| Ich will den Kreuzstab gerne tragen | |
|---|---|
BWV 56 | |
| Church cantata byJ. S. Bach | |
 Autograph manuscript of opening bass aria from BWV 56[a] | |
| Occasion | 19th Sunday afterTrinity |
| Cantata text | byChristoph Birkmann |
| Chorale | "Du, o schönes Weltgebäude" byJohann Franck |
| Performed | 27 October 1726 (1726-10-27):Leipzig |
| Duration | 21 minutes |
| Movements | five |
| Vocal | |
| Instrumental | |
Ich will den Kreuzstab gerne tragen (lit. 'I will gladly carry the cross-staff'),BWV 56, is achurch cantata composed byJohann Sebastian Bach for the 19th Sunday afterTrinity. It was first performed inLeipzig on 27 October 1726. The composition is a solo cantata (German:Solokantate) because, apart from the closingchorale, it requires only a single vocal soloist (in this case abass). Theautograph score is one of a few cases where Bach referred to one of his compositions as acantata. In English, the work is commonly referred to as theKreuzstab cantata. Bach composed the cantata in his fourth year asThomaskantor; it is regarded as part ofhis third cantata cycle.
The text was written byChristoph Birkmann, a student of mathematics and theology in Leipzig who collaborated with Bach. He describes in the first person a Christian willing to "carry the cross" as a follower ofJesus. The poet compares life to a voyage towards a harbour, referring indirectly to the prescribedGospel reading which says that Jesus travelled by boat. The person, at the end, yearns for death as the ultimate destination, to be united with Jesus. This yearning is reinforced by the closing chorale: thestanza "Komm, o Tod, du Schlafes Bruder" ('Come, o death, you brother of sleep') fromJohann Franck's 1653hymn "Du, o schönes Weltgebäude", which uses the imagery of a sea voyage.
Bach structured it in fivemovements, alternatingarias andrecitatives for a bass soloist, and closing with afour-part chorale. He scored the work for aBaroque instrumental ensemble of three woodwind instruments, three string instrument parts andcontinuo. Anobbligato cello features in the first recitative and an obbligato oboe in the second aria, resulting in differenttimbres in the four movements for the same voice part. The autograph score and the performance parts are held by theBerlin State Library. The cantata was published in 1863 in volume 12 of theBach-Gesellschaft Ausgabe (BGA). TheNeue Bach-Ausgabe (NBA) published the score in 1990. Acritical edition was published byCarus-Verlag in 1999.
In his biography of Bach,Albert Schweitzer said the cantata placed "unparalleled demands on the dramatic imagination of the singer," who must "depict convincingly this transition from the resigned expectation of death to the jubilant longing for death."[1] Beginning with a live broadcast in 1939, the cantata has been frequently recorded, with some soloists recording it several times. The closing chorale features in Robert Schneider's 1992 novel,Schlafes Bruder, and its film adaptation,Brother of Sleep.
In 1723,Bach was appointedThomaskantor (director of church music) ofLeipzig. The position gave him responsibility for the music at four churches, and the training and education of boys singing in theThomanerchor.[2]Cantata music was required for two major churches,Thomaskirche andNikolaikirche, and simpler church music for two smaller churches,Neue Kirche andPeterskirche.[3][4]
Bach took office on the first Sunday afterTrinity, in the middle of theliturgical year. In Leipzig, cantata music was expected on Sundays and feast days except for the "silent periods" (tempus clausum) ofAdvent andLent. In his first year, Bach decided to compose new works for almost all liturgical events; these works became known as hisfirst cantata cycle.[5] He continued the following year, composing acycle of chorale cantatas with each cantata based on aLutheranhymn.[6]
Thethird cantata cycle encompasses works composed during Bach's third and fourth years in Leipzig, and includesIch will den Kreuzstab gerne tragen.[7][8] One characteristic of the third cycle is that Bach performed more works by other composers, and repeated his own, earlier works.[8] His new works have no common theme, as thechorale cantatas did.[9] Bach demonstrated a new preference for solo cantatas, dialogue cantatas and cantatas dominated by one instrument (known as concertante cantatas).[9] During the third cycle, he repeated performances of solo cantatas fromhis Weimar period based on texts byGeorg Christian Lehms:Mein Herze schwimmt im Blut, BWV 199, andWiderstehe doch der Sünde, BWV 54. He used more texts by Lehms in the third cycle before turning to otherlibrettists.[9]
Bach's solo cantatas are modelled after secular Italian works by composers such asAlessandro Scarlatti. Like the models, even church cantatas do not contain biblical text and very few close with a chorale.[9] His writing for solo voice is demanding and requires trained singers.Richard D. P. Jones, amusicologist and Bach scholar, assumes that Bach "exploited the vocal technique and the interpretative skills of particular singers".[9] Jones describes some of these solo cantatas, especiallyVergnügte Ruh, beliebte Seelenlust, BWV 170;Ich will den Kreuzstab gerne tragen; andIch habe genug, BWV 82; as among Bach's "best loved" cantatas.[9]
Although dialogue cantatas also appear earlier in Bach's works, all four dialogues between Jesus and the Soul (Anima)—based on elements of theSong of Songs—are part of the third cycle.[10] The only chorale cantata of the third cycle,Lobe den Herren, den mächtigen König der Ehren, BWV 137, follows theomnes versus style and sets allstanzas of a hymn unchanged; Bach rarely used this style in his chorale cantatas, except in the earlyChrist lag in Todes Banden, BWV 4, and later chorale cantatas.[11]
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Bach wrote the cantata for the19th Sunday after Trinity, during his fourth year in Leipzig.[12] Theprescribed readings for that Sunday were fromPaul'sepistle to the Ephesians—"Put on the new man, which after God is created" (Ephesians 4:22–28)—and theGospel of Matthew:healing the paralytic at Capernaum (Matthew 9:1–8).[12] For the occasion, Bach had composed in 1723Ich elender Mensch, wer wird mich erlösen, BWV 48 (Wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me?),[13] and in 1724 the chorale cantataWo soll ich fliehen hin, BWV 5 (Where shall I flee), based on Johann Heermann'spenitential hymnof the same name.[14]
Until 2015 the librettist was unknown (as for most of Bach's Leipzig cantatas), but in that year researcher Christine Blanken from theBach Archive[15] published findings suggesting thatChristoph Birkmann wrote the text ofIch will den Kreuzstab gerne tragen.[16] Birkmann was a student of mathematics and theology at theUniversity of Leipzig from 1724 to 1727. During that time, he also studied with Bach and appeared in cantata performances.[17] He published a yearbook of cantata texts in 1728,Gott-geheiligte Sabbaths-Zehnden (SabbathTithes Devoted to God), which contains severalBach cantatas—includingIch will den Kreuzstab gerne tragen.[18][19] Birkmann has been generally accepted as the author of this cantata.[20]
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The librettist built onErdmann Neumeister's text from "Ich will den Kreuzweg gerne gehen", which was published in 1711.[12]Kreuzweg, the Way of the Cross, refers to theStations of the Cross and more generally to the "cross as the burden of any Christian".[21] HereKreuzweg is replaced withKreuzstab, which can refer to both apilgrim's staff (or bishop'scrosier) and anavigational instrument known as a cross staff orJacob's staff.[22] Birkmann had an interest in astronomy and knew the second meaning from his studies.[23] In the cantata's text, life is compared to a pilgrimage and a sea voyage.[24]
Birkmann's text alludes to Matthew's gospel; although there is no explicit reference to the sick man, he speaks in the first person as a follower of Christ who bears his cross and suffers until the end, when (in the words ofRevelation 7:17) "God shall wipe away the tears from their eyes". The cantata takes as its starting point the torments that the faithful must endure.[12]
The text is also rich in other biblical references. The metaphor of life as a sea voyage in the firstrecitative comes from the beginning of that Sunday's Gospel reading: "There He went on board a ship and passed over and came into His own city" (Matthew 9:1).[24] Affirmations that God will not forsake the faithful on this journey and will lead them out of tribulation were taken fromHebrews 13:5 andRevelation 7:14.[12]
The thirdmovement expresses joy at being united with the saviour, and its text refers toIsaiah 40:31: "Those that wait upon the Lord shall gain new strength so that they mount up with wings like an eagle, so that they run and do not grow weary".[12] The theme of joy, coupled with a yearning for death, runs through the cantata.[12]
The final lines of the openingaria ("There my Saviour himself will wipe away my tears") are repeated just before the closing chorale. This uncommon stylistic device appears several times in Bach's third cantata cycle.[12]
On the title page, Bach replaced the word "Kreuz" with the Greek letter χ, arebus he used to symbolize the paradox of thecross.[25]
The final chorale is a setting of the sixth stanza of Johann Franck's "Du, o schönes Weltgebäude",[20] which contains ship imagery: "Löse meines Schiffleins Ruder, bringe mich an sichern Port" ("Release the rudder of my little ship, bring me to the secure harbour").[26] The hymn was published in 1653 with a 1649 melody byJohann Crüger. Its text describes (in the first person) renouncing the beautiful dwelling place of the world ("schönes Weltgebäude"), only longing so dearly for the most cherished Jesus ("allerschönstes Jesulein").[27] This phrase recurs, with slight variations, at the end of each stanza.[27]
Bach conducted the cantata's first performance on 27 October 1726.[20] The soloist may have been Johann Christoph Samuel Lipsius.[28] The performance followed another of his solo cantatas the previous Sunday,Gott soll allein mein Herze haben, BWV 169, which also, unusually for a solo cantata, ends with a chorale.[29]
The cantata is structured in five movements, with alternating arias, recitatives and a four-part chorale. Bach scored for abass soloist, a four-part choir (SATB) in the closing chorale, and aBaroque instrumental ensemble of twooboes (Ob),taille (Ot), twoviolins (Vl),viola (Va),cello (Vc), andbasso continuo.[20] Except for theobbligato oboe in the third movement, the three oboes double the violins and violacolla parte. The title page of the autograph score reads:"Domin. 19 post Trinit. / Ich will den Xstab gerne tragen / a / 2 / Hautb. o Viol. / Viola o / Taille / 4 Voci / Basso solo / e / Cont. / di / J.S.Bach". The score begins with the line "J.J.Dominica 19 post trinitatis. Cantata à Voce sola. è stromenti"[30] ("J.J. Sunday 19 after Trinity, Cantata for solo voice, and instruments"), making it one of the few works Bach termed acantata.[12] It is 21 minutes long.[31]
In the following table, the scoring follows theNeue Bach-Ausgabe (New Bach Edition). Thekeys andtime signatures are fromAlfred Dürr, and use the symbol for common time.[32] The continuo, played throughout, is not shown.
| No. | Title | Text | Type | Vocal | Winds | Strings | Key | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ich will den Kreuzstab gerne tragen | Birkmann | Aria | Bass | 2Ob Ot | 2Vl Va | G minor | 3 4 |
| 2 | Mein Wandel auf der Welt / ist einer Schiffahrt gleich | Birkmann | Recitative | Bass | Vc | B-flat major |  | |
| 3 | Endlich, endlich wird mein Joch / wieder von mir weichen müssen | Birkmann | Aria | Bass | Ob | B-flat major | | |
| 4 | Ich stehe fertig und bereit | Birkmann | Recitative | Bass | 2Vl Va | G minor | | |
| 5 | Komm, o Tod, du Schlafes Bruder | Franck | Chorale | SATB | 2Ob Ot | 2Vl Va | C minor | |
Musicologist and Bach scholarChristoph Wolff wrote that Bach achieves "a finely shaded series of timbres" inIch will den Kreuzstab gerne tragen.[33] The four solo movements are scored differently: all instruments accompany the opening aria; only the continuo is scored for thesecco recitative, an obbligato oboe adds colour to the central aria, and strings intensify for theaccompagnato recitative. All instruments return for the closing chorale.[34]
In his biography of Bach,Albert Schweitzer points out thatIch will den Kreuzstab gerne tragen is among the few works in which Bach carefully marked thephrasing of the parts; others are theBrandenburg Concertos, theSt Matthew Passion, theChristmas Oratorio and a few other cantatas, includingIch habe genug andO Ewigkeit, du Donnerwort, BWV 60.[35]
| External audio | |
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 Aria BWV 56/1, with Barry McDaniel, Pierre Pierlot (ob), Fritz Werner, Heinrich-Schütz-Chor Heilbronn and Pforzheim Chamber Orchestra (and below) |
The opening aria begins with "Ich will den Kreuzstab gerne tragen, er kömmt von Gottes lieber Hand" ("I will my cross-staff gladly carry, it comes from God's beloved hand."[36]).[21]
The German text withHenry Drinker's English translation reads:
Ich will den Kreuzstab gerne tragen, | I will my cross-staff gladly carry; |
It is inbar form (AAB pattern), with twostollen (A) followed by anabgesang (B). The firststollen begins with aritornello for fullorchestra—with the theme initially heard in the second oboe and violin parts—anticipating incounterpoint the rising and falling motif of the bass soloist. Anaugmented secondC♯ emphasises the wordKreuzstab, followed by descending sighing figures symbolizing the bearing of the cross.[37]
John Eliot Gardiner, who conducted theBach Cantata Pilgrimage in 2000, described the beginning of the bass melody as a musical rebus, or conjunction of two words,Kreuz-stab, with the upward part "a harrowingarpeggio to asharpened seventh (of the sortHugo Wolf might later use)",[38] and the downward part as "six and a half bars of pained descent to signify the ongoing burden of the Cross".[39]After the soloist sings a series ofmelismatic lines, groups of strings and oboes are introduced as counterpoint, echoing motifs from the openingritornello. The refrain is again taken up in the secondstollen, but with significant variations due to the differing text: "It leads me after my torments to God in the Promised Land". After a repeat of the openingritornello, the finalabgesang contains the words, "There at last I will lay my sorrow in the grave, there my Saviour himself will wipe away my tears" ("Da leg ich den Kummer auf einmal ins Grab, da wischt mir die Tränen mein Heiland selbst ab").[26]
Declamatorytriplets, spanning the bass register, are responded to in the accompaniment by sighing motifs. A reprise of the orchestralritornello ends the aria.[37]
In his bookL'esthétique de J.-S. Bach,André Pirro describes Bach's use of prolonged notes and sighing motifs, reflecting the suffering on the cross (Kreuz). They give an impression of resistance, of hesitation and hindrance, as the rhythm is arduously dragged along, breaking the momentum of the melody: "They take on a faltering demeanour, both uncertain and overwhelmed, like the stride of a man enchained in shackles."[40] Pirro continues that in the soloist's opening phrases of the aria, the repeated notes have particular importance; the motif not only conveys an impression of encumbrance but also of unrelieved distress; the melismaticvocalise displays an unsure hesitant feeling, like that of a sick pilgrim struggling to make his way along the dark recesses of an unfamiliar flight of steps; it conveys weakness and anxiety; the aria, constantly drawn out, seems imbued with an infinite weariness.[40]
| External audio | |
|---|---|
| Recitative BWV 56/2 |
In the second movement, the recitative "Mein Wandel auf der Welt ist einer Schiffahrt gleich" ("My pilgrimage in the world is like a sea voyage"),[26] the sea is evoked by the undulating cello accompaniment of the semiquaverarpeggiation.[41][42] The German text and Drinker's English translation read:
Mein Wandel auf der Welt | My journey through the world |
In his 1911 biography of Bach, Schweitzer wrote that the composer was often inspired by a single word to create an image of waves,[43] and recommended augmenting the cello with a viola and bassoon to give more weight to the image.[1] According to Gardiner, the style harks back to the 17th-century music of Bach's forebears—the assuring words from theBook of Hebrews,"Ich bin bei dir, Ich will dich nicht verlassen noch versäumen" ("I am with you, I will not leave nor forsake you"), are a "whispered comfort".[39]
| External audio | |
|---|---|
| Aria BWV 56/3 |
The third movement, theda capo aria "Endlich, endlich wird mein Joch wieder von mir weichen müssen" ("Finally, finally my yoke must fall away from me"),[26] illustrates a passage fromIsaiah. The full German text with Drinker's English translation reads:
Endlich, endlich wird mein Joch | Joyful, joyful now am I, |
The lively and joyousconcertante is written as a duet for obbligato oboe, bass soloist and continuo, and is full of elaboratecoloraturas in the solo parts.[12] According to Gardiner, in the aria "one senses Bach bridging the gap between living and dying with total clarity and utter fearlessness".[39]
| External audio | |
|---|---|
| Recitative BWV 56/4 |
The fourth movement, "Ich stehe fertig und bereit, das Erbe meiner Seligkeit mit Sehnen und Verlangen von Jesus Händen zu empfangen" ("I stand ready to receive the inheritance of my divinity with desire and longing from Jesus' hands"),[26] is arecitativo accompagnato with strings.[41] The German text and Drinker's translation read:
Ich stehe fertig und bereit, | Here ready and prepared I stand |
It begins as an impassioned recitative, with sustainedarioso string accompaniment. After seven bars the time signature changes from 4/4 to 3/4, resuming a simple, calm version of the second half of theabgesang from the first movement[44] and repeating words related to theBook of Revelation in a triplet rhythm: "Da wischt mir die Tränen mein Heiland selbst ab" ("There my Saviour Himself wipes away my tears").
According toWilliam G. Whittaker, in an unusual departure from music of that period, Bach displayed "a remarkable stroke of genius" in the reprise of theabgesang for the recitative, markedadagio. It is heard like a distant memory of the cantata's beginning, when the anguished Pilgrim yearned for the Promised Land. Now, however, the mood is of joyful ecstasy; it reaches a climax when the word "Heiland" is heard on a high note in a moment of sustained exaltation; finally, "above a pulsating bassi C, the tear-motive in the upper strings sinks slowly in the depths".[46] Gardiner describes this change similarly: " ... now slowed to adagio and transposed toF minor, and from there by means of melisma floating effortlessly upwards, for the first time, toC major".[39]
| External audio | |
|---|---|
| Chorale BWV 56/5 |
The final four-part chorale,[c] "Komm, o Tod, du Schlafes Bruder" ("Come, o death, brother of sleep"),[26] with the orchestra doubling the vocal parts, is regarded as an inspired masterpiece.[12] The imagery of the sea from the first recitative is revisited in what Whittaker calls an "exquisite hymn-stanza".[47] Death is addressed as a brother of sleep and asked to end the voyage of life by loosening the rudder of the pilgrim's boat or 'little ship' (Schifflein) and bringing it safely to harbour; it marks the end of the cantata's metaphorical journey.[41]
A metrical translation into English was provided by Drinker:[36][48]
Komm, o Tod, du Schlafes Bruder, | Come, O death, to sleep a brother, |
The melody was written by Johann Crüger and published in 1649.[49]
Bach set the tune in a four-part setting, BWV 301,[50] and introduced dramaticsyncopation for the beginning"Komm" ("come").[41] At the end of the penultimate line, torment and dissonance are transformed into glory and harmony and illuminate the words "Denn durch dich komm ich herein / zu dem schönsten Jesulein" ("For through you I will come to my beloved Jesus").[26] As Whittaker comments: "The voices are low-lying, the harmonies are richly solemn; it makes a hushed and magical close to a wonderful cantata."[47] Gardiner notes that it is Bach's only setting of Crüger's melody, which recalls the style of his father's cousinJohann Christoph Bach whom Bach regarded as a "profound composer".[39]
Psychologist andgerontologistAndreas Kruse [de] notes that the chorale conveys the transformation and transition from earthly life to an eternal harbour.[51] He compares the setting to "Ach Herr, laß dein lieb Engelein", the closing chorale of Bach'sSt John Passion, which is focused on sleep and awakening. Both settings end their works with "impressive composure" ("eindrucksvolle Gefasstheit").[52]
Theautograph score and parts are held by theBerlin State Library, which is part of thePrussian Cultural Heritage Foundation. Thefascicle numbers are D-B Mus.ms. Bach P 118 for the score (Partitur)[30] and D-B Mus.ms. Bach ST 58 for the parts (Stimmen).[53] It was published in 1863 in volume 12 of theBach-Gesellschaft Ausgabe (BGA), edited byWilhelm Rust. TheNew Bach Edition (Neue Bach-Ausgabe, NBA) published the score in 1990, edited by Matthias Wendt, and issued critical commentary a year later.[20] It was later published byCarus-Verlag in 1999 as part ofStuttgarter Bach-Ausgaben, a complete edition of Bach's vocal works.[48][54]
According to musicologist Martin Elste, the most frequently recorded Bach cantatas are three virtuoso solo cantatas: theKreuzstab cantata,Jauchzet Gott in allen Landen, BWV 51, for soprano and obbligato trumpet, andIch habe genug, BWV 82, for bass or soprano.[55] As a vocally demanding and expressive Bach cantata, it has attracted soloists beyond Bach specialists to record it.[55] As of 2022, the Bach Cantatas website lists more than 100 recordings.[56]
An early extant recording of theKreuzstab cantata was a live concert performance, broadcast in 1939, sung byMack Harrell withEduard van Beinum conducting theConcertgebouw Orchestra.[57][58] In 1950,Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau was the soloist in the cantata as part ofKarl Ristenpart's project to record all Bach church cantatas with theRIAS Kammerchor and its orchestra, broadcast live in church services.[59] A reviewer described the singer at age 26 as "in wonderful voice, even throughout its compass and with a lovely ease at the top of his register", "natural and spontaneous", compared to a 1969 recording withKarl Richter, when the singer put more emphasis on the enunciation of the text.[59]
In 1964,Barry McDaniel was the soloist for a recording in a series of Bach cantatas ofFritz Werner with oboistPierre Pierlot, theHeinrich-Schütz-Chor Heilbronn and thePforzheim Chamber Orchestra. A reviewer described it as "a dignified and elevated account of this moving cantata",[60] praising the singer's even and full tone, the sensitivity and intelligence of his interpretation, and the oboists sprightly performance, making the cantata "one of the highlights of the collection".[60]
In the first complete recording of Bach's sacred cantatas inhistorically informed performances with all-male singers and period instruments, conducted byNikolaus Harnoncourt andGustav Leonhardt and known as theTeldec series,[61] theKreuzstab cantata was recorded in 1976 by soloistMichael Schopper, theKnabenchor Hannover and theLeonhardt-Consort, conducted by Leonhardt.Helmuth Rilling, who recorded all Bach cantatas from 1969 with theGächinger Kantorei andBach-Collegium Stuttgart, completing in time for Bach's tricentenary in 1985; they recorded the cantata in 1983, also with Fischer-Dieskau.[61][62]Pieter Jan Leusink conducted all Bach church cantatas with theHolland Boys Choir and theNetherlands Bach Collegium in historically informed performance, but with women for the solo parts. He completed the project within a year on the occasion of the Bach Year 2000.[63] A reviewer fromGramophone wrote: "Leusink's success elsewhere comes largely through his admirably well-judged feeling for tempos and a means of accentuation which drives the music forward inexorably".[64] He recorded the cantata in 1999 with his regular bassBas Ramselaar. In the cycle byTon Koopman and theAmsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir,Klaus Mertens was always the soloist, recording theKreuzstab cantata in 2001. ReviewerJonathan Freeman-Attwood fromGramophone noted that he gave a sensitive, cultivated rendition, but lacked the dramatic and emotional impact, which he found in McDaniel's 1964 recording with Werner.[65]
Masaaki Suzuki, who studied historically informed practice in Europe, began recording Bach's church cantatas with theBach Collegium Japan in 1999, at first not aiming at a complete cycle, but completing all of them in 2017. They recorded the cantata in 2008, withPeter Kooy as the singer.[66]
TheKreuzstab cantata has been coupled with other works by Bach for solo bass, especiallyIch habe genug, BWV 82—a paraphrase of theSong of Simeon—and an impassioned cantata taking longing for death as its theme.[67] Sometimes the fragmentary cantataDer Friede sei mit dir, BWV 158, related to peace (Friede) has been added.[28][68][69][70]
In 1977,Max van Egmond was the soloist of BWV 56 and BWV 82, with oboistPaul Dombrecht andFrans Brüggen conducting a Baroque ensemble on period instruments.[67][71] Singer Peter Kooy recorded all three works in 1991, withLa Chapelle Royale, conducted byPhilippe Herreweghe. A reviewer noted his well focused voice in an intimate rendering full of devotion.[69] The baritoneThomas Quasthoff recorded them in 2004, with oboistAlbrecht Mayer, members of theRIAS Kammerchor, the Berliner Barock Solisten withRainer Kussmaul as concertmaster. A reviewer observed his clear diction and phrasing, and his expressiveness.[69] In 2007, a recording of the three works was released sung byGotthold Schwarz with the Thomanerchor and the ensemble La Stagione Frankfurt, conducted byMichael Schneider; Schwarz had been a Thomaner, and would later become the 17th Thomaskantor.[72]
In 2013,Dominik Wörner was the soloist for the three cantatas and also the secular cantataAmore traditore, BWV 203, with the ensembleIl Gardellino and oboistMarcel Ponseele, conducted by concertmasterRyo Terakado. A reviewer characterized Wörner as having a sonorous and free low register and secure high register, with excellent diction and lyrical flow, and able to structure the action well.[68] In 2017,Matthias Goerne recorded BWV 56 and BWV 82 with oboist Katharina Arfken and theFreiburger Barockorchester, conducted by concertmasterGottfried von der Goltz.[28] A reviewer was impressed by Goerne's "dry" powerful voice, but preferred Harrell's and Fischer Dieskau's "lulling resonance".[73]
Albert Schweitzer was an expert on Bach; his organ performances inStrasbourg churches raised funds for his hospital work in West Africa recognized 50 years later by hisNobel Peace Prize. In 1905, Schweitzer wrote a French-language biography of Bach,"J. S. Bach, le musicien poète", published byBreitkopf & Härtel in Leipzig; it was expanded in 1908 to a two-volume German-language version,J. S. Bach; andErnest Newman produced an English translation in 1911. Schweitzer writes of the cantata: "This is one of the most splendid of Bach's works. It makes unparalleled demands, however, on the dramatic imagination of the singer, who would depict convincingly this transition from the resigned expectation of death to the jubilant longing for death."[74][d]
Ich will den Kreuzstab gerne tragen appears inRobert Schneider's 1992 novel,Schlafes Bruder. The protagonist, Elias, improvises on the chorale and decides to end his life.[76] The improvisation is described by the first-person narrator, who refers to the chorale's text. The narrator describes its emotional impact on listeners, hearing a young woman say"Ich sehe den Himmel" ("I see heaven") and saying that his playing could move a listener to the core of their soul (" ... vermochte er den Menschen bis in das Innerste seiner Seele zu erschüttern").[77]
Schlafes Bruder inspired the 1995 filmBrother of Sleep, directed byJoseph Vilsmaier.[76]Enjott Schneider composed atoccata for the pivotal scene when Elias improvises during an organ competition at the Feldberg Cathedral, "hypnotising his listeners with demonic organ sounds" ("mit dämonischen Orgelklängen hypnotisiert").[78] Schneider's toccata quotes the chorale "Komm, o Tod, du Schlafes Bruder". The composition is dedicated toHarald Feller, an organist and professor in Munich who supplied ideas and recorded the film's music.[78] It premiered atFeldafing's Heilig-Kreuz-Kirche in 1994, and became an internationally played concert piece.[78]
The novel inspired aHerbert Willi opera, commissioned by theOpernhaus Zürich, which premiered on 19 May 1996.[79]
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