(O pleasing melody),

BWV 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 ...

210.1 (formerly ),Work at

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 Bach family, his family. Early manuscripts of such compositions are ...

website. is a secular

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 ...

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 ...

for a solo soprano. Bach wrote it 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 ...

as a "Huldigungskantate" (homage cantata) for

Christian, Duke of Saxe-Weissenfels Christian, Duke of Saxe-Weissenfels (23 February 1682 in Weissenfels – 28 June 1736 in Sangerhausen), was a duke of Saxe-Weissenfels-Querfurt and member of the House of Wettin. He was the sixth (but second surviving) son of Johann Adolf I, Duk ...

. First performed on 12 January 1729, the cantata became part of his repertory of congratulatory and homage cantatas, dedicated at least twice to different people and occasions. Bach used it as the base for his wedding cantata . Most of the music of was lost, but can be reconstructed from the later work, which survived completely.

History and words

Bach first performed cantata in 1729 and adapted it for two other occasions. The first version, performed on 12 January 1729, paid homage to

on the occasion of his visit to Leipzig. The dates of the later performances are not known, but the dedications were to Joachim Friedrich Count Flemming, the governor of Leipzig (words for that occasion given below), and, thirdly, to the (Patron of Science and Art), this version is also called , the sponsors' cantata).Work , O angenehme Melodei (fragment) BWV 210.1; BWV 210a; BC 29/ Secular cantata (Tribute), at

website. Only the soprano part and a separate printed textbook of the earliest version survived into the twentieth century. The soprano part was lost in World War II. Bach used the five

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 ...

s, the first

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 repea ...

and the beginning of the last recitative later in his wedding cantata , therefore the music can be reconstructed.

Alexander Ferdinand Grychtolik Alexander Ferdinand Grychtolik (born 6 September 1980 in Berlin) is a German harpsichordist, improviser, musicologist and academic. Grychtolik is married to the harpsichordist Aleksandra Magdalena Grychtolik, with whom he has appeared in concert. ...

edited a reconstruction, published by

Edition Güntersberg Edition Güntersberg is a German publishing house of classical music, focused on compositions for the viola da gamba. It was founded in Heidelberg in 1990 by Günter von Zadow and Leonore von Zadow-Reichling, who is a professional gambist. In addit ...

. He chose the third text version as the most general one.

Scoring, structure and music

The cantata in ten movements is probably scored as the surviving , for

soprano A soprano () is a type of classical female singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hz to "high A" (A5) = 880&n ...

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 ...

oboe d'amore The oboe d'amore (; Italian for "oboe of love"), less commonly , is a double reed woodwind musical instrument in the oboe family. Slightly larger than the oboe, it has a less assertive and a more tranquil and serene tone, and is considered the me ...

, 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 ...

with

violone The term violone (; literally "large viol" in Italian, " -one" being the augmentative suffix) can refer to several distinct large, bowed musical instruments which belong to either the viol or violin family. The violone is sometimes a fretted i ...

and

harpsichord A harpsichord ( it, clavicembalo; french: clavecin; german: Cembalo; es, clavecín; pt, cravo; nl, klavecimbel; pl, klawesyn) is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. This activates a row of levers that turn a trigger mechanism ...

. # Recitative: # Aria: # Recitative: # Aria: # Recitative: # Aria: # Recitative: # Aria: # Recitative: # Aria: Richard D. P. Jones notes in his book ''The Creative Development of Johann Sebastian Bach'' that the text deals with the power of music, inspiring Bach to music of "quite exceptional quality".

References

External links

* *
Cantata BWV 210a O angenehme Melodei
history, scoring, sources for text and music, translations to various languages, discography, discussion, Bach Cantatas Website
BWV 210a – "O angenehme Melodei!"
English translation, discussion,

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 210a O angenehme Melodei!
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 210a O angenehme Melodei!
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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