| Singet dem Herrn ein neues Lied | |
|---|---|
BWV 190 | |
| Church cantata byJ. S. Bach | |
 Thomaskirche, Leipzig | |
| Related | base forBWV 190a |
| Occasion | New Year's Day |
| Bible text | |
| Chorale | |
| Performed | 1 January 1724 (1724-01-01):Leipzig |
| Movements | 7 |
| Vocal |
|
| Instrumental |
|
Singet dem Herrn ein neues Lied (Sing a new song to the Lord),[1]BWV 190,[a] is achurch cantata byJohann Sebastian Bach. He wrote it inLeipzig for theNew Year's Day and first performed it on 1 January 1724 as part of hisfirst cantata cycle. He adapted it in 1730 toSinget dem Herrn ein neues Lied, BWV 190a, for the celebration of the bicentennial of theAugsburg Confession.
Bach wrote the cantata in 1723, his first year asThomaskantor inLeipzig, forNew Year's Day, which is also theFeast of the Circumcision of Christ. The prescribed readings for the feast day were from theEpistle to the Galatians, by faith we inherit (Galatians 3:23–29), and from theGospel of Luke, thecircumcision and naming of Jesus eight days after his birth (Luke 2:21). The unknown poet, possiblyPicander, refers only in a general way to the readings: he mentions the naming at the end of movement 4, "Jesu Namen" (name of Jesus), and he starts every line in the following aria with "Jesus". Otherwise the text stresses praise and thanks for the gifts of the past and prayer for further blessings.[2] The poet compiled for the opening chorus a verse fromPsalm 149 (Psalms 149:1), three verses fromPsalm 150 (Psalms 150:4,6), and in between the first two lines ofMartin Luther's "Deutsches Tedeum" (GermanTe Deum) "Herr Gott, dich loben wir" (Lord God, Thee we praise).[3] The words from the "Te Deum" appear again in the second movement, interspersed byrecitative. The closingchorale is the second stanza ofJohannes Hermann's "Jesu, nun sei gepreiset" (1591).[2]
Bach first performed the cantata on 1 January 1724. He performed it again in the second half of the 1730s. Probably in Bach's revision process, parts of the original music got lost: for the first two movements only the vocal parts and the violin parts survived. Reconstruction of the missing parts was attempted by Bernhard Todt (1904), Walther Reinhart (1948), Olivier Alain (1971),Diethard Hellmann (1995),[4]Ton Koopman andLevente Gyöngyösi,Masaaki Suzuki and Masato Suzuki.
In hisChristmas Oratorio of 1734, Bach dedicated the completePart IV for New Year's Day to the naming of Jesus, told in the one verse from theGospel of Luke, first performed on 1 January 1735.
The cantata in seven movements is festively scored foralto,tenor andbass soloists, afour-part choir, threetrumpets,timpani, threeoboes,oboe d'amore, twoviolins,viola, andbasso continuo includingbassoon.[2] The instrumentation is known from the extant closing chorale, although most parts for the first movements are lost.[5]
The opening chorus on three psalm verses and two lines from Luther's "Tedeum" is a complex architecture in three sections. A concertoSinget dem Herrn is concluded by the liturgical melody of "Herr Gott, dich loben wir" inunison, a choralfugue "Alles was Odem hat" (Everything that has breath) is concluded by a similar "Herr Gott, wir danken dir", the final sectionHalleluja is a shortened reprise of the first.
In the second movement, the liturgical melody is set four-part and interrupted by recitatives. The following alto aria is dance-like and simple, the duet is accompanied by anobbligato instrument which may be oboe d'amore or violin. Gardiner tried both, but then chose aviola d'amore instead. Neither movement has ada capo. The strings intensify the prayer of the last recitative. The choir of trumpets marks the ending of every line in the closing chorale.[2][5]
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
