol. 9: "Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland" - Cantatas BWV 61 · 36 · 62 · 132 | Sigiswald KuijkenLa Petite Bande | Accent | 2008 | OVPP | Period | |
Thomanerchor Leipzig - Das Kirchenjahr mit Bach, Vol. 1: Advent - Cantatas BWV 36, 61, 62 | Gewandhausorchester
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Rondeau Production | 2009 | ||
J. S. Bach: Cantatas Vol. 47 | Masaaki SuzukiBach Collegium Japan | BIS | 2010 | Period
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References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Dellal 2021.
- ^ a b c d Mincham 2010.
- ^ a b Dürr 1971, p. 101.
- ^ a b Wolff 2002, p. 14.
- ^ a b c d e f g Hofmann 1998, p. 4.
- ^ Oron 2005.
- ^ a b c d e f g Gardiner 2009, p. 15.
- ^ a b c Dürr 1971, p. 102.
- ^ Wolff 2002, p. 15.
- ^ a b Dürr 2006, p. 82.
- ^ Braatz & Oron 2006.
- ^ a b Dürr 2006, p. 83.
- ^ Oron 2012.
Cited sources
Scores
- Schwingt freudig euch empor, BWV 36: Scores at the International Music Score Library Project
- "Schwingt freudig euch empor BWV 36; BC A 3b / Sacred cantata (1st Sunday of Advent)". Bach Digital. 1954. Retrieved 30 May 2014.
Books
- ISBN 3-423-04080-7.
- ISBN 0-19-929776-2.
Online sources
Several databases provide additional information on each cantata, such as history, scoring, sources for text and music, translations to various languages, discography, and musical analysis.
The complete recordings of Bach's cantatas are accompanied by liner notes from musicians and musicologists,
- Ambrose, Z. Philip (2012). "BWV 36 Schwingt freudig euch empor". University of Vermont. Retrieved 27 November 2012.
- Bach, Peter (2012). "Schwingt freudig euch empor" (in German). bach.de. Retrieved 27 November 2012.
- Bischof, Walter F. (2012). "BWV 36 Schwingt freudig euch empor". University of Alberta. Retrieved 27 November 2012.
- Braatz, Thomas; Oron, Aryeh (2006). "Chorale Melodies used in Bach's Vocal Works / Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland". Bach Cantatas Website. Retrieved 26 November 2010.
- Dellal, Pamela (2021). "BWV 62 – Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland". pameladellal.com. Retrieved 23 December 2021.
- Gardiner, John Eliot (2009). Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) / Cantatas Nos 36, 61, 62, 70, 132 & 147 (Media notes). Soli Deo Gloria (at Hyperion Records website). Retrieved 31 December 2018.
- Hofmann, Klaus (1998). "Schwingt freudig euch empor, BWV 36 / Soar Joyfully Aloft" (PDF). Bach Cantatas Website. Retrieved 30 November 2012.
- Mincham, Julian (2010). "Chapter 34 Bwv 36 – The Cantatas of Johann Sebastian Bach". jsbachcantatas.com. Retrieved 18 August 2022.
- Oron, Aryeh (2005). "Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland / Text and Translation of Chorale". Bach Cantatas Website. Retrieved 1 December 2012.
- Oron, Aryeh (2012). "Cantata BWV 36 Schwingt freudig euch empor". Bach Cantatas Website. Retrieved 27 November 2012.
- Wolff, Christoph (2002). "The third yearly cycle of Leipzig cantatas (1725–1727), III" (PDF). Bach Cantatas Website. Retrieved 29 November 2012.
External links
- Schwingt freudig euch empor, BWV 36: performance by the Netherlands Bach Society (video and background information)
- Luke Dahn: BWV 36.4 bach-chorales.com
- Luke Dahn: BWV 36.8 bach-chorales.com