Gleichwie Der Regen Und Schnee Vom Himmel Fällt, BWV 18
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Gleichwie Der Regen Und Schnee Vom Himmel Fällt, BWV 18
(Just as the rain and snow fall from heaven), 18, is an early church cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach. He composed it in Weimar for the Sunday Sexagesimae, the second Sunday before Lent, likely by 1713. The cantata is based on a text by Erdmann Neumeister published in 1711. While at Weimar Bach set at least one other cantata text by this librettist; he also set others by the court poet Salomon Franck. The text cites Isaiah, related to the gospel, the parable of the Sower. The third movement is in the style of a sermon, combined with a litany by Martin Luther. The closing chorale is the eighth stanza of Lazarus Spengler's hymn "". The cantata falls relatively early in Bach's chronology of cantata compositions. It was possibly composed for performance on 24 February 1715, but more likely for a year or even two earlier. Sexagesima always falls within January or February, so the title's reference to snowfall would have been relevant to the weather at the time. Bach structured the ...
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Church Cantata (Bach)
Throughout his life as a musician, Johann Sebastian Bach composed cantatas for both secular and sacred use. His church cantatas are cantatas which he composed for use in the Lutheran church, mainly intended for the occasions of the liturgical year. Bach's ''Nekrolog'' mentions five cantata cycles: "Fünf Jahrgänge von Kirchenstücken, auf alle Sonn- und Festtage" (Five year-cycles of pieces for the church, for all Sundays and feast days), which would amount to at least 275 cantatas,Alfred Dörffel. Bach-Gesellschaft Ausgabe Volume 27: '' Thematisches Verzeichniss der Kirchencantaten No. 1–120''. Breitkopf & Härtel, 1878. Introduction, p. VI or over 320 if all cycles would have been ideal cycles.Günther Zedler''Die Kantaten von Johann Sebastian Bach: Eine Einführung in die Werkgattung''.Books on Demand, 2011. p. 24–25/ref> The extant cantatas are around two-thirds of that number, with limited additional information on the ones that went missing or survived as fra ...
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Litany
Litany, in Christian worship and some forms of Judaic worship, is a form of prayer used in services and processions, and consisting of a number of petitions. The word comes through Latin ''litania'' from Ancient Greek λιτανεία (''litaneía''), which in turn comes from λιτή (''litḗ''), meaning "supplication". Christianity Western Christianity This form of prayer finds its model in Psalm 136: "Praise the Lord, for he is good: for his mercy endures for ever. Praise ye the God of gods . . . the Lord of lords . . . Who alone doth great wonders . . . Who made the heavens", etc., with the concluding words in each verse, "for his mercy endures for ever." The Litany originated in Antioch in the fourth century and from there was taken to Constantinople and through it to the rest of the East...From Constantinople the Litany was taken to Rome and the West. Josef Andreas Jungmann explains how the ''Kyrie'' in the Roman Mass is best seen as a vestige of a litany at the beginn ...
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List Of Church Cantatas By Liturgical Occasion
The following is a list of church cantatas, sorted by the liturgical occasion for which they were composed and performed. The genre was particularly popular in 18th-century Lutheran Germany, although there are later examples. The Liturgical calendar (Lutheran)#Reformation era, liturgical calendar of the German Reformation era had, without counting Reformation Day and days between Palm Sunday and Easter, 72 occasions for which a cantata could be presented. Composers such as Telemann composed cycles of church cantatas comprising all 72 of these occasions (e.g. ''Harmonischer Gottes-Dienst''). Such a cycle is called an "ideal" cycle, while in any given liturgical year feast days could coincide with Sundays, and the maximum number of Sundays after Epiphany and the maximum number of Sundays after Trinity could not all occur. In some places, of which Leipzig in Johann Sebastian Bach's time is best known, no concerted music was allowed for the three last Sundays of Advent, nor for the Sun ...
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Schloss Weimar
Schloss Weimar is a ''Schloss'' (palace) in Weimar, Thuringia, Germany. It is now called ''Stadtschloss'' to distinguish it from other palaces in and around Weimar. It was the residence of the dukes of Saxe-Weimar and Eisenach, and has also been called ''Residenzschloss''. Names in English include Palace at Weimar, Grand Ducal Palace, City Palace and City Castle. The building is located at the north end of the town's park along the Ilm river, ''Park an der Ilm''. It forms part of the World Heritage Site " Classical Weimar", along with other sites associated with Weimar's importance as a cultural hub during the late 18th and 19th centuries. In history, it was often destroyed by fire. The Baroque palace from the 17th century, with the church ''Schlosskirche'' where a number of works by Johann Sebastian Bach were premiered, was replaced by a Neoclassical structure after a fire in 1774. Four rooms were dedicated to the memory of poets who worked in Weimar, Johann Wolfgang von Goeth ...
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Halle (Saale)
Halle (Saale), or simply Halle (; from the 15th to the 17th century: ''Hall in Sachsen''; until the beginning of the 20th century: ''Halle an der Saale'' ; from 1965 to 1995: ''Halle/Saale'') is the largest city of the Germany, German States of Germany, state of Saxony-Anhalt, the fifth most populous city in the area of former East Germany after (East Berlin, East) Berlin, Leipzig, Dresden and Chemnitz, as well as the List of cities in Germany by population, 31st largest city of Germany, and with around 239,000 inhabitants, it is slightly more populous than the state capital of Magdeburg. Together with Leipzig, the largest city of Saxony, Halle forms the polycentric Leipzig-Halle conurbation. Between the two cities, in Schkeuditz, lies Leipzig/Halle Airport, Leipzig/Halle International Airport. The Leipzig-Halle conurbation is at the heart of the larger Central German Metropolitan Region. Halle lies in the south of Saxony-Anhalt, in the Leipzig Bay, the southernmost part of the N ...
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Marktkirche Unser Lieben Frauen
The Marktkirche Unser Lieben Frauen ("Market Church of Our Dear Lady") is a church in the centre of the city of Halle, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It was built between 1529 and 1554 and is the most recent of the city's medieval churches. In German, its official name is shortened to Liebfrauenkirche but it is also referred to as Marienkirche (St. Mary's Church) and the Marktkirche (Market Church). The church replaced two former churches in the market area, their towers were integrated into the new building. The Market Church is considered one of the most important buildings of the late Gothic period in central Germany. Its four towers, together with the Red Tower, are the landmark of the city, hence its nickname "Stadt der fünf Türme" (City of the Five Towers). Justus Jonas introduced the Reformation into Halle, and his friend Martin Luther preached in the church. George Frideric Handel was baptized here and received his first organ lessons. Johann Sebastian Bach inspected the new ...
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Octave
In music, an octave ( la, octavus: eighth) or perfect octave (sometimes called the diapason) is the interval between one musical pitch and another with double its frequency. The octave relationship is a natural phenomenon that has been referred to as the "basic miracle of music," the use of which is "common in most musical systems." The interval between the first and second harmonics of the harmonic series is an octave. In Western music notation, notes separated by an octave (or multiple octaves) have the same name and are of the same pitch class. To emphasize that it is one of the perfect intervals (including unison, perfect fourth, and perfect fifth), the octave is designated P8. Other interval qualities are also possible, though rare. The octave above or below an indicated note is sometimes abbreviated ''8a'' or ''8va'' ( it, all'ottava), ''8va bassa'' ( it, all'ottava bassa, sometimes also ''8vb''), or simply ''8'' for the octave in the direction indicated by placing ...
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Thomaskantor
(Cantor at St. Thomas) is the common name for the musical director of the , now an internationally known boys' choir founded in Leipzig in 1212. The official historic title of the Thomaskantor in Latin, ', describes the two functions of cantor and director. As the cantor, he prepared the choir for service in four Lutheran churches, Thomaskirche (St. Thomas), Nikolaikirche (St. Nicholas), Neue Kirche (New Church) and Peterskirche (St. Peter). As director, he organized music for city functions such as town council elections and homages. Functions related to the university took place at the Paulinerkirche. Johann Sebastian Bach was the most famous , from 1723 to 1750. Position Leipzig has had a university dating back to 1409, and is a commercial center, hosting a trade fair first mentioned in 1165. It has been mostly Lutheran since the Reformation. The position of Thomaskantor at Bach's time has been described as "one of the most respected and influential musical offices of P ...
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Baroque Instruments
Musical instruments used in Baroque music were partly used already before, partly are still in use today, but with no technology. The movement to perform music in a historically informed way, trying to recreate the sound of the period, led to the use of historic instruments of the period and to the reconstruction of instruments. The following table lists instruments, classified as brass instruments, woodwinds, strings, and basso continuo. The continuous bass is played by a group of instruments, depending on the given situation. Many instruments have an Italian or French name which is used as a common name also in English. The use of instruments by composers is shown in examples mostly by Johann Sebastian Bach. Table of instruments Baroque instrumentation The typical orchestra of the Baroque period is based on string instruments (violin, viola) and continuo. A continuous bass is the rule in Baroque music; its absence is worth mentioning and has a reason, such as describi ...
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Recitative
Recitative (, also known by its Italian name "''recitativo''" ()) is a style of delivery (much used in operas, oratorios, and cantatas) in which a singer is allowed to adopt the rhythms and delivery of ordinary speech. Recitative does not repeat lines as formally composed songs do. It resembles sung ordinary speech more than a formal musical composition. Recitative can be distinguished on a continuum from more speech-like to more musically sung, with more sustained melodic lines. The mostly syllabic ''recitativo secco'' ("dry", accompanied only by continuo, typically cello and harpsichord) is at one end of the spectrum, through ''recitativo accompagnato'' (using orchestra), the more melismatic arioso, and finally the full-blown aria or ensemble, where the pulse is entirely governed by the music. Secco recitatives can be more improvisatory and free for the singer, since the accompaniment is so sparse; in contrast, when recitative is accompanied by orchestra, the singer must per ...
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Sinfonia
Sinfonia (; plural ''sinfonie'') is the Italian word for symphony, from the Latin ''symphonia'', in turn derived from Ancient Greek συμφωνία ''symphōnia'' (agreement or concord of sound), from the prefix σύν (together) and ϕωνή (sound). In English it most commonly refers to a 17th- or 18th-century orchestral piece used as an introduction, interlude, or postlude to an opera, oratorio, cantata, or suite (, who gives the origin of the word as Italian) . The word is also found in other Romance languages such as Spanish or Portuguese. In the Middle Ages down to as late as 1588, it was also the Italian name for the hurdy-gurdy . Johann Sebastian Bach used the term for his keyboard compositions also known as '' Three-part Inventions'', and after about 1800, the term, when in reference to opera, meant "Overture" . In George Frideric Handel's oratorio Messiah (HWV 56), "Overture to the Messiah" ( French Overture in E minor) was originally titled "Sinfony". In the 20th and ...
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Hymn
A hymn is a type of song, and partially synonymous with devotional song, specifically written for the purpose of adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification. The word ''hymn'' derives from Greek (''hymnos''), which means "a song of praise". A writer of hymns is known as a hymnist. The singing or composition of hymns is called hymnody. Collections of hymns are known as hymnals or hymn books. Hymns may or may not include instrumental accompaniment. Although most familiar to speakers of English in the context of Christianity, hymns are also a fixture of other world religions, especially on the Indian subcontinent (''stotras''). Hymns also survive from antiquity, especially from Egyptian and Greek cultures. Some of the oldest surviving examples of notated music are hymns with Greek texts. Origins Ancient Eastern hymns include the Egyptian ''Great Hymn to the Aten'', composed by Pharaoh Akhenaten; the Hurrian ''Hy ...
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