' (The Spirit gives aid to our weakness), 226, is a motet 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 wo ...

, composed in Leipzig in 1729 for the funeral of

Johann Heinrich Ernesti Johann Heinrich Ernesti (12 March 1652 – 16 October 1729) was a Saxon philosopher, Lutheran theologian, Latin classicist and poet. He was rector of the Thomasschule, and Professor of Poetry at Leipzig University. He gained fame through his writ ...

History

For ' , the

autograph An autograph is a person's own handwriting or signature. The word ''autograph'' comes from Ancient Greek (, ''autós'', "self" and , ''gráphō'', "write"), and can mean more specifically: Gove, Philip B. (ed.), 1981. ''Webster's Third New Inter ...

score survives. Bach himself noted on its title: "." (' – Motet for two choirs for the funeral for the blessed

Rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

, Professor Ernesti, by J. S. Bach). Ernesti was professor of poetry at

Leipzig 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 ...

and director of the

Thomasschule St. Thomas School, Leipzig (german: Thomasschule zu Leipzig; la, Schola Thomana Lipsiensis) is a co-educational and public boarding school in Leipzig, Saxony, Germany. It was founded by the Augustinians in 1212 and is one of the oldest schools ...

. The first performance took place in the Paulinerkirche, the university church). Scholars debate if the performance was 24 October, or rather 21 October, as indicated by the title page of the sermon. Bach wrote a number of works for occasions of Leipzig University. Twelve such works survive: they are mainly festive in character (in German they have been categorised as ''Festmusiken zu Leipziger Universitätsfeiern''). As well as being part of a series of works connected with the university, ''Der Geist hilft unser Schwachheit auf'' as a funeral motet is one of a series of Bach motets.

Text

The text is taken from the Epistle to the Romans () and

Martin Luther Martin Luther (; ; 10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German priest, theologian, author, hymnwriter, and professor, and Augustinian friar. He is the seminal figure of the Protestant Reformation and the namesake of Lutherani ...

's third stanza to the hymn "" (1524). Ernesti himself had chosen the text from the epistle for the funeral sermon.

Scoring and structure

The motet is structured in three movements and scored for two four-part choirs. They sing together in movements 2 and 3. The orchestral parts are extant, indicating that choir I was doubled by strings, choir II by reeds (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. ...

taille The ''taille'' () was a direct land tax on the French peasantry and non-nobles in ''Ancien Régime'' France. The tax was imposed on each household and was based on how much land it held, and was directly paid to the state. History Originally o ...

and bassoon). For the basso continuo, separate

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 ...

and organ parts are provided. # ' # ' # '

Music

Bach composed the text according to its meaning, not as music for mourning. The opening contrasts two choirs in imitation. In lively 3/8 time, the word "" (Spirit) is illustrated by a lively

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 ...

tic figure. The following idea, "" (but the Spirit itself intercedes for), is given as a fugue, first with independent entrances of all eight parts, but concentrated to four parts in the end, "" (with unutterable sighs). The sighs are audible in the broken melodic lines of all voices. The thought "" (He, however, who examines hearts) appears as a double fugue in four parts in . Here the word "" (saints) is illustrated in extended melismatic writing. The closing Pentecostal chorale is set for four parts.

References

Sources

*
Motets BWV 225-231
history, scoring, sources for text and music, translations to various languages, discography, discussion, ''bach-cantatas'' website

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 wh ...

Der Geist hilft unser Schwachheit auf
history, scoring, ''Bach'' website

English translation,

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

External links

Der Geist hilft unsrer Schwachheit auf, BWV 226
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)
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750) / Der Geist hilft unser Schwachheit auf
klassika.info * Free MP3 recording o
Der Geist hilft unser Schwachheit auf – BWV 226
fro

{{DEFAULTSORT:Geist Hilft Unsrer Schwachheit Auf, Der Motets by Johann Sebastian Bach Christian funeral music 1729 compositions