(You Shepherd of Israel, hear), 104, is a

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, ...

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 ...

. He composed it for the second Sunday after

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 ...

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 ...

and first performed it on 23 April 1724.

History and words

Bach composed the cantata in his first annual cycle in

for the second Sunday after

, called . The prescribed readings for that Sunday were from the

First Epistle of Peter The First Epistle of Peter is a book of the New Testament. The author presents himself as Peter the Apostle. The ending of the letter includes a statement that implies that it was written from "Babylon", which is possibly a reference to Rome. T ...

, Christ as a model (), and from the

Gospel of John The Gospel of John ( grc, Εὐαγγέλιον κατὰ Ἰωάννην, translit=Euangélion katà Iōánnēn) is the fourth of the four canonical gospels. It contains a highly schematic account of the ministry of Jesus, with seven "sig ...

, the

Good Shepherd The Good Shepherd ( el, ποιμὴν ὁ καλός, ''poimḗn ho kalós'') is an image used in the pericope of , in which Jesus Christ is depicted as the Good Shepherd who lays down his life for his sheep. Similar imagery is used in Psalm 23 ...

(). The unknown poet begins with and ends with

Cornelius Becker Cornelius Becker (1561–1604) was an Orthodox Lutheran pastor in Leipzig. He prepared the Becker Psalter, some of which Heinrich Schütz set to music.Jane Stuart Smith & Betty Carlson (1995), ''The Gift of Music: Great Composers and Their Influenc ...

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'' ...

"", a paraphrase of

Psalm 23 Psalm 23 is the 23rd psalm of the Book of Psalms, beginning in English in the King James Version: "The Lord is my shepherd". In Latin, it is known by the incipit, "". The Book of Psalms is part of the third section of the Hebrew Bible, and a boo ...

(1598). The poet refers in his work to more Bible context, such as and for the first

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 ...

, reflecting that God as the Good Shepherd will take care. In the second recitative, he concludes: "Only gather, o good Shepherd, us poor and erring ones; ah, let our journey soon reach an end and lead us into your sheepfold!" The last aria hopes "for faith's reward after a gentle sleep of death" (, des Glaubens Lohn nach einem sanften Todesschlafe), combining the Baroque ideas of pastoral peace and longing for death. Bach first performed the cantata on 23 April 1724.

Scoring and structure

The cantata in six

movements 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 ...

is scored for

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 soloists, a four-part choir, two

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 ...

s (No.s 1 & 6), 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 ...

(No.s 3 & 5),

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), 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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

. # Chorus: # Recitative (tenor): # Aria (tenor): # Recitative (bass): # Aria (bass): # Chorale:

Music

Bach referred to the

pastoral A pastoral lifestyle is that of shepherds herding livestock around open areas of land according to seasons and the changing availability of water and pasture. It lends its name to a genre of literature, art, and music (pastorale) that depicts ...

aspect of the text in his music. In the opening chorus, three oboes on the firm ground of extended

pedal point In music, a pedal point (also pedal note, organ point, pedal tone, or pedal) is a sustained tone, typically in the bass, during which at least one foreign (i.e. dissonant) harmony is sounded in the other parts. A pedal point sometimes function ...

create pastoral sounds, in

triplets A multiple birth is the culmination of one multiple pregnancy, wherein the mother gives birth to two or more babies. A term most applicable to vertebrate species, multiple births occur in most kinds of mammals, with varying frequencies. Such bir ...

which are frequently associated with shepherds, such as in the Sinfonia opening

Part II Part Two, Part 2 or Part II may refer to: Films and television * "Part 2" (Twin Peaks), also known as "The Return, Part 2", the second episode of the third season of the TV series ''Twin Peaks'' Music * ''Part Two'' (Throbbing Gristle album), 200 ...

of Bach's ''

Christmas Oratorio The ''Christmas Oratorio'' (German: ''Weihnachtsoratorium''), , is an oratorio by Johann Sebastian Bach intended for performance in church during the Christmas season. It is in six parts, each part a cantata intended for performance on one of t ...

''. The choir sings alternating

homophonic In music, homophony (;, Greek: ὁμόφωνος, ''homóphōnos'', from ὁμός, ''homós'', "same" and φωνή, ''phōnē'', "sound, tone") is a texture in which a primary part is supported by one or more additional strands that flesh ...

calls, "höre!" (listen!) and "erscheine!" (appear!), and two

fugue In music, a fugue () is a contrapuntal compositional technique in two or more voices, built on a subject (a musical theme) that is introduced at the beginning in imitation (repetition at different pitches) and which recurs frequently in the c ...

s on the image of Joseph leading his flocks. The fugue subject is the same in both fugues, but the second time the voices enter from the lowest voice to the highest, culminating in an ultimate third section of the calls. Different from the normal setting, the instrumental introduction is not repeated after this climax. The first recitative leads to an

arioso In classical music, arioso (also aria parlante ) is a category of solo vocal piece, usually occurring in an opera or oratorio, falling somewhere between recitative and aria in style. Literally, arioso means ''airy''. The term arose in the 16th cen ...

part on the final Bible quotation "" (God is faithful). The tenor

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 ...

is accompanied by two oboes d'amore. In the bass aria, instrumentation, triplets and extended pedal points are reminiscent of the opening chorus. The closing choral is a four-part setting on the tune of "".

Recordings

* ''Les Grandes Cantates de J.S. Bach Vol. 2'',

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 ...

Heinrich-Schütz-Chor Heilbronn 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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1957 * ''Les Grandes Cantates de J.S. Bach Vol. 2'',

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1966 * ''Bach Cantatas Vol. 2 – Easter'', Karl Richter,

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1973 * ''J. S. Bach: Das Kantatenwerk – Sacred Cantatas Vol. 6'',

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1980 * ''J. S. Bach: Complete Cantatas Vol. 6'',

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, Antoine Marchand 2000 * ''Bach Edition Vol. 4 – Cantatas Vol. 9'',

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, Knut Schoch,

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2000 * ''Bach Cantatas Vol. 23: Arnstadt/Echternach'',

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, Norbert Meyn,

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, Kantorei St. Katharinen, Bach-Collegium Frankfurt/Wiesbaden,

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References

Sources

*
Du Hirte Israel, höre BWV 104; BC A 65 / Sacred cantata (3rd Sunday of Easter)

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 104 Du Hirte Israel, höre
history, 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 ...

* * Luke Dahn
BWV 104.6
bach-chorales.com

External links

Du Hirte Israel, höre, BWV 104
performance by the

Netherlands Bach Society The Netherlands Bach Society ( nl, Nederlandse Bachvereniging) is the oldest ensemble for Baroque music in the Netherlands, and possibly in the world. The ensemble was founded in 1921 in Naarden to perform Johann Sebastian Bach, Bach's ''St Matthew ...

(video and background information) {{DEFAULTSORT:Du Hirte Israel Hore Bwv 104 Church cantatas by Johann Sebastian Bach 1724 compositions Psalm-related compositions by Johann Sebastian Bach