''Die Freude reget sich'' (Joy awakens),
BWV 36.3, BWV36b), 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 ...
composed by
Johann Sebastian Bach.
[Work at Bach Digital website] The work appears to date from , when Bach was living in
Leipzig.
Bach drew on material he had composed more than a decade earlier for the cantata
''Schwingt freudig euch empor'', BWV 36.1.
[Work at Bach Digital website]
History and text
Bach wrote several works for celebrations of the
Leipzig University, ''Festmusiken zu Leipziger Universitätsfeiern''.
The text pays homage to , who was appointed
Rector
Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to:
Style or title
*Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations
*Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...
of
Leipzig University in October 1735. The cantata was probably performed in the university church, the
Paulinerkirche.
In 1727
Christian Friedrich Henrici
Christian Friedrich Henrici (January 14, 1700 – May 10, 1764), writing under the pen name Picander, was a German poet and librettist for many of the cantatas which Johann Sebastian Bach composed in Leipzig.
Henrici was born in Stolpen. He stud ...
(Picander) had published an earlier version of the text, the birthday cantata
''Steigt freudig in die Luft'', BWW 36a, which was also set by Bach. Picander was probably the author of the adaptation for the university celebration.
Scoring and structure
The cantata is scored for four soloists,
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 ...
,
alto
The musical term alto, meaning "high" in Italian (Latin: ''altus''), historically refers to the contrapuntal part higher than the tenor and its associated vocal range. In 4-part voice leading alto is the second-highest part, sung in choruses by ...
,
tenor and
bass
Bass or Basses may refer to:
Fish
* Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species
Music
* Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range:
** Bass (instrument), including:
** Acoustic bass gui ...
, a four-part
choir,
flauto traverso, 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 me ...
, 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 ...
.
# Chorus:
#
Recitative (tenor):
#
Aria (tenor):
# Recitative (alto):
# Aria (alto):
# Recitative (soprano):
# Aria (soprano):
# Chorus and recitative (tenor, alto, soprano):
Music
As in BWV 36.1, the first movement is cheerful in nature, and the tenor aria includes a significant oboe d'amore line. The final movement is a "jolly chorus with interpolated recitative".
There are also related sacred cantatas, two versions of the church cantata for the First Sunday in Advent,
''Schwingt freudig euch empor'', BWV 36.
[Work and at Bach Digital website]
The cantata is unusual in being a secular work which was parodied as a sacred work and then, some five years later again as a secular work. Bach's parodies are usually secular to sacred rather than sacred to secular. The explanation given for the prevalence of secular to sacred parodies is that occasional secular works such as birthday cantatas had a single use and then Bach was able to reuse them as sacred works.
Recordings
* ''Bach Kantaten'',
Wolfgang Unger
Wolfgang Unger (31 December 1948 – 19 April 2004) was a German conductor, especially a choral conductor, and an academic in Halle and Leipzig. He founded several choirs and focused on the music of Johann Sebastian Bach and his contemporaries. Li ...
,
Leipziger Universitätschor
The Leipziger Universitätschor (LUC) is the university choir of the University of Leipzig. A mixed choir, it is formed by approximately 100 students from all faculties. It was founded in 1926 as Madrigalkreis Leipziger Studenten (Madrigal circle o ...
, Pauliner Barockensemble,
Linda Perillo
Linda may refer to:
As a name
* Linda (given name), a female given name (including a list of people and fictional characters so named)
* Linda (singer) (born 1977), stage name of Svetlana Geiman, a Russian singer
* Anita Linda (born Alice Lake i ...
,
Matthias Koch,
Nils Giesecke
Nils is a Scandinavian given name, a chiefly Norwegian, Danish, Swedish and Latvian variant of Niels, cognate to Nicholas.
People and animals with the given name
* Nils Bergström (born 1985), Swedish ice hockey player
*Nils Björk (1898–1989), ...
, Thorofon
* ''Edition Bachakademie Vol. 139 – Congratulatory and Hommage Cantatas'',
Helmuth Rilling,
Gächinger Kantorei,
Bach-Collegium Stuttgart,
Christiane Oelze
Christiane Oelze (born 9 October 1963 in Cologne) is a German operatic soprano. From 2003 to 2008, she taught singing at the Robert Schumann Hochschule Düsseldorf. Since 2010 she taught at the Masterclass of Apeldoorn (Netherlands), since 2011 at ...
,
Ingeborg Danz
Ingeborg Danz (born 1961 in Witten) is a German mezzo-soprano and alto concert singer.
Career
Danz studied school music at the Hochschule für Musik Detmold and voice with Heiner Eckels. She took advanced classes with Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, am ...
,
Marcus Ullmann
Marcus Ullmann (born 1967) is a German classical tenor.
Professional career
Born in Dresden, Marcus Ullmann received his first musical training as a choir boy in the Dresdner Kreuzchor. He studied at the Dresden Music Academy and graduated with ...
,
Hänssler
References
Sources
''Scores''
*
''General''
Cantata BWV 36b Die Freude reget sichhistory, scoring, sources for text and music, translations to various languages, discography, discussion, Bach Cantatas Website
English translation,
University of Vermont
BWV 36b Die Freude reget sichtext, scoring,
University of Alberta
{{DEFAULTSORT:Freude reget sich BWV 36b
Secular cantatas by Johann Sebastian Bach
1735 compositions