| Sie werden euch in den Bann tun | |
|---|---|
BWV 183 | |
| Church cantata byJ. S. Bach | |
 Christiana Mariana von Ziegler,author of the cantata text | |
| Occasion | Exaudi |
| Cantata text | Christiana Mariana von Ziegler |
| Bible text | John 16:2 |
| Chorale | byPaul Gerhardt |
| Performed | 13 May 1725 (1725-05-13):Leipzig |
| Movements | 5 |
| Vocal | SATB soloists and choir |
| Instrumental |
|
Sie werden euch in den Bann tun (They will put you under banishment),[1]BWV 183,[a] is achurch cantata byJohann Sebastian Bach. He composed it inLeipzig for Exaudi, the Sunday afterAscension, and first performed it on 13 May 1725.
It is the fifth of nine cantatas on texts byChristiana Mariana von Ziegler, with whom Bach collaborated at the end of hissecond cantata cycle. It begins with quote from the Gospel, set for the bass as thevox Christi. For a closing chorale she used astanza ofPaul Gerhardt's "Zeuch ein zu deinen Toren". Thetheme of the cantata is the reaction of the believer to the announcement of hardship and the hope for the assistance of the promisedHoly Spirit. Bach scored the cantata for four vocal soloists (soprano,alto,tenor andbass), afour-part choir and aBaroque instrumental ensemble of twooboes d'amore, twooboes da caccia, avioloncello piccolo, strings andbasso continuo. Unusually, all four oboes play together in two recitatives.
Bach wrote the cantata in his second year in Leipzig for the SundayExaudi, the Sunday afterAscension.[2][3] The prescribed readings for the feast day were from theFirst Epistle of Peter, "serve each other" (1 Peter 4:8–11), and from the secondFarewell Discourse in theGospel of John, the promise of theParaclete, the "Spirit of Truth", and the announcement of prosecution (John 15:26–16:4).[2][4]
Some of thecantatas composed by Bach in his second year werechorale cantatas, a format he chose for services between the first Sunday afterTrinity andPalm Sunday.[3] For Easter he had returned to cantatas on more varied texts. Nine of the cantatas for the period between Easter andPentecost are based on texts ofChristiana Mariana von Ziegler, including this cantata. Bach later assigned it to his third annual cycle.
Ziegler begins the cantata with the same quotation from the Gospel as an unknown poet one year earlier inSie werden euch in den Bann tun, BWV 44, the prediction of persecution of Christians. "They will put you under banishment, but the time will come, when, whoever kills you will think that he does God a service by it" (John 16:2). She continues stressing the lack of fear possible for a follower who relies on "Jesu Schutzarm" (the protective arm of Jesus).[1] Inmovements 3 and 4 she refers to the beginning of the Gospel, the spirit who will assist. The closingchorale is the fifthstanza ofPaul Gerhardt's "Zeuch ein zu deinen Toren".
Bach first performed the cantata on 13 May 1725.[2][4]
Bach structured the cantata in five movements, beginning with what Gardiner describes as a "curtain raiser",[5] a line from the gospel set as arecitative. This is followed by a sequencearia–recitative–aria, and the cantata is concluded by a four-part chorale. Bach scored the work for four vocal soloists (soprano,alto,tenor and bass), afour-part choir only in the closing chorale, and aBaroque instrumental ensemble in an unusual combination of instruments, twooboes d'amore (Oa), twooboes da caccia (Oc), twoviolins (Vl),viola (Va), avioloncello piccolo (Vp) andbasso continuo.[2][4]
In the following table of the movements, the scoring follows theNeue Bach-Ausgabe.[4] The continuo, playing throughout, is not shown.
| No. | Title | Text | Type | Vocal | Winds | Strings | Key | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sie werden euch in den Bann tun | Ziegler | Recitative | B | 2Oa 2Oc | 3/4 | ||
| 2 | Ich fürchte nicht des Todes Schrecken | Ziegler | Aria | T | E minor | |||
| 3 | Ich bin bereit, mein Blut und armes Leben | Ziegler | Recitative | A | 2Oa 2Oc | 2Vl Va |  | |
| 4 | Höchster Tröster, heilger Geist | Ziegler | Aria | S | 2Oc | 2Vl Va | C major | 3/8 |
| 5 | Du bist ein Geist, der lehret | Gerhardt | Chorale | SATB | 2Oa 2Oc | 2Vl Va | |
In the first movement the words of Jesus are given to thebass, the voice type which by convention was thevox Christi (voice of Christ). A year earlier (inSie werden euch in den Bann tun, BWV 44), Bach rendered the announcement of Jesus in a two-part movement, a duet for bass and tenor followed by an agitated chorus.[3] In this cantata, he set it as a recitative of only five measures.[4][3] The instrumentation is novel, having long chords of the four oboes, two oboes da caccia and two oboes d'amore, accompany the voice above apedal point held by the continuo which creates a "sepulchral" sound, according to Julian Mincham.[6] The Bach scholarChristoph Wolff notes that this "opulent oboe scoring" with all four oboes playing together is used only in the two recitatives (1 and 3).[7]
The second movement, the first aria, is the longest of the work. It is sung by the tenor with anobbligato part for violoncello piccolo, an instrument with a tenor-bass range.[3] The "dark and shaded" timbre of the movement has been seen as representing the protection provided by Christ.[6] Denying the fear of the threatening death, the violoncello piccolo plays continuous runs.[3][1]
Movement 3 is again arecitativo accompagnato, even more complex than the first one; the strings play long chords, whereas all the oboes repeat the same four-notemotif throughout the movement, sung by the alto on the words "Ich bin bereit" (I am ready).[1][3]
The second aria is accompanied by the strings and the two oboes da caccia inunison as obbligato instruments, thus both arias are dominated by instruments with a relatively low range (oboes de caccia having a pitch below that of a normal oboe).[4] The opening line is appears three times, set similarly but not identically, which can be interpreted as a symbol of theTrinity.[3]
The cantata is closed by a four-part chorale on the tune of "Helft mir Gotts Güte preisen"[8][9] byJohann Crüger.[3]
Ziegler published the text in a collection of her work, along with the other ones set by Bach.[10] These printed versions are slightly different from the texts used in the cantatas, and this is believed to be the result of the composer modifying the libretti with which he was presented.[b] In the case ofSie werden euch in den Bann tun the differences between the printed version and that set by Bach are less than in the preceding cantatas such asAuf Christi Himmelfahrt allein, BWV 128.[4]
The autograph score was inherited byC.P.E. Bach. It is extant as well as a set of parts.[3] The music was not published until 1860 when it appeared as part of the first complete edition of the composer´s work, theBach-Gesellschaft-Ausgabe. The editor of the volume in question wasWilhelm Rust.[2][3] In theNeue Bach-Ausgabe, it appeared in 1960, edited by Dürr.[3]
The selection is taken from the listing on the Bach Cantatas Website.[11] Choirs with one voice per part (OVPP) and orchestras playing period instruments inhistorically informed performances are marked green.
| Title | Conductor / Choir / Orchestra | Soloists | Label | Year | Orch. type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Die Bach Kantate Vol. 36 | Helmuth RillingGächinger KantoreiBach-Collegium Stuttgart | Hänssler | 1981 (1981) | ||
| J. S. Bach: Das Kantatenwerk – Sacred Cantatas Vol. 10 | Nikolaus HarnoncourtTölzer KnabenchorConcentus Musicus Wien |
| Teldec | 1988 (1988) | Period |
| J. S. Bach: Cantatas with Violoncelle Piccolo (Vol. 2) | Christophe CoinDas Leipziger Concerto VocaleEnsemble Baroque de Limoges | Auvidis Astrée | 1994 (1994) | Period | |
| Bach J. S: Cantatas Vol 25: Dresden/Sherborne | John Eliot GardinerMonteverdi ChoirEnglish Baroque Soloists | Soli Deo Gloria | 2000 (2000) | Period | |
| J. S. Bach: Complete Cantatas Vol. 15 | Ton KoopmanAmsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir | Antoine Marchand | 2001 (2001) | Period | |
| J. S. Bach: Cantatas Vol. 391 | Masaaki SuzukiBach Collegium Japan | BIS | 2007 (2007) | Period |
| International | |
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| National | |
| Other | |
