Sie werden aus Saba alle kommen, BWV 65
Sie werden aus Saba alle kommen | |
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BWV 65 | |
Church cantata by J. S. Bach | |
Occasion | Epiphany |
Bible text | 1 John 3:8 |
Chorale |
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Performed | 6 January 1724 Leipzig : |
Movements | 7 |
Vocal |
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Instrumental |
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Sie werden aus Saba alle kommen (They will all come forth out of Sheba),[1] BWV 65, is a church cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach. He composed it in 1724 in Leipzig for Epiphany and first performed it on 6 January 1724 as part of his first cantata cycle.
Bach wrote the cantata to conclude his first Christmas season as
Bach festively scored the seven-movement cantata, for two vocal soloists (tenor and bass), a four-part choir and a Baroque instrumental ensemble of two horns, two recorders, two oboes da caccia, strings and basso continuo. All recitatives are secco, but the full orchestra plays for the opening chorus, the last aria and the closing chorale.
History and words
Bach wrote the cantata in 1724, in his first year as
- Sanctus in D major, BWV 238
- Magnificat in E-flat major, BWV 243a
- Darzu ist erschienen der Sohn Gottes, BWV 40
- Sehet, welch eine Liebe hat uns der Vater erzeiget, BWV 64
- Singet dem Herrn ein neues Lied, BWV 190
- Mein liebster Jesus ist verloren, BWV 154.
The prescribed readings for the feast day were taken from the
Bach first performed the cantata for Epiphany on 6 January 1724.[3] In his Christmas Oratorio of 1734, Bach dedicated Part VI, Herr, wenn die stolzen Feinde schnauben, to the topic and the occasion and first performed it on 6 January 1735.[7]
Music
Structure and scoring
Bach structured the cantata in seven
The following table of movements gives the scoring according to the
No. | Title | Text | Type | Vocal | Winds | Strings | Key | Time |
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1 | Sie werden aus Saba alle kommen | Isaiah | Chorus | SATB | 2Co 2Fl 2Oc | 2Vl Va | C major | 12/8 |
2 | Die Kön'ge aus Saba kamen dar | anon. | Chorale | SATB | 2Fl 2Oc | A minor | 3/4 | |
3 | Was dort Jesaias vorhergesehn | anon. | Recitative | B | ||||
4 | Gold aus Ophir ist zu schlecht | anon. | Aria | B | 2Oc | E minor | ||
5 | Verschmähe nicht, du, meiner Seele Licht | anon. | Recitative | T | ||||
6 | Nimm mich dir zu eigen hin | anon. | Aria | T | 2Co 2Fl 2Oc | 2Vl Va | C major | 3/8 |
7 | Ei nun, mein Gott, so fall ich dir | Gerhardt | Chorale | SATB | 2Co 2Fl 2Oc | 2Vl Va | A minor |
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Movements
Bach uses scoring and especially instrumentation to illustrate the contrast between poverty and abundance. While all recitatives are secco, and the strings are silent for the first aria which is supported only by the oboes da caccia in low register, a festive orchestra with three kinds of wind instruments and strings accompanies not only, as usual, the opening chorus and the closing chorale, but also the penultimate movement, a tenor aria expressing how the believer gives his heart as a present. Hofmann notes that Bach "combines high art with the folk style".[4]
1
The opening chorus, "Sie werden aus Saba alle kommen" (They will all come forth out of Sheba),[1] depicts, that "alle" (all), not just the wise men, gather and move to adore. Horn signals call first and prevail throughout the movement. Canonical and imitative developments depict the growing of a crowd.[9][10] The central section is an extended choral fugue, framed by two sections with the voices embedded in a repeat of the instrumental introduction.[11][2] John Eliot Gardiner remarked in connection with his Bach Cantata Pilgrimage that the instrumentation resembles Near Eastern music, the recorders representing "the high pitches often associated with oriental music and the oboes da caccia (in tenor register) to evoke the shawm-like double-reed instruments (salamiya and zurna) of the Near East".[12]
2
The same idea is rendered in a stanza from the Christmas carol, "Die Kön'ge aus Saba kamen dar" (The kings came out of Sheba),[1] telling of the (unknown number of) Kings from Sheba as mentioned by Isaiah. Its melody,[13] in triple time, is set for four parts.[2]
3
The first recitative, "Was dort Jesaias vorhergesehn, das ist zu Bethlehem geschehn." (What Isaiah prophesied there has happened in Bethlehem.),[1] applies the situation to the individual Christian, who has nothing to offer as a gift but his heart, explained in an arioso ending.[2] The musicologist Julian Mincham notes unexpected harmonies when the stable of Bethlehem is mentioned, as if to illustrate the "lowliness of that birthplace".[11]
4
The first aria, "Gold aus Ophir ist zu schlecht" (Gold from Ophir is too meager),[1] is accompanied by the oboes da caccia, whose low register together with the bass voice conveys the humility expressed in the words. The instruments keep repeating the first motif, recalling the initial idea that gold is not good enough.[2]
5
The tenor recitative, "Verschmähe nicht, du, meiner Seele Licht, mein Herz" (Do not scorn, o You the light of my soul, my heart),
6
To show the abundance, the dance-like aria, "Nimm mich dir zu eigen hin" (Take me to Yourself as Your own),[1] is accompanied by all the wind instruments, playing concertante and together. Instead of a conventional da capo aria, Bach creates a bar form by repeating the text of the second idea on new musical material.[2] A long ritornello of 32 measures "contains an almost unprecedented variety of instrumental colouring", as Mincham writes.[11]
7
The closing chorale, "Ei nun, mein Gott, so fall ich dir getrost in deine Hände." (Ah! now, then, my God, I fall confidently into Your hands.),
Recordings
The entries are taken from the selection on the Bach Cantatas Website.[15] Choirs with one voice per part (OVPP) and instrumental groups playing period instruments in historically informed performances are highlighted green.
Title | Conductor / Choir / Orchestra | Soloists | Label | Year | Choir type | Instr. |
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Bach Made in Germany Vol. 1 – Cantatas I | Gewandhausorchester
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Fidelio | 1952 | |||
Les Grandes Cantates de J. S. Bach Vol. 5 | Heinrich-Schütz-Chor HeilbronnPforzheim Chamber Orchestra
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Erato | 1952 | |||
J. S. Bach: Cantata BWV 65 | Marcel CouraudStuttgarter Bach-ChorBadische Staatskapelle | Philips | 1950s? | |||
J. S. Bach: Cantatas BWV 46 & BWV 65 | Helmut KahlhöferKantorei Barmen-GemarkeBarmen Chamber Orchestra | Cantate | 1960 | |||
Bach Cantatas Vol. 1 – Advent and Christmas | Karl RichterMünchener Bach-ChorMünchener Bach-Orchester | Archiv Produktion | 1967 | |||
J. S. Bach: Das Kantatenwerk • Complete Cantatas • Les Cantates, Folge / Vol. 4 | Nikolaus HarnoncourtTölzer KnabenchorConcentus Musicus Wien | Teldec | 1977 | Period | ||
Die Bach Kantate Vol. 21 | Helmuth RillingGächinger KantoreiBach-Collegium Stuttgart | Hänssler
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1979 | |||
J. S. Bach: Complete Cantatas Vol. 8 | Ton KoopmanAmsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir | Antoine Marchand | 1998 | Period | ||
Bach – Epiphany Mass | Paul McCreeshGabrieli Consort & Players | Archiv Produktion | 1998 | Period | ||
Bach Cantatas Vol. 18: Weimar/Leipzig/Hamburg / For Christmas Day & for Epiphany / For the 1st Sunday after Epiphany | John Eliot GardinerMonteverdi ChoirEnglish Baroque Soloists |
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Soli Deo Gloria | 2000 | Period | |
Bach Edition Vol. 19 – Cantatas Vol. 10 | Holland Boys ChoirNetherlands Bach Collegium
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Brilliant Classics | 2000 | Period | ||
J. S. Bach: Cantatas Vol. 21 – Cantatas from Leipzig 1724 – BWV 65, 81, 83, 190 | Masaaki SuzukiBach Collegium Japan | BIS | 2002 | Period | ||
J. S. Bach: Cantatas for the Complete Liturgical Year Vol. 4 | Sigiswald KuijkenLa Petite Bande | Accent | 2006 | OVPP | Period
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References
- ^ a b c d e f g h Dellal, Pamela (2021). "BWV 65 – Sie werden aus Saba alle kommen". pameladellal.com. Retrieved 23 December 2021.
- ^ ISBN 0-19-929776-2.
- ^ a b Wolff, Christoph (2003). "On the first cycle of Bach's cantatas for the Leipzig Liturgy (1723–1724)" (PDF). Bach-Cantatas. pp. 12–13. Retrieved 5 January 2016.
- ^ a b c Hofmann, Klaus (2002). "Sie werden aus Saba alle kommen, BWV 65 / (All they from Sheba shall come)" (PDF). Bach-Cantatas. p. 6. Retrieved 5 January 2016.
- ^ "Ein Kind geborn zu Bethlehem / Text and Translation of Chorale". Bach-Cantatas. 2006. Retrieved 27 December 2010.
- ^ "Ich hab in Gottes Herz und Sinn / Text and Translation of Chorale". Bach-Cantatas. 2006. Retrieved 27 December 2010.
- ISBN 9789058674210.
- ^ a b Bischof, Walter F. "BWV 165 Sie werden aus Saba alle kommen". University of Alberta. Retrieved 5 January 2016.
- ^ NBA. 2010. Retrieved 27 December 2010.
- Allmusic. Retrieved 28 December 2010.
- ^ a b c d Mincham, Julian (2010). "Chapter 35 Bwv 65 – The Cantatas of Johann Sebastian Bach". jsbachcantatas.com. Retrieved 22 August 2022.
- ^ a b Gardiner, John Eliot (2010). Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) / Cantatas Nos 32, 63, 65, 123, 124 & 154 (Media notes). Soli Deo Gloria (at Hyperion Records website). Retrieved 31 December 2018.
- ^ "Chorale Melodies used in Bach's Vocal Works / Ein Kind geborn zu Bethlehem (Puer natus in Bethlehem)". Bach-Cantatas. 2006. Retrieved 29 June 2011.
- ^ "Chorale Melodies used in Bach's Vocal Works / Was mein Gott will, das g'scheh allzeit". Bach-Cantatas. 2009. Retrieved 28 December 2010.
- ^ Oron, Aryeh. "Cantata BWV 65 Sie werden aus Saba alle kommen". Bach-Cantatas. Retrieved 5 January 2016.
Sources
- Sie werden aus Saba alle kommen, BWV 65: Scores at the International Music Score Library Project
- Sie werden aus Saba alle kommen BWV 65; BC A 27 / Sacred cantata (The Epiphany) Bach Digital
- BWV 65 Sie werden aus Saba alle kommen: English translation, University of Vermont
- BWV 65 Sie werden aus Saba alle kommen: text, scoring, University of Alberta
- Luke Dahn: BWV 65.2, BWV 65.7 bach-chorales.com
External links
- Sie werden aus Saba alle kommen, BWV 65: performance by the Netherlands Bach Society (video and background information)