(He knows not what sorrow is), BWV 209, 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 wo ...

and first performed 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 ...

in 1747. With '' Amore Traditore'', it is one of the composer's only two settings of a text in Italian.

History and text

Internal evidence suggests that the text by an unknown

librettist A libretto (Italian for "booklet") is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major litu ...

was not written before 1729. The text also contains clues as to the occasion for which it was written. It refers to

Ansbach Ansbach (; ; East Franconian: ''Anschba'') is a city in the German state of Bavaria. It is the capital of the administrative region of Middle Franconia. Ansbach is southwest of Nuremberg and north of Munich, on the river Fränkische Rezat, ...

, Bavaria, and, somewhat confusingly given Bavaria's location, a sea voyage. Mincham draws attention to an interest in Ansbach in Italian music, and suggests that Bach would have known that the city was the home of

Giuseppe Torelli Giuseppe Torelli (22 April 1658 – 8 February 1709) was an Italian violist, violinist, teacher, and composer of the middle Baroque era. Torelli is most remembered for contributing to the development of the instrumental concerto., especially co ...

at the end of the 17th century. However, while the identity of the person undertaking the voyage is not clear, it appears to be a German rather than an Italian. It has been suggested that Bach composed this cantata as a farewell for someone leaving Leipzig's academic community such as

Johann Matthias Gesner Johann Matthias Gesner (9 April 1691 – 3 August 1761) was a German classical scholar and schoolmaster. Life He was born at Roth an der Rednitz near Ansbach. His father, Johann Samuel Gesner, a pastor in Auhausen, died in 1704, leaving the fa ...

(1691-1761) or Lorenz Albrecht Beck (1723-1768), both men having connections with Ansbach. Bach's autograph score does not survive. The cantata was first published in 1881 in the Bach-Gesellschaft-Ausgabe, the first complete edition of the composer's works.

Scoring and structure

The piece is scored for solo soprano voice,

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

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 ...

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 has five movements: #Sinfonia #Recitative: ' #Aria: ' #Recitative: ' #Aria: '

Music

Bach may have derived the opening sinfonia in

B minor B minor is a minor scale based on B, consisting of the pitches B, C, D, E, F, G, and A. Its key signature has two sharps. Its relative major is D major and its parallel major is B major. The B natural minor scale is: : Changes need ...

from a previous concerto. It includes a prominent "baroque 'weeping' figure". 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 repeat ...

uses tonality to underline the meaning of the "quasi-philosophical" text. The following

da capo aria The da capo aria () is a musical form for arias that was prevalent in the Baroque era. It is sung by a soloist with the accompaniment of instruments, often a small orchestra. The da capo aria is very common in the musical genres of opera and orato ...

is in

E minor E minor is a minor scale based on E, consisting of the pitches E, F, G, A, B, C, and D. Its key signature has one sharp. Its relative major is G major and its parallel major is E major. The E natural minor scale is: : Changes needed ...

and features a flute

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 ...

. The second recitative is short and secco, contrasting sharply with the final "ebulliently major" da capo aria.

Recordings

* Agnes Giebel (soprano), Das Leonhardt-Consort Gustav Leonhardt. ''J. S. Bach: Cantatas BWV 203 & BWV 209''. Telefunken, 1964. *

Elly Ameling Elisabeth Sara "Elly" Ameling (born 8 February 1933) is a retired Dutch soprano, who was particularly known for lieder recitals and for performing works by Johann Sebastian Bach. Performing with distinguished pianists and ensembles around the glo ...

(soprano),

William Bennett William John Bennett (born July 31, 1943) is an American conservative politician and political commentator who served as secretary of education from 1985 to 1988 under President Ronald Reagan. He also held the post of director of the Office of ...

(flute), Academy of St Martin-in-the-Fields,

Neville Marriner Sir Neville Marriner, (15 April 1924 – 2 October 2016) was an English violinist and "one of the world's greatest conductors". Gramophone lists Marriner as one of the 50 greatest conductors and another compilation ranks Marriner #14 of the ...

. ''Bach Cantatas''. EMI, 1973. *

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. *The Bach Ensemble,

Joshua Rifkin Joshua Rifkin (born April 22, 1944 in New York) is an American conductor, pianist, and musicologist; he is currently a professor of music at Boston University. As a performer he has recorded music by composers from Antoine Busnois to Silvestr ...

. ''J.S. Bach: Weichet nur betrübte Shatten "Hochzeitskantate"''. Decca, 1989. *Cologne Soloists Ensemble,

Helmut Müller-Brühl Helmut Peter Müller-Brühl (28 June 1933 – 2 January 2012) was a German conductor. Müller-Brühl was a pupil of Hermann Abendroth, founder of the Cologne Chamber Orchestra. In 1958, Müller-Brühl invited this orchestra to be the principal or ...

. ''Maria Stader singt Kantaten von Johann Sebastian Bach''. Pelca, 1965. *Orchestra of the Bach Guild, Anton Heiller. ''J.S. Bach: Cantata Nr. 51; Cantata Nr. 209''. Amadeo, 1952. *Ensemble Sonnerie,

Monica Huggett Monica Huggett (born 16 May 1953 in London, England) is a British conductor and leading baroque violinist. Biography At the age of 16, Huggett started studying at the Royal Academy of Music, London, with Manoug Parikian and Kato Havas, bar ...

. ''J.S. Bach - Cantatas''. EMI/Virgin Classics, 1999. *

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 ...

& Maasaki Suzuki. ''Bach: The Secular Cantatas; Non sa che sia dolore BWV 209''. BIS, 2019.

Notes

References

External links

* * https://www.emmanuelmusic.org/bach-translations/bwv-209 BWV 209 – "Non sa che sia dolore"]: 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 wh ...

Non sa che sia dolore
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 land-grant research university in Burlington, Vermont. It was founded in 1791 and is among the oldest universities in the United ...

BWV 209 Non sa che sia dolore
text, scoring,

University of Alberta The University of Alberta, also known as U of A or UAlberta, is a Public university, public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It was founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford,"A Gentleman of Strathcona – Alexande ...

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