| Süßer Trost, mein Jesus kömmt | |
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BWV 151 | |
| Christmas cantata byJ. S. Bach | |
 Georg Christian Lehms, the author of the cantata text | |
| Occasion | Third Day ofChristmas |
| Performed | 27 December 1726 (1726-12-27):Leipzig |
Süßer Trost, mein Jesus kömmt (Sweet comfort, my Jesus comes),BWV 151, is achurch cantata byJohann Sebastian Bach. He composed it inLeipzig for the third day of Christmas and first performed it on 27 December 1725.
Bach composed this solo cantata in late 1725 in Leipzig, in his third year asThomaskantor inLeipzig, as part ofhis third cantata cycle. He wrote it for the church service for the feast day ofJohn the Evangelist, celebrated on theThird Day of Christmas.[1] TheThomanerchor was used only for the final movement, as with other Bach works for a third consecutive feast day.[2]
The prescribed readings for the feast day were from theEpistle to the Hebrews (Hebrews 1:1–14) and the prologue of theGospel of John, also calledHymn to the Word (John 1:1–14).[1] Bach chose a text byGeorg Christian Lehms, who was inspired by the epistle.[3] The final movement is a setting of the finalstanza of "Lobt Gott, ihr Christen alle gleich", aChristmas carol with words and melody byNikolaus Herman published in 1560.[4]
Bach first performed the cantata on 27 December 1725. It was performed again between 1728 and 1731.[1] The autograph score and parts are now held by theKunstsammlungen der Veste Coburg in Germany.[5]
The work is scored for four vocal soloists (soprano,alto,tenor, andbass), afour-part choir,flute,oboe d'amore, twoviolins,viola, andbasso continuo.[4]
The cantata has fivemovements:
Because of its intimate scoring and lack of large-scale opening chorus, the work is a "treasureable miniature" and "the most personal of Bach'sChristmas cantatas".[6]
The openingaria begins with alullaby-likemoltoadagio in 12/8 time.[7] This movement "dominates and casts a glow over the entire work", with its "mood of iridescent transparency".[2][8] It is inG major and is accompanied byobbligato flute and strings doubled by oboe d'amore.[9] The flute line is highly embellished, almost anarabesque, and expands on the melodic arches of the soprano.[8][10] Theda capo aria includes a sharply contrasting middle section, "an ecstaticalla breve dance of joy, partgavotte, partgigue", built on a motif of "agile chains oftriplets" forming a "mellifluous melody".[8][9][10] The opening section then recurs to conclude the movement.John Eliot Gardiner suggests that this movement includes "music pre-echoes of bothGluck andBrahms" and "something authentically Levantine or even Basque in origin".[9]Craig Smith notes that this is "the closest Bach gets to South Germanrococo architecture. One can almost see theputti and gold sunbursts of the many churches from this era in Bavaria and Austria".[6]
The second movement is asecco bassrecitative. It provides a dual transition, both harmonically – moving from a major key to minor to prepare the third movement – and thematically – "progressing (or retrogressing) from the state of celebration to a recognition of the humility of Christ's state".[8]
The da capo alto aria is accompanied byunison oboe d'amore and strings.[10] It expands on the minor mode and theme of privation established in the second movement. The movement emphasizes the interval of the seventh and the technique of inversion to support the meaning of the text.[8] It begins with achromatic string line led by solo violin, which when the vocal line begins "becomes inextricably, even obsessively, intertwined" with the singer.[6]
The tenor recitative reverses the motion of the bass, modulating from minor to major and changing the emphasis of the text from humility to celebration. It is secco, short, and simple in its melody.[8]
The final movement is a four-part setting of the eighth and final stanza of Herman's chorale.[9]
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