| Auf Christi Himmelfahrt allein | |
|---|---|
BWV 128 | |
| Church cantata byJ. S. Bach | |
 Ascension, occasion of the cantata, Church of the Holy Cross inJelenia Góra | |
| Occasion | Feast of the Ascension |
| Cantata text | Christiana Mariana von Ziegler |
| Chorale | by Matthäus Avenarius |
| Performed | 10 May 1725 (1725-05-10):Leipzig |
| Movements | 5 |
| Vocal |
|
| Instrumental |
|
Auf Christi Himmelfahrt allein (On Christ's ascension into heaven alone),[1]BWV 128,[a] is achurch cantata byJohann Sebastian Bach. Bach composed it inLeipzig for theFeast of the Ascension and first performed on 10 May 1725.
It is the fourth of nine cantatas on texts byChristiana Mariana von Ziegler, with whom Bach collaborated at the end of hissecond cantata cycle. It begins, unlike the previous three, with achorale fantasia like the chorale cantatas, using the firststanza of a 1636 hymn for Ascension Day by Ernst Sonnemann. For a closing chorale she used the fourth stanza of "O Jesu, meine Lust" with text by Matthäus Avenarius. Thetheme of the cantata is the reaction of the believer to the absence of Jesus, including hope to see him again "face to face". Bach scored the cantata for three vocal soloists (alto,tenor andbass), afour-part choir and aBaroque instrumental ensemble of twohorns,trumpet, twooboes,oboe d'amore,oboe da caccia, strings andbasso continuo, in a rich and varied instrumentation.
Bach composed the cantata in his second year inLeipzig for the feast of theAscension.[2][3][4] The prescribed readings for the feast day were from theActs of the Apostles, Jesus telling his disciples to preach and baptize, andhis Ascension (Acts 1:1–11), and from theGospel of Mark (Mark 16:14–20).[2] In his second year in Leipzig, Bach had composedchorale cantatas between the first Sunday afterTrinity andPalm Sunday, but forEaster returned to cantatas on more varied texts, possibly because he lost his librettist. Nine of his cantatas for the period between Easter andPentecost are based on texts ofChristiana Mariana von Ziegler, including this cantata.[5] Bach later inserted most of them in his third annual cycle, but kept this one andBWV 68 for Pentecost in his second annual cycle, possibly because they both begin with achorale fantasia like the chorale cantatas, whereas many of the others begin with a bass solo as thevox Christi.[3]
The poet, who has a tendency to express a personal view, writing in the first person, took thetheme of the cantata from the firststanza ofErnst Sonnemann [de]'schorale afterJosua Wegelin [de] (1636):[6] once Jesus ascended to heaven, there is nothing left to keep me on earth, as I am promised to see him "from face to face", a paraphrase of1 Corinthians 13. In the secondmovement, she alludes to theTransfiguration of Jesus (Matthew 17:4), while the third movement sees the incomprehensible power of Jesus everywhere, not restricted to a certain location: He will lift me to his right hand, according toMatthew 25:33, and will judge me right, according to the closing chorale, the fourth stanza ofMatthäus Avenarius' "O Jesu, meine Lust".[2][7]
Ziegler's text, printed in 1728 in the collectionVersuch in gebundener Schreib-Art,[8] and the cantata text differ,[4] possibly changed by Bach himself. For example, anaria andrecitative are combined to one movement by inserting "wo mein Erlöser lebt" (where my redeemer lives)[1] > as a connection.[3]
Bach led theThomanerchor in the first performance of the cantata on 10 May 1725.[2][3]
Bach structured the cantata in five movements, framing solo recitatives and arias with two chorale movements, a chorale fantasia and a closing chorale. While the opening in a chorale fantasia is similar to Bach's chorale cantatas, the middle movements and the closing chorale are independent of the chorale.[4] Bach scored the work for three vocal soloists (alto (A),tenor (T) andbass (B)), afour-part choir, and a festiveBaroque instrumental ensemble of twohorns (Co), trumpet (Tr), twooboes (Ob),oboe d'amore (Oa),oboe da caccia (Oc), twoviolins (Vl),viola (Va) andbasso continuo.[2][3] The instrumentation is especially rich and varied; Julian Mincham observes: "As befits its importance, the instrumental forces are relatively large and impressive; two horns, oboes of every kind, strings and continuo and latterly one trumpet".[9]
In the following table of the movements, the scoring follows theNeue Bach-Ausgabe. Thekeys andtime signatures are taken fromAlfred Dürr's standard workDie Kantaten von Johann Sebastian Bach, using the symbol for common time (4/4).[3] The continuo, playing throughout, is not shown.
| No. | Title | Text | Type | Vocal | Winds | Strings | Key | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Auf Christi Himmelfahrt allein | Sonnemann | Chorus | SATB | 2Co 2Ob Oc | 2Vl Va | G major |  |
| 2 | Ich bin bereit, komm, hole mich | Ziegler | Recitative | T | | |||
| 3 | Auf, auf, mit hellem Schall | Ziegler | Aria and recitative | B | Tr | 2Vl Va | D major | 3 4 |
| 4 | Sein Allmacht zu ergründen | Ziegler | Aria | A T | Oa | B minor | 6 8 | |
| 5 | Alsdenn so wirst du mich | Avenarius | Chorale | SATB | 2Co Ob Oc | 2Vl Va | G major | |
The opening chorus, "Auf Christi Himmelfahrt allein ich meine Nachfahrt gründe" (On Christ's ascension into heaven alone I base my own ensuing journey),[1] is a chorale fantasia on the melody of the GermanGloria "Allein Gott in der Höh sei Ehr" byNikolaus Decius[4], embedded in an orchestral concerto. Thecantus firmus is in the soprano in long notes, whereas the lower voices engage in imitation. Bach derived the highly figurativemotifs of the instruments from the chorale tune: both a signal played first by the strings and oboes, then the two horns, then afugue subject. Both motifs contain notes from the first line of the tune in the same order as in the tune, the signal contains the first five notes, the fugue subject all nine notes.[3]
The tenor expresses in a recitative the situation of a human dealing with the absence of Jesus and longing to follow him, away from a world experienced as unpleasant: "Ich bin bereit, komm, hole mich! Hier in der Welt Ist Jammer, Angst und Pein" (I am ready, come, take me! Here in the world are suffering, fear, and pain).[1]
In an unusual combination of aria and recitative, the bass voice proclaims: "Auf, auf, mit hellem Schall verkündigt überall: mein Jesus sitzt zur Rechten!" (Up, up, with clarion ring proclaim everywhere: my Jesus sits at the right hand!).[1] Only in this movement of the cantata, Bach uses the trumpet, the royal instrument of the Baroque, to symbolize the reign of Jesus. The trumpet appears first in theritornello, which is repeated by the voice and again with the voice embedded. After a middle section, the first part of the aria is not repeatedda capo; instead the added line is set as a recitative accompanied by strings, followed by a repeat of only the ritornello.[3][10]
The followingduet of alto and tenor, "Sein Allmacht zu ergründen, wird sich kein Menschen finden" (To fathom his omnipotence no human can discern),[1] is of intimate character. Theobbligato instrument is marked "organo" in the score, but the music is written in the oboe part and appears to have been composed for an oboe d'amore. Possibly Bach changed his intentions during the process of composition, or he may have changed the marking later.Max Reger used the movement's ritornello theme for hisBach-Variationen Op. 81.[3]
The cantata is closed by a four-part chorale, "Alsdenn so wirst du mich zu deiner Rechten stellen" (Therefore you shall place me at your right hand),[1] sung to a melody byAhasverus Fritsch also used for “O Gott, du frommer Gott”.[4] Most instruments playcolla parte with the four-part setting of the voices, while the horns play different parts because of their limited range.[3][11]
The original manuscript of the cantata was accepted in lieu of £3,650,000 in inheritance tax by the British Government from the estate ofRalph Kohn and allocated to theBodleian Library in 2024.[12]
The cantata was first published in 1878 in the first complete edition of Bach's work, theBach-Gesellschaft Ausgabe. The volume in which the cantata appeared was edited byAlfred Dörffel. In 1960, the cantata was published in theNeue Bach-Ausgabe, the second complete edition of Bach's works, where it was edited by Dürr.[13][4]
The selection is taken from the listing on the Bach Cantatas website.[14] Instrumental groups playing period instruments inhistorically informed performances are marked green.
| Title | Conductor / Choir / Orchestra | Soloists | Label | Year | Instr. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bach Made in Germany Vol. 1 – Cantatas V | Günther RaminThomanerchorGewandhausorchester | Eterna | 1953 (1953) | ||
| Bach Cantatas Vol. 2 – Easter | Helmut WinschermannKantorei Barmen-GemarkeDeutsche Bachsolisten | Philips | 1971 (1971) | ||
| Die Bach Kantate Vol. 35 | Helmuth RillingGächinger KantoreiBach-Collegium Stuttgart | Hänssler | 1981 (1981) | ||
| J. S. Bach: Das Kantatenwerk • Complete Cantatas • Les Cantates, Folge / Vol. 7 | Gustav LeonhardtLeonhardt-Consort | Teldec | 1983 (1983) | Period | |
| J. S. Bach: Ascension Cantatas | John Eliot GardinerMonteverdi ChoirEnglish Baroque Soloists | Archiv Produktion | 1993 (1993) | Period | |
| Bach Edition Vol. 12 – Cantatas Vol. 6 | Pieter Jan LeusinkHolland Boys ChoirNetherlands Bach Collegium | Brilliant Classics | 1999 (1999) | Period | |
| J. S. Bach: Complete Cantatas Vol. 15 | Ton KoopmanAmsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir | Antoine Marchand | 2001 (2001) | Period | |
| J. S. Bach: Cantatas Vol. 35 (Cantatas from Leipzig 1725) | Masaaki SuzukiBach Collegium Japan | BIS | 2001 (2001) | Period |
| International | |
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| National | |
| Other | |
