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, ...
(Christ, he is my life),
95 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 16th 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 12 September 1723.
History and text
Bach wrote the cantata in his first year at Leipzig for the
16th Sunday after Trinity and first performed it on 12 September 1723.
The prescribed readings for the Sunday were from the
Epistle to the Ephesians
The Epistle to the Ephesians is the tenth book of the New Testament. Its authorship has traditionally been attributed to Paul the Apostle but starting in 1792, this has been challenged as Deutero-Pauline, that is, pseudepigrapha written in Pau ...
, praying for the strengthening of faith in the congregation of
Ephesus
Ephesus (; grc-gre, Ἔφεσος, Éphesos; tr, Efes; may ultimately derive from hit, 𒀀𒉺𒊭, Apaša) was a city in ancient Greece on the coast of Ionia, southwest of present-day Selçuk in İzmir Province, Turkey. It was built in t ...
(), and 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 raising from the dead of the
Young man from Nain
Young may refer to:
* Offspring, the product of reproduction of a new organism produced by one or more parents
* Youth, the time of life when one is young, often meaning the time between childhood and adulthood
Music
* The Young, an American ro ...
(). In Bach's time the story pointed immediately at the resurrection of the dead, expressed as a desire to die soon. As
Salomon Franck expressed in his text for cantata , composed in Weimar in 1715, the unknown poet concentrates on a desire to die, in hope to be raised like the young man from Nain.
The poet includes four
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 ...
s from four different
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 ...
s.
Two chorale stanzas are already presented in the first
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 ...
, "" (Jena 1609)
and
Martin Luther
Martin Luther (; ; 10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German priest, theologian, author, hymnwriter, and professor, and Order of Saint Augustine, Augustinian friar. He is the seminal figure of the Reformation, Protestant Refo ...
's "" (1524),
a paraphrase of the canticle . Movement 3 is
Valerius Herberger
Valerius Herberger (21 April 1562 – 18 May 1627) was a German Lutheran preacher and theologian.
Life
He was born at Fraustadt, Silesia (now Wschowa in Poland). He studied for three years at Freystadt in Silesia (now Kożuchów in Poland), and ...
's "
Valet will ich dir geben
"" is a Lutheran hymn written by Valerius Herberger in 1613. It is a ' (hymn for the dying). The text was published with two hymn tunes by Melchior Teschner, Zahn Nos. 5403 and 5404a, in 1615. The second of these melodies was used in composi ...
",
and the closing chorale is the fourth stanza of
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 ...
's "".
Scoring and structure
The cantata in seven 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 ...
,
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
four-part choir,
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
oboe 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 ...
, 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,
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 ...
,
violoncello piccolo
The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a bowed (sometimes plucked and occasionally hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually tuned in perfect fifths: from low to high, C2, G2, D ...
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 ...
.
# Chorale and recitative (tenor):
# Recitative (soprano):
# Chorale (soprano):
# Recitative (tenor):
# Aria (tenor):
# Recitative (bass):
# Chorale:
Music
A week before, Bach had included three stanzas from a chorale in . In this cantata he includes four stanzas from four different funeral hymns.
The first three movements combine three of them, first stanzas throughout. The first chorale on a melody by
Melchior Vulpius
Melchior Vulpius (c. 1570 in Wasungen – 7 August 1615 in Weimar) was a German singer and composer of church music.
Vulpius came from a poor craftsman's family. He studied at the local school in Wasungen (in Thuringia) with Johannes Steuerl ...
is embedded in a concerto of oboes and strings in
syncopated
In music, syncopation is a variety of rhythms played together to make a piece of music, making part or all of a tune or piece of music off-beat. More simply, syncopation is "a disturbance or interruption of the regular flow of rhythm": a "place ...
motifs in parallels of thirds and sixths. The melody in the soprano is reinforced by the horn. The line "" (Death is my reward) is slower than the others, in a tradition observed already by
Johann Hermann Schein
Johann Hermann Schein (20 January 1586 – 19 November 1630) was a German composer of the early Baroque era. He was Thomaskantor in Leipzig from 1615 to 1630. He was one of the first to import the early Italian stylistic innovations into German ...
.
The
recitative
Recitative (, also known by its Italian name "''recitativo''" ()) is a style of delivery (much used in operas, oratorios, and cantatas) in which a singer is allowed to adopt the rhythms and delivery of ordinary speech. Recitative does not repea ...
alternates between secco and accompagnato, with the same accompanying motifs as in the chorale. The second chorale on Luther's melody
is graced by an independent violin part, and every line is preceded by an entry of the horn. A secco recitative leads to the third chorale,
which is sung by the soprano alone like an
aria
In music, an aria (Italian: ; plural: ''arie'' , or ''arias'' in common usage, diminutive form arietta , plural ariette, or in English simply air) is a self-contained piece for one voice, with or without instrumental or orchestral accompanime ...
, accompanied for the first line only by the continuo, but for the rest of the text by the oboes, playing an
obbligato
In Western classical music, ''obbligato'' (, also spelled ''obligato'') usually describes a musical line that is in some way indispensable in performance. Its opposite is the marking ''ad libitum''. It can also be used, more specifically, to indica ...
melody in
unison
In music, unison is two or more musical parts that sound either the same pitch or pitches separated by intervals of one or more octaves, usually at the same time. ''Rhythmic unison'' is another term for homorhythm.
Definition
Unison or per ...
.
The only aria of the cantata is dominated by the oboes and accompanied by
pizzicato
Pizzicato (, ; translated as "pinched", and sometimes roughly as "plucked") is a playing technique that involves plucking the strings of a string instrument. The exact technique varies somewhat depending on the type of instrument :
* On bowed ...
in the strings which symbolizes funerary bells, according to
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 ...
.
The closing chorale
is again enriched by a soaring additional violin part.
Recordings
* ''Bach Made in Germany Vol. 1 – Cantatas VIII'',
Günther Ramin
Günther Werner Hans Ramin (15 October 1898 – 27 February 1956) was an influential German organist, conductor, composer and pedagogue in the first half of the 20th century.
Ramin, the son of a pastor, was born in Karlsruhe, Germany. At the a ...
,
Thomanerchor
The Thomanerchor (English: St. Thomas Choir of Leipzig) is a boys' choir in Leipzig, Germany. The choir was founded in 1212. The choir comprises about 90 boys from 9 to 18 years of age. The members, called ''Thomaner'', reside in a boarding scho ...
,
Gewandhausorchester
The Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra (Gewandhausorchester; also previously known in German as the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig) is a German symphony orchestra based in Leipzig, Germany. The orchestra is named after the concert hall in which it is bas ...
, soloist of the Thomanerchor,
Gert Lutze
Gert is a mainly masculine given name (Hypocorism, short form of Gerrit, Gerard, etc.) with some female bearers (short for Gertrude (given name), Gertrude).
Since 1993 no one in Sweden has been baptised as Gert according to the Swedish Bureau o ...
,
Hans Hauptmann, Eterna 1952
* ''Die Bach Kantate Vol. 50'',
Helmuth Rilling
Helmuth Rilling (born 29 May 1933) is a German choral conductor and an academic teacher. He is the founder of the Gächinger Kantorei (1954), the Bach-Collegium Stuttgart (1965), the Oregon Bach Festival (1970),
the Internationale Bachakademie S ...
,
Gächinger Kantorei
Gächinger Kantorei (Gächingen Chorale) is an internationally known German mixed choir, founded by Helmuth Rilling in 1954 in Gächingen (part of St. Johann close to Reutlingen) and conducted by him until 2013, succeeded by Hans-Christoph Radema ...
,
Bach-Collegium Stuttgart
Bach-Collegium Stuttgart is an internationally known German instrumental ensemble, founded by Helmuth Rilling in 1965 to accompany the Gächinger Kantorei in choral music with orchestra. Its members are mostly orchestra musicians from Germany and ...
,
Arleen Augér,
Adalbert Kraus
Adalbert Kraus (born 27 April 1937 in Aschaffenburg) is a German tenor in opera and concert, known for singing the works of Johann Sebastian Bach.
Career
Adalbert Kraus first graduated in German studies, theology, and philosophy and in 1967, ...
,
Walter Heldwein,
Hänssler
Hänssler-Verlag is a German music publishing house founded in 1919 as Musikverlag Hänssler by Friedrich Hänssler Senior (died 1972) to publish church music. The company is now based in Holzgerlingen. Since 1972 Hänssler Verlag has also publish ...
1978
* ''J. S. Bach: Das Kantatenwerk – Sacred Cantatas Vol. 5'',
Nikolaus Harnoncourt
Johann Nikolaus Harnoncourt or historically Johann Nikolaus Graf de la Fontaine und d'Harnoncourt-Unverzagt; () (6 December 1929 – 5 March 2016) was an Austrian conductor, particularly known for his historically informed performances of music ...
,
Tölzer Knabenchor
The Tölzer Knabenchor (Tölz Boys' Choir) is a German boys' choir named after the Upper Bavarian city of Bad Tölz and since 1971 based in Munich.
The choir is ranked among the most versatile and sought-after boys' choirs in the world.
Histor ...
,
Concentus Musicus Wien
Concentus Musicus Wien (CMW) is an Austrian baroque music ensemble based in Vienna. The CMW is recognized as a pioneer of the period-instrument performance movement.
History
Nikolaus Harnoncourt and Alice Harnoncourt co-founded the CMW in 1953 ...
, soloist of the Tölzer Knabenchor,
Kurt Equiluz
Kurt Equiluz (13 June 1929 – 20 June 2022) was an Austrian classical tenor in opera and concert. He was a member of the Vienna State Opera as a tenor buffo from 1957 until 1983, remembered for roles such as Pedrillo in Mozart's ''Die Entführ ...
,
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 ...
,
Teldec
Teldec (Telefunken-Decca Schallplatten GmbH) is a German record label in Hamburg, Germany. Today the label is a property of Warner Music Group.
History
Teldec was a producer of (first) shellac and (later) vinyl records. The Teldec manufacturing ...
1979
* ''J. S. Bach: Complete Cantatas Vol. 7'',
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 ...
,
Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir
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 ...
,
Lisa Larsson
Lisa Larsson (born 14 February 1967) is a Swedish classical soprano singer.
Career
Larsson studied in Basel and since 1993 appeared in the ''Internationales Opernstudio'' of the Zurich Opera House under conductors such as Franz Welser-Möst, ...
,
Gerd Türk
Gerd Türk is a German classical tenor.
Biography
Gerd Türk received his first musical training as a choir boy at the cathedral of Limburg. He studied in Frankfurt and then at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis with Richard Levitt and René Jaco ...
,
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 1997
* ''J. S. Bach: Cantatas Vol. 11 – Cantatas from Leipzig 1723'',
Masaaki Suzuki
is a Japanese organist, harpsichordist and conductor, and the founder and music director of the Bach Collegium Japan. With this ensemble he is recording the complete choral works of Johann Sebastian Bach for the Swedish label BIS Records, for whi ...
,
Bach Collegium Japan
Bach Collegium Japan (BCJ) is composed of an orchestra and a chorus specializing in Baroque music, playing on period instruments. It was founded in 1990 by Masaaki Suzuki with the purpose of introducing Japanese audiences to European Baroque music ...
,
Midori Suzuki,
Makoto Sakurada
is a Japanese tenor in opera and concert.
Biography
Makoto graduated from the Tokyo University of the Arts. He went to study in Italy in 1997, and continues to work there. He has recorded Bach cantatas in the complete set directed by Masaaki Su ...
,
Peter Kooy
Peter Kooij (or, internationally Kooy, born 1954, in Soest) is a Dutch bass singer who specializes in baroque music.
Biography
Kooij started his musical career at 6 years as a choir boy. However he started his musical studies as a violin stud ...
,
BIS 1998
* ''Bach Edition Vol. 20 – Cantatas Vol. 11'',
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, Cam ...
,
Knut Schoch,
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
Brilliant Classics is a classical music label based in the Dutch town of Leeuwarden. It is renowned for releasing super-budget-priced editions on CD of the complete works of J.S. Bach, Mozart, Beethoven and many other composers. The label also sp ...
2000
* ''Bach Cantatas Vol. 8: Bremen / Santiago / For the 15th Sunday after Trinity / For the 16th Sunday after Trinity'',
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 ...
,
Monteverdi Choir
The Monteverdi Choir was founded in 1964 by Sir John Eliot Gardiner for a performance of the ''Vespro della Beata Vergine'' in King's College Chapel, Cambridge. A specialist Baroque ensemble, the Choir has become famous for its stylistic convic ...
,
English Baroque Soloists
The English Baroque Soloists is a chamber orchestra playing on period instruments, formed in 1978 by English conductor Sir John Eliot Gardiner. Its repertoire comprises music from the early Baroque to the Classical period.
History
The English B ...
,
Katharine Fuge,
Mark Padmore
Mark Padmore (born 8 March 1961) is a British tenor appearing in concerts, recitals, and opera.
He was born in London on 8 March 1961, and raised in Canterbury, Kent, England. Padmore studied clarinet and piano prior to his gaining a choral s ...
,
Thomas Guthrie
Thomas Guthrie FRSE (12 July 1803 – 24 February 1873) was a Scottish divine and philanthropist, born at Brechin in Angus (at that time also called Forfarshire). He was one of the most popular preachers of his day in Scotland, and was associa ...
,
Soli Deo Gloria 2000
References
Sources
*
Christus, der ist mein Leben BWV 95; BC A 136 / Chorale cantata (16th Sunday after Trinity)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 ...
Cantata BWV 95 Christus, der ist mein Lebenhistory, scoring, sources for text and music, translations to various languages, discography, discussion, Bach Cantatas Website
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 ...
BWV 95 Christus, der ist mein Lebentext, scoring,
University of Alberta
The University of Alberta, also known as U of A or UAlberta, is a public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It was founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford,"A Gentleman of Strathcona – Alexander Cameron Rutherfor ...
* Luke Dahn
BWV 95.7bach-chorales.com
{{DISPLAYTITLE:''Christus, der ist mein Leben'', BWV 95
Church cantatas by Johann Sebastian Bach
1723 compositions