''Bekennen will ich seinen Namen'' (I shall acknowledge His name),

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 ...

200, is an arrangement 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 w ...

of an aria from

Gottfried Heinrich Stölzel Gottfried Heinrich Stölzel (13 January 1690 in – 27 November 1749 in Gotha) was a prolific German composer of the Baroque era. Stölzel was an accomplished German stylist who wrote a good many of the poetic texts for his vocal works. Biogra ...

's passion-oratorio ''

Die leidende und am Kreuz sterbende Liebe Die, as a verb, refers to death, the cessation of life. Die may also refer to: Games * Die, singular of dice, small throwable objects used for producing random numbers Manufacturing * Die (integrated circuit), a rectangular piece of a semicondu ...

''. He scored it for alto, two violins and continuo, possibly as part of a

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 ...

for the feast of Purification. He probably led the first performance around 1742.

History and text

Bach arranged in ''Bekennen will ich seinen Namen'' an aria, "Dein Kreuz, o Bräutgam meiner Seelen" (Your cross, o bridegroom of my soul" from

's passion-oratorio ''

''.Bach Digital Work at Bach's arrangement, dated around 1742–1743, was possibly part of a cantata for the

Marian feast Marian feast days in the liturgical year are celebrated in honour of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The number of Marian feasts celebrated, their names (and at times dates) can vary among Christian denominations. History and development Early histor ...

of Purification. The prescribed readings for the day were , and . Bach likely performed his arrangement in 1742 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 ...

Music

The aria is scored for solo

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 ...

voice, 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, 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 ...

. As with many of Bach's latest cantatas, the aria has a "quality of mellow assurance". It is in adapted

ternary form Ternary form, sometimes called song form, is a three-part musical form consisting of an opening section (A), a following section (B) and then a repetition of the first section (A). It is usually schematized as A–B–A. Prominent examples includ ...

but includes no clear reprise of the opening section. The vocal line includes

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 referr ...

s but no other

word painting Word painting, also known as tone painting or text painting, is the musical technique of composing music that reflects the literal meaning of a song's lyrics or story elements in programmatic music. Historical development Tone painting of words ...

Recordings

*Academy of St Martin-in-the-Fields, Kenneth Sillito. ''J.S. Bach: Cantatas Nos. 53 · 82 · 170 · 200''. Capriccio, 1993. *

Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra The Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir is a Dutch early-music group based in Amsterdam. The Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir was created in two stages by the conductor, organist and harpsichordist Ton Koopman. He founded the Amsterdam Baroqu ...

Ton Koopman Antonius Gerhardus Michael Koopman (; born 2 October 1944), known professionally as Ton Koopman, is a Dutch conductor, organist, harpsichordist, and musicologist, primarily known for being the founder and director of the Amsterdam Baroque Orches ...

. ''J.S. Bach: Complete Cantatas Vol. 21''. Antoine Marchand, 2002. *Bach-Orchester Mainz, Diethard Hellmann. ''J.S. Bach: Psalm 51 BWV 1083 & Cantata BWV 200''. Da Camera, 1966. *English Baroque Soloists,

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 ...

. ''J.S. Bach: Cantatas for the Feast of Purification of Mary''. Archiv Produktkion, 2000. *Netherlands Bach Collegium, Pieter Jan Leusink. ''Bach Edition Vol. 17''. Brilliant Classics, 2000. *Philomusica of London, Thurston Dart. ''J.S. Bach: Cantatas BWV 53, BWV 54, BWV 200, BWV 244''. L'Oiseau-Lyre, 1958. *Musica Antiqua Köln, Reinhard Goebel. BWV 200: Aria for contralto, 2 violins and basso continuo Magdalena Kozena Archiv Production 2003

References

Sources

External links

*
Bach Cantata Translations / BWV 200 - "Bekennen will ich seinen Namen"

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 ...

2020 {{Authority control Church cantatas by Johann Sebastian Bach 1720 compositions 1742 compositions