Sehet, wir gehn hinauf gen Jerusalem, BWV 159
Sehet, wir gehn hinauf gen Jerusalem | |
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Nikolaikirche, Leipzig | |
Occasion | Estomihi |
Cantata text | Picander |
Chorale |
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Performed | 27 February 1729? Leipzig : |
Movements | 5 |
Vocal | SATB solo and choir |
Instrumental |
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Sehet, wir gehn hinauf gen Jerusalem (Behold, let us go up to Jerusalem),[1] BWV 159, is a church cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach. He composed it in Leipzig for the Sunday Estomihi, the last Sunday before Lent, and probably first performed it on 27 February 1729. The gospel reading for the Sunday, from the Gospel of Luke, includes Jesus announcing his suffering and death in Jerusalem. The cantata's theme and Bach's music foreshadow his Passion.
The cantata text was written by
History and words
Bach wrote Sehet, wir gehn hinauf gen Jerusalem in Leipzig for
The prescribed readings for the Sunday were taken from the First Epistle to the Corinthians, "praise of love" (1 Corinthians 13:1–13), and from the Gospel of Luke, healing the blind near Jericho (Luke 18:31–43).[2][7] The gospel reading includes Jesus announcing his suffering in Jerusalem. While Bach's earlier cantatas for the occasion also reflected the healing,[2][8] this work is focused on reflecting the Passion.[2][6]
The text was produced by
Bach probably first performed the cantata on 27 February 1729, or possibly earlier.[2][9]
Music
Structure and scoring
Bach structured the cantata in five movements. He scored the work for four vocal soloists (soprano (S), alto (A), tenor (T) and bass (B)), a four-part choir only in the closing chorale, and a Baroque instrumental ensemble of oboe (Ob), two violins (Vl), viola (Va) and basso continuo.[10] The first movement is a dialogue of the bass as the vox Christi who sings a quotation from the gospel, and the alto representing a follower, named a "faithful Soul" by Dürr.[11] The second movement is a dialogue of the alto, and the soprano (S) singing a stanza from Paul Gerhardt's hymn. The soprano part can be sung by a soloist or the soprano section of the choir. The third and to fifth movements are more the usual sequence of recitative, aria and four-part closing chorale.[12] The duration of the cantata is given as 17 minutes.[13]
In the following table of the movements, the scoring, keys and time signatures are taken from Dürr.[14] The continuo, which plays throughout, is not shown.
No. | Title | Text | Type | Vocal | Wind | Strings | Key | Time |
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1 |
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2Vl Va | C minor | ||
2 |
|
|
|
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E-flat major | 6 8 | |
3 | Nun will ich mich, mein Jesu | Picander | Recitative | Tenor | B-flat major | |||
4 | Es ist vollbracht | Picander | Aria | Bass | Ob | 2Vl Va | B-flat major | |
5 | Jesu, deine Passion ist mir lauter Freude | Stockmann | Chorale | SATB | Ob | 2Vl Va | E-flat major |
Movements
1
Without any choral opening, the first movement is a dialogue of two characters.[15] A line that Jesus says in the gospel reading is sung by the bass as the vox Christi (voice of Christ). The alto represents a follower, expressing the reaction to the announcement. Bach achieves dramatic contrast, setting the words of Jesus as an arioso, accompanied by the continuo, while the alto answers in a recitativo accompagnato, with the strings.[2][6] This instrumentation is opposite to the treatment in the St Matthew Passion, where the words of Jesus are accompanied by the "halo" of a string quartet.
The line from the gospel is broken in three parts, interrupted by the alto.[1] Sehet ("Behold",[1] literally: see!) is expressed in a long melisma.[2][6] After an intervention of the alto, the move uphill in illustrated by an upward scale.[2][6] After another reply of the alto, the destination is named: Jerusalem. The phrase is repeated several times, accenting different words each time, to present different aspects of its meaning following the principle of monody.[2][6]
2
In the second movement, the expressive melodic lines of the alto are juxtaposed to the chorale on the melody of "Befiehl du deine Wege".[11] The Soul begins "Ich folge dir nach" ("I follow after You"),[1] while the first line from the chorale states: "Ich will hier bei dir stehen" ("I will stay here with You"),[1] The process, with the alto voice beginning sooner and ending later than the chorale line, is repeated for the other lines of the chorale, in the end combining the alto's "Und wenn du endlich scheiden mußt, sollst du dein Grab in mir erlangen" ("And if You must depart at last, You shall find Your grave in me"),[1] to the choral's "Alsdenn will ich dich fassen in meinen Arm und Schoß" ("Then I will hold You fast in my arm and bosom"),[1] The melodic treatment is described as powerful and expressive.[11]
3
A
4
The cantata culminates in the forth movement, with the vox Christi reflecting the completion of the Passion, "Es ist vollbracht".[17] The oboe introduces a meditative motif.[11] The bass picks it up, and both rest on long sustained string chords.[11][18] The middle section illustrates the words "Nun will ich eilen" ("Now I will hasten")[1] in runs of the voice, oboe and now also the violins.[6][19] A quasi da capo resumes the first motif,[6] now on the words "Welt, gute Nacht" ("World, good night").[1] The aria was described by a reviewer as a "hauntingly affective reflection on Jesus's last words from the cross",[20] with a "wrenchingly beautiful oboe line", "rich suspensions", and an "unusually contoured melody".[20]
5
In Picander's printed cantata text, another recitative, "Herr Jesu, dein verdienstlich Leiden" introduced the closing chorale. It is unclear if Bach intentionally did not compose it, or if it got lost.[3] The closing chorale[21] is a four-part setting of Stockmann's hymn[6] which summarises the Passion: "Jesu, deine Passion ist mir lauter Freude" ("Jesus, Your passion is pure joy to me").[1] Gardiner notes that Bach set the melody by Melchior Vulpius with "wonderfully satisfying chromatic harmonies over a lyrical bass line".[15]
Manuscripts and publication
Bach's manuscript autograph of the score is lost. A manuscript score, dating from c. 1770 is held by the Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin – Preußischer Kulturbesitz.[22]
The cantata was first published in 1886 as No. 159 by the
Recordings
Title | Conductor / Choir / Orchestra | Soloists | Label | Year | Instr. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
J. S. Bach: Cantatas No. 82, Cantata No. 159[23] | Kammerorchester des Saarländischen Rundfunks
|
|
Club français du disque | 1958 | |
J. S. Bach: Cantatas BWV 23 & BWV 159[24] | Kurt ThomasFrankfurter KantoreiDeutsche Bachsolisten |
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Cantate | 1963 | |
J. S. Bach Cantatas – Kantaten 170, 82 & 159[25] | Neville MarrinerSt Anthony SingersAcademy of St Martin in the Fields | Oiseau Lyre
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1966 | ||
Die Bach Kantate Vol. 28[26] | Helmuth RillingGächinger KantoreiBach-Collegium Stuttgart | Hänssler
|
1984 | ||
J. S. Bach: Das Kantatenwerk • Complete Cantatas • Les Cantates, Folge / Vol. 38[27] | Gustav LeonhardtLeonhardt-Consort |
|
Teldec | 1986 | Period |
Bach Cantatas Vol. 21: King’s College Chapel, Cambridge[28] | John Eliot GardinerMonteverdi ChoirEnglish Baroque Soloists |
|
Soli Deo Gloria | 2000 | Period |
Bach Edition Vol. 18 – Cantatas Vol. 9 | Holland Boys ChoirNetherlands Bach Collegium
|
Brilliant Classics | 2000 | Period[citation needed] | |
J. S. Bach: Complete Cantatas Vol. 19[29] | Ton KoopmanAmsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir | Antoine Marchand | 2002 | Period | |
J. S. Bach: Jesus, deine Passion – Cantates BWV 22, 23, 127 & 159[30] | Philippe HerrewegheCollegium Vocale Gent | Harmonia Mundi France | 2007 | Period | |
J. S. Bach: Cantatas Vol. 34 (Cantatas from Leipzig 1725)[31] | Masaaki SuzukiBach Collegium Japan | BIS | 2011 | Period |
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Dellal 2015.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Bach Digital 2019.
- ^ a b Leisinger 1995, p. 4.
- ^ Dürr & Jones 2006, p. 246.
- ^ a b Baek 2012, p. 3.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Dürr & Jones 2006, p. 253.
- ^ Dürr & Jones 2006, p. 240.
- ^ Dürr & Jones 2006, p. 242.
- ^ a b Dürr & Jones 2006, p. 251.
- ^ Dürr & Jones 2006, pp. 250–252.
- ^ a b c d e f Dürr & Jones 2006, p. 252.
- ^ Dürr & Jones 2006, pp. 251–253.
- ^ Dürr & Jones 2006, p. 250.
- ^ Dürr & Jones 2006, pp. 250–251.
- ^ a b Gardiner 2006, p. 18.
- ^ a b Gardiner 2006, p. 19.
- ^ Whittaker 1978, pp. 424–425.
- ^ Eriksson 2011.
- ^ Mincham 2010.
- ^ a b Hoffman 2007.
- ^ Dahn 2019.
- ^ D-B Mus.ms. Bach P 1048 2020.
- ^ BNF 1960.
- ^ BNF 1963.
- ^ BNF 1966.
- ^ BNF 1984.
- ^ Gramophone 1995.
- ^ Gardiner 2006.
- ^ Challenge 2005.
- ^ Cookson 2010.
- ^ Chien 2011.
Cited sources
- Baek, Jung Jin (14 May 2012). "A Conductor's Guide to J. S. Bach's Quinquagesima Cantatas (Dissertation)". University of Cincinnati. Retrieved 15 February 2021.
- Chien, George (2011). "Bach: Cantatas Vol 49 / Suzuki, Bach Collegium Japan". arkivmusic.com. Retrieved 21 February 2021.
- Cookson, Michael (March 2010). "Jesu, Deine Passion – Bach: Cantatas Bwv 22, 23, 127 & 159 / Herreweghe, Mields, White, Et Al". musicweb-international.com. Retrieved 21 February 2021.
- Dahn, Luke (2019). "BWV 159.5". bach-chorales.com. Retrieved 15 February 2021.
- Dellal, Pamela. "BWV 159 – Sehet, wir gehn hinauf gen Jerusalem". Emmanuel Music. Retrieved 4 September 2022.
- ISBN 978-0-19-969628-4.
- Eriksson, Erik (2011). "Cantata No. 159, "Sehet, wir gehn hinauf gen Jerusalem," BWV 159". Allmusic. Retrieved 1 March 2011.
- Gardiner, John Eliot (2006). Johann Sebastian Bach 1685 -1750 / Cantatas Vol 21: Cambridge/Walpole St Pete (PDF) (Media notes). Monteverdi Choir. pp. 21–22. Retrieved 10 February 2021.
- Hoffman, Gary (2007). "Bach Cantatas, Volume 21". operatoday.com. Retrieved 15 February 2011.
- Leisinger, Ulrich (1995). Johann Seastian Bach / Sehet, wir gehn hinauf gen Jerusalem / Come ye, our way is up to Jerusalem / BWV 159 (PDF). Translated by Kosviner, David. Stuttgart: Carus-Verlag. pp. 3–4.
- Mincham, Julian (2010). "Chapter 41 BWV 159 Sehet! wir gehn hinauf gen Jerusalem". jsbachcantatas.com. Retrieved 4 September 2022.
- ISBN 019315238X.
- "Sehet, wir gehn hinauf gen Jerusalem BWV 159; BC A 50 / Sacred cantata (Estomihi)". Bach Digital. 2019. Retrieved 27 January 2021.
- "Berlin, Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin – Preußischer Kulturbesitz / D-B Mus.ms. Bach P 1048". Bach Digital. 2020. Retrieved 21 February 2021.
- "Notice bibliographique". Bibliothèque nationale de France. 1960. Retrieved 17 February 2021.
- "Notice bibliographique". Bibliothèque nationale de France. 1963. Retrieved 17 February 2021.
- "Notice bibliographique". Bibliothèque nationale de France. 1966. Retrieved 17 February 2021.
- "Notice bibliographique". Bibliothèque nationale de France. 1984. Retrieved 17 February 2021.
- "Johann Sebastian Bach / Ton Koopman / The Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra / Complete Bach Cantatas Vol. 19". Challenge Records. 2005. Retrieved 21 February 2021.
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(help) - "Bach Cantatas, Vol. 1". Gramophone. February 1995. Retrieved 21 February 2021.
External links
- Sehet, wir geh'n hinauf gen Jerusalem, BWV 159: Scores at the International Music Score Library Project
- Cantata BWV 159 Sehet, wir gehn hinauf gen Jerusalem history, scoring, sources for text and music, translations to various languages, discography, discussion, Bach Cantatas Website
- BWV 159 Sehet, wir gehn hinauf gen Jerusalem English translation, University of Vermont
- BWV 159 Sehet, wir gehn hinauf gen Jerusalem text, scoring, University of Alberta
- Sehet, wir gehn hinauf gen Jerusalem, BWV 159: performance by the Netherlands Bach Society (video and background information)
- J.S. Bach - Cantata BWV 159 "Sehet! Wir gehn hinauf gen Jerusalem" (J.S. Bach Foundation, 2019) on YouTube