The nineteenth Sunday after Trinity. The readings for this Sunday combine Paul's exhortation to the Romans to live a better, more truthful life with the story of Jesus' healing of the paralyzed man.
There are three cantatas for this Sunday.
Readings:
Ephesians 4:22–28, "Put on the new man, which after God is created"
Matthew 9:1–8, Healing the paralytic at Capernaum
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)
There are three cantatas for this Sunday.
Readings:
Ephesians 4:22–28, "Put on the new man, which after God is created"
Matthew 9:1–8, Healing the paralytic at Capernaum
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)
[The Palsied Man Let Down through the Roof by James Tissot]
Cantatas:
Bach Cantata Index
- Ich elender Mensch, wer wird mich erlösen, BWV 48, 3 October 1723
Chorus: Ich elender Mensch, wer wird mich erlösen
Recitative (alto): O Schmerz, o Elend, so mich trifft
Chorale: Solls ja so sein
Aria (alto): Ach, lege das Sodom der sündlichen Glieder
Recitative (tenor): Hier aber tut des Heilands Hand
Aria (tenor): Vergibt mir Jesus meine Sünden
Chorale: Herr Jesu Christ, einiger Trost
("Wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me")
Text & translation
Scored for alto and tenor soloists, a four-part choir, trumpet, two oboes, two violins, viola, and basso continuo.
As the title suggests, this cantata delves into dark but profound themes. The opening movement is based on Romans 7:24, emphasizing the desperate need of sinners for salvation. The unknown poet emphasizes the need of the soul for salvation over the body, which is echoed in the chorale of the third movement, derived from the hymn "Ach Gott und Herr" (1604). This reflection is reinforced by verses from Psalm 88:11 and 2 Corinthians 12:9, before ending on a note of hope with the final chorale, "Herr Jesu Christ, einiger Trost," sourced from "Herr Jesu Christ, ich schrei zu dir" (1620).
The grand opening chorus sets a tone of deep despair, drawing from St. Paul's lament in Romans: "Wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me from the body of this death?" The desolation of the text, sung in a slow tempo with sparse accompaniment, contrasts with a subtly woven chorale theme ("Lord Jesus Christ, you highest good") played in strict canon by trumpet and oboes. The movement opens with a ritornello in the strings, expressing a subdued sadness rather than fiery anguish. The absence of sensational rhetoric underscores that while the work delves into personal turmoil, it's not about acute sin, but rather the inherent fallen nature of humanity under the law. This is depicted through the archaic motet style and the skillful arrangement of a double canon between vocal lines and obbligato instruments.
An alto recitative follows, lamenting "the poison of sin that rages in my breast and veins," which may seem almost comical to modern sensibilities. This is followed by a short chorale with intriguing chromaticism. The following alto aria, accompanied by a poignant oboe melody, expresses a plea to "destroy the sinful body, but spare the soul".
In the recitative and aria for tenor, the soul recognizes its salvation in Christ, marking a crucial shift toward hope in the cantata. Accompanied by strings and oboe with a characteristic rhythmic lilt, the music maintains a mournful tone reminiscent of the cantata's opening, devoid of any real joy.
The cantata ends with a simple harmonization of the chorale "Lord Jesus Christ, only comfort, I will turn to you".
Video: J.S. Bach Foundation (St. Gallen) - Workshop (in German) - Contemplation (in German)
- Wo soll ich fliehen hin, BWV 5, 15 October 1724
Chorus: Wo soll ich fliehen hin
Recitative (bass): Der Sünden Wust hat mich nicht nur befleckt
Aria (tenor): Ergieße dich reichlich, du göttliche Quelle
Recitative (alto): Mein treuer Heiland tröstet mich
Aria (bass): Verstumme, Höllenheer
Recitative (soprano): Ich bin ja nur das kleinste Teil der Welt
Chorale: Führ auch mein Herz und Sinn
("Where shall I flee")
Text & translation
Scored for four vocal soloists (soprano, alto, tenor, and bass), a four-part choir, tromba da tirarsi (slide trumpet), two oboes, two violins, viola and basso continuo.
Chorale cantata based on the hymn in eleven stanzas "Wo soll ich fliehen hin" by Johann Heermann (1630). The hymn tune is "Auf meinen lieben Gott". The theme of Heermann's chorale and this cantata is the awareness of being a sinner in need of healing, like the paralytic in the story of Matthew. As in many of the cantatas, the theme is a journey from darkness to light, from the burden of sin to salvation.
The opening chorus begins in an agitated and aggressive mood, with deliberately erratic harmonies, echoing the Gospel of Matthew, where Jesus almost reluctantly heals a lame man to prove his qualification for the forgiveness of sins.
A secco recitative is followed by a rather joyful tenor aria, accompanied by an obbligato viola. The tenor recitative announces that sins will be washed away by the holy blood of Christ, and the tenor aria sings of the actual washing away of these sinful stains: "Pour out abundantly, O divine fountain, ah, wash me with bloody streams!" The viola (only one of two times this instrument is used as an obbligato instrument in Bach, used here because it has more "red corpuscles" in its register than the violin) illustrates the washing movement, the gushing of the divine blood - a kind of divine washing machine churning away in a rather visually expressive way. It is a brilliant and very rich aria.
In the central position of the cantata follows an alto recitative, the turning point to hope, with the oboe playing the choral theme over the alto lines. The recitative ends with the statement that Jesus' blood is also a shield from "the devil, death, and sin," and this is further developed in the following aria for bass with obbligato slide trumpet (and full orchestra): "Be silent, host of hell... I need only show you this blood, and suddenly you must be silent!" The virtuoso trumpet blazes fiercely in this ferocious anthem, scattering the forces of evil.
Next, the soprano (sung by a boy in Bach's time) offers a message of innocence and hope in the final recitative, after which the straightforward chorale setting brings the cantata to its close.
Video: J.S. Bach Foundation (St. Gallen) - Workshop (in German) - Contemplation (in German)
- Ich will den Kreuzstab gerne tragen, BWV 56, 27 October 1726
Aria: Ich will den Kreuzstab gerne tragen
Recitative: Mein Wandel auf der Welt / ist einer Schiffahrt gleich
Aria: Endlich wird mein Joch / wieder von mir weichen müssen
Recitative: Ich stehe fertig und bereit
Chorale: Komm, o Tod, du Schlafes Bruder
("I will the cross-staff gladly carry")
Text & translation
Scored for a bass soloist, a four-part choir (SATB) in the closing chorale, two oboes, taille, two violins, viola, cello, and basso continuo.
Bach composed this cantata for solo bass in his fourth year as Thomaskantor, marking it as part of his third cantata cycle. It is one of the Thomaskantor's better-known cantatas, in part because it is a repertoire piece for baritones and basses, and in part because of its figurative text and wonderfully evocative setting.
The text, written by Christoph Birkmann, a mathematics and theology student in Leipzig who worked closely with Bach, follows the journey of a Christian, expressed in the first person, who willingly carries the cross in following Jesus. Life is portrayed as a journey toward a heavenly port, a subtle reference to the Gospel reading of Jesus traveling by boat. Ultimately, the individual longs for death as the final union with Jesus, a sentiment reinforced by the final chorale stanza "Komm, o Tod, du Schlafes Bruder."
The opening aria casts the singer as Christ's disciple, bearing the weight of the cross and torment until forgiveness is attained. The musical imagery reflects this, with the vocal line reflecting the struggle of carrying a heavy burden, marked by long notes and sighing motifs. The aria, constantly drawn out, seems imbued with infinite weariness and exudes an oppressive atmosphere.
In the first recitative, the journey of life is likened to a journey toward the kingdom of heaven, during which faithful believers endure hardship but remain steadfast. This parallels the Gospel reading from Matthew in which Jesus crosses a lake, and the undulating cello accompaniment vividly evokes the choppy waters.
Continuing the theme of relief, the second aria, a lively and joyous duet for bass, solo oboe and continuo, exudes joy tempered with a longing for death, a characteristic combination in Bach's compositions. The solo part is full of elaborate coloraturas.
The second recitativo accompagnato with strings transitions into an arioso in the middle, reintroducing the last lines of the first aria with a new text: "My Savior himself will wipe away my tears." In the end, the believer longs for death as the final goal, to be united with Jesus. This longing is reinforced by the closing chorale: the stanza "Komm, o Tod, du Schlafes Bruder" from Johann Franck's 1653 hymn "Du, o schönes Weltgebäude" which uses the imagery of a sea voyage and repeats the metaphor of a ship arriving in port.
Video: Netherlands Bach Society - Interview with conductor Bonizzoni /
J.S. Bach Foundation (St. Gallen) - Workshop (in German) - Contemplation (in German)
Bach Cantata Index