| Ihr werdet weinen und heulen | |
|---|---|
BWV 103 | |
| Church cantata byJ. S. Bach | |
 Christiana Mariana von Ziegler,author of the cantata text | |
| Occasion | Jubilate Sunday |
| Cantata text | Christiana Mariana von Ziegler |
| Bible text | John 16:20 |
| Chorale | byPaul Gerhardt |
| Performed | 22 April 1725 (1725-04-22):Leipzig |
| Movements | 6 |
| Vocal |
|
| Instrumental |
|
Ihr werdet weinen und heulen (You shall weep and wail),[1]BWV 103, is acantata byJohann Sebastian Bach, achurch cantata for the third Sunday afterEaster, calledJubilate.
Bach composed the cantata in his second year asThomaskantor inLeipzig and first performed it on 22 April 1725. It is the first of nine cantatas on texts byChristiana Mariana von Ziegler, which Bach composed at the end of his second annual cycle of cantatas in Leipzig. Based on the Gospel reading from theFarewell Discourse, where Jesus, announcing that he will leave, says "your sorrow shall be turned into joy", Bach contrasts music of sorrow and joy, notably in the unusual firstmovement, where he inserts an almost operaticrecitative of Jesus in thefugal choral setting. The architecture of the movement combines elements of the usualconcerto form with the more text-related older form of amotet. Bach scores an unusualflauto piccolo (descantrecorder in D) as anobbligato instrument in anaria contemplating the sorrow of missing Jesus, who is addressed as a doctor who shall heal the wounds of sins. Bach scores atrumpet in only one movement, an aria expressing the joy about the predicted return of Jesus. The cantata in six movements closes with achorale, the ninthstanza ofPaul Gerhardt'shymn "Barmherzger Vater, höchster Gott".
Bach composed the cantata in Leipzig for theThird Sunday after Easter, calledJubilate. The prescribed readings for the Sunday were from theFirst Epistle of Peter, "Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man" (1 Peter 2:11–20), and from theGospel of John, Jesus announcing hissecond coming in the so-calledFarewell Discourse, saying "your sorrow shall be turned into joy" (John 16:16–23). For this occasion Bach had already composed in 1714Weinen, Klagen, Sorgen, Zagen, BWV 12, which he used later as the basis for the movementCrucifixus in hisMass in B minor.[2]
In his second year in Leipzig, Bach composedchorale cantatas between the first Sunday afterTrinity andPalm Sunday, but forEaster he returned to cantatas on more varied texts, possibly because he lost hislibrettist.[3] Nine of his cantatas for consecutive occasions in the period between Easter andPentecost are based on texts byChristiana Mariana von Ziegler, this one being the first of the series especially written for Bach.[4] He had possibly commissioned them in 1724 for his first cantata cycle but not composed them at that time, because of his exceptional workload in creating theSt John Passion.[5]
The librettist begins with a quotation from the Gospel, verse 20, and concludes with the ninthstanza ofPaul Gerhardt'shymn "Barmherzger Vater, höchster Gott" (1653).[6] Her own poetry reflects, in a sequence ofrecitatives andarias, in two movements sadness at the loss of Jesus, and in two others joy at his predicted return. Bach edited her writing considerably, for example in movement 4, excising two lines of four and rephrasing the others.[2] Ziegler published her text in 1728 in the collectionVersuch in gebundener Schreibart.[7]
Bach first performed the cantata on 22 April 1725 with theThomanerchor. For later performances, he revised the instrumentation, replacing the flauto piccolo by aflauto traverso.[3]
The cantata in six movements is scored for three vocal soloists (alto,tenor andbass), afour-part choir,trumpet,flauto piccolo (descantrecorder in D), twooboes d'amore, twoviolins,viola andcontinuo.[2]
The cantata begins inB minor, illustrating sorrow, but in movement 4 shifts to the relative major key ofD major, illustrating the theme of consolation in Ziegler's text.[2]
The opening chorus has an unusual structure, which includes anarioso passage for the bass voice. All instruments except the trumpet play aritornello, after which a choralfugue pictures the weeping and wailing of the text in unrelated musical material, rich inchromaticism. In great contrast the following line, "aber die Welt wird sich freuen" (But the world will rejoice),[1] is conveyed by the chorus embedded in a repeat of the first part of the ritornello. The sequence is repeated on a larger scale: this time the fugue renders both lines of the text as a double fugue with the secondtheme taken from the ritornello, then the ritornello is repeated in its entirety. The bass as thevox Christi (voice of Christ) sings three times, with a sudden tempo change toadagio, "Ihr aber werdet traurig sein" (But you will be sad)[1] as an accompagnato recitative. Musicologist Julian Mincham noted: "This recitative is a mere eight bars long but its context and piteousness give it enormous dramatic impact. Bach's lack of respect for the conservative Leipzig authorities' dislike of operatic styles in religious music was never more apparent!"[8]Klaus Hofmann compares the recitative's "highly expressive melody and harmony" to Bach'sPassions.[4] Finally, the extended sequence of fugue and ritornello with chorus returns transposed, on the text "Doch eure Traurigkeit soll in Freude verkehret werden" (Yet your sorrow shall be changed into joy).[1] According toAlfred Dürr, the architecture of the movement is a large scale experiment combining elements of the older style of a text-relatedmotet with the form of a concerto of instrumental groups and voices, as typically used by Bach.[2]
John Eliot Gardiner, who conducted theBach Cantata Pilgrimage with the Monteverdi Choir in 2000, notes that Bach's "strategy is to superimpose these opposite moods, binding them in a mutually enlightening whole and emphasising that it is the same God who both dispenses and then ameliorates these conditions.[9]
Movement 2 is a secco recitative for tenor, concluding in an arioso section with a "deeply moving"melisma on the word "Schmerzen" (sorrows).[8] Movement 3, "Kein Arzt ist außer dir zu finden" (Besides You is no doctor to be found)[1] is anaria for alto with theobbligato flauto piccolo, which according to Mincham, employing a "figuration ever striving upwards, moderates the underlying sense of potential tragedy".[8] The alto recitative "marks a change of scene", it begins in B minor, like the opening chorus, but modulates to D-major and ends with a wide-rangingcoloratura marking the word "Freude" (joy).[4][8] Movement 5, "Erholet euch, betrübte Sinnen" (Recover now, O troubled feelings),[1] picks up the joyful coloraturas, supported by the trumpet and fanfares intriads in the orchestra;[4] Mincham notes that the trumpet "bursts upon us with an energy, acclamation and jubilation unheard, so far, in this work".[8] The cantata is closed with a four-part setting of thechorale, sung to the melody of "Was mein Gott will, das g'scheh allzeit"[10] which Bach used frequently, including in hisSt Matthew Passion.[8]
The entries of the following table are taken from the listing on the Bach Cantatas Website.[11] For several recordings, the name of the bass soloist is not provided. Ensembles playing period instruments inhistorically informed performance are marked by green background.
| Title | Conductor / Choir / Orchestra | Soloists | Label | Year | Orch. type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bach Made in Germany Vol. 1 - Cantatas IV | Günther RaminThomanerchorGewandhausorchester | Eterna | 1951 (1951) | ||
| Les Grandes Cantates de J. S. Bach Vol. 22 | Fritz WernerHeinrich-Schütz-Chor HeilbronnPforzheim Chamber Orchestra | Erato | 1966 (1966) | ||
| Bach Kantaten, Vol. 8: BWV 103, BWV 85, BWV 86, BWV 144 | Diethard HellmannBachchor MainzBachorchester Mainz | DdM-Records Mitterteich | late 1960s? | ||
| J. S. Bach: Das Kantatenwerk · Complete Cantatas · Les Cantates, Folge / Vol. 26 – BWV 103–106 | Gustav LeonhardtLeonhardt-Consort | Teldec | 1980 (1980) | Period | |
| Die Bach Kantate Vol. 32 | Helmuth RillingGächinger KantoreiBach-Collegium Stuttgart | Hänssler | 1981 (1981) | ||
| Bach Edition Vol. 12 – Cantatas Vol. 6 | Pieter Jan LeusinkHolland Boys ChoirNetherlands Bach Collegium | Brilliant Classics | 1999 (1999) | Period | |
| Bach Cantatas Vol. 24: Altenburg/Warwick / For the 3rd Sunday after Easter (Jubilate) / For the 4th Sunday after Easter (Cantate) | John Eliot GardinerEnglish Baroque Soloists | Soli Deo Gloria | 2000 (2000) | Period | |
| J. S. Bach: Complete Cantatas Vol. 14 | Ton KoopmanAmsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir | Antoine Marchand | 2001 (2001) | Period | |
| J. S. Bach: Wir danken dir, Gott" | Philippe HerrewegheCollegium Vocale Gent | Harmonia Mundi France | 1999 (1999) | Period | |
| J. S. Bach: Cantatas Vol. 36 (Cantatas from Leipzig 1725) – BWV 6, 42, 103, 108 | Masaaki SuzukiBach Collegium Japan | BIS | 1999 (1999) | Period | |
| J. S. Bach: Kantate BWV 103 "Ihr werdet weinen und heulen" | Rudolf LutzSchola Seconda Pratica | Gallus Media | 2010 (2010) | Period |
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