''O Jesu Christ, meins Lebens Licht'' (O Jesus Christ, light of my life), BWV 118, is a
sacred motet composed by
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 ...
. It is known to have been performed at a funeral, and was possibly a generic work intended for funerals.
[(accessed via ]Highbeam Research
HighBeam Research was a paid search engine and full text online archive owned by Gale, a subsidiary of Cengage, for thousands of newspapers, magazines, academic journals, newswires, trade magazines, and encyclopedias in English. It was headquar ...
, subscription required) When the work was first published in the nineteenth century it was called a
cantata
A cantata (; ; literally "sung", past participle feminine singular of the Italian verb ''cantare'', "to sing") is a vocal composition with an instrumental accompaniment, typically in several movements, often involving a choir.
The meaning of ...
, perhaps because it has an instrumental accompaniment. While it is not an
a cappella
''A cappella'' (, also , ; ) music is a performance by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differentiate between Ren ...
work, modern scholarship accepts it is a motet.
History and text
This work was written around 1736 or 1737, and so may have been premiered before the first known performance at the grave-side ceremony for Count on October 11, 1740.
The Count was Governor of Leipzig and known to Bach who had presented a couple of congratulatory works to him. The fact that the accompaniment exists in two versions suggests that there was a subsequent revival of the work in the 1740s.
The text is a 1610 hymn by
Martin Behm
Martin Behm (1557–1622) was a German hymnwriter.
Born in Lauban (now Lubań in Poland), Behm was deacon and later chief pastor of the town's Holy Trinity Church. He wrote approximately 480 hymns, including "Herr Jesu Christ, meins Lebens Li ...
.
Music
"O Jesu Christ, meins Lebens Licht" has been characterized as something between a cantata and a motet.
["Something between a cantata movement and a motetic choral transcription". ] This work is a motet version of the
chorale
Chorale is the name of several related musical forms originating in the music genre of the Lutheran chorale:
* Hymn tune of a Lutheran hymn (e.g. the melody of "Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme"), or a tune in a similar format (e.g. one of the t ...
''Ach Gott, wie manches Herzeleid''. The lower voices of the choir sing counterpoint to the chorale melody line in the soprano. The accompaniment includes an ascending string motive.
Scoring and structure
The piece is scored for
four-part choir.
It is structured as a chorus, ''O Jesu Christ, mein's Lebens Licht'', comprising chorale strophes separated by repeated instrumental interludes. The number of strophes sung would likely correspond to the length of the procession for which the work was used.
There are two versions of the instrumental scoring:
* The first version is unique among the Bach cantatas in not including strings,
and also differs from the instrumentation of the motets, where that is specified. It is for two
''litui'' (an instrument which one source contends was a "horn" and "trumpet-like"),
cornett
The cornett, cornetto, or zink is an early wind instrument that dates from the Medieval, Renaissance and Baroque periods, popular from 1500 to 1650. It was used in what are now called alta capellas or wind ensembles. It is not to be confused wi ...
, three trombones, and organ;
* The second version is for two litui, strings, organ continuo, and optionally three oboes and bassoon.
The first version is possibly intended for outdoor use where brass would be more effective than strings. (The inclusion of an organ part suggests a performance at least partly indoors, but a portable organ may have been used). The second version is more suitable for indoor acoustics. The available recordings of the piece (see section below) appear to have been performed indoors. A notable outdoor performance was that of
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, Gard ...
and the Monteverdi Choir, who performed it outside
Iona Abbey
Iona Abbey is an abbey located on the island of Iona, just off the Isle of Mull on the West Coast of Scotland.
It is one of the oldest Christian religious centres in Western Europe. The abbey was a focal point for the spread of Christianit ...
to mark the 250th anniversary of Bach’s death. However, this performance was not included in 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 ...
set of recordings.
Publication
The work was published in 1876 in the first complete edition of Bach's works, the
Bach-Gesellschaft Ausgabe
Joh. Seb. Bach's Werke () is the Bach Gesellschaft's collected edition of Johann Sebastian Bach's compositions, published in 61 volumes in the second half of the 19th century. The series is also known as Bach-Gesellschaft edition (german: Bach-Gese ...
. The volume in question consisted of cantatas rather than motets and was edited by
Alfred Dörffel
Alfred Dörffel (24 January 1821 – 22 January 1905) was a German pianist, music publisher and librarian.
Career
Dörffel was born in Waldenburg, Saxony, the son of August Friedrich Dörffel and his wife Christiane Charlotte, née Kröhne. He ...
.
It was subsequently included among the motets in the
New Bach Edition
The New Bach Edition (NBE) (german: Neue Bach-Ausgabe; NBA), is the second complete edition of the music of Johann Sebastian Bach, published by Bärenreiter. The name is short for Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750): New Edition of the Complete W ...
in a volume edited by
Konrad Ameln
Konrad Ameln (6 July 1899 – 1 September 1994) was a German hymnologist and musicologist, who wrote standard works about Protestant church music.
Life Childhood, youth and academic years
Born in Neuss, Ameln grew up in Kassel and attended th ...
.
Recordings
*Greifswalde Bach Tage Choir / Bach-Orchester Berlin. ''J.S. Bach: Soli Deo Gloria''. Baroque Music Club, 1950s–1960s?
*Amor Artis Chorale. ''Choral Masterpieces of the Baroque''. Decca, 1965.
*
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 ...
. "Funeral Cantatas (cantatas
BWV 106
(God's time is the very best time), , also known as ''Actus tragicus'', is an early sacred cantata composed by Johann Sebastian Bach in Mühlhausen, intended for a funeral.
The earliest source for the composition is a copied manuscript date ...
, BWV 118b &
BWV 198
The (BWV; ; ) is a catalogue of compositions by Johann Sebastian Bach. It was first published in 1950, edited by Wolfgang Schmieder. The catalogue's second edition appeared in 1990. An abbreviated version of that second edition, known as BWV2a ...
)". Archiv, 1989
*
Theatre of Early Music
The Theatre of Early Music is a choir and Baroque instrumental ensemble based in Montreal, and later in Toronto. It is conducted by Daniel Taylor. The group performs and records early sacred music. One of the group's better known pieces is ''Stab ...
. ''The Voice of Bach''. Sony BMG, 2007.
*
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 Baroqu ...
,
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 ...
''J.S. Bach: Complete Cantatas, Vol. 21''. Antoine Marchand, 2007.
*
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 ...
. ''Bach: Motets''. BIS, 2009.
Notes
References
Further reading
* Hochreither, Karl. 2002. ''Performance Practice of the Instrumental-Vocal Works of Johann Sebastian Bach'', translated by Melvin P. Unger. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press. .
*
Schulze, Hans-Joachim. 1993. "''O Jesu Christ, meins Lebens Licht'': On the Transmission of a Bach Source and the Riddle of Its Origin". In ''A Bach Tribute: Essays in Honor of William H. Scheide'', edited by Paul Brainard and Ray Robinson, 209–20. Kassel and New York: Bärenreiter; Chapel Hill: Hinshaw Music. .
External links
O Jesu Christ, meins Lebens Licht, BWV 118 performance by the
Netherlands Bach Society
The Netherlands Bach Society ( nl, Nederlandse Bachvereniging) is the oldest ensemble for Baroque music in the Netherlands, and possibly in the world. The ensemble was founded in 1921 in Naarden to perform Johann Sebastian Bach, Bach's ''St Matthew ...
(video and background information)
*
O Jesu Christ, meins Lebens Licht BWV 118; BC B 23a, 23b / MotetLeipzig University
Leipzig University (german: Universität Leipzig), in Leipzig in Saxony, Germany, is one of the world's oldest universities and the second-oldest university (by consecutive years of existence) in Germany. The university was founded on 2 December ...
Cantata BWV 118 O Jesu Christ, meins Lebens Licht history, scoring, sources for text and music, translations to various languages, discography, discussion, ''bach-cantatas'' website
BWV 118 – "O Jesu Christ, meins Lebens Licht" English translation,
Emmanuel Music Emmanuel Music is a Boston-based collective group of singers and instrumentalists founded in 1970 by Craig Smith. It was created specifically to perform the complete cycle of over 200 sacred cantatas of J. S. Bach in the liturgical setting for whic ...
BWV 118 O Jesu Christ, meins Lebens Licht 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 ...
BWV 118 O Jesu Christ, meins Lebens Licht 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 ...
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Motets by Johann Sebastian Bach
1737 compositions
Christian funeral music