''Entfliehet, verschwindet, entweichet, ihr Sorgen'' (Fly, vanish, flee, o worries), BWV 249a, is a secular

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 ...

by Johann Sebastian Bach. First performed in 1725, the work is also known as "Shepherd Cantata" or "Shepherds' Cantata" (german: Schäferkantate). Bach reworked the music in his '' Easter Oratorio''.

History

The cantata was written in 1725 for the 43rd birthday of

Christian, Duke of Saxe-Weissenfels Christian, Duke of Saxe-Weissenfels (23 February 1682 in Weissenfels – 28 June 1736 in Sangerhausen), was a duke of Saxe-Weissenfels-Querfurt and member of the House of Wettin. He was the sixth (but second surviving) son of Johann Adolf I, Duk ...

. Bach had composed ''Was mir behagt, ist nur die muntre Jagd'', BWV 208 for the 31st birthday of the same patron. It was first performed at on 23 February 1725. In 1725 Bach was working in Leipzig and the text was written by Picander, a librettist he met there. The text was published, and thus survived. The music is lost but can be reconstructed from a related work, the Easter Oratorio, which Bach also premiered in 1725. The German researcher Friedrich Smend determined that the order of movements was not changed in the Easter Oratorio, and that therefore the music of the Shepherd Cantata could be reconstructed. The missing recitatives were added by musicologist Hermann Keller. It is not known if the two instrumental movements opening the oratorio were already part of the cantata.

Scoring and structure

The simple story shows four shepherds leaving their flock to congratulate. The shepherds are Doris (soprano), Sylvia (alto), Menalcas (tenor) and Damoetas (bass). The orchestra is festively scored for three trumpets, timpani, two oboes,

bassoon The bassoon is a woodwind instrument in the double reed family, which plays in the tenor and bass ranges. It is composed of six pieces, and is usually made of wood. It is known for its distinctive tone color, wide range, versatility, and virtuo ...

, two recorders, transverse flute, two violins, viola, 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 ...

. #Sinfonia: Allegro – Adagio #Aria à duetto (tenor, bass; da capo: soprano, alto): ' #Recitative (soprano, alto, tenor, bass): ' #Aria (soprano): ' #Recitative (soprano, alto, tenor, bass): ' #Aria (tenor): ' #Recitative (alto, bass): ' #Aria (alto): ' #Recitative (bass): ' #Aria à Quartetto (soprano, alto, tenor, bass): '

Music

The tenor aria is accompanied by muted violins doubled by recorders, suggesting a lullaby as well as

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 ...

music.

Recording

''J.S. Bach: Schäferkantate BWV 249a · Doppelkonzert nach BWV 1060'',

Edith Mathis Edith Mathis (born 11 February 1938) is a Swiss soprano and a leading exponent of the works of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart worldwide. She is known for parts in Mozart operas, but also took part in premieres of operas such as Henze's ''Der junge Lord' ...

, Hetty Plümacher, Theo Altmeyer,

Jakob Stämpfli Jakob Stämpfli (23 February 1820 – 15 May 1879) was a Swiss politician and member of the Swiss Federal Council (1854–1863). He was elected to the Federal Council of Switzerland on 6 December 1854, and handed over office on 31 December 1863. ...

, Gächinger Kantorei &

Figuralchor der Gedächtniskirche Stuttgart Figuralchor der Gedächtniskirche Stuttgart is a mixed church- and concert choir based in Stuttgart, Germany. It was established in 1957 by Helmuth Rilling. Rilling conducted the choir in several recordings of his project to record the complete ch ...

, Bach-Collegium Stuttgart, conductor Helmuth Rilling, Cantate-Musicaphon 1967

Literature

* Alfred Dürr: ''Johann Sebastian Bach: Die Kantaten.'' Bärenreiter, Kassel 1999 (in German) * Markus Rathey: ''Bach's Major Vocal Works: Music-Drama-Liturgy.'' London: Yale University Press, 2016, 138–165 * Christoph Wolff, Ton Koopman: ''Die Welt der Bach-Kantaten''. Verlag J. B. Metzler, Stuttgart, Weimar 2006 (in German)

Notes

References

External links

Cantata BWV 249a Entfliehet, verschwindet, entweichet, ihr Sorgen
Bach Cantatas Website {{DEFAULTSORT:Entfliehet verschwindet entweichet ihr Sorgen BWV 249a Secular cantatas by Johann Sebastian Bach 1725 compositions Lost musical works by Johann Sebastian Bach