Johann Sebastian Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the '' Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard w ...

composed the church cantata (Ah! I see, now, when I go to the wedding), 162, in

Weimar Weimar is a city in the state of Thuringia, Germany. It is located in Central Germany between Erfurt in the west and Jena in the east, approximately southwest of Leipzig, north of Nuremberg and west of Dresden. Together with the neighbouri ...

for the 20th Sunday after

Trinity The Christian doctrine of the Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the central dogma concerning the nature of God in most Christian churches, which defines one God existing in three coequal, coeternal, consubstantial divine persons: God the F ...

and first performed it in 1715 or 1716.

History and words

On 2 March 1714 Bach was appointed concertmaster of the Weimar court capelle of the co-reigning dukes

Wilhelm Ernst Wilhelm Ernst (25 August 1905, in Gelsenkirchen – 23 July 1952, in Gelsenkirchen) was a German chess master. Biography He was a winner at Weidenau 1937. He played several times in German Chess Championship; took second, behind Kurt Richter, at ...

and Ernst August of Saxe-Weimar. As concertmaster, he assumed the principal responsibility for composing new works, specifically cantatas for the ' (palace church), on a monthly schedule. He wrote the cantata for the 20th Sunday after Trinity. The prescribed readings for the Sunday were from the Epistle to the Ephesians, "walk circumspectly, ... filled with the Spirit" (), and from the

Gospel of Matthew The Gospel of Matthew), or simply Matthew. It is most commonly abbreviated as "Matt." is the first book of the New Testament of the Bible and one of the three synoptic Gospels. It tells how Israel's Messiah, Jesus, comes to his people and for ...

, the

parable of the great banquet The Parable of the Great Banquet or the Wedding Feast or the Marriage of the King's Son is a parable told by Jesus in the New Testament, found in and . It is not to be confused with a different Parable of the Wedding Feast recorded in Luke's G ...

(). The cantata text was provided by the court poet Salomon Franck, published in ' (1715). He refers to the gospel and reflects how essential it is to follow the loving invitation of the Lord. Franck's language is rich in contrasts, such as ' (poison for the soul and bread of heaven), and of images derived from the

Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...

, such as "" (Heaven is his throne) after

Isaiah Isaiah ( or ; he, , ''Yəšaʿyāhū'', "God is Salvation"), also known as Isaias, was the 8th-century BC Israelite prophet after whom the Book of Isaiah is named. Within the text of the Book of Isaiah, Isaiah himself is referred to as "the ...

66:1. The closing chorale is the seventh

stanza In poetry, a stanza (; from Italian language, Italian ''stanza'' , "room") is a group of lines within a poem, usually set off from others by a blank line or Indentation (typesetting), indentation. Stanzas can have regular rhyme scheme, rhyme and ...

Johann Rosenmüller Johann Rosenmüller (1619 – 10 September 1684) was a German Baroque composer, who played a part in transmitting Italian musical styles to the north. Career Rosenmüller was born in Oelsnitz, near Plauen in Saxony. He studied at the University ...

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'' ...

"" (1652). Bach first performed the cantata on 3 November 1715 (according to the musicologist

Alfred Dürr Alfred Dürr (3 March 1918 – 7 April 2011) was a German musicologist. He was a principal editor of the Neue Bach-Ausgabe, the second edition of the complete works of Johann Sebastian Bach. Professional career Dürr studied musicology and Clas ...

) or on 25 October 1716. Bach performed the cantata again on 10 October 1723 in his first year in

Leipzig Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as wel ...

in a revised version, including a corno da tirarsi, a baroque wind instrument mentioned only in Bach's music and thought to have been similar to the

slide trumpet The slide trumpet is an early type of trumpet fitted with a movable section of telescopic tubing, similar to the slide of a trombone. Eventually, the slide trumpet evolved into the sackbut, which evolved into the modern-day trombone. The key dif ...

(''tromba da tirarsi''). Bach's score is lost, and some parts seem to be missing as well.

Scoring and structure

Bach structured the work in six movements. Like other cantatas written during this period in Weimar, it is scored for a small ensemble, four soloists, and a Baroque instrumental ensemble of

corno da tirarsi The corno da tirarsi ("pull horn") is a Baroque brass instrument. Johann Sebastian Bach wrote for the instrument when he was working in Leipzig Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig' ...

(likely added in Leipzig), two

violin The violin, sometimes known as a ''fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone (string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in the family in regular ...

viola The viola ( , also , ) is a string instrument that is bow (music), bowed, plucked, or played with varying techniques. Slightly larger than a violin, it has a lower and deeper sound. Since the 18th century, it has been the middle or alto voice of ...

, and

basso continuo Basso continuo parts, almost universal in the Baroque era (1600–1750), provided the harmonic structure of the music by supplying a bassline and a chord progression. The phrase is often shortened to continuo, and the instrumentalists playing th ...

, including

bassoon The bassoon is a woodwind instrument in the double reed family, which plays in the tenor and bass ranges. It is composed of six pieces, and is usually made of wood. It is known for its distinctive tone color, wide range, versatility, and virtuo ...

in movement 1. Only the chorale is set for four voices. # Aria (bass): # Recitative (tenor): # Aria (soprano): # Recitative (alto): # Duet aria (alto, tenor): # Chorale:

Music

The cantata opens with a bass

aria In music, an aria (Italian: ; plural: ''arie'' , or ''arias'' in common usage, diminutive form arietta , plural ariette, or in English simply air) is a self-contained piece for one voice, with or without instrumental or orchestral accompanime ...

A minor A minor is a minor scale based on A, with the pitches A, B, C, D, E, F, and G. Its key signature has no flats and no sharps. Its relative major is C major and its parallel major is A major. The A natural minor scale is: : Changes ...

, accompanied by three instruments in a polyphonic setting, the two violins and the viola (with the corno). The motif for the first words is present most of the time. The soprano aria seems to lack a part for an

obbligato In Western classical music, ''obbligato'' (, also spelled ''obligato'') usually describes a musical line that is in some way indispensable in performance. Its opposite is the marking ''ad libitum''. It can also be used, more specifically, to indic ...

instrument. For the

Bach Cantata Pilgrimage The Monteverdi Choir was founded in 1964 by Sir John Eliot Gardiner for a performance of the ''Vespro della Beata Vergine'' in King's College Chapel, Cambridge. A specialist Baroque ensemble, the Choir has become famous for its stylistic convic ...

of the Monteverdi Choir (and

John Eliot Gardiner Sir John Eliot Gardiner (born 20 April 1943) is an English conductor, particularly known for his performances of the works of Johann Sebastian Bach. Life and career Born in Fontmell Magna, Dorset, son of Rolf Gardiner and Marabel Hodgkin, Ga ...

), Robert Levin reconstructed a version for

flauto traverso The Western concert flute is a family of transverse (side-blown) woodwind instruments made of metal or wood. It is the most common variant of the flute. A musician who plays the flute is called a flautist (in British English), flutist (in Ameri ...

and oboe d'amore. The duet is also accompanied only by the continuo, but seems complete. The melody of the closing chorale is rare elsewhere, but appeared in Weimar not only in this work, but also in a chorale prelude of

Johann Gottfried Walther Johann Gottfried Walther (18 September 1684 – 23 March 1748) was a German music theorist, organist, composer, and lexicographer of the Baroque era. Walther was born at Erfurt. Not only was his life almost exactly contemporaneous to that ...

Recordings

* ''Die Bach Kantate Vol. 54'',

Helmuth Rilling Helmuth Rilling (born 29 May 1933) is a German choral conductor and an academic teacher. He is the founder of the Gächinger Kantorei (1954), the Bach-Collegium Stuttgart (1965), the Oregon Bach Festival (1970), the Internationale Bachakademie S ...

, Frankfurter Kantorei,

Bach-Collegium Stuttgart Bach-Collegium Stuttgart is an internationally known German instrumental ensemble, founded by Helmuth Rilling in 1965 to accompany the Gächinger Kantorei in choral music with orchestra. Its members are mostly orchestra musicians from Germany and ...

, Arleen Augér,

Alyce Rogers Alyce Rogers is an American mezzo-soprano and alto opera singer. She began her career as an actor on the East Coast, but later found her passion in opera and light opera. After moving to Portland, Oregon, she appeared with the Oregon Symphony, th ...

Kurt Equiluz Kurt Equiluz (13 June 1929 – 20 June 2022) was an Austrian classical tenor in opera and concert. He was a member of the Vienna State Opera as a tenor buffo from 1957 until 1983, remembered for roles such as Pedrillo in Mozart's ''Die Entfüh ...

, Wolfgang Schöne,

Hänssler Hänssler-Verlag is a German music publishing house founded in 1919 as Musikverlag Hänssler by Friedrich Hänssler Senior (died 1972) to publish church music. The company is now based in Holzgerlingen. Since 1972 Hänssler Verlag has also publis ...

1976 * ''J. S. Bach: Das Kantatenwerk – Sacred Cantatas Vol. 8'', Nikolaus Harnoncourt,

Vienna Boys Choir The Vienna Boys' Choir (german: Wiener Sängerknaben) is a choir of boy sopranos and altos based in Vienna, Austria. It is one of the best known boys' choirs in the world. The boys are selected mainly from Austria, but also from many other countr ...

, Concentus Musicus Wien, boy soprano,

Paul Esswood Paul Lawrence Vincent Esswood (born 6 June 1942) is an English countertenor and conductor. He is best known for his performance of Bach cantatas and the operas of Handel and Monteverdi. Along with his countrymen Alfred Deller and James Bowman ...

Robert Holl Robert Holl (born 10 March 1947) is a Dutch bass-baritone classical singer. Life and career Holl was born in Rotterdam and studied at the Rotterdams Conservatorium. After winning the first prize at the 1971 International Vocal Competition 's-He ...

Teldec Teldec (Telefunken-Decca Schallplatten GmbH) is a German record label in Hamburg, Germany. Today the label is a property of Warner Music Group. History Teldec was a producer of (first) shellac and (later) vinyl records. The Teldec manufacturing ...

1986 * ''J. S. Bach: Complete Cantatas Vol. 3'',

Ton Koopman Antonius Gerhardus Michael Koopman (; born 2 October 1944), known professionally as Ton Koopman, is a Dutch conductor, organist, harpsichordist, and musicologist, primarily known for being the founder and director of the Amsterdam Baroque Orches ...

Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir The Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir is a Dutch early-music group based in Amsterdam. The Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir was created in two stages by the conductor, organist and harpsichordist Ton Koopman. He founded the Amsterdam Baroq ...

Barbara Schlick Barbara Schlick (born 21 July 1943, Würzburg) is a German soprano who is particularly admired for interpretations of the concert literature of the baroque era. Career Schlick studied singing under at the Hochschule für Musik Würzburg and in E ...

Elisabeth von Magnus Elisabeth von Magnus (born Countess Elisabeth Juliana de la Fontaine und d'Harnoncourt-Unverzagt on 29 May 1954) is an Austrian classical mezzo-soprano. The daughter of conductor Nikolaus Harnoncourt and violinist Alice Harnoncourt, her pro ...

Paul Agnew Paul Agnew (born 1964 in Glasgow) is a Scottish operatic tenor and conductor. Biography Agnew read music as a Choral Scholar at Magdalen College, Oxford. He became associated with various groups specializing in early music (Ex Cathedra, the ...

Klaus Mertens Klaus Mertens (born 25 March 1949, in Kleve) is a German bass and bass-baritone singer who is known especially for his interpretation of the complete works of Johann Sebastian Bach for bass voice. Career Klaus Mertens took singing lessons ...

, Antoine Marchand 1995 * ''J. S. Bach: Cantatas Vol. 3'',

Masaaki Suzuki is a Japanese organist, harpsichordist and conductor, and the founder and music director of the Bach Collegium Japan. With this ensemble he is recording the complete choral works of Johann Sebastian Bach for the Swedish label BIS Records, for wh ...

Bach Collegium Japan Bach Collegium Japan (BCJ) is composed of an orchestra and a chorus specializing in Baroque music, playing on period instruments. It was founded in 1990 by Masaaki Suzuki with the purpose of introducing Japanese audiences to European Baroque music ...

, Yumiko Kurisu,

Yoshikazu Mera is a Japanese countertenor. His range is three and a half octaves. Originally wanting to become a pop singer, Mera now primarily sings classical music from the West but also classical Japanese music. He appears frequently as a soloist with the ...

Makoto Sakurada is a Japanese tenor in opera and concert. Biography Makoto graduated from the Tokyo University of the Arts. He went to study in Italy in 1997, and continues to work there. He has recorded Bach cantatas in the complete set directed by Masaaki Su ...

Peter Kooy Peter Kooij (or, internationally Kooy, born 1954, in Soest) is a Dutch bass singer who specializes in baroque music. Biography Kooij started his musical career at 6 years as a choir boy. However he started his musical studies as a violin stud ...

, BIS 1996 * ''Bach Cantatas Vol. 11'',

Monteverdi Choir The Monteverdi Choir was founded in 1964 by Sir John Eliot Gardiner for a performance of the ''Vespro della Beata Vergine'' in King's College Chapel, Cambridge. A specialist Baroque ensemble, the Choir has become famous for its stylistic convic ...

English Baroque Soloists The English Baroque Soloists is a chamber orchestra playing on period instruments, formed in 1978 by English conductor Sir John Eliot Gardiner. Its repertoire comprises music from the early Baroque to the Classical period. History The English B ...

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Sara Mingardo Sara Mingardo (born 2 March 1961) is an Italian classical contralto who has had an active international career in concerts and operas since the 1980s. Her complete recording of Anna in Hector Berlioz's ''Les Troyens'' won a Gramophone Award and bo ...

Christoph Genz Christoph Genz (born 1 March 1971 in Erfurt) is a German tenor in opera and concert. Career Christoph Genz was a member of the Thomanerchor. He studied music at King's College, Cambridge, where he was a member of the King's College Choir. He s ...

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, Soli Deo Gloria 2000

References

Sources

*
Ach! ich sehe, itzt, da ich zur Hochzeit gehe BWV 162; BC A 148 / Sacred cantata (20th Sunday after Trinity)

Bach Digital Bach Digital (German: ), developed by the Bach Archive in Leipzig, is an online database which gives access to information on compositions by Johann Sebastian Bach and members of his family. Early manuscripts of such compositions are a major foc ...

Cantata BWV 162 Ach! ich sehe, itzt, da ich zur Hochzeit gehe
history, scoring, sources for text and music, translations to various languages, discography, discussion, Bach Cantatas Website

English translation,

University of Vermont The University of Vermont (UVM), officially the University of Vermont and State Agricultural College, is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Burlington, Vermont. It was founded in 1791 and is amon ...

Ach! ich sehe, itzt, da ich zur Hochzeit gehe
text, scoring,

University of Alberta The University of Alberta, also known as U of A or UAlberta, is a public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It was founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford,"A Gentleman of Strathcona – Alexander Cameron Rutherfor ...

Chapter 22 BWV 162 Ach, ich sehe, itzt, da ich zur Hochzeit gehe / Ah, I see as I proceed to the marriage.
Julian Mincham, 2010 * Luke Dahn

bach-chorales.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Ach Ich Sehe Itzt Da Ich Zur Hochzeit Gehe Bwv 162 Church cantatas by Johann Sebastian Bach 1715 compositions 1716 compositions