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 wo ...
composed the
church cantata ' (Heart and mouth and deed and life), 147 in 1723 during his first year as ''
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 a ...
'', the director of church music 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 ...
.
His cantata is part of
his first cantata cycle there and was written for the
Marian feast
Marian feast days in the liturgical year are celebrated in honour of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The number of Marian feasts celebrated, their names (and at times dates) can vary among Christian denominations.
History and development
Early histor ...
of the
Visitation on 2 July, which commemorates
Mary
Mary may refer to:
People
* Mary (name), a feminine given name (includes a list of people with the name)
Religious contexts
* New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below
* Mary, mother of Jesus, also calle ...
's visit to
Elizabeth
Elizabeth or Elisabeth may refer to:
People
* Elizabeth (given name), a female given name (including people with that name)
* Elizabeth (biblical figure), mother of John the Baptist
Ships
* HMS ''Elizabeth'', several ships
* ''Elisabeth'' (sch ...
as narrated in the
Gospel of Luke
The Gospel of Luke), or simply Luke (which is also its most common form of abbreviation). tells of the origins, birth, ministry, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus Christ. Together with the Acts of the Apostles, it makes up a two-vol ...
in the
prescribed reading for the feast day. Bach based the music on his earlier cantata
BWV 147a, written originally 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 ...
in 1716 for
Advent. He expanded the Advent cantata in six
movements to ten movements in two parts in the new work. While the text of the Advent cantata was written by the Weimar court poet
Salomo Franck
Salomon (also Salomo) Franck, 6 March 1659 – 11 July 1725), was a German lawyer, scientist, and poet. Franck was working at Weimar at the same time as the composer Johann Sebastian Bach and he was the librettist of some of the best-kn ...
, the librettist of the adapted version who added several recitatives is anonymous.
Bach began the cantata with a chorus for the full orchestra, followed by alternating recitatives and arias with often
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. He scored it for four vocal soloists, a
four-part choir, and a
Baroque instrumental ensemble of trumpet, two oboes, strings, and continuo. The closing chorale of the earlier work was replaced by the
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 ''hy ...
"" (1661) by
Martin Janus
Martin Janus (also Martin Jahn, ''Jähn'' and ''Jan''; c. 1620 – c. 1682) was a German Protestant minister, church musician, hymnwriter, teacher and editor. He wrote the lyrics of the hymn "Jesu, meiner Seelen Wonne", which became popular in the ...
, while using the melody of "" by
Johann Schop
Johann Schop (ca. 1590 – 1644) was a German violinist and composer, much admired as a musician and a technician, who was a virtuoso and whose compositions for the violin set impressive technical demands for that area at that time. In 1756 ...
. Two of its stanzas close the two parts of the cantata in an identical setting. While Bach often composed four-part chorales to end a cantata, he embedded such a setting here in a
pastoral instrumental concerto. This music became famous in a piano transcription by Dame
Myra Hess
Dame Julia Myra Hess, (25 February 1890 – 25 November 1965) was an English pianist best known for her performances of the works of Bach, Mozart, Beethoven and Schumann.
Career Early life
Julia Myra Hess was born on 25 February 1890 to a J ...
as ''
Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring
"Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring" (or simply "Joy"; German: ''Jesus bleibet meine Freude'') is the most common English title of a piece of music derived from a chorale setting from the cantata ''Herz und Mund und Tat und Leben'', BWV 147 ("Heart and ...
''.
History and words
Bach took office as
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 a ...
, the music director 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 ...
, end of May 1723. It was part of his duties to supply music for the Sundays and feast days of the
liturgical year at four churches of the town, and he decided to compose new cantatas for these occasions. He began with a cantata for the first 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 th ...
in 1723, performed on 30 May, and wrote a series of
church cantatas until Trinity of the next year, which became known as
his first cantata cycle. Some cantatas of that cycle were based on music he had composed before, including ', presented as the sixth cantata of the cycle.
The
Visitation was among the
Marian feast
Marian feast days in the liturgical year are celebrated in honour of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The number of Marian feasts celebrated, their names (and at times dates) can vary among Christian denominations.
History and development
Early histor ...
s celebrated in Lutheran Germany (additional
cantatas for the occasion survive, from both Bach and other composers), and was the setting for which Bach composed '. The prescribed readings for the feast day were , the
prophecy
In religion, a prophecy is a message that has been communicated to a person (typically called a '' prophet'') by a supernatural entity. Prophecies are a feature of many cultures and belief systems and usually contain divine will or law, or pr ...
of the
Messiah
In Abrahamic religions, a messiah or messias (; ,
; ,
; ) is a saviour or liberator of a group of people. The concepts of '' mashiach'', messianism, and of a Messianic Age originated in Judaism, and in the Hebrew Bible, in which a ''mashiach ...
, and from the
Gospel of Luke
The Gospel of Luke), or simply Luke (which is also its most common form of abbreviation). tells of the origins, birth, ministry, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus Christ. Together with the Acts of the Apostles, it makes up a two-vol ...
, ,
Mary
Mary may refer to:
People
* Mary (name), a feminine given name (includes a list of people with the name)
Religious contexts
* New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below
* Mary, mother of Jesus, also calle ...
's visit to
Elizabeth
Elizabeth or Elisabeth may refer to:
People
* Elizabeth (given name), a female given name (including people with that name)
* Elizabeth (biblical figure), mother of John the Baptist
Ships
* HMS ''Elizabeth'', several ships
* ''Elisabeth'' (sch ...
, including her song of praise, the
Magnificat
The Magnificat (Latin for " y soulmagnifies he Lord) is a canticle, also known as the Song of Mary, the Canticle of Mary and, in the Byzantine tradition, the Ode of the Theotokos (). It is traditionally incorporated into the liturgical servic ...
. Bach used as a basis for the music a cantata in six movements that he had written 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 fourth Sunday in
Advent 1716,
''Herz und Mund und Tat und Leben'', BWV 147a. As Leipzig observed ''
tempus clausum The closed time (Latin: Tempus clausum), in the ancient Roman Catholic law : forbidden time (lat. Tempus feriatum) as well, denominates the penitential periods in the liturgical year, Lent and Advent.
During this ''closed time'' the believers sh ...
'' (time of silence) during Advent, allowing cantata music only on the first Sunday, Bach could not perform the cantata for the same occasion in Leipzig, but adapted it for the feast of the Visitation.
The Advent cantata text was written by the Weimar court poet, librarian and numismatist,
Salomo Franck
Salomon (also Salomo) Franck, 6 March 1659 – 11 July 1725), was a German lawyer, scientist, and poet. Franck was working at Weimar at the same time as the composer Johann Sebastian Bach and he was the librettist of some of the best-kn ...
, who published it in his 1717 collection ''Evangelische Sonn- und Festtages-Andachten''. He wrote four arias in a row, focused on the Advent message of "repentance, faith, preparation and conversion", in the words 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, Ga ...
who conducted 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 ...
in 2000.
The text for Advent was also suitable for a feast celebrating Mary in general. An anonymous librettist adapted the text for the different occasion, mainly by adding three
recitatives
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 ...
that clarify the relation to Visitation. He made references to the gospel reading, for example mentioning in the fourth movement, as in verse 52 of the gospel, that "the arm of the Most High thrusts the mighty from their seat and exults the lowly, and in the eighth movement, as in verse 41, that the unborn child leaps in its mother's womb. The order of the
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 accompa ...
s was changed, their text changed mostly slightly but rewritten for the last aria, and the closing
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 th ...
was replaced by the 1661
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 ''hy ...
"" (Jesus, my soul's delight) by
Martin Janus
Martin Janus (also Martin Jahn, ''Jähn'' and ''Jan''; c. 1620 – c. 1682) was a German Protestant minister, church musician, hymnwriter, teacher and editor. He wrote the lyrics of the hymn "Jesu, meiner Seelen Wonne", which became popular in the ...
(or Jahn). Its
stanzas 6 and 17 were selected to conclude the two parts of the new cantata which were performed before and after the sermon. They express a commitment of the believer, speaking in the first person, to hold Jesus as a high treasure.
Music
Structure and scoring
Bach structured the cantata in ten movements, in two parts of six and four movements, respectively. The first movement is scored for choir and the full orchestra. The inner movements are alternating recitatives and arias for solo singers and mostly
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 ...
instruments. Both parts are concluded with a chorale stanza, both from the same hymn and set the same way. Bach scored the work for four vocal soloists (
soprano (S),
alto (A),
tenor
A tenor is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. The tenor's vocal range extends up to C5. The low extreme for tenors is wide ...
(T) and
bass (B)), a
four-part choir, and a
Baroque instrumental ensemble:
trumpet
The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standard ...
(Tr), two
oboe
The oboe ( ) is a type of double reed woodwind instrument. Oboes are usually made of wood, but may also be made of synthetic materials, such as plastic, resin, or hybrid composites. The most common oboe plays in the treble or soprano range.
...
s (Ob) (
oboe d'amore (Oa),
oboe da caccia
The oboe da caccia (; literally "hunting oboe" in Italian), also sometimes referred to as an oboe da silva, is a double reed woodwind instrument in the oboe family, pitched a fifth below the oboe and used primarily in the Baroque period of Europe ...
(Oc)), 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 regu ...
s (Vl),
viola
; german: Bratsche
, alt=Viola shown from the front and the side
, image=Bratsche.jpg
, caption=
, background=string
, hornbostel_sachs=321.322-71
, hornbostel_sachs_desc=Composite chordophone sounded by a bow
, range=
, related=
*Violin family ...
(Va), and
basso continuo (Bc) including bassoon (Fg).
In the following table of the movements, the first columns shows the movement number, and in brackets the movement number of the Weimar cantata. The scoring follows the
Neue Bach-Ausgabe
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 ...
. The
keys and
time signature
The time signature (also known as meter signature, metre signature, or measure signature) is a notational convention used in Western musical notation to specify how many beats (pulses) are contained in each measure (bar), and which note va ...
s are taken from the book by Bach scholar
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 ...
, using the symbol for common time (4/4). The instruments are shown separately for winds and strings, while the continuo, playing throughout, is not shown.
Movements
A complex choral movement is taken from the Advent cantata. The three new recitatives are scored differently, the first as an ''
accompagnato
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 ...
'' with chords of the strings, the second ''
secco'' accompanied only by the continuo, the third as another ''accompagnato'', with oboes. Three of the arias from the original cantata are scored for voice and solo instruments or only continuo, whereas the last aria, speaking of the miracles of Jesus, is accompanied by the full orchestra.
1
The opening chorus, "" (Heart and mouth and deed and life), renders the complete words in three sections, the third one a
reprise
In music, a reprise ( , ; from the verb 'to resume') is the repetition or reiteration of the opening material later in a composition as occurs in the recapitulation of sonata form, though—originally in the 18th century—was simply any repe ...
of the first one and even the middle section not too different in character it is thus not quite in the traditional ''da capo'' form. The piece begins with an instrumental
ritornello
A ritornello (Italian; "little return") is a recurring passage in Baroque music for orchestra or chorus.
Early history
The earliest use of the term "ritornello" in music referred to the final lines of a fourteenth-century madrigal, which were usu ...
, with trumpet and oboes combining to give a solemn opening fanfare. The first section begins with an animated
fugal exposition with
colla parte
A variety of musical terms are likely to be encountered in printed scores, music reviews, and program notes. Most of the terms are Italian, in accordance with the Italian origins of many European musical conventions. Sometimes, the special mus ...
instruments. The fugue subject stresses the word ' (life) by a
melisma
Melisma ( grc-gre, μέλισμα, , ; from grc, , melos, song, melody, label=none, plural: ''melismata'') is the singing of a single syllable of text while moving between several different notes in succession. Music sung in this style is refer ...
extended over three measures. The soprano starts the theme, the alto enters just one measure later, tenor after two more measures, bass one measure later, the fast succession resulting in a lively music as a good image of life. This quick passage, is followed by a purely vocal passage, sustained only by the continuo, on the words "ohne Furcht und Heuchelei". The central section is introduced by the initial ritornello, which brings an alternance of contrapuntal and harmonic phrases, before a return of the slightly varied riternello. The final section features the same pattern of entrances as the first, but building from the lowest voice to the highest. The chorus concludes with a final repetition of the riternello.
2
The first recitative for tenor, "" (Blessed mouth! Mary makes the inmost part of her soul known through thanks and praise), introduces the tender and emotive environment which characterises the work after the opening festive flourish. It is accompanied by chords from the strings. French musicologist Gilles Cantagrel describes the recitative as having a character "tenderly evoking the Virgin singing the ''Magnificat''".
3
The first aria, "" (Do not be ashamed, o soul, to acknowledge your Savior), is scored as a trio for the oboe d'amore, alto and continuo, in an overall very expressive air that has characteristics of an intimate meditation. The initial ritornello already features a hesitant rhythm, with syncopations and hemiolas taking away from the piece's regularity: combined with the use of the alto voice (usually associated with fear or doubt), this suggests an attempt to translate into music the doubts which beset the Christian soul.
4
The second recitative is for bass, a ''secco'' accompanied only by the continuo. "" (Astonishment might dazzle the mighty, until the arm of the Highest throws them), relates to the ''Deposuit potentes'' verse from the Magnificat. This is illustrated through the intervention of the continuo, which translates the text into large ascending and descending movements.
5
The second aria, "" (Prepare, Jesus, even now the path for Yourself,), was the third in the Advent cantata. Scored as a trio, the solo violin expresses confidence in divine mercy through triplets punctuated by the continuo. The soprano occasionally soars above, giving a serene and gracious feeling to a movement which otherwise appears quite simple.
6
![Johann Schop](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f4/Johann_Schop.png)
The chorale ending Part I is the sixth stanza from the hymn, setting a melody by
Johann Schop
Johann Schop (ca. 1590 – 1644) was a German violinist and composer, much admired as a musician and a technician, who was a virtuoso and whose compositions for the violin set impressive technical demands for that area at that time. In 1756 ...
, "", which Bach also used in his ''
St Matthew Passion'' for the words "". The simple four-part choral part is embedded in a setting of the full orchestra dominated by a motive in
pastoral triplets
A multiple birth is the culmination of one multiple pregnancy, wherein the mother gives birth to two or more babies. A term most applicable to vertebrate species, multiple births occur in most kinds of mammals, with varying frequencies. Such bi ...
derived from the first line of the chorale melody.
Gardiner calls this music of "mellifluous beauty and apparent naturalness", and points out that it is nonetheless derived from the hymn tune.
7
In the original autograph, this movement bears two additional markings: ("second part") and ("after the sermon"), thus indicating its function within the Lutheran liturgy of the time as the conclusion of what was introduced by the first part. The third aria was the second in the Advent cantata. The tenor, accompanied only by the continuo, sings a prayer for help: "" (Help, Jesus, help that I may also acknowledge You in prosperity and in woe, in joy and in sorrow). The initial motive is repeated throughout the air, music serving to remind the associated text. The active continuo supports the vocal line, which expresses the textual call for help with striking confidence in a simple and conjunct melody.
8
The third recitative is for alto: ' (The wondrous hand of the exalted Almighty is active in the mysteries of the earth). It is accompanied by two oboes da caccia which add a continuous expressive motive, interrupted only when the child's leaping in the womb (in German: ') is mentioned which they illustrate. Gardiner mentions that it forebodes recitatives of the later great
Passions
''Passions'' is an American television soap opera that originally aired on NBC from July 5, 1999, to September 7, 2007, and on DirecTV's The 101 Network from September 17, 2007, to August 7, 2008. Created by screenwriter James E. Reilly and ...
. The text is inspired by the first two lines of the Magnificat.
9
The last aria speaks of proclaiming the miracles of Jesus. The bass is accompanied by the full orchestra: "" (I will sing of Jesus' wonders and bring my lip's offering to Him), expressing the wonders of faith with trumpet, oboes and strings giving a jubilatory tone which appears as a response to the initial chorus, with the bass adding virtuoso embellishments on "Opfer" and "Feuer", answering the continuo.
10
The chorale concluding Part II is the same music as for Part I, setting the 17th stanza, "" (Jesus shall remain my joy, my heart's comfort and sap).
The music of the chorale movements is now best known for the
piano
The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keybo ...
transcription by Dame
Myra Hess
Dame Julia Myra Hess, (25 February 1890 – 25 November 1965) was an English pianist best known for her performances of the works of Bach, Mozart, Beethoven and Schumann.
Career Early life
Julia Myra Hess was born on 25 February 1890 to a J ...
of Hugh P. Allen's choral version of Bach's arrangement, and is notable under the title ''
Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring
"Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring" (or simply "Joy"; German: ''Jesus bleibet meine Freude'') is the most common English title of a piece of music derived from a chorale setting from the cantata ''Herz und Mund und Tat und Leben'', BWV 147 ("Heart and ...
'', an inexact translation which transforms the original affirmation ("Jesus remains my joy") into a wish.
Recordings
In the following table of recordings, instrumental groups playing period instruments in
historically informed performances are highlighted by a green background.
References
Cited sources
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
External links
Herz und Mund und Tat und Leben, BWV 147 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 Bach's ''St Matthew Passion'' on Good Frid ...
(video and background information)
*
Cantata BWV 147 Herz und Mund und Tat und Lebenhistory, scoring, sources for text and music, translations to various languages, discography, discussion on Bach Cantatas Website
Chapter 8 BWV 147 Herz und Mund und Tat und Leben / Heart and mouth, action and life.Julian Mincham, 2010
bach-chorales.com
{{DISPLAYTITLE:''Herz und Mund und Tat und Leben'', BWV 147
Church cantatas by Johann Sebastian Bach
1723 compositions