''Bekennen will ich seinen Namen'' (I shall acknowledge His name),

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 ...

200, is an arrangement by

Johann Sebastian Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (German: Help:IPA/Standard German, �joːhan zeˈbasti̯an 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 ...

of an aria from

Gottfried Heinrich Stölzel Gottfried Heinrich Stölzel (13 January 1690 – 27 November 1749) was a German composer of the Baroque music, Baroque era. Biography Early life Stölzel was born in Schwarzenberg, Saxony, Grünstädtel in Saxony on 13 January 1690. His fath ...

's passion-oratorio '' Die leidende und am Creuz sterbende Liebe Jesu''. He scored it for alto, two violins and continuo, possibly as part of a

cantata A cantata (; ; literally "sung", past participle feminine singular of the Italian language, Italian verb ''cantare'', "to sing") is a vocal music, vocal Musical composition, composition with an musical instrument, instrumental accompaniment, ty ...

for the feast of

Purification Purification is the process of rendering something pure, i.e. clean of foreign elements and/or pollution, and may refer to: Religion * Ritual purification, the religious activity to remove uncleanliness * Purification after death * Purification ...

. He probably led the first performance around 1742.

History and text

Bach arranged in ''Bekennen will ich seinen Namen'' an aria, "Dein Kreuz, o Bräutgam meiner Seelen" (Your cross, o bridegroom of my soul" from

's passion-oratorio '' Die leidende und am Creuz sterbende Liebe Jesu''.Bach Digital Work at Bach's arrangement, dated around 1742–43, was possibly part of a cantata for the

Marian feast Marian feast days in the liturgical year are celebrated in honour of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The number of Marian feasts celebrated, their names (and at times dates) can vary among Christian denominations. History and development Early history ...

. The prescribed readings for the day were , and . Bach likely performed his arrangement in 1742 in

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 ...

Music

The aria is scored for solo

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 four-part voice leading alto is the second-highest part, sung in ch ...

voice, 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, 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 ...

. As with many of Bach's latest cantatas, the aria has a "quality of mellow assurance". It is in adapted

ternary form Ternary form, sometimes called song form, is a three-part musical form consisting of an opening section (A), a following section (B) and then a repetition of the first section (A). It is usually schematized as A–B–A. Prominent examples inclu ...

but includes no clear reprise of the opening section. The vocal line includes

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 ...

s but no other

word painting Word painting, also known as tone painting or text painting, is the musical technique of composing music that reflects the literal meaning of a song's lyrics or story elements in programmatic music. Historical development Tone painting of word ...

Recordings

*Academy of St Martin-in-the-Fields, Kenneth Sillito. ''J.S. Bach: Cantatas Nos. 53 · 82 · 170 · 200''. Capriccio, 1993. * Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra,

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 ...

. ''J.S. Bach: Complete Cantatas Vol. 21''. Antoine Marchand, 2002. *Bach-Orchester Mainz, Diethard Hellmann. ''J.S. Bach: Psalm 51 BWV 1083 & Cantata BWV 200''. Da Camera, 1966. *English Baroque Soloists,

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 ...

. ''J.S. Bach: Cantatas for the Feast of Purification of Mary''. Archiv Produktkion, 2000. *Netherlands Bach Collegium, Pieter Jan Leusink. ''Bach Edition Vol. 17''. Brilliant Classics, 2000. *Philomusica of London, Thurston Dart. ''J.S. Bach: Cantatas BWV 53, BWV 54, BWV 200, BWV 244''. L'Oiseau-Lyre, 1958. *Musica Antiqua Köln, Reinhard Goebel. BWV 200: Aria for contralto, 2 violins and basso continuo Magdalena Kozena Archiv Production 2003

References

Sources

External links

*
Bach Cantata Translations / BWV 200 - "Bekennen will ich seinen Namen"

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 ...

2020 {{Authority control Church cantatas by Johann Sebastian Bach 1720 compositions 1742 compositions