Alles Mit Gott Und Nichts Ohn' Ihn, BWV 1127
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"Alles mit Gott und nichts ohn' ihn" (Everything with God and nothing without him),
BWV The (, ; BWV) is a Catalogues of classical compositions, catalogue of compositions by Johann Sebastian Bach. It was first published in 1950, edited by Wolfgang Schmieder. The catalogue's second edition appeared in 1990 and the third edition in ...
 1127, is
Johann Sebastian Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (German: Help:IPA/Standard German, ˆjoːhan zeˈbastiÌŻan baχ ( – 28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque music, Baroque period. He is known for his prolific output across a variety ...
's October 1713 setting of a poem in 12 stanzas by Johann Anton Mylius, Superintendent of ButtstÀdt, a town in the Duchy of Saxe-Weimar. The poem is an
acrostic An acrostic is a poem or other word composition in which the ''first'' letter (or syllable, or word) of each new line (or paragraph, or other recurring feature in the text) spells out a word, message or the alphabet. The term comes from the Fre ...
dedicated to Duke Wilhelm Ernst of Saxe-Weimar, on his birthday (30 October). Bach, at the time employed as court
organist An organist is a musician who plays any type of organ (music), organ. An organist may play organ repertoire, solo organ works, play with an musical ensemble, ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers or instrumentalist, instrumental ...
by the Duke, set Mylius's ode as an
aria In music, an aria (, ; : , ; ''arias'' in common usage; diminutive form: arietta, ; : ariette; in English simply air (music), air) is a self-contained piece for one voice, with or without instrument (music), instrumental or orchestral accompan ...
in
strophic form Strophic form – also called verse-repeating form, chorus form, AAA song form, or one-part song form – is a song structure in which all verses or stanzas of the text are sung to the same music. Contrasting song forms include through-composed, ...
, that is a melody for
soprano A soprano () is a type of classical 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 Hertz, Hz to A5 in Choir, choral ...
accompanied by continuo for the stanzas, alternated with a
ritornello A ritornello (Italian; "little return") is a recurring passage in Renaissance music and 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 ...
for strings and continuo. When all stanzas are sung, a performance of the work takes around 45 to 50 minutes. The work was likely first performed on the Duke's birthday.. The original print of Mylius's poem, with Bach's composition written on two pages at the end, was archived in Weimar, where it remained unnoticed for nearly three centuries, accidentally twice escaping a devastating fire, in 1774 and in 2004, until it was rediscovered in May 2005. After the discovery (in 1924) and publication (in 1935) of ''Bekennen will ich seinen Namen'', BWV 200, this was the first time an
autograph An autograph is a person's own handwriting or signature. The word ''autograph'' comes from Ancient Greek (, ''autós'', "self" and , ''gráphƍ'', "write"), and can mean more specifically: Gove, Philip B. (ed.), 1981. ''Webster's Third New Intern ...
of a previously unknown vocal work by Bach had come to light.


Context

Wilhelm Ernst was born on ( O.S.) 19 October 1662. In 1683 he became
Duke of Saxe-Weimar Saxe-Weimar () was one of the History of Saxony, Saxon duchies held by the Ernestine duchies, Ernestine branch of the House of Wettin, Wettin dynasty in present-day Thuringia. The chief town and capital was Weimar. The Weimar branch was the most ...
, jointly with his younger brother Johann Ernst. The elder brother had chosen (everything with God and nothing without him) as his
motto A motto (derived from the Latin language, Latin , 'mutter', by way of Italian language, Italian , 'word' or 'sentence') is a Sentence (linguistics), sentence or phrase expressing a belief or purpose, or the general motivation or intention of a ...
. In 1700, when the Gregorian calendar was adopted, Wilhelm Ernst decided that his birthday would henceforth be celebrated on 30 October. In 1703 Johann Sebastian Bach worked for some months at the ducal court in Weimar. In 1708, a year after the death of the younger duke, Bach came to work for the ducal court again, this time in the capacity of organist. At the time, Johann Samuel Drese and his son Johann Wilhelm were the court composers () at Weimar, and composition of new pieces was no part of Bach's assignment as court organist. In 1713 Bach composed the ''
Hunting Cantata ''Was mir behagt, ist nur die muntre Jagd'' (The lively hunt is all my heart's desire), BWV,  208.1, BWV 208,Work at Bach Digital website. also known as the ''Hunting Cantata'', is a secular cantata composed by Johann Sebastian Bach, b ...
'' (''Was mir behagt, ist nur die muntre Jagd'', BWV 208, first performed on 27 February in
Weißenfels Weißenfels (; often written in English as Weissenfels) is the largest town of the Burgenlandkreis district, in southern Saxony-Anhalt, central Germany. It is situated on the river Saale, approximately south of Halle, Saxony-Anhalt, Halle. His ...
) and the ''Canon a 4 perpetuus'', BWV 1073 (2 August). Also from around this time are several entries in the ''
OrgelbĂŒchlein The ''OrgelbĂŒchlein'' (''Little Organ Book'') BWV 599−644 is a set of 46 chorale preludes for organ – one of them is given in two versions – by Johann Sebastian Bach. All but three were written between 1708 and 1717 when Bach served as org ...
'', and likely the bulk of his Weimar concerto transcriptions. Johann Anton Mylius's life is relatively well-documented: in 1751–52 one of his sons published an extended chronicle of the Mylius family, and the family was later also subject to detailed historical research. After studies in
Erfurt Erfurt () is the capital (political), capital and largest city of the Central Germany (cultural area), Central German state of Thuringia, with a population of around 216,000. It lies in the wide valley of the Gera (river), River Gera, in the so ...
and
Leipzig Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...
in the 1680s, Johann Anton became a theologian working in Erfurt and Niederroßla, and, having become Superintendent in 1674, he was from 1697 stationed in ButtstĂ€dt, a town some north of Weimar. There, he initiated reforms of the liturgical music, and grand renovation works to the town church (St Michael's), including its organ. Duke Wilhelm Ernst supported Mylius in these endeavours, and even organised a fund-raiser in his realm to finance the renovation works. Every year Duke Wilhelm Ernst would typically receive over a dozen of written congratulatory tributes. The copies of these tributes which were presented to the Duke were mostly bound in luxurious marbled paper, and conserved in the court library. One of these, published by Mumbachische Schrifften, was by the court preacher , and congratulated the duke on his 52nd icbirthday on 30 October 1713 (that date was in fact the Duke's 51st birthday). Mylius and Bach convened to produce a tribute for the same occasion. The title page of that tribute, also printed by Mumbachische Schrifften, reads in part: The title page of Mylius's ode contains the same miscalculation of the Duke's age, which, according to Michael Maul, would not be down to any of the individual authors using the services of the Mumbachische Schrifften publishing house, but was likely a more widespread misapprehension. Several composers could have been Mylius's choice for this collaboration: there were not only father and son Drese, but also the musicians with whom he collaborated in BĂŒttstadt – whatsoever, the one with whom he embarked on the project was the 28-year old Bach. The theme of Mylius's congratulatory poem is the Duke's motto, announced thus on the tribute's title page: Notwithstanding that the occasion, a birthday, was of a secular nature—usually Bach composed secular odes or cantatas for such occasions—, the result was a sacred work, not in the least because of the religious nature of the motto that became the topic of Mylius's exegetic poem. Bach set it as a strophic aria, a genre that had been widely practised in Germany by the end of the 17th century, but was considered old-fashioned by the second decade of the 18th century. In 1713, Duke Wilhelm Ernst's birthday was officially celebrated on Sunday 5 November, a day before he consecrated the newly finished . It is unlikely that "Alles mit Gott und nichts ohn' ihn", BWV 1127, was first performed on either of these days, a weekday service in the court chapel on Monday 30 October, the Duke's actual birthday, seeming more likely for that first performance.


Music and lyrics

The printed text of Mylius's ode takes five pages in the dedication copy, while Bach's handwritten setting, titled "" (aria for solo soprano and ritornello), takes the last two pages of the pamphlet.


Mylius's ode

Mylius's poem is an acrostic in 12 stanzas of eight lines. The motto of Duke Wilhelm Ernst, in Latin and German, is given as the title of the poem on the page that holds its first stanza in the 1713 print. The first and last line of each stanza is the German version of the Duke's motto. In a footnote to the first line of the first stanza, Mylius gives these biblical references for the sovereign's motto (): * Psalm 18:30, "For by thee I have run through a troop; and by my God have I leaped over a wall." * Psalm 60:14, "Through God we shall do valiantly: for he it is that shall tread down our enemies." *
1 Chronicles The Book of Chronicles ( , "words of the days") is a book in the Hebrew Bible, found as two books (1–2 Chronicles) in the Christian Old Testament. Chronicles is the final book of the Hebrew Bible, concluding the third section of the Jewish Tan ...
30:14, 16, "But who am I, and what is my people, that we should be able to offer so willingly after this sort? for all things come of thee, and of thine own have we given thee. ... O LORD our God, all this store that we have prepared to build thee an house for thine holy name cometh of thine hand, and is all thine own." The second line of the first stanza reads:To which Mylius adds this footnote:The footnote indicates the scheme of the acrostic: * The emphasized letters (W, E, H, W, S, and Z) are the initials of the Duke's name, i.e. (Wilhelm Ernst Duke of Saxe-Weimar). * The third word, (wondrous), starts with the same letter as Wilhelm Ernst's name. The second line of each stanza starts with and ends on : the word between these two half-phrases, in the case of the first stanza, reads for the 12 consecutive stanzas: *# ... ... (... wondrous ...) *# ... ... (...
Jesus Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...
' ...) *# ... ... (... country's ...) *# ... ... (... heaven's ...) *# ... ... (... noble ...) *# ... ... (... life's ...) *# ... ... (... many ...) *# ... ... (... eternal ...) *# ... ... (... rich ...) *# ... ... (... new ...) *# ... ... (... soul's ...) *# ... ... (... thousand ...) :The initials of these words read "WJLHELM ERNST" – that is the Duke's name. The acrostic technique was very common in such congratulatory poetry, and the Duke apparently appreciated it. The seventh line of each stanza is a variant of its second line, starting with (Must ...) instead of (Will ...). The four middle lines of each stanza are an exegetic explanation of its second line, and Mylius indicates in footnotes which Bible passages support his theological interpretation. By stanza these biblical references for the four middle lines are, # (wondrous blessings): #*
Psalm 72 Psalm 72 is the 72nd psalm of the Book of Psalms, beginning in English in the King James Version: "Give the king thy judgments, O God, and thy righteousness unto the king's son". In the slightly different numbering system used in the Greek Septua ...
:18, "Blessed be the LORD God, the God of Israel, who only doeth wondrous things." #*
Genesis Genesis may refer to: Religion * Book of Genesis, the first book of the biblical scriptures of both Judaism and Christianity, describing the creation of the Earth and of humankind * Genesis creation narrative, the first several chapters of the Bo ...
15:1, "After these things the word of the Lord came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward." #*
Job Work, labor (labour in Commonwealth English), occupation or job is the intentional activity people perform to support the needs and desires of themselves, other people, or organizations. In the context of economics, work can be seen as the huma ...
14:1, "Man that is born of a woman is of few days and full of trouble." # (Jesus' blessing): #* Luke 5:3ff, "And
esus Esus is a Celtic god known from iconographic, epigraphic, and literary sources. The 1st-century CE Roman poet Lucan's epic ''Pharsalia'' mentions Esus, Taranis, and Teutates as gods to whom the Gauls sacrificed humans. This rare mention of Cel ...
entered into one of the ships, which was Simon's, and prayed him that he would thrust out a little from the land. And he sat down, and taught the people out of the ship." # (blessings for the country): #*
Sirach The Book of Sirach (), also known as The Wisdom of Jesus the Son of Sirach, The Wisdom of Jesus son of Eleazar, or Ecclesiasticus (), is a Jewish literary work originally written in Biblical Hebrew. The longest extant wisdom book from antiqui ...
10:5, "In the hand of God is the prosperity of man: and upon the person of the scribe shall he lay his honour." #*
Deuteronomy 33 The Blessing of Moses is the name given to a prophetic poem that appears in Deuteronomy , where it is presented as a blessing of the Tribes of Israel by Moses. The poem thus shares its theme with the Blessing of Jacob. The Blessing of Moses contai ...
:13, "And of Joseph he said, Blessed of the LORD be his land, for the precious things of heaven, for the dew, and for the deep that coucheth beneath" in
KJV The King James Version (KJV), also the King James Bible (KJB) and the Authorized Version (AV), is an Early Modern English translation of the Christian Bible for the Church of England, which was commissioned in 1604 and published in 1611, by ...
, translation o
Deut. 33:13
in
Luther Bible The Luther Bible () is a German language Bible translation by the Protestant reformer Martin Luther. A New Testament translation by Luther was first published in September 1522; the completed Bible contained 75 books, including the Old Testament ...

1704 edition (Kelp)
# (blessings from heaven): #* Hosea 2:21, "And it shall come to pass in that day, I will hear, saith the LORD, I will hear the heavens, and they shall hear the earth" #* Jeremiah 5:24, "Neither say they in their heart, Let us now fear the LORD our God, that giveth rain, both the former and the latter, in his season: he reserveth unto us the appointed weeks of the harvest." #*
Psalm 85 Psalm 85 is the 85th psalm of the Book of Psalms, one of a series of psalms attributed to the sons of Korah. In the English of the King James Version, this psalm begins: ", thou hast been favourable unto thy land". In the slightly different num ...
:11, "Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other." # (noble blessings): #*
Deuteronomy 33 The Blessing of Moses is the name given to a prophetic poem that appears in Deuteronomy , where it is presented as a blessing of the Tribes of Israel by Moses. The poem thus shares its theme with the Blessing of Jacob. The Blessing of Moses contai ...
:13, "And of Joseph he said, Blessed of the LORD be his land, for the precious things of heaven, for the dew, and for the deep that coucheth beneath" # (life's blessings): #*
Psalm 133 Psalm 133 is the 133rd psalm of the Book of Psalms, beginning in English in the King James Version: "Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity". In Latin, it is known as "Ecce quam bonum". The psalm is one o ...
:4, "for there the LORD commanded the blessing, even life for evermore." #* Kohelet 1:8, "All things are full of labour; man cannot utter it: the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing." # (many blessings): #* Psalm 139:1, "O lord, thou hast searched me, and known me." # (eternal blessings): #* 2 Corinthians 4:17, "For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory" #*
Romans 8 Romans 8 is the eighth chapter of the Epistle to the Romans in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. It was authored by Paul the Apostle, while he was in Corinth in the mid-50s AD, with the help of an amanuensis (secretary), Tertius, w ...
:18, "For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us." # (rich blessings): #*
Ephesians The Epistle to the Ephesians is the tenth book of the New Testament. Traditionally believed to have been written by the Apostle Paul around AD 62 during his imprisonment in Rome, the Epistle to the Ephesians closely resembles Colossians ...
3:20, "Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us" # (new blessings): #* Lamentations 3:23, " he Lord's compassionsare new every morning: great is thy faithfulness." #*
Isaiah 40 Isaiah 40 is the fortieth chapter of the Book of Isaiah in the Hebrew Bible or the Old Testament of the Christian Bible, and the first chapter of the section known as "Deutero-Isaiah" (Isaiah 40- 55), dating from the time of the Israelites' ex ...
:31, "But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint." #* Song of Songs 3:4, "It was but a little that I passed from them, but I found him whom my soul loveth: I held him, and would not let him go, until I had brought him into my mother's house, and into the chamber of her that conceived me." # (blessings for the soul): #*
Wisdom Wisdom, also known as sapience, is the ability to apply knowledge, experience, and good judgment to navigate life’s complexities. It is often associated with insight, discernment, and ethics in decision-making. Throughout history, wisdom ha ...
3:3, "And their going from us to be utter destruction: but they are in peace." #*
Matthew 10 Matthew 10 is the tenth chapter in the Gospel of Matthew in the New Testament section of the Christian Bible. This chapter opens with Jesus calling some of his Disciple (Christianity), disciples and sending them out to preach and heal. This chapte ...
:28, "And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell." #*
John 11 John 11 is the eleventh chapter of the Gospel of John in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. It records the raising of Lazarus from the dead, a miracle of Jesus Christ, and the subsequent development of the chief priests' and Pharisees' plo ...
:26, "And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?" #*
Matthew 16 Matthew 16 is the sixteenth chapter in the Gospel of Matthew in the New Testament section of the Christian Bible. Jesus begins a journey to Jerusalem from the vicinity of Caesarea Philippi, near the southwestern base of Mount Hermon. Verse 24 spea ...
:26, "For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?" # (thousand blessings): #*
Daniel 7 Daniel 7 (the seventh chapter of the Book of Daniel) tells of Daniel's vision of four world-kingdoms replaced by the kingdom of the saints or "holy ones" of the Most High, which will endure for ever. Four beasts come out of the sea, the Ancien ...
:10, "A fiery stream issued and came forth from before him: thousand thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him: the judgment was set, and the books were opened." #* Revelation 7:9, "After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands" #* Psalm 143:11, "Quicken me, O LORD, for thy name's sake: for thy righteousness' sake bring my soul out of trouble."


Bach's setting

The title Bach gave to his setting, in
C major C major is a major scale based on C, consisting of the pitches C, D, E, F, G, A, and B. C major is one of the most common keys used in music. Its key signature has no flats or sharps. Its relative minor is A minor and its parallel min ...
, of Mylius's "Alles mit Gott und nichts ohn' ihn" indicates that the composition has two parts: * – for soprano voice and
figured bass Figured bass is musical notation in which numerals and symbols appear above or below (or next to) a bass note. The numerals and symbols (often accidental (music), accidentals) indicate interval (music), intervals, chord (music), chords, and non- ...
(continuo) * – for two
violin The violin, sometimes referred to as a fiddle, is a wooden chordophone, and is the smallest, and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in regular use in the violin family. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino picc ...
s,
viola The viola ( , () ) is a string instrument of the violin family, and is usually bowed when played. Violas are slightly larger than violins, and have a lower and deeper sound. Since the 18th century, it has been the middle or alto voice of the ...
,
cello The violoncello ( , ), commonly abbreviated as cello ( ), is a middle pitched bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), tuned i ...
, and continuo Bach's setting is in
common time A time signature (also known as meter signature, metre signature, and measure signature) is an indication in music notation that specifies how many note values of a particular type fit into each measure ( bar). The time signature indicates the ...
and its
tempo In musical terminology, tempo (Italian for 'time'; plural 'tempos', or from the Italian plural), measured in beats per minute, is the speed or pace of a given musical composition, composition, and is often also an indication of the composition ...
indication is adagio. The setting is a strophic aria: the same music is repeated for each of the 12 stanzas of Mylius's poem. Bach's score only contains the text of the first stanza: a custos and a repeat sign at the end indicate that the other stanzas are to be performed to the same music. Since a single pass of Bach's music takes around four minutes to perform, the entire work is performed in around 45 to 50 minutes. If a split performance was intended (e.g. before and after a sermon), then the split would most likely fall after the seventh stanza: that is the stanza with which the "WJLHELM" part of the acrostic ends, and the exegetic middle lines of that stanza are of a concluding nature, like those of the very last stanza of the poem.


Aria

The aria part of Bach's composition starts with a four- bar instrumental introduction by the continuo: that introduction has exactly 52 bass notes, which may be seen as an allusion to the age of Duke Wilhelm Ernst. From the end of the fourth bar to the first note of the 17th bar the soprano sings the first two lines of Mylius's poem, that is the A section of its first stanza. On the first pass of the second line, Bach changed the word order: "" instead of "" in the poem. Maul describes Bach's setting of the A section as having "an artfully
melisma Melisma (, , ; from , plural: ''melismata''), informally known as a vocal run and sometimes interchanged with the term roulade, is the singing of a single syllable of text while moving between several different notes in succession. Music sung in ...
tic and 'catchy' tune" The B section of the stanza, consisting of its middle four explanatory lines, is sung from bar 17 to 25. The setting of this section is harmonically more expansive than that of the A section. The mirrored A section, consisting of the two last lines of the stanza, follows from bar 26 to 34. The word order of the seventh line of the stanza, sung in bars 26 to 27, is changed as the first pass of the second line (bars 8–10): "" instead of "" in the poem. In these bars Bach returns from the
subdominant In music, the subdominant is the fourth tonal degree () of the diatonic scale. It is so called because it is the same distance ''below'' the tonic as the dominant is ''above'' the tonicin other words, the tonic is the dominant of the subdomina ...
(
F major F major is a major scale based on F, with the pitches F, G, A, B, C, D, and E. Its key signature has one flat.Music Theory'. (1950). United States: Standards and Curriculum Division, Training, Bureau of Naval Personnel. 28. Its relati ...
), at the end of the B section, to the tonic (C major), after which the "catchy tune" with which the A section opened is repeated to the same words (line 8 = line 1, the Duke's motto in all stanzas). In this way Bach realises a free
da capo Da capo ( , , ; often abbreviated as D.C.) is an Italian musical term that means "from the beginning" (literally, "from the head"). The term is a directive to repeat the previous part of music, often used to save space, and thus is an easie ...
form, that is, instead of an exact repeat of the A section, a variant of the A section follows after the B section (A-B-A'). The voice and continuo part of the composition ends with a four-bar instrumental postlude, by the continuo, which keeps close to the four-bar introduction. Thus the build of the "aria" part of the composition is symmetrical: * Introduction by continuo (four bars) ** First line of the stanza: "motto" tune for the Duke's "motto" *** Second line of the stanza, containing (before the word ) the topic of the stanza **** Four middle lines of the stanza: exegetic explanation on the topic of the stanza *** Seventh line of the stanza, mirroring the second line ** Eighth line of the stanza, mirroring the first line: same "motto" tune for the Duke's "motto" * Postlude by continuo, mirroring the first four bars Or, approached as a free
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 ...
:


Ritornello

The Ritornello starts on the last beat of the 37th bar, continuing in the 18 remaining bars of the composition. It consists of two
development Development or developing may refer to: Arts *Development (music), the process by which thematic material is reshaped * Photographic development *Filmmaking, development phase, including finance and budgeting * Development hell, when a proje ...
sections (the second of these starting in the 45th bar), on the most prominent motifs of the aria section.
Christoph Wolff Christoph Wolff (born 24 May 1940) is a German musicologist. He is best known for his works on the music, life, and period of Johann Sebastian Bach. Christoph Wolff is an emeritus professor of Harvard University, and was part of the faculty sinc ...
describes the four-part instrumental ritornello as "written in a dense, motivic and
contrapuntal In music theory, counterpoint is the relationship of two or more simultaneous Part (music), musical lines (also called voices) that are harmonically dependent on each other, yet independent in rhythm and Pitch contour, melodic contour. The term ...
texture reminiscent of the pieces in the contemporary '' Orgel-BĂŒchlein''." Maul elaborates an example of how motifs that have sounded on the words and in the aria part are combined in the last six bars of the first development of the Ritornello, and then again in the last three bars of its second development.


Reception

Five months after the presentation of the "Alles mit Gott und nichts ohn' ihn" poem and its setting to Duke Wilhelm Ernst, he promoted Bach to concertmaster (), and commissioned him to compose, once a month, a new piece of church music. According to Maul, Bach being promoted to compose church music was likely, at least in part, due to his setting of Mylius's ode. Possibly the aria was performed again in 1715 in
Pforta Schulpforta, otherwise known as Pforta, is a school located in Pforta monastery, a former Cistercian monastery (1137–1540). The school is located near Naumburg on the Saale River in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt. The site has been a sch ...
.


Conservation and recovery of the dedication copy

The dedication copy of Mylius's ode, containing Bach's autograph of its setting, was stored in the library of the Duke's palace,
Schloss Weimar Schloss Weimar is a ''Schloss'' (palace) in Weimar, Thuringia, Germany. It is now called ''Stadtschloss'' to distinguish it from other palaces in and around Weimar. It was the residence of the dukes of Saxe-Weimar and Eisenach, and has also been ...
. In 1766 the content of that library was moved to the nearby , out of reach of the fire that destroyed Schloss Weimar in 1774. The library in the GrĂŒnes Schloss was later renamed to
Duchess Anna Amalia Library The Duchess Anna Amalia Library () in Weimar, Germany, houses a major collection of German literature and historical documents. In 1991, the tricentennial of its opening to the public, the Ducal Library was renamed for Duchess Anna Amalia. Toda ...
(, HAAB). Together with other congratulatory documents received by the Dukes of Weimar, the dedication copy of BWV 1127 was stored on the second gallery level of the Rococo hall of the library. The luxurious binding of these pieces drew attention, and for classifying them they were moved to the restoration workshop outside the library building shortly before the Rococo hall burnt to the ground in September 2004. In January 2005, as part of a program that had been initiated in 2002, Maul started his research, looking for Baroque era music-related documentation, in the HAAB. On 17 June he was given access to the boxes with congratulatory tributes that were salvaged from the 2004 fire. Among these tributes was the dedication copy of Mylius's and Bach's "Alles mit Gott und nichts ohn' ihn". Authenticated, the newly discovered composition was given the ''
Bach-Werke-Verzeichnis The (, ; BWV) is a Catalogues of classical compositions, catalogue of compositions by Johann Sebastian Bach. It was first published in 1950, edited by Wolfgang Schmieder. The catalogue's second edition appeared in 1990 and the third edition in ...
'' number 1127. The shelf number of the dedication copy containing Mylius's ode and its setting by Bach, in the HAAB, is D-WRz B 24. The new find was valued for several reasons: * It is the only known composition by Bach in the strophic aria format. * It documents Bach's activities for civil occasions in his Weimar period.


Score editions

BĂ€renreiter BĂ€renreiter (BĂ€renreiter-Verlag) is a German classical music publishing house based in Kassel. The firm was founded by Karl Vötterle (1903–1975) in Augsburg in 1923, and moved to Kassel in 1927, where it still has its headquarters; it ...
published several editions of the score of BWV 1127: * The first edition, in 2005, edited by Maul. * A facsimile edition, edited by Wolff. * The
New Bach Edition The New Bach Edition (NBE) (; NBA), is the second complete edition of the music of Johann Sebastian Bach, published by BĂ€renreiter. The name is short for Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750): New Edition of the Complete Works (''Johann Sebastian ...
(), completing its activities in 2007, published BWV 1127 in a supplement, edited by Maul. A high resolution digital facsimile of D-WRz B 24 became available on the HAAB and
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 ...
websites.


21st-century performances and recordings

Part of the rediscovered aria was recorded by soprano Ah Hong and harpsichordist Joseph Gascho on 9 June 2005, and aired the next day on
NPR National Public Radio (NPR) is an American public broadcasting organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national Radio syndication, syndicator to a network of more ...
. Another preliminary performance, by Claron McFadden and , was broadcast in the Dutch TV-show ''
Nova A nova ( novae or novas) is a transient astronomical event that causes the sudden appearance of a bright, apparently "new" star (hence the name "nova", Latin for "new") that slowly fades over weeks or months. All observed novae involve white ...
''. The official world premiĂšre recording of the aria, by
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, especially the Bach Cantata Pilgrimage of 2000, performing Church cantata (Bach), Bach's church ...
conducting the
English Baroque Soloists The English Baroque Soloists is a chamber orchestra playing on authentic performance, period instruments, formed in 1978 by English Conducting, conductor John Eliot Gardiner, Sir John Eliot Gardiner. Its repertoire comprises music from the early B ...
and soprano
Elin Manahan Thomas Elin Manahan Thomas (born 1977) is a Welsh soprano. A specialist in Baroque music, she sang at the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle in May 2018. Biography Thomas was born in Gorseinon near Swansea, Wales, the daughter of M. Wynn Thoma ...
, was released in September 2005.. This recording contained three stanzas of the aria, with a performance time of 12:16.
Ton Koopman Antonius Gerhardus Michael "Ton" Koopman (; born 2 October 1944) is a Dutch conductor, organist, harpsichordist, and musicologist, primarily known for being the founder and director of the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir. He is a professor ...
's recording, on which Lisa Larsson sang the solo part, was released a few months later in Vol. 20 of his complete recording of Bach's cantatas.. Koopman made a selection of four stanzas of the aria for his recording, with a performance time of 16:52. The first complete recording of BWV 1127, that is, including all 12 stanzas of the aria with a recording time of 48:30, was realised by
Masaaki Suzuki is a Japanese organist, harpsichordist, 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 ...
,
Carolyn Sampson Carolyn Margaret Sampson (born 18 May 1974) is an English soprano in opera and concert. Specialising in historically informed performance, she has sung in Masaaki Suzuki's recording project of Bach cantatas and has appeared at the English Natio ...
, and the
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 musi ...
, and released in January 2006 on the 30th volume of Suzuki's complete Bach cantatas project.. Daniel Abraham's recording, with The Bach Sinfonia and soprano Amanda Balestrieri, was released in 2006.
Dorothee Mields Dorothee Mields (born 15 April 1971) is a German soprano concert singer of Baroque and contemporary music. Career Mields was born in Gelsenkirchen. She studied at the University of the Arts Bremen with Elke Holzmann, Harry van der Kamp and Ga ...
recorded four stanzas of the aria with L'Orfeo Barockorchester conducted by Michi Gaigg, in December 2014..
Carus-Verlag Carus-Verlag is a German music publisher founded in 1972 and based in Stuttgart. Carus was founded by choral conductor GĂŒnter Graulich and his wife Waltraud with an emphasis on choral repertoire. the catalogue includes more than 26,000 works ...
released this recording, with a performance time of 15:03, a year later. Mields released, courtesy of Naxos of America, part of this recording, that is the first stanza of Bach's aria (3:50), on YouTube in 2016..


References


Sources

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Plain text version of these liner note
partially available
at
Christoph Prégardien Christoph Prégardien (born 18 January 1956) is a German lyric tenor whose career is closely associated with the roles in Mozart operas, as well as performances of Lieder, oratorio roles, and Baroque music. He is well known for his performances a ...
's website. The subscription website
Scribd Scribd Inc. (pronounced ) operates three primary platforms: Scribd, Everand, and SlideShare. Scribd is a digital document library that hosts over 195 million documents. Everand is a digital content subscription service offering a wide selectio ...
als
hosts a copy of these notes
* *


External links


Alles mit Gott und nichts ohn' ihn, BWV 1127
performance by the
Netherlands Bach Society The Netherlands Bach Society () is the oldest ensemble for Baroque music in the Netherlands, and possibly in the world. The ensemble was founded in 1921 in Naarden to perform Bach's ''St Matthew Passion'' on Good Friday and has performed the work ...
(video and background information) *
Alles mit Gott und nichts ohn' ihn
at
The LiederNet Archive The LiederNet Archive (formerly The Lied, Art Song, and Choral Texts Archive) is a donation-supported web archive of art song and choral texts founded in 1995 by Emily Ezust, an American/Canadian computer programmer and amateur violinist. The webs ...
*
Bach Alles mit Gott und nichts ohn' ihn, BWV 1127
at
Musopen Musopen is an organization which creates, produces and disseminates Western classical music, via public domain recordings, sheet music and educational resources. It stands with the ChoralWiki and the Wind Repertory Project as among the most prom ...
website {{DEFAULTSORT:Alles mit Gott und nichts ohn' ihn BWV 1127 1713 compositions Church cantatas by Johann Sebastian Bach Rediscovered musical works