' (The Spirit gives aid to our weakness), 226, is a

motet In Western classical music, a motet is mainly a vocal musical composition, of highly diverse form and style, from high medieval music to the present. The motet was one of the preeminent polyphonic forms of Renaissance music. According to the Eng ...

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 ...

, composed in Leipzig in 1729 for the funeral of

Johann Heinrich Ernesti Johann Heinrich Ernesti (; ; 12 March 1652 – 16 October 1729) was a German philosopher, Lutheran theologian, Latin classicist and poet. He was rector of the Thomasschule, and Professor of Poetry at Leipzig University. He gained fame through hi ...

History

For ' , the

autograph An autograph is a person's own handwriting or signature. The word ''autograph'' comes from Ancient Greek (, ''autós'', "self" and , ''gráphō'', "write"), and can mean more specifically: Gove, Philip B. (ed.), 1981. ''Webster's Third New Intern ...

score survives. Bach himself noted on its title: "." (' – Motet for two choirs for the funeral for the blessed Rector, Professor Ernesti, by J. S. Bach). Ernesti was professor of poetry at

Leipzig University Leipzig University (), in Leipzig in Saxony, Germany, is one of the world's oldest universities and the second-oldest university (by consecutive years of existence) in Germany. The university was founded on 2 December 1409 by Frederick I, Electo ...

and director of the

Thomasschule St. Thomas School, Leipzig (; ) is a co-educational and public boarding school in Leipzig, Saxony, Germany. It was founded by the Augustinians in 1212 and is one of the oldest schools in the world. St. Thomas is known for its art, language and m ...

. The first performance took place in the Paulinerkirche, the university church). Scholars debate if the performance was 24 October, or rather 21 October, as indicated by the title page of the sermon. Bach wrote a number of works for occasions of Leipzig University. Twelve such works survive: they are mainly festive in character (in German they have been categorised as ''Festmusiken zu Leipziger Universitätsfeiern''). As well as being part of a series of works connected with the university, ''Der Geist hilft unser Schwachheit auf'' as a funeral motet is one of a series of Bach motets.

Text

The text is taken from the

Epistle to the Romans The Epistle to the Romans is the sixth book in the New Testament, and the longest of the thirteen Pauline epistles. Biblical scholars agree that it was composed by Paul the Apostle to explain that Salvation (Christianity), salvation is offered ...

() and

Martin Luther Martin Luther ( ; ; 10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German priest, Theology, theologian, author, hymnwriter, professor, and former Order of Saint Augustine, Augustinian friar. Luther was the seminal figure of the Reformation, Pr ...

's third stanza to the hymn "" (1524). Ernesti himself had chosen the text from the epistle for the

funeral sermon A Christian funeral sermon is a formal religious oration or address given at a funeral ceremony, or sometimes a short time after, which may combine elements of eulogy with biographical comments and expository preaching. To qualify as a sermon, it sh ...

Scoring and structure

The motet is scored for two four-part choirs, combined in a single 4-part chorus in movements 2 and 3. Although the concluding chorale "Du heilige Brunst" seems to have been sung at Ernesti's funeral, there is controversy over whether it was combined with the preceding movements or is to considered a separate composition. Daniel R. Melamed in ''Oxford Composer companions J. S. Bach'' (ed. Malcolm Boyd) says "The best guess is that the chorale was performed later in the ceremonies- perhaps at the grave side- but was not part of the motet, and so it should not be performed as if it were the concluding chorale of the kind often found in Bach's church cantatas." Bach's autograph score survives, and in addition there are orchestral parts in the hand of Bach's son Carl Philip Emanuel Bach, indicating that choir I was doubled by strings, choir II by reeds (two

oboe The oboe ( ) is a type of double-reed woodwind instrument. Oboes are usually made of wood, but may also be made of synthetic materials, such as plastic, resin, or hybrid composites. The most common type of oboe, the soprano oboe pitched in C, ...

taille The ''taille'' () was a direct land tax on the French peasantry and non-nobles in ''Ancien Régime'' France. The tax was imposed on each household and was based on how much land it held, and was paid directly to the state. History Originally ...

and

bassoon The bassoon is a musical instrument in the woodwind 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 virtuosity ...

). For the

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 ...

, separate

violone The term violone (; literally 'large viol', being the augmentative suffix) can refer to several distinct large, bowed musical instruments which belong to either the viol or violin family. The violone is sometimes a fretted instrument, and may ...

and

organ Organ and organs may refer to: Biology * Organ (biology), a group of tissues organized to serve a common function * Organ system, a collection of organs that function together to carry out specific functions within the body. Musical instruments ...

parts are provided. # ' # ' # '

Music

Bach composed the text according to its meaning, not as music for mourning. The opening contrasts two choirs in imitation. In lively 3/8 time, the word "" (Spirit) is illustrated by a lively

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 figure. The following idea, "" (but the Spirit itself intercedes for), is given as a

fugue In classical music, a fugue (, from Latin ''fuga'', meaning "flight" or "escape""Fugue, ''n''." ''The Concise Oxford English Dictionary'', eleventh edition, revised, ed. Catherine Soanes and Angus Stevenson (Oxford and New York: Oxford Universit ...

, first with independent entrances of all eight parts, but concentrated to four parts in the end, "" (with unutterable sighs). The sighs are audible in the broken melodic lines of all voices. The thought "" (He, however, who examines hearts) appears as a double fugue in four parts in . Here the word "" (saints) is illustrated in extended melismatic writing. The third verse of the hymn

Komm, Heiliger Geist, Herre Gott "" ("Come, Holy Ghost, Lord God") is a Lutheran hymn for Pentecost, with words written by Martin Luther based on " Veni Sancte Spiritus, reple tuorum corda fidelium". The hymn in three stanzas was first published in 1524. For centuries the chorale ...

, is used as the closing chorale, and is set for four parts.

References

Sources

*
Motets BWV 225-231
history, scoring, sources for text and music, translations to various languages, discography, discussion, ''bach-cantatas'' website

English translation, discussion,

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 ...

Der Geist hilft unser Schwachheit auf
history, scoring, ''Bach'' website

English translation,

University of Vermont The University of Vermont and State Agricultural College, commonly referred to as the University of Vermont (UVM), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Burlington, Vermont, United States. Foun ...

External links

Der Geist hilft unsrer Schwachheit auf, BWV 226
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)
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750) / Der Geist hilft unser Schwachheit auf
klassika.info * Free MP3 recording o
Der Geist hilft unser Schwachheit auf – BWV 226
fro

{{DEFAULTSORT:Geist Hilft Unsrer Schwachheit Auf, Der Motets by Johann Sebastian Bach Christian funeral music 1729 compositions