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 wo ...
composed the
church cantata (Praise the Lord, my soul),
69a, also BWV69.1,
[ at ]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 his family. Early manuscripts of such compositions are a major foc ...
website: Lobe den Herrn, meine Seele BWV 69.1; BWV 69a; BC A 123 / Sacred cantata (12th Sunday after Trinity) 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 ...
for the twelfth 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 th ...
and first performed it on 15 August 1723. It is part of his
first cantata cycle.
History and words
Bach wrote the cantata in his first year in Leipzig, which he had started after Trinity of 1723, for the
Twelfth Sunday after Trinity.
The prescribed readings for the Sunday were from the
Second Epistle to the Corinthians, the ministry of the Spirit (), and from the
Gospel of Mark, the
healing of a deaf mute man (). The unknown poet referred to the gospel, but saw in the healing more generally God constantly doing good for man. The opening chorus is therefore taken from , "Praise the Lord, my soul, and do not forget the good He has done for you". The poetry refers to "telling" several times, related to the healed man's ability to speak: "Ah, that I had a thousand tongues!"
(
movement 2), "My soul, arise! tell"
(movement 3) and "My mouth is weak, my tongue mute to speak Your praise and honor"
(movement 4). Several movements rely on words of a cantata by
Johann Oswald Knauer, published in 1720 in in Gotha.
The closing
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 th ...
picks up the theme in the sixth verse of
Samuel Rodigast
Samuel Rodigast (19 October 1649 – 19 March 1708) was a German teacher and hymnwriter. He is remembered as the author of the hymn "Was Gott tut, das ist wohlgetan".
Life
Rodigast was born in Gröben near Jena. After attending the Gymnasium in ...
's
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 ''hy ...
"" (What God does, is done well)
(1675).
Bach first performed the cantata on 15 August 1723.
He performed it again around 1727, revised the instrumentation of an aria, and used it in his last years for a cantata for a ceremony, the inauguration of the town council at church, .
Scoring and structure
To express the praise of the words, the cantata is festively scored for
soprano,
alto,
tenor
A tenor is a type of classical male singing 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 low extreme for tenors is wide ...
and
bass soloists, a
four-part choir, and a
Baroque instrumental ensemble of three
trumpet
The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standard ...
s,
timpani
Timpani (; ) or kettledrums (also informally called timps) are musical instruments in the percussion family. A type of drum categorised as a hemispherical drum, they consist of a membrane called a head stretched over a large bowl traditionally ...
, three
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.
...
s,
oboe da caccia
The oboe da caccia (; literally "hunting oboe" in Italian), also sometimes referred to as an oboe da silva, is a double reed woodwind instrument in the oboe family, pitched a fifth below the oboe and used primarily in the Baroque period of Europe ...
,
oboe d'amore,
recorder
Recorder or The Recorder may refer to:
Newspapers
* ''Indianapolis Recorder'', a weekly newspaper
* ''The Recorder'' (Massachusetts newspaper), a daily newspaper published in Greenfield, Massachusetts, US
* ''The Recorder'' (Port Pirie), a news ...
,
bassoon, 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 regu ...
s,
viola
; german: Bratsche
, alt=Viola shown from the front and the side
, image=Bratsche.jpg
, caption=
, background=string
, hornbostel_sachs=321.322-71
, hornbostel_sachs_desc=Composite chordophone sounded by a bow
, range=
, related=
*Violin family ...
, and
basso continuo.
The cantata is 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 ...
:
# Chorus:
# Recitative (soprano):
# Aria (tenor):
# Recitative (alto):
# Aria (bass):
# Chorale:
Music
Bach reflected the duality within the words of the psalm in the opening chorus by creating a
double fugue. Both
themes of the movement in
D Major
D major (or the key of D) is a major scale based on D, consisting of the pitches D, E, F, G, A, B, and C. Its key signature has two sharps. Its relative minor is B minor and its parallel minor is D minor.
The D major scale is:
:
Ch ...
are handled separately first and then combined. In 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 accompa ...
, a
pastoral movement, the tenor is accompanied by oboe da caccia, recorder and bassoon.
In a later version around 1727 Bach changed the instrumentation to alto, oboe and violin, possibly because he did not have players at hand for the first woodwind setting. In the second aria the contrast of (suffering) and (joy) is expressed by
chromatic, first down, then up, and vivid
coloraturas. The closing chorale is the same as the one of , of 1714, but for no apparent reason without the
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 indic ...
violin.
Recordings
* ''J. S. Bach: Das Kantatenwerk – Sacred Cantatas Vol. 4'',
Nikolaus Harnoncourt,
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, soloist of the Tölzer Knabenchor,
Paul Esswood,
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 Entfüh ...
,
Ruud van der Meer,
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 ...
1977
* ''J. S. Bach: Complete Cantatas Vol. 6'',
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 Baroq ...
,
Ruth Ziesak
Ruth Ziesak (born 9 February 1963) is a German soprano in opera and concert.
Career
Ruth Ziesak studied voice at the Frankfurt University of Music and Performing Arts with Elsa Cavelti and Christoph Prégardien. She has been a member of the M ...
,
Elisabeth von Magnus
Elisabeth von Magnus (born Countess Elisabeth Juliana de la Fontaine und d'Harnoncourt-Unverzagt on 29 May 1954) is an Austrian classical mezzo-soprano. The daughter of conductor Nikolaus Harnoncourt and violinist Alice Harnoncourt, her pro ...
,
Paul Agnew
Paul Agnew (born 1964 in Glasgow) is a Scottish operatic tenor and conductor.
Biography
Agnew read music as a Choral Scholar at Magdalen College, Oxford. He became associated with various groups specializing in early music (Ex Cathedra, the ...
,
Klaus Mertens, Antoine Marchand 1997
* ''J. S. Bach: Cantatas Vol. 13'',
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 wh ...
,
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 ...
,
Yoshie Hida,
Kirsten Sollek-Avella,
Makoto Sakurada,
Peter Kooy,
BIS 1999
* ''Edition Bachakademie Vol. 140 – Sacred Vocal Works'',
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 ...
,
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 ...
,
Sibylla Rubens
Sibylla Rubens is a German classical concert soprano.
Career
Sibylla Rubens studied voice (concert and opera) at the Staatliche Musikhochschule in Trossingen and at the Hochschule für Musik in Frankfurt and in master classes with Edith Mathi ...
,
Anke Vondung
Anke Vondung (born in Speyer, Rhineland-Palatinate in 1972), is a German mezzo-soprano. She was a member of the Semperoper Dresden from 2003 to 2006.
Career
She won third prize in the 1998 ARD International Music Competition in Munich.
She has ...
,
Marcus Ullmann,
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 publis ...
1999
* ''Bach Cantatas Vol. 6'',
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, Ga ...
,
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,
Robin Tyson,
Christoph Genz,
Peter Harvey
Peter Michael St Clair Harvey (16 September 19442 March 2013) was an Australian journalist and broadcaster. Harvey was a long-serving correspondent and contributor with the Nine Network from 1975 to 2013.
Career
Harvey studied his journalism c ...
,
Soli Deo Gloria 000
Triple zero, Triple Zero, Zero Zero Zero, Triple 0, Triple-0, 000, or 0-0-0 may refer to:
* 000 (emergency telephone number), the Australian emergency telephone number
* "Triple Zero", a song by AFI from ''Shut Your Mouth and Open Your Eyes''
* Th ...
References
Sources
*
Cantata BWV 69a Lobe den Herrn, meine Seele history, scoring, sources for text and music, translations to various languages, discography, discussion, Bach Cantatas Website
Chapter 15 BWV 69a Lobe den Herrn, meine Seele / Bless the Lord, my soul.Julian Mincham, 2010
* Luke Dahn
bach-chorales.com
{{DISPLAYTITLE:''Lobe den Herrn, meine Seele'', BWV 69a
Church cantatas by Johann Sebastian Bach
Psalm-related compositions by Johann Sebastian Bach
1723 compositions