Johann Sebastian Bach composed the

church cantata A church cantata or sacred cantata is a cantata intended to be performed during Christian liturgy. The genre was particularly popular in 18th-century Lutheran Germany, with many composers writing an extensive output: Gottfried Heinrich Stölzel, ...

(What shall I make of you, Ephraim), 89, in Leipzig for the 22nd Sunday after Trinity and first performed it on 24 October 1723.

History and words

Bach wrote the cantata in his first year in Leipzig for the 22nd Sunday after Trinity. The prescribed readings for the Sunday were from the Epistle to the Philippians, thanks and prayer for the congregation in Philippi (), and from the Gospel of Matthew, the parable of the unforgiving servant (). The unknown poet of the cantata text stressed the opposites of the gospel, God's justice versus unjust men. The text begins with a related quotation from the prophet Hosea, . The next two

movement Movement may refer to: Common uses * Movement (clockwork), the internal mechanism of a timepiece * Motion, commonly referred to as movement Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * "Movement" (short story), a short story by Nancy Fu ...

s, recitative and aria, reflect the sinful condition of man, another set of recitative and aria deals with God's mercy. The closing chorale is

stanza In poetry, a stanza (; from Italian language, Italian ''stanza'' , "room") is a group of lines within a poem, usually set off from others by a blank line or Indentation (typesetting), indentation. Stanzas can have regular rhyme scheme, rhyme and ...

7 of "" by

Johann Heermann Johann Heermann (11 October 158517 February 1647) was a German poet and hymnodist. He is commemorated in the Calendar of Saints of the Lutheran Church on 26 October with Philipp Nicolai and Paul Gerhardt. Life Heermann was born in Raudten (m ...

(1630), to the melody of "

Auf meinen lieben Gott "" ("In God, My Faithful God", literally: In my dear God trust is a Lutheran hymn from the 17th century. Several hymns are sung to the same hymn tune, including "", and it was set in compositions. The hymn was translated into English as "In God, ...

", which Bach would treat completely one year later in his

chorale cantata A chorale cantata is a church cantata based on a chorale—in this context a Lutheran chorale. It is principally from the Germany, German Baroque music, Baroque era. The organizing principle is the words and music of a Lutheran hymn. Usually a chora ...

''Wo soll ich fliehen hin'', BWV 5. Bach first performed the cantata on 24 October 1723.

Scoring and structure

The cantata in six movements is 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 ...

alto The musical term alto, meaning "high" in Italian (Latin: ''altus''), historically refers to the contrapuntal part higher than the tenor and its associated vocal range. In 4-part voice leading alto is the second-highest part, sung in choruses by ...

and

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gui ...

), a four-part choir only in the chorale,

horn Horn most often refers to: *Horn (acoustic), a conical or bell shaped aperture used to guide sound ** Horn (instrument), collective name for tube-shaped wind musical instruments *Horn (anatomy), a pointed, bony projection on the head of various ...

, two oboes, two violins, viola, 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 ...

. # Aria (bass): # Recitative (alto): # Aria (alto): # Recitative (soprano): # Aria (soprano): # Chorale:

Music

The cantata is scored like

chamber music Chamber music is a form of classical music that is composed for a small group of instruments—traditionally a group that could fit in a palace chamber or a large room. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small numb ...

. Only the chorale is set for four parts; the alto voice sings of man's sin, the soprano of God's grace, and the bass is God's voice in the opening movement. On some copies of the parts, the movement is marked aria but we don't know if that marking is authorized by Bach. Formally it has some characteristics of an aria, such as a ritornello to open the movement and frame the text sections, and some aspects of an arioso, for example the free setting of the sections. The last section, which speaks of God's "" (too fervent mercy) is embedded in the ritornello, then the ritornello is repeated once more. One

motif Motif may refer to: General concepts * Motif (chess composition), an element of a move in the consideration of its purpose * Motif (folkloristics), a recurring element that creates recognizable patterns in folklore and folk-art traditions * Moti ...

in the ritornello is similar to one in the chorus "" from Bach's ''

St John Passion The ''Passio secundum Joannem'' or ''St John Passion'' (german: Johannes-Passion, link=no), BWV 245, is a Passion or oratorio by Johann Sebastian Bach, the older of the surviving Passions by Bach. It was written during his first year as direc ...

'' and may illustrate undecidedness in both cases. The following three movements, two recitatives and an expressive aria, are only accompanied by the continuo, the last aria also by an obbligato oboe. The closing chorale is set for four parts; the melody in the soprano is doubled by the horn, the oboes, and violin I.

Recordings

* ''J. S. Bach: Kantaten · Cantatas Nr. 89, Nr. 90, Nr. 161'',

Jaap Schröder Jaap Schröder or Jaap Schroeder (31 December 1925 – 1 January 2020) was a Dutch violinist, conductor, and pedagogue. He studied at the Amsterdam Conservatory and at the Sorbonne in France. In the 1960s he was a member of the Dutch early music ...

, Junge Kantorei,

Concerto Amsterdam Concerto Amsterdam was a classical chamber ensemble based in the Netherlands and active during the 1960s and 70s in both live performance and the recording studio. It was founded in 1960 by the Dutch violinist Jaap Schröder with most of its members ...

, Sheila Armstrong, Helen Watts,

Max van Egmond Max van Egmond (born 1 February 1936 in Semarang) is a Dutch bass and baritone singer. He has focused on oratorio and Lied and is known for singing works of Johann Sebastian Bach. He was one of the pioneers of historically informed performance of B ...

, Telefunken 1969 * ''Die Bach Kantate Vol. 56'', Helmuth Rilling, Gächinger Kantorei, Bach-Collegium Stuttgart,

Arleen Augér Joyce Arleen Auger (sometimes spelled Augér ; September 13, 1939 – June 10, 1993) was an American soprano, known for her coloratura voice and interpretations of works by Bach, Handel, Haydn, Monteverdi, Mozart, and Schubert. She won a posthum ...

, Helen Watts,

Philippe Huttenlocher Philippe Huttenlocher (born 29 November 1942) is a Swiss baritone. Life and career He was born in Neuchâtel, Switzerland. He first studied violin at the conservatory in Neuchâtel, and then voice in Fribourg. In 1972, he won the international ...

, Hänssler 1977 * ''J. S. Bach: Das Kantatenwerk – Sacred Cantatas Vol. 5'',

Gustav Leonhardt Gustav Maria Leonhardt (30 May 1928 – 16 January 2012) was a Dutch keyboardist, conductor, musicologist, teacher and editor. He was a leading figure in the historically informed performance movement to perform music on period instruments. Leo ...

Knabenchor Hannover The Knabenchor Hannover (Hannover Boys' Choir) is a boys choir founded in 1950 by Heinz Hennig, who served as conductor until the end of 2001. Since 2002, the conductor has been Jörg Breiding. History and music The Knabenchor Hannover has tr ...

Leonhardt-Consort Leonhardt-Consort, also known as the Leonhardt Baroque Ensemble, was a group of instrumentalists which its director, the keyboard player Gustav Leonhardt founded in 1955 to play baroque music. The Consort was active until around 1990, although some ...

, soloist of the Knabenchor Hannover,

Paul Esswood Paul Lawrence Vincent Esswood (born 6 June 1942) is an English countertenor and conductor. He is best known for his performance of Bach cantatas and the operas of Handel and Monteverdi. Along with his countrymen Alfred Deller and James Bowman ...

, Telefunken 1979 * ''J. S. Bach: Complete Cantatas Vol. 8'', Ton Koopman, Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir, Dorothea Röschmann, Bogna Bartosz,

Klaus Mertens Klaus Mertens (born 25 March 1949, in Kleve) is a German bass and bass-baritone singer who is known especially for his interpretation of the complete works of Johann Sebastian Bach for bass voice. Career Klaus Mertens took singing lessons ...

, Antoine Marchand 1998 * ''Bach Edition Vol. 15 – Cantatas Vol. 8'',

Pieter Jan Leusink Pieter Jan Leusink (born 5 April 1958 in Elburg) is a Dutch conductor of classical music. He studied organ in Zwolle at the Municipal Conservatory and took conducting lessons from Gottfried van der Horst. He founded the Stadsknapenkoor Elburg ( ...

Holland Boys Choir Pieter Jan Leusink (born 5 April 1958 in Elburg) is a Dutch conductor of classical music. He studied organ in Zwolle at the Municipal Conservatory and took conducting lessons from Gottfried van der Horst. He founded the Stadsknapenkoor Elburg (E ...

Netherlands Bach Collegium The Netherlands Bach Collegium is a Baroque orchestra based in the Netherlands. It is conducted by Pieter Jan Leusink. They are noted for their Complete Cantatas Brilliant Series, a recording of the complete Bach cantata, sacred cantatas by Johann S ...

Ruth Holton Ruth Holton (born 1961)"Holton, Ruth" in David M. Cummings (ed.) ''International Who's Who in Classical Music, 2003", London, Europa Publications p.353. is an English soprano singer. Training Holton won a choral exhibition at Clare College, Camb ...

Sytse Buwalda Sytse Buwalda (born 1965) is a Dutch counter-tenor. Life and career Buwalda studied at the Sweelinck School of Music (Conservatorium van Amsterdam) in Amsterdam and has worked with conductors such as Frans Brüggen, Gustav Leonhardt, Sigiswald K ...

Bas Ramselaar Bas Ramselaar (born 1961 in Amersfoort) is a Dutch Bass (voice type), bass singer and Conducting, conductor. A graduate of the Utrechts Conservatorium, he has sung with notable ensembles such as the Berliner Symphoniker, the Royal Concertgebouw Or ...

, Brilliant Classics 2000 * ''Bach Cantatas Vol. 12: Bach Cantatas Vol. 12: Tooting/Winchester / For the 22nd Sunday after Trinity'', John Eliot Gardiner, Monteverdi Choir, English Baroque Soloists,

Joanne Lunn Joanne Lunn is an English classical soprano in opera and concert. Career Joanne Lunn studied at Royal College of Music, where she graduated and received the Tagore Gold Medal. Lunn performed in Monteverdi's ''L'incoronazione di Poppea'', Gluck ...

Robin Tyson Robin Tyson is an English countertenor who has a well documented career in opera, solo, and a cappella. He now works in the music management industry. He sang in the Choir of King's College, Cambridge from 1989–1992. He is known for singing a ...

, Peter Harvey, Soli Deo Gloria 2000 * ''J. S. Bach: Cantatas Vol. 14 – Cantatas from Leipzig 1723'', Masaaki Suzuki, Bach Collegium Japan, Midori Suzuki,

Robin Blaze Robin Blaze (born 1971 in Manchester) is an English countertenor. Early life The son of Peter Blaze, a professional golfer, and Christine, Blaze and his brother Mark grew up in Shadwell, near Leeds, and was educated at Leeds Grammar School, ...

, Chiyuki Urano, BIS 2000

References

Sources

*
Was soll ich aus dir machen, Ephraim? BWV 89; BC A 155 / Sacred cantata (22nd Sunday after Trinity)
Bach Digital
Cantata BWV 89 Was soll ich aus dir machen, Ephraim?
history, scoring, sources for text and music, translations to various languages, discography, discussion, Bach Cantatas Website

English translation, University of Vermont
Chapter 24 BWV 89 Was soll ich aus dir machen, Ephraim? / What shall I do about you, Ephraim?
Julian Mincham, 2010 {{DISPLAYTITLE:''Was soll ich aus dir machen, Ephraim'', BWV 89 Church cantatas by Johann Sebastian Bach 1723 compositions