' (I am content in myself), BWV 204, is a secular cantata composed 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 ...

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 ...

between 1726 and 1727.

History and text

Bach composed this cantata in

between 1726 and 1727 for an unknown occasion. The text is drawn from the work of

Christian Friedrich Hunold Christian Friedrich Hunold (born 29 September 1680 in Wandersleben near Gotha (town), Gotha, died 16 August 1721 in Halle (Saale), Halle) was a German author who wrote under the pseudonym Menantes. Biography Hunold went to school in Arnstadt ...

. Hunold and Bach are assumed to have met, but the librettist died in 1721, which is well before the cantata appears to have been composed. The music of the closing aria was reused in the wedding cantata ''Vergnügte PleißenStadt'', BWV 216 of 1728.

Scoring and structure

The cantata is scored for

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 ...

soloist,

flauto traverso The Western concert flute is a family of transverse (side-blown) woodwind instruments made of metal or wood. It is the most common variant of the flute. A musician who plays the flute is called a flautist (in British English), flutist (in Ameri ...

, 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, 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 ...

. It has eight movements: #Recitative: ' #Aria: ' #Recitative: ' #Aria: ' #Recitative: ' #Aria: ' #Recitative: ' #Aria: '

Music

The opening

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 ...

is harmonically active but melodically fragmented because of the unusual choice to set balanced couplets in recitative. The first

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 characterized by a "restless feeling of effort" beginning immediately after the short instrumental

ritornello A ritornello (Italian; "little return") is a recurring passage in Baroque music for orchestra or chorus. Early history The earliest use of the term "ritornello" in music referred to the final lines of a fourteenth-century madrigal, which were usu ...

, and is the only one in

da capo Da capo (, also , ) is an Italian musical term that means "from the beginning" (literally, "from the head"). It is often abbreviated as D.C. The term is a directive to repeat the previous part of music, often used to save space, and thus is an ...

form. The second recitative is the only one to be

accompagnato 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 repeat ...

, with the strings supporting a harmony that "begins to slide around like quicksand". The second aria has a flowing ritornello theme provided by continuo and obbligato violin. The third recitative is secco with "two bursts of operatic virtuosity". The third aria is in

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 ...

and minor mode. The fourth recitative includes 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 ...

passage ending on an "exceedingly odd" cadence. The final movement is the only one to include all instrumental parts, with a dance-like opening theme and an ABAB structure.

Recordings

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. 4''. Erato, 1996. *Bach-Collegium Stuttgart, Helmuth Rilling. ''Edition Bachakademie Vol. 62''.

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 ...

, 1998. *Württemberg Chamber Orchestra, Rudolf Ewerhart. ''Bach Cantatas''. Vox, 1966. *

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 ...

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 ...

. ''J. S. Bach: Secular Cantatas, Vol. 10''. BIS, 2018.

Notes

References

External links

*
BWV 204 – "Ich bin in mir vergnügt"
English translation,

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 ...

Ich bin in mir vergnügt
history, scoring, Bach 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 ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ich bin in mir vergnugt, BWV 204 Secular cantatas by Johann Sebastian Bach 1726 compositions 1727 compositions