Uns ist ein Kind geboren, BWV 142
Uns ist ein Kind geboren (Unto us a child is born),
The cantata is in eight movements, and is scored for vocal soloists, choir, recorders, oboes, strings and continuo.
History, authenticity and attribution
The biblical text, chorale and free verse come from the 1711 collection of librettos of the writer, theologian, pastor and theorist,
Around the 1830s Franz Xaver Gleichauf made a hand copy of the score of the BWV 142 cantata, without mentioning a composer in his manuscript.[7][3] In 1843 the Penzel manuscript was copied in Vienna.[8][9] Another copy of the cantata, made around the same time, was later owned by Johann Theodor Mosewius, who listed Uns ist ein Kind geboren as one of five Christmas cantatas by Bach in an 1845 publication.[10][11][12] 19th-century Bach-biographies by Hilgenfeldt (1850), Bitter (1865), Spitta (1873), and Lane Poole (1882) mention Uns ist ein Kind geboren as a cantata composed by Bach.[13][14][15][16]
In 1873, before questions of authenticity had been raised, Philipp Spitta devoted 18 pages of his two-volume biography of Bach to a comparison of Bach and Telemann cantatas that set the same Neumeister text:[17] Spitta's commentary—praising Bach's music while disparaging Telemann's—was typical of musical criticism in the late nineteenth century.[18][19] Spitta compares the BWV 142 cantata with TVWV 1:1451,[20] a cantata by Telemann on the same libretto by Neumeister: he is fairly dismissive about the Telemann composition ("... probably written in half-an-hour ...", "... shows us the worst side of the church music of the time ..." etc.), only finding a few places where Telemann's composition compares favourably to the composition he attributes to Bach.[15][21] According to Spitta, Bach "adhered throughout the cantata to the subdued minor key, which offers so singular a contrast to the bright joyfulness of Christmas. It gives a tone as of melancholy reminiscences of the pure Christmas joys of our childhood ...; in contrast to this Telemann's eternal C major is often unutterably shallow and flat."[21][15]
The cantata was first published as a work of Bach in 1884 by the
According to David Erler, writing in the program notes of a 2015 concert, the cantata has been widely attributed to Kuhnau.
Movements
The cantata is scored for three vocal soloists (
The piece has eight movements:[31]
- Sinfonia, an instrumental concerto for two alto recorders, two oboes and strings.
- Chorus: Uns ist ein Kind geboren (For unto us a child is born), a double fugue with the first theme set to the text "Uns ist ein Kind geboren" and the second set to "Eins Sohn ist uns gegeben".
- Aria (bass): Dein Geburtstag ist erschienen (So appears the Natal day). In this aria in E minor the bass is accompanied by two obbligato violins and continuo.
- Chorus: Ich will den Namen Gottes loben (I will praise the name of God). This short choral movement begins with a fugato section in which the four vocal parts are accompanied by the first and second violins. After the fugal entries, the music is homophonic.
- Aria (tenor): Jesu, dir sei Dank (Jesus, thanks be to you). In this relatively short da capo aria, the tenor is accompanied by two obbligato oboes.
- Recitative (alto): Immanuel (Emmanuel!)
- Aria (alto): Jesu, dir sei Preis (Praise be to you, Jesus). Set to new words, this aria is a transposition of the 5th movement from A minor to D minor, with the alto replacing the tenor and the two alto recorders replacing the oboes.
- Chorus: Alleluia. Over an almost uninterrupted stream of semiquaver figures played in unison by alto recorders, oboes and violins, the choir sings the final four-part chorale line by line.
Translations
In 1939, Sydney Biden provided the English translation for the cantata For us a child is born.[32]
Arrangements
In 1940, William Walton orchestrated the first bass aria in the cantata as dance music for Frederick Ashton's ballet The Wise Virgins.[33] Arrangements of the final chorus for organ and one or more brass instruments have been published separately.[34]
Recordings
Recordings of the cantata include:
- Alsfelder Vokalensemble / I Febiarmionici, Wolfgang Helbich. The Apocryphal Bach Cantatas II. CPO, 2001.
- Choir and Orchestra "Pro Arte" Munich, Kurt Redel. J. S. Bach: Magnificat in D Major & Cantata BWV 142. Philips, 1964.
- Mannheim Bach Choir / Heidelberger Kammerorchester, Heinz Markus Göttsche. J. S. Bach: Cantatas BWV 62 & BWV 142. Da Camera, 1966.
- Capella Brugensis / Collegium instrumentale Brugense, Patrick Peire. 'Uns ist ein Kind geboren', Eufoda, 1972
Notes
- ^ Work 00174 at Bach Digital website. 10 April 2017.
- RISM 467300002
- ^ RISM 220036186
- ^ Glöckner 2000, p. 118 The title page reads: Texte | zur Leipziger | Kirchen Music, | auf die Heiligen | Weynachts-Feyertage, | und den Sonntag darauf, | 1720. | Ingleichen auf das Fest | Der Beschneidung Christi, | den darauf folgenden Sonntag, | Das Fest der Offenbahrung, | und den Sonntag darauf, | des 1721sten Jahres. | Leipzig, | gedruckt bey Immanuel Tietzen.
- ^ a b Glöckner 2000, p. 117
- ^ See:Glöckner 2000; Dürr 1977, p. 57; Buelow 2001; Palisca, Claude V. (1991), Baroque Music (3rd ed.), Prentice-Hall, p. 321; Küster 1999
- ^ D-HAmi Ms. 165 at Bach Digital website
- ^ D-B Mus. ms. Bach P 464, Fascicle 1 at Bach Digital website
- ^ Waldersee 1884, pp. XV–XXI.
- ^ PL-Wu RM 5908, Fascicle 5 at Bach Digital website
- RISM 300512416
- ^ Mosewius 1845, p. 20.
- ^ Hilgenfeldt 1850, p. 99.
- ^ Bitter 1865, vol. II, p. XCVII.
- ^ a b c Spitta 1873, pp. 480–485, n. 21 pp. 797–798 (English translation: Spitta 1899, Vol. I, pp. 487–491, n. 20, pp. 630–631)
- ^ Lane Poole 1882, p. 131.
- ^ Talle 2013, p. 50
- ^ Buelow 2004, pp. 566–567
- ^ Zohn 2001, see "Georg Philipp Telemann & Bach – Discussions – Part 1. For further commentary on Spitta's comparison of Telemann and Bach, see also Hirschmann 2013, p. 6, Swack 1992, p. 139
- ^ Swack 1992, p. 139.
- ^ a b Sandberger 1997, pp. 188–189
- ^ Waldersee 1884
- ^ a b Schering 1913, p. 133.
- ^ See: Dürr 1977, pp. 209–211; Dürr 2006; "Uns ist ein Kind geboren". Bach Digital (in German). Retrieved 22 January 2017.
- ^ Erler 2015.
- ^ a b Simon Crouch. Uns ist ein Kind geboren (Unto us a child is born): Cantata 142. Classical Net, 1998.
- ^ Schering 1918, p. XLIV.
- ^ Schmieder, Dürr, and Kobayashi 1998, p. 459.
- ^ Glöckner 2000.
- ^ "Cantata BWV 142 Uns ist ein Kind Geoboren". Bach Cantatas Website. Retrieved 22 January 2017.
- ^ See: Zedler 2009, Whittaker 1959, pp. 160–161
- ^ "Bach Bibliography".
- ^ Boyd 1999.
- ^ Laster 2005, p. 11.
References
- Bitter, Karl Hermann (1865). Johann Sebastian Bach (in German). Berlin: Schneider. Vol. 1, Vol. 2
- Boyd, Malcolm (1999), "The Wise Virgins", in Malcolm Boyd (ed.), Bach, Oxford Composer Companion, Oxford University Press
- Buelow, George J. (2001), "Johann Kuhnau",
- Buelow, George J. (2004), A History of Baroque Music, ISBN 0253343658
- ISBN 3765101303
- ISBN 0-19-929776-2
- Erler, David (2015), "Johann Kuhnau" (PDF), Abendmusiken in der Predigerkirche, pp. 8–9, retrieved 23 January 2017
- Glöckner, Andreas (2000), Johann Sebastian Bach, Varia: Kantaten, Quodlibet, Einzelsätze, Bearbeitungen. Critical commentary, Neue Ausgabe sämtlicher Werke (NBA) (in German), vol. I/41, Bärenreiter, pp. 117–118
- Hilgenfeldt, Carl L. (1850). Johann Sebastian Bach's Leben, Wirken und Werke: ein Beitrag zur Kunstgeschichte des achtzehnten Jahrhunderts (in German). Leipzig: Friedrich Hofmeister.
- Hirschmann, Wolfgang (2013), "'He Liked to Hear the Music of Others': Individuality and Variety in the Works of Bach and His German Contemporaries", in Andrew Talle (ed.), J.S. Bach and His Contemporaries in Germany, Bach Perspectives, vol. 9, ISBN 978-0252095399
- Küster, Konrad (1999), "Erdmann Neumeister", in Malcolm Boyd (ed.), Bach, Oxford Composer Companion, Oxford University Press, pp. 314–315
- Lane Poole, Reginald (1882). Sebastian Bach. London: Sampson Low, Marston, Searle, & Rivington – via Internet Archive.
- Laster, James (2005). Catalogue of Music for Organ and Instruments. ISBN 0810852993.
- Mosewius, Johann Theodor (1845). Johann Sebastian Bach in seinen Kirchen-Cantaten und Choralgesängen (in German). Berlin: T. Trautwein.
- ISSN 0570-6769.
- .
- Schering, Arnold (1918). "Vorwort". Sebastian Knüpfer, Johann Schelle, Johann Kuhnau: Ausgewählte Kirchenkantaten . Denkmäler deutscher Tonkunst: Erste Folge (in German). Vol. 58–59. Breitkopf & Härtel. pp. V–LII.
- ISBN 978-3765102493.(in German)
- Spitta, Philipp (1873). Johann Sebastian Bach (in German). Leipzig: Breitkopf & Härtel. Vol. 1.
- Spitta, Philipp (1899) [1884–1885]. Novello & Co. Vol. 1.
- Talle, Andrew (2013), "Bach, Graupner, and the Rest of Their Contented Contemporaries", in Andrew Talle (ed.), J. S. Bach and His Contemporaries in Germany, Bach Perspectives, vol. 9, University of Illinois Press, pp. 50–76, ISBN 9780252095399
- Swack, Jeanne (1992), "Telemann Research Since 1975", JSTOR 932913
- Johann Sebastian Bach's Werke: Herausgegeben von der Bach-Gesellschaft zu Leipzig (in German), vol. 30, Breitkopf & Härtel, pp. 17–42 (and "Vorwort" pp. XV–XXI)
- Whittaker, William Gillies (1959), The Cantatas of Johann Sebastian Bach: sacred and secular, Volume I, Oxford University Press
- Zedler, Günther (2009), Die erhaltenen Kantaten Johann Sebastian Bachs (Spätere Sakrale- und Weltliche Werke): Besprechungen in Form von Analysen - Erklärungen - Deutungen (in German), Perfect Paperback, pp. 297–298, ISBN 978-3839137734
- Zohn, Steven (2001). "Telemann, Georg Philipp". ISBN 978-1-56159-263-0.
Further reading
- ISBN 146166425X.
- Terry, C. S. (1920). "Appendix III: The Bachgesellschaft Editions of Bach's Works", pp. 225–286 in Johann Sebastian Bach: His Life, Art, and Work. New York: Harcourt, Brace and Howe; London: Constable
- Unger, Melvin P. (1996). Handbook to Bach's Sacred Cantata Texts: An Interlinear Translation with Reference Guide to Biblical Quotations and Allusions. ISBN 1461659051.
External links
- Media related to BWV 142 / Anh. II 23→ – Cantata "Uns ist ein Kind geboren" at Wikimedia Commons
- Uns ist ein Kind geboren (Kuhnau, Johann): Scores at the International Music Score Library Project
- Uns ist ein Kind geboren BWV 142 / Anh. II 23 / Sacred cantata (1st Christmas Day) Bach Digital
- RISM 467300002