The name "Whit Sunday" is thought to derive from the custom that those who were baptized on this feast wore white garments.
Pentecost is celebrated seven weeks (50 days) after Easter Sunday, hence its name. It falls on the tenth day after Ascension Thursday.
Bach wrote four cantatas for this important Sunday.
Readings:
Acts 2:1–13 "The Holy Spirit"
John 14:23–31, "Farewell discourse, announcement of the Spirit who will teach"
Cantata Studies:
Bach Cantatas Website | Simon Crouch | Emmanuel Music | Julian Mincham | Wikipedia | Eduard van Hengel (in Dutch) | Bach Companion (Oxford U.P.) | Bach: The Learned Musician (Wolff) | Music in the Castle of Heaven (Gardiner)
[Descent of the Holy Spirit, Battistero di Padova]
- Erschallet, ihr Lieder, erklinget, ihr Saiten! BWV 172, 20 May 1714
Coro: Erschallet, ihr Lieder, erklinget, ihr Saiten
Recitativo (bass): Wer mich liebet, der wird mein Wort halten
Aria (bass, trumpets & timpani): Heiligste Dreieinigkeit
Aria (tenor, strings): O Seelenparadies
Aria (soprano – Soul, alto – Spirit, oboe, cello): Komm, laß mich nicht länger warten
Chorale (violin): Von Gott kömmt mir ein Freudenschein
optional: repeat of the opening chorus
("Ring out, ye Songs")
Translation & text
Scored for four vocal soloists (soprano, alto, tenor and bass), a four-part choir, three trumpets, timpani, recorder or flauto traverso, oboe d'amore, two violins, two violas, bassoon, cello, and basso continuo.
Bach was court organist to Johann Ernst of Saxe-Weimar in Weimar and was appointed concertmaster on March 2, 1714. With this came the task of performing a monthly sacred cantata in the castle church. BWV 172 is the third cantata in the series. The text is attributed to the court poet and director of the mint, Salomon Franck, although it does not appear in his printed works. However, several stylistic features characteristic of Franck - the biblical word as a recitative in the second movement rather than as an opening chorus, sequences of arias without a connecting recitative, dialogues in duet - can be found in this cantata. The text reflects different aspects of the Holy Spirit.
It is a grand and festive cantata, suitable for this important church feast, and notable for the brilliant trumpet writing of the first two aria movements and the intricate combination of dialogue with chorale cantus firmus in the penultimate duet. The text is based on the reading "He who loves me will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him". The opening chorus is da capo with a large fanfare-like instrumentation of trumpets and timpani to emphasize the festive nature of the day.
The Gospel reading for the first day of Pentecost is a speech by Jesus announcing to his disciples the coming of the Holy Spirit, the first verse of which Bach assigns as a recitative to the bass, which here (as so often) acts as Vox Christi. The bass recitative expands into an arioso, followed by a bass aria accompanied by three trumpets, representing the "Holy Trinity" in the text. In the aria, the bass changes personality to the voice of humanity, praying for God to enter our hearts - and Bach lets us hear the wafting spirit descend from on high, where the trumpets are.
The tenor aria is in the minor mode, expressing the text's longing for a "spiritual paradise" (which has not yet been achieved). It is accompanied by a flowing ritornello theme in the upper strings, combined with the flute an octave higher. As Julian Mincham explains, "The central image is that of God′s Spirit which breathed over the Creation and has persisted ever since. Whilst interpretation of Bach′s musical images can never be an exact science and will always remain, to some degree subjective, in this case one can suggest with some confidence that the vocal line represents the Soul and the string counterpoint God′s Enabling Spirit."
The soprano and alto duet that follows is a dialog between the soprano as an impatient soul who longs for her beloved, the Holy Spirit (alto). Duets of this kind between allegorical characters appeared in the cantatas on the wings of Pietism, usually in the love relationship between the soprano as the soul (anima) of the individual believer and Jesus, the bass (Vox Christi), but for this occasion the desired bridegroom has been replaced by the Holy Spirit. The aria is combined with an instrumental choral cantus firmus, a highly ornamented version of the great Lutheran chorale "Komm Heiliger Geist" played initially on the oboe but in later performances also the organ - making it a remarkably complex movement.
Note how, when faced with a sequence of three arias without recitatives, as in this case, Bach varies voices, textures, modes, and instrumentation in such a way as to differentiate the particular character of each movement: In this cantata, the first aria is for bass, trumpets, and percussion and is in the major; the second is for tenor and strings and is in the minor; and the third, which returns to the major, is a duet for the remaining voices (alto and soprano), supported by a very active continuo line and an obbligato oboe.
A beautiful setting of the fourth strophe of "Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern" by Philipp Nicolai, with a high, descant first violin part, concludes the cantata, after which the opening chorus may be repeated.
Bach clearly attached great importance to this cantata: he performed it once in Leipzig as an occasional substitute for his predecessor there, Johann Kuhnau, and certainly again in 1724, 1731, and later.
Video: C Major version: J.S. Bach-Foundation (St. Gallen) - Workshop (in German) - Contemplation (in German) /
D Major version: Bachakademie Stuttgart
- Wer mich liebet, der wird mein Wort halten, BWV 59, 28 May 1724
Duetto (soprano, bass): Wer mich liebet, der wird mein Wort halten
Recitativo (soprano): O was sind das vor Ehren
Chorale: Komm, Heiliger Geist, Herre Gott
Aria (bass): Die Welt mit allen Königreichen
("Whoever loves me, will keep My word")
Translation & text
Scored for two soloists, soprano and bass, a four-part choir only in the chorale, two trumpets, timpani, two violins, viola and basso continuo.
Very short cantata (parts of which were actually reused for BWV 74 to better effect). The opening duet is quite charming, almost like an Italian chamber concerto. Trumpets are present, but the fine string accompaniment dominates. Both text and music emphasize "who loves me. The cantata is based on a text by Erdmann Neumeister, published in 1714.
The accompanied soprano recitative moves into an arioso and is followed by a simple chorale ("Come, Holy Spirit").
The songlike bass aria is accompanied by solo violin and expresses anticipation of heavenly bliss. The final chorale is missing, although a note by Bach in the autograph indicates that he intended to end the work with one. The third verse of "Come Holy Spirit" is usually played here.
Video: J.S. Bach Foundation (St. Gallen) - Workshop (in German) - Contemplation (in German) /
- Wer mich liebet, der wird mein Wort halten, BWV 74, 20 May 1725
Chor: Wer mich liebet, der wird mein Wort halten
Arie S: Komm, komm, mein Herze steht dir offen
Rezitativ A: Die Wohnung ist bereit
Arie B: Ich gehe hin und komme wieder zu euch
Arie T: Kommt, eilet, stimmet Sait und Lieder
Rezitativ B: Es ist nichts Verdammliches an denen, die in Christo Jesu sind
Arie A: Nichts kann mich erretten
Choral: Kein Menschenkind hier auf der Erd
("Whoever loves me, will keep My word")
Translation & text
Scored for four solo voices (soprano, alto, tenor, and bass), a four-part choir, three trumpets, timpani, two oboes, an oboe da caccia, two violins, viola, and basso continuo.
This cantata has the same title as the previous one, but Bach used a different author for the text. The librettist for this work was Christiana Mariana von Ziegler. She collaborated with Bach on nine cantatas after Easter 1724, beginning with Ihr werdet weinen und heulen, BWV 103. In several of these works she began with a quotation from the Gospel of Jesus. Much of her text was based on the "metaphysical" readings of the Gospel of John.
Bach reuses music from BWV 59 in the first two movements. The message of Pentecost is reflected in the joyful opening chorus with its colorful instrumentation. The first aria is for soprano with oboe da caccia. The new arrangement gives the movement a "childlike openness.
An alto recitative is followed by the second aria, for bass as Vox Christi ("I go away and come again to you..."). The aria uses "sequences of 'kicking' eighth notes in the continuo line" to suggest a stepping motion. The tenor aria again proclaims the joy of the Pentecost story in a dance-like and declamatory movement. The rapidly rising and falling character of the catchy string melody illustrates the "going away and coming back".
A bass recitative accompanied by oboes proclaims the central message, "There is nothing condemnable in those who are of Christ Jesus". The final powerful alto aria, accompanied by concertante violin, uses virtuoso word-painting to illustrate the empty rattling of Satan's hellish chains. A quiet but attractive chorale concludes the cantata.
Video: Bachakademie (Gaechinger Cantorey) - O ewiges Feuer, o Ursprung der Liebe, BWV 34, June 1 1727
Coro: "O ewiges Feuer, o Ursprung der Liebe" Recitativo: "Herr, unsre Herzen halten dir"
Aria (Alto): "Wohl euch, ihr auserwählten Seelen"
Recitativo: "Erwählt sich Gott die heilgen Hütten"
Coro: "Friede über Israel"
("O Eternal flame, o fount of love")
Translation & text
Scored for three vocal soloists (alto, tenor, bass), a four-part choir, three trumpets, timpani, two flauti traversi, two oboes, two violins, viola and basso continuo.
Derived from a now-lost wedding cantata, as the passionate text of the opening chorus makes clear, the fiery love between man and woman is transformed into the heavenly flames of the Holy Spirit. A central contemplative aria for alto, accompanied by two flutes and muted strings, is framed by recitatives, while the two outer movements are performed by the chorus and a festive baroque instrumental ensemble of three trumpets, timpani, two oboes, strings, and continuo. The final movement quotes the conclusion of Psalm 128, "Peace over Israel. The themes of eternal fire, love, dwelling together, and peace are appropriate for both wedding and Pentecost. The text of the Wedding Cantata could remain unchanged, since the image of the flames and the spirit of love fit both the events of Pentecost and a wedding: the author only had to replace the reference to the "united couple" with a reference to the Gospel.
The opening of this cantata is, in fact, one of Bach's great and elaborate choruses, with perfectly integrated trumpets. The "heavenly flames" of Pentecost are musically represented by crackling semiquaver figurations in the first violins. The chorus concludes with a grand fugue.
The tenor recitative takes on an authoritative tone, expanding on the concept of God's abiding with his people as outlined in the Gospel.
The beautiful alto aria "Happy are you, you chosen souls" still retains some of the wedding cantata, for example in the restrained accompaniment of flutes and muted strings, or in the tender affection it exudes. The gentle, rocking melody is now meant to evoke the "floating spirits. It has a berceuse-like rhythm, with an obbligato melody played by muted violins and flutes in octaves and tenths.
A bass recitative (similar in character to the tenor recitative) then leads into the final joyous choral exhortation to peace, a stirring conclusion to a great cantata.
The manuscript of the score, largely in Bach's own hand, dates from a few years before his death. However, a libretto recently discovered in St. Petersburg shows that the cantata is much older and was first performed on June 1, 1727.
Video: Netherlands Bach Society - Interview conductor Van Veldhoven /
J.S. Bach-Foundation (St. Gallen) - Workshop (in German) - Contemplation (in German) - Explanation in Bach Factory (English)