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 ...

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, ...

(Settle account! Word of thunder), 168 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 ...

for the ninth 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 the F ...

and first performed it on 29 July 1725. Bach set a text by

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 ...

, a librettist with whom he had worked 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 ...

. The text, which Franck had published in 1715, uses the prescribed reading 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-volu ...

, the parable of the Unjust Steward, as a starting point for thoughts about the debt of sin and its "payment", using monetary terms. He concluded the text with a

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 ...

from

Bartholomäus Ringwaldt Bartholomäus Ringwaldt (c. 1530 – probably May 9, 1599) was a German didactic poet and Lutheran pastor. He is most recognized as a hymnwriter. Biography Bartholomäus Ringwaldt was born in Frankfort-on-the-Oder, Germany. From 1543, he studied ...

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 ''hymn'' ...

"". Bach structured the cantata in six movements and scored it intimately, as he did for many of Franck's works, for four vocal parts, combined only in the chorale, two

oboes 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 ...

, strings 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 ...

. It is the first new composition in his third year as ' in Leipzig.

History and words

Bach composed the cantata in Leipzig for the Ninth Sunday after Trinity as the first cantata of his third cantata cycle, being the first new composition in his third year as ' in Leipzig. The

libretto A libretto (Italian for "booklet") is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or Musical theatre, musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to the t ...

is by

Salomon 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 was a court poet in

. Bach had often set Franck's texts when he was ''Konzertmeister'' (concertmaster) there from 1714 to 1717. Franck published the text of in 1715 as part of the collection , and Bach would probably have used at the time had it not been for a period of mourning for

Prince Johann Ernst of Saxe-Weimar Johann Ernst of Saxe-Weimar (german: Johann Ernst von Sachsen-Weimar) (25 December 1696 – 1 August 1715) was a German prince, son by his second marriage of Johann Ernst III, Duke of Saxe-Weimar. Despite his early death he is remembered as a col ...

. The prescribed readings for the Sunday were from the

Epistle to the Romans The Epistle to the Romans is the sixth book in the New Testament, and the longest of the thirteen Pauline epistles. Biblical scholars agree that it was composed by Paul the Apostle to explain that salvation is offered through the gospel of J ...

, a warning of false gods and consolation in temptation (), and from the

, the parable of the Unjust Steward (). Franck's text is closely related to the Gospel, beginning with a paraphrase of verse 2 in the opening aria. The situation of the unjust servant is generalized; he is seen wanting mountains and hills to fall on his back, as mentioned in . Franck uses explicit monetary terms to speak about the debt, such as "" (capital and interest). A turning point is reached in the fourth

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 ...

, referring to the death of Jesus which "crossed out the debt". The cantata is concluded by the eighth

"" (1588). Bach had treated the complete chorale a year before 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 ...

''Herr Jesu Christ, du höchstes Gut'', BWV 113, for the eleventh Sunday after Trinity. Bach first performed the cantata on 29 July 1725.

Music

Structure and scoring

Bach structured the cantata in six movements and scored it intimately, as he did for many of Franck's works. The singers consist of four 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 ...

(S),

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 ...

(A),

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 ...

(T), 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 ...

) (B) plus a four-part choir only in the chorale. The instrumental parts are for two

(Oa), two violins (Vl),

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 ...

(Va) and

(Bc). The title of the autograph score reads: "9 post Trinit. / Thue Rechnung! Donner Wort / a / 4 Voci / 2 Hautb. d'Amour / 2 Violini / Viola / e / Continuo / di / J.S.Bach". The duration is given as 17 minutes. In the following table of the movements, the scoring and

keys Key or The Key may refer to: Common meanings * Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm * Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock * Key (map ...

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 value ...

s are taken from Alfred Dürr, 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

1

The work opens with a bass aria, accompanied by the strings, "" (Settle account! Word of thunder). Christoph Wolff notes:

2

The recitative, "" (It is only an alien good) is the first movement with the full orchestra. The oboes first play long chords, but finally illustrate the text figuratively, speaking of toppling mountains and "the flash of His countenance". The musicologist Julian Mincham notes that Bach's recitative is "both melodic and dramatic throughout", showing his familiarity with "the best contemporary operatic styles".

3

A tenor aria with the oboes in unison develops "" (Capital and interest).

Klaus Hofmann Klaus Hofmann (born 20 March 1939) is a German musicologist who is an expert on the music of Johann Sebastian Bach. Born in Würzburg, Hofmann studied after graduation (1958) from 1958 to 1959 at the University of Erlangen. He then continued his ...

calls the movement dance-like.

4

A secco recitative for bass demands: "" (Nevertheless, terrified heart, live and do not despair!).

5

A duet of the upper voices, only accompanied by the continuo, reflects "" (Heart, rend the chains of Mammon). Hofmann notes the dotted rhythm of the dance Canarie to the often canonic imitation of the voices. The word "zerreiß" (tear asunder) is depicted by a rest afterwards. The fetters (Kette) are illustrated with "slurred coloraturas", the term "Sterbebett" (deathbed) appears in "darkening of the harmony."

6

The closing chorale, "" (Strengthen me with Your joyful Spirit), is a four-part setting.

Recordings

The listing is taken from the selection on the Bach Cantatas Website. Ensembles playing period instruments in

historically informed performance Historically informed performance (also referred to as period performance, authentic performance, or HIP) is an approach to the performance of Western classical music, classical music, which aims to be faithful to the approach, manner and style of ...

are marked by green background.

References

External links

*
Tue Rechnung! Donnerwort BWV 168; BC A 116 / Sacred cantata (9th Sunday after Trinity)
Bach Digital
BWV 168 Tue Rechnung! Donnerwort
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 ...

* Luke Dahn
BWV 168.6
bach-chorales.com {{DISPLAYTITLE:''Tue Rechnung! Donnerwort'', BWV 168 Church cantatas by Johann Sebastian Bach 1725 compositions