| Die Elenden sollen essen | |
|---|---|
BWV 75 | |
| Church cantata byJ. S. Bach | |
 | |
| Occasion | First Sunday afterTrinity |
| Bible text | Psalms 22:26 |
| Chorale | "Was Gott tut, das ist wohlgetan" |
| Composed | 1723 (1723):Köthen |
| Performed | 30 May 1723 (1723-05-30):Leipzig |
| Movements | 14 in two parts (7, 7) |
| Vocal | SATB choir and solo |
| Instrumental |
|
Johann Sebastian Bach composed thechurch cantataDie Elenden sollen essen (The miserable shall eat),[1]BWV 75, for the first Sunday afterTrinity. He led its first performance inLeipzig on 30 May 1723, his first Sunday in the position ofThomaskantor. The complex work is in two parts, each consisting of sevenmovements, and marks the beginning of hisfirst annual cycle of cantatas.
Bachcomposed the cantata at a decisive turning point in his career. After various positions in churches and courts, he assumed the post of Thomaskantor in Leipzig on the first Sunday after Trinity, performing this cantata. In taking this job he in fact became responsible for the church music in four churches of Leipzig, and he began the ambitious project of composing a new cantata forevery occasion of the liturgical year.
The work's structure is unusual in that it is in two symmetrical parts; seven of the fourteen movements are intended to be performed before the sermon, the other seven after it. The first part's text begins with a quotation fromPsalm 22 and contrasts wealth and poverty. The text in the second part is focused on being poor or rich in spirit. Each part is concluded by astanza ofSamuel Rodigast's hymn "Was Gott tut, das ist wohlgetan". Bach scored the cantata for four vocal soloists and afour-part choir (SATB), and aBaroque instrumental ensemble oftrumpet, twooboes,oboe d'amore, twoviolins,viola, andbasso continuo includingbassoon. Parts I and II are each arranged in the same sequence: an opening movement (which is a chorus in Part I, asinfonia in Part II), followed by alternatingrecitatives andarias, and a concluding chorale. The performance was acknowledged in the press, noting that Bach "produced his first music here with great success."[2]
Johann Sebastian Bach had served in several churches asKantor andorganist, and at the courts ofWeimar andKöthen, when he applied for the post ofThomaskantor inLeipzig. He was 38 years old and had a reputation as an organist and organ expert.[3] He had composed church cantatas, notably the funeral cantataActus tragicus inMühlhausen around 1708.[4] In Weimar, he had begun a project to cover all occasions of the liturgical year by providing one cantata a month for four years, including works such asWeinen, Klagen, Sorgen, Zagen, BWV 12, andErschallet, ihr Lieder, BWV 172.[5]
Bach composed the cantata for theFirst Sunday after Trinity and first performed it in the service in theNikolaikirche on 30 May 1723,[6] to take up his position asThomaskantor.[7] From then on, he was responsible for the education of theThomanerchor, performances in the regular services in theThomaskirche, theNikolaikirche,Neue Kirche andPetrikirche.[8] He started a project of composing one cantata for each Sunday and holiday of theliturgical year,[9] termed byChristoph Wolff "an artistic undertaking on the largest scale".[7]
The prescribed readings for the Sunday were from theFirst Epistle of John, "God is Love"(1 John 4:16–21), and from theGospel of Luke, the parable of theRich man and Lazarus (Luke 16:19–31).[6] An unknown poet begins the cantata with a verse from apsalm,Psalms 22:26 (verse 27 in the Luther Bible),[6] "The meek shall eat and be satisfied: they shall praise the Lord that seek him: your heart shall live for ever", connecting the gospel to theOld Testament as a starting point.[10] The later cantata for the same occasion,Brich dem Hungrigen dein Brot, BWV 39 (Break your bread for the hungry), begins similarly with a quotation from the Old Testament. The poet expanded on the contrast of "Reichtum und Armut" (wealth and poverty, rich and poor) in fourteen elaboratemovements, arranged in two parts to be performed before and after the sermon. The poet focused on the contrast of "Reichtum und Armut" (wealth and poverty, rich and poor) Both parts are concluded by astanza ofSamuel Rodigast'shymn "Was Gott tut, das ist wohlgetan", stanza 2 in movement 7, and stanza 6 in movement 14.[10]
Theautograph score is written neatly on non-Leipzig paper, probably while Bach still lived inKöthen.[11]
A Leipzig chronicle, "Acta Lipsiensium academica", reported the social event: "... führte ... Hr. Joh. Sebastian Bach ... mit gutem applauso seine erste Music auf" (... performed ... with good applause his first music).[10] "Good applause" means "great approval"[7] rather than clapping of hands.[12] A different translation renders the note as "... the new Cantor and Director of the Collegium Musicum, Herr Johann Sebastian Bach, who has come hither from the Prince's court of Cöthen, produced his first music here with great success."[2]
The cantata is structured in two parts of seven movements each, to be performed before and after the sermon. It is scored for four vocal soloists (soprano (S),alto (A),tenor (T) andbass (B)), afour-part choir SATB,trumpet (Tr), twooboes (Ob),oboe d'amore (Oa), twoviolins (Vl),viola (Va), andbasso continuo (Bc) includingbassoon.[6][9] The two parts of seven movements each are composed as the same arrangement of alternatingrecitatives andarias with a concluding chorale, only Part II is opened by asinfonia instead of a chorus.[10] The duration is given as 40 minutes.[13]
In the following table of the movements, the scoring follows theNeue Bach-Ausgabe. Thekeys andtime signatures are taken fromAlfred Dürr, using
for common time rather than the numeric4
4.[14] The instruments are shown separately for winds and strings, while the continuo, playing throughout, is not shown.
| No. | Title | Text | Type | Vocal | Winds | Strings | Key | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Die Elenden sollen essen | Psalms 22:26 | Chorus | SATB | 2Ob Fg | 2Vl Va | E minor |
|
| 2 | Was hilft des Purpurs Majestät | anon. | Recitative | B | 2Vl Va | | ||
| 3 | Mein Jesus soll mein alles sein | anon. | Aria | T | Ob | 2Vl Va | G major | |
| 4 | Gott stürzet und erhöhet | anon. | Recitative | T | | |||
| 5 | Ich nehme mein Leiden mit Freuden auf mich | anon. | Aria | S | Oa | A minor | 3 8 | |
| 6 | Indes schenkt Gott ein gut Gewissen | anon. | Recitative | S | | |||
| 7 | Was Gott tut, das ist wohlgetan | Rodigast | Chorale | SATB | 2Ob | 2Vl Va | G major | |
| No. | Title | Text | Type | Vocal | Winds | Strings | Key | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 | Sinfonia | Tr | 2Vl Va | G major |  | |||
| 9 | Nur eines kränkt | anon. | Recitative | A | 2Vl Va | | ||
| 10 | Jesus macht mich geistlich reich | anon. | Aria | A | 2Vlunis. | E minor | 3 8 | |
| 11 | Wer nur in Jesu bleibt | anon. | Recitative | B | | |||
| 12 | Mein Herze glaubt und liebt | anon. | Aria | B | Tr | Vl Va | C major | |
| 13 | O Armut, der kein Reichtum gleicht | anon. | Recitative | T | | |||
| 14 | Was Gott tut, das ist wohlgetan | Rodigast | Chorale | SATB | 2Ob | 2Vl Va | G major | |
Bach marked the occasion, creating the opening chorus reminiscent of aFrench overture, with a slow first section in dotted rhythm and a fastfugue. He chose the same form one year later to begin his second annual cycle ofchorale cantatas withO Ewigkeit, du Donnerwort, BWV 20. The composition can also be seen as aprelude and fugue on a large scale. Theprelude is again in two sections separated by a short interlude, in the way of amotet according to the different ideas of the text. In the fugue on the words "Euer Herz soll ewiglich leben" (your heart shall live for ever),[15] thesubject is developed three times, again separated by interludes.[16]
Four of the recitatives are "secco", accompanied only by the continuo, but the first one of each part is "accompagnato", brightened by the strings.[9] In the arias, the voice and the instruments mostly share the themes. The arias can be considered as asuite of French dance movements, the tenor aPolonaise, the soprano aria aMinuet, the alto aria aPassepied and the bass aria aGigue.[11] In the last aria, the trumpet opens the setting and then accompanies the bass in virtuoso figuration, adding splendour to the words "Mein Herze glaubt und liebt" (My heart believes and loves).[17][9][15]
The music of the two stanzas of the chorale[18] is identical. The tune is not a simple four-part setting as in most of Bach's later cantatas, but the voices are embedded in a concerto of the orchestra, led by violin I and oboe I. The instrumental theme is derived from the first line of the chorale tune.[17]
The sinfonia beginning Part II, rare in Bach's cantatas, is especially remarkable because it is achorale fantasia on the same chorale melody.[9] The trumpet (which was silent throughout Part I) plays the tune ascantus firmus against apolyphonic string setting, emphasizing once more "Was Gott tut, das ist wohlgetan" (What God does is well done).[17][15]
The entries of the following table are taken from the list of recordings as provided by Bach Cantatas Website.[19] Ensembles playing on period instruments inhistorically informed performances are marked by green background.
| Title | Conductor / Choir / Orchestra | Soloists | Label | Year | Orch. type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Die Bach Kantate Vol. 38 | Helmuth RillingFrankfurter KantoreiBach-Collegium Stuttgart |
| Hänssler | 1970 (1970) | Chamber |
| J. S. Bach: Das Kantatenwerk • Complete Cantatas • Les Cantates, Folge / Vol. 19 | Gustav LeonhardtLeonhardt-Consort |
| Teldec | 1977 (1977) | Period |
| J. S. Bach: Complete Cantatas Vol. 6 | Ton KoopmanAmsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir | Antoine Marchand | 1998 (1998) | Period | |
| J. S. Bach: Cantatas Vol. 8 – Leipzig Cantatas | Masaaki SuzukiBach Collegium Japan | BIS | 1998 (1998) | Period | |
| Bach Edition Vol. 19 – Cantatas Vol. 10 | Pieter Jan LeusinkHolland Boys ChoirNetherlands Bach Collegium | Brilliant Classics | 2000 (2000) | Period | |
| Bach Cantatas Vol. 1: City of London / For the 1st Sunday after Trinity | John Eliot GardinerMonteverdi ChoirEnglish Baroque Soloists | Soli Deo Gloria | 2000 (2000) | Period | |
| J. S. Bach: Weinen, Klagen | Philippe HerrewegheCollegium Vocale Gent | Harmonia Mundi France | 2003 (2003) | Period |
| International | |
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| National | |
| Other | |
