| Ach, lieben Christen, seid getrost | |
|---|---|
BWV 114 | |
| Chorale cantata byJ. S. Bach | |
 Johannes Gigas, the author of the hymn | |
| Occasion | 17th Sunday afterTrinity |
| Chorale | "Ach, lieben Christen, seid getrost" byJohannes Gigas |
| Performed | 1 October 1724 (1724-10-01):Leipzig |
| Movements | seven |
| Vocal | SATB choir and solo |
| Instrumental |
|
Johann Sebastian Bach composed thechurch cantataAch, lieben Christen, seid getrost (Ah, dear Christians, be comforted),[1]BWV 114, in Leipzig for the 17th Sunday afterTrinity and first performed it on 1 October 1724. It is based on a 1561hymn of penitence byJohannes Gigas. Its tune is featured in three of the work's sevenmovements.
Ach, lieben Christen, seid getrost' belongs to Bach'schorale cantata cycle, the second cycle during his tenure asThomaskantor that began in 1723. The text retains the first, third and laststanza of the chorale unchanged; the text of the other stanzas was paraphrased by an unknownlibrettist intoarias andrecitatives, including references to the prescribed gospel about the healing of a man with dropsy. The first movement is achorale fantasia, and the work is closed by afour-partchorale setting.
Bach scored the cantata for four vocal parts, afour-part choir and aBaroque instrumental ensemble of a horn to reinforce the chorale tune, aflauto traverso,oboes, strings andbasso continuo.
Bach composed the cantata in his second year asThomaskantor (director of music) in Leipzig for the17th Sunday after Trinity.[2][3] That year, Bach composed a cycle ofchorale cantatas, begun on the first Sunday afterTrinity of 1724.[4] The prescribed readings for the Sunday were from theEpistle to the Ephesians, the admonition to keep the unity of the Spirit (Ephesians 4:1–6), and from theGospel of Luke,healing a man with dropsy on the Sabbath (Luke 14:1–11).[2][5]
The cantata is based on a song of penitence, "Ach, lieben Christen, seid getrost", in sixstanzas byJohannes Gigas (1561),[2][6] sung to the melody of "Wo Gott der Herr nicht bei uns hält".[7] The hymn is only distantly related to the readings, concentrating on the thought that the Christians sin and deserve punishment,[8] but may be raised to joy in a "seliger Tod" (blessed death). An unknown librettist retained the first, third and sixth stanza asmovements 1, 4 and 7 of the cantata.[3] He derived movements 2 and 3,aria andrecitative, from stanza 2, movement 5, another aria, from stanza 4, and the last recitative from stanza 5. In movement 3, he deviated from the song text, expanding in connection to the gospel that sin in general is comparable to the dropsy, "diese Sündenwassersucht ist zum Verderben da und wird dir tödlich sein" (this sinful dropsy leads to destruction and will be fatal to you),[1] and alluding toAdam's fall, caused by self-exaltation in the forbidden quest to be like God, "Der Hochmut aß vordem von der verbotnen Frucht, Gott gleich zu werden" (Pride first ate the forbidden fruit, to be like God).[1][5]
Bach first performed the cantata on 1 October 1724,[2][3] only two days after the first performance of his chorale cantataHerr Gott, dich loben alle wir, BWV 130, on the feast ofMichael, the archangel, 29 September 1724.[9] Bach revived the work in the 1740s.After Bach's death, it was performed by theThomanerchor in the 1750s along with other chorale cantatas. This interest in the cycle suggests that the chorale cantatas had been well received in Leipzig. However, given the youth of Barth andPenzel, two former pupils of Bach who were the interim directors of the choir when the cantata was revived,[2] it is not clear how closely they were able to follow Bach's style of performance.
Bach structured the cantata in seven movements. The chorale tune is used in movements 1, 4 and 7, as achorale fantasia, a chorale sung by a solo voice, and a four-part closing chorale. These three movements frame two sets of aria and recitative. Bach scored the work for four vocal soloists (soprano (S),alto (A),tenor (T) andbass (B)), afour-part choir, and aBaroque instrumental ensemble ofhorn (Co) to double the soprano,flauto traverso (Ft), twooboes (Ob), twoviolins (Vl),viola (Va), andbasso continuo.[2][10] The title of the autograph score reads: "Dom: 17 post Trin: / Ach lieben Xsten seyd getrost / a 4 Voc: / Corno / 2 Hautbois / 2 Violini / Viola / con / Continuo / di / Sign:JS:Bach".[11]
In the following table of the movements, thekeys andtime signatures are taken from the Bach scholarAlfred Dürr, using the symbol for common time (4/4).[5] The instruments are shown separately for brass, woodwinds and strings, while the continuo, playing throughout, is not shown.
| No. | Title | Text | Type | Vocal | Brass | Woods | Strings | Key | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ach, lieben Christen, seid getrost | Gigas | Chorus | SATB | Co | 2Ob | 2Vl Va | G minor |  |
| 2 | Wo wird diesem Jammertale | anon. | Aria | T | Ft | D minor | 3/4 | ||
| 3 | O Sünder, trage mit Geduld | anon. | Recitative | B | | ||||
| 4 | Kein Frucht das Weizenkörnlein bringt | Gigas | Chorale | S | G minor | | |||
| 5 | Du machst, o Tod, mir nun nicht ferner bange | anon. | Aria | A | Ob | 2Vl Va | B-flat major | | |
| 6 | Indes bedenke deine Seele | anon. | Recitative | T | | ||||
| 7 | Wir wachen oder schlafen ein | Gigas | Chorale | SATB | Co | 2Ob | 2Vl Va | G minor | |
In the openingchorale fantasia, "Ach, lieben Christen, seid getrost" (Ah, dear Christians, be comforted),[1] Bach expresses two thoughts of the text, comfort and fear, by contrastingthemes that appear simultaneously in the instruments: an assertive theme is derived from the melody and played by the two oboes and first violins, an "anxious" one in the second violins and the continuo. The soprano sings the melody as acantus firmus, doubled by the horn,[8] while the lower voices are set partly in expressive imitation, partly in homophony.[3] They are treated differently to reflect the meaning of the text.[12] The Bach scholarKlaus Hofmann compares the movement to the opening of the cantataJesu, der du meine Seele, BWV 78, written three weeks earlier: both "a sort of chaconne" in G minor, with a "French style" bass as "the expression of mourning and lamentation".[3]
The first aria is set for tenor with a virtuoso flute, "Wo wird in diesem Jammertale" (Where, in this valley of suffering).[1] It contrasts again the anxious question "Wo wird ... vor meinen Geist die Zuflucht sein?" (Where ... is the refuge of my spirit?)[1] and the trusting "Allein zu Jesu Vaterhänden will ich mich in der Schwachheit wenden" (However, to Jesus' fatherly hands I will turn in my weakness),[1] The anxious question returns in theda capo form.[3]
The first recitative, "O Sünder, trage mit Geduld" (O sinner, bear with patience),[1] begins secco, but expresses the contrasting words "erhebst" (exalt) and "erniedrig" (humbled) from the Gospel as anarioso.[12]
The chorale stanza, "Kein Frucht das Weizenkörnlein bringt" (The grain of wheat bears no fruit),[1] is set for the soprano, accompanied only by the continuo.[5] In its "starkness of the unembellished chorale", it is the centerpiece of the cantata.[12]
The alto aria, "Du machst, o Tod, mir nun nicht ferner bange" (You make me, o death, no longer fearful now),[1] is the only movement of the cantata in amajor key. A shift tominor on the words "Es muß ja so einmal gestorben sein" (One day, indeed, one must die)[1] is even more striking.[12]
A final recitative "Indes bedenke deine Seele" (Therefore, consider your soul) invites the listener to turn body and soul to God.[1]
The cantata ends with a four-part setting of the chorale melody, "Wir wachen oder schlafen ein" (Whether we wake or fall asleep),[1][13] expressing "confidence in God".[3]
The listing is taken from the Bach Cantatas Website.[14][15] Ensembles playing period instruments inhistorically informed performance are marked by green background.
| Title | Conductor / Choir / Orchestra | Soloists | Label | Year | Orch. type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Die Bach Kantate Vol. 52 | Helmuth RillingBach-Collegium Stuttgart | Hänssler | 1974 (1974) / 1981 | Chamber | |
| J. S. Bach: Das Kantatenwerk • Complete Cantatas • Les Cantates, Folge / Vol. 29 – BWV 43–46 | Gustav LeonhardtKnabenchor HannoverLeonhardt-Consort |
| Telefunken | 1980 (1980) | Period |
| Bach Edition Vol. 5 – Cantatas Vol. 2 | Pieter Jan LeusinkHolland Boys ChoirNetherlands Bach Collegium | Brilliant Classics | 1999 (1999) | Period | |
| J. S. Bach: Complete Cantatas Vol. 12 | Ton KoopmanAmsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir | Antoine Marchand | 2000 (2000) | Period | |
| Bach Cantatas Vol. 9: Lund / Leipzig / For the 17th Sunday after Trinity / For the 18th Sunday after Trinity[8] | John Eliot GardinerMonteverdi ChoirEnglish Baroque Soloists | Soli Deo Gloria | 2000 (2000) | Period | |
| J. S. Bach: Cantatas Vol. 25 – Cantatas from Leipzig 1724 – BWV 78, 99, 114[3] | Masaaki SuzukiBach Collegium Japan | BIS | 2003 (2003) | Period |
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