(Heaven laughs! Earth exults), 31, is a

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * C ...

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 the first day of

Easter Easter,Traditional names for the feast in English are "Easter Day", as in the '' Book of Common Prayer''; "Easter Sunday", used by James Ussher''The Whole Works of the Most Rev. James Ussher, Volume 4'') and Samuel Pepys''The Diary of Samuel ...

. Bach composed the cantata 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 ...

and first performed it on 21 April 1715.

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. Bach composed the cantata for

Easter Sunday Easter,Traditional names for the feast in English are "Easter Day", as in the ''Book of Common Prayer''; "Easter Sunday", used by James Ussher''The Whole Works of the Most Rev. James Ussher, Volume 4'') and Samuel Pepys''The Diary of Samuel ...

in 1715. The prescribed readings for the feast day were from the

First letter to the Corinthians The First Epistle to the Corinthians ( grc, Α΄ ᾽Επιστολὴ πρὸς Κορινθίους) is one of the Pauline epistles, part of the New Testament of the Christian Bible. The epistle is attributed to Paul the Apostle and a co-aut ...

, "Christ is our Easter lamb" (), and from the

Gospel of Mark The Gospel of Mark), or simply Mark (which is also its most common form of abbreviation). is the second of the four canonical gospels and of the three synoptic Gospels. It tells of the ministry of Jesus from his baptism by John the Baptist to h ...

, the

Resurrection of Jesus The resurrection of Jesus ( grc-x-biblical, ἀνάστασις τοῦ Ἰησοῦ) is the Christian belief that God raised Jesus on the third day after his crucifixion, starting – or restoring – his exalted life as Christ and Lo ...

(). The text was written by the Weimar poet Salomon Franck who published it in (Evangelical Devotional Offering). The verses consist purely of free poetry and interpret the Easter message, connected to the request to believers to let Jesus also be resurrected within their souls. The final movement, the last verse 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 ...

"" (When my hour is come) by

Nikolaus Herman Nikolaus Herman (first name also ''Nicolaus'' or ''Niklas''; 1500 – 3 May 1561) was a German Lutheran cantor and teacher, creating numerous Protestant hymns. Some of them are contained in hymnals in several languages. Career Herman was born ...

, expresses the desire to die, to follow Jesus in resurrection. Bach first performed the cantata on 21 April 1715. Looking at the rich scoring of three instrumental groups and a five-part choir,

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 ...

suggests that the cantata was not performed in the court's small , but in the town church St. Peter und Paul, where the ducal family evidently at times attended services. Bach later performed the cantata several times in Leipzig in a slightly modified form. There is proof of performances for the years 1724 and 1731; a further performance in 1735 is probable as well. Since the Weimar tuning of the organ, which served as a reference for the string instruments, was probably a

third Third or 3rd may refer to: Numbers * 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3 * , a fraction of one third * Second#Sexagesimal divisions of calendar time and day, 1⁄60 of a ''second'', or 1⁄3600 of a ''minute'' Places * 3rd Street (d ...

higher than the standard tuning tone in Leipzig, Bach had to either leave out the voices of the reed instruments or rewrite them for the Leipzig performances, or to replace the parts by different instruments.

Scoring and structure

The cantata in nine movements is festively scored for three vocal soloists (

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 ...

tenor A tenor is a type of classical music, classical male singing human voice, 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 lo ...

and bass), a five-part choir ( SSATB), three

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 ...

timpani Timpani (; ) or kettledrums (also informally called timps) are musical instruments in the percussion family. A type of drum categorised as a hemispherical drum, they consist of a membrane called a head stretched over a large bowl traditionall ...

, three

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. A ...

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 ...

(tenor oboe),

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 ...

, 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 ...

s, two

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 ...

s, two

cello The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a Bow (music), bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), t ...

s 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 ...

. The scoring for five parts in the choir, five parts in the woodwinds and six parts in the strings is unusual.

Music

The festive character of the work is demonstrated by a

sonata Sonata (; Italian: , pl. ''sonate''; from Latin and Italian: ''sonare'' rchaic Italian; replaced in the modern language by ''suonare'' "to sound"), in music, literally means a piece ''played'' as opposed to a cantata (Latin and Italian ''cant ...

with a

fanfare A fanfare (or fanfarade or flourish) is a short musical flourish which is typically played by trumpets, French horns or other brass instruments, often accompanied by percussion. It is a "brief improvised introduction to an instrumental perfo ...

-like introduction, a concerto of the three groups brass, reeds and strings, all divided in many parts. The first choral movement, sung by a five-part chorus, evokes the "celestial laughter and worldly jubilation" of the text, according to

, who continues: The bass voice announces the resurrection of Jesus in a recitative and continues in an aria, both accompanied only by the continuo. The aria, marked '' Molto adagio'', praises Jesus as "Prince of life" and "strong fighter". The higher tenor voice addresses in a recitative the soul to look to the "new life in spirit", followed by a bright aria, accompanied by the strings, which speaks of "" (the new man), free from sin. The highest voice, the soprano, sings in the first person as the soul in a recitative, convinced of taking part in the resurrection. In the last aria, soprano and solo oboe in echo-effects contrast with low-lying unison strings, which already anticipate the closing chorale's melody. The hymn is a "death-bed chorale", set for a four-part choir, crowned by a

descant A descant, discant, or is any of several different things in music, depending on the period in question; etymologically, the word means a voice (''cantus'') above or removed from others. The Harvard Dictionary of Music states: A descant is a ...

from the trumpet and first violin.

Recordings

* ''The RIAS Bach Cantatas Project (1949–1952)'', Karl Ristenpart, RIAS-Kammerchor, RIAS-Kammerorchester,

Lilo Rolwes Lilo or LILO may refer to: __NOTOC__ People * Lilo (name), a list of people with the nickname or surname * Lilo (footballer), Brazilian footballer Murilo Rufino Barbosa (born 1983) * Lilo (actress), stage name of German-born French actress and si ...

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, Gerhard Niese, Audite 1950 * ''J. S. Bach: Cantata No. 31; Seven Easter Chorales'',

Felix Prohaska Felix Prohaska (16 May 191229 March 1987) was an Austrian conductor and professor of musicology in Hanover. Education Felix Prohaska, born in Vienna, was the son of the composer and professor Carl Prohaska (1869–1927). He received his music ed ...

, Wiener Kammerchor, Wiener Kammerorchester,

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, Walter Berry, Bach Guild 1952 * ''J. S. Bach: Cantata BWV 31 & Magnificat BWV 243'', Marcel Couraud,

Stuttgarter Bach-Chor Stuttgart (; Swabian German, Swabian: ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fe ...

Badische Staatskapelle The Badische Staatskapelle is a symphony orchestra based in Karlsruhe. The orchestra is affiliated with the Badisches Staatstheater (Baden State Theatre). The historical roots of the orchestra date back to 1662. The precursor ensemble was the ' ...

, Friederike Sailer,

Fritz Wunderlich Friedrich "Fritz" Karl Otto Wunderlich (26 September 1930 – 17 September 1966) was a German lyric tenor, famed for his singing of the Mozart repertory and various lieder. He died in an accident aged 35. Biography Wunderlich was born in Kusel in ...

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1956 * ''Les Grandes Cantates de J. S. Bach Vol. 17'',

Fritz Werner Fritz Werner (15 December 1898 – 22 December 1977) was a German choral conductor, church music director, conductor, organist and composer. He founded the Heinrich-Schütz-Chor Heilbronn in 1947 and conducted it until 1973. Career Born in Berli ...

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1963 * ''J. S. Bach: Das Kantatenwerk · Complete Cantatas · Les Cantates, Folge / Vol. 9'',

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, soloists of the Wiener Sängerknaben,

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1973 * ''Bach Made in Germany Vol. 4 – Cantatas VII'',

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, Helga Termer,

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, Eterna 1976 * ''J. S. Bach: Complete Cantatas Vol. 1'',

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, Gillian Keith, James Gilchrist,

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, Nico van der Meel,

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2000

References

External links

*
Der Himmel lacht, die Erde jubilieret (Weimar version) BWV 31; BC A 55a / Sacred cantata

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 ...

Der Himmel lacht, die Erde jubilieret (Leipzig version) BWV 31; BC A 55b / Sacred cantata

Cantata BWV 31 Der Himmel lacht! Die Erde jubilieret
history, scoring, sources for text and music, translations to various languages, discography, discussion, Bach Cantatas Website * Luke Dahn

bach-chorales.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Himmel lacht! Die Erde jubilieret BWV 31 Church cantatas by Johann Sebastian Bach 1715 compositions Music for Easter