(Most highly desired festival of joy), , is a

church cantata A church cantata or sacred cantata is a cantata intended to be performed during Christian liturgy. The genre was particularly popular in 18th-century Lutheran Germany, with many composers writing an extensive output: Gottfried Heinrich Stölzel ...

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 ...

. He composed it 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 ...

for dedication of the church and organ at Störmthal on 2 November 1723. The cantata text was written by an anonymous poet, including two stanzas of

Johann Heermann Johann Heermann (11 October 158517 February 1647) was a German poet and hymnodist. He is commemorated in the Calendar of Saints of the Lutheran Church on 26 October with Philipp Nicolai and Paul Gerhardt. Life Heermann was born in Raudten ( ...

hymn A hymn is a type of song, and partially synonymous with devotional song, specifically written for the purpose of adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification. The word ''hymn'' d ...

"" (1630) and two stanzas of

Paul Gerhardt wikisource:The New International Encyclopædia/Gerhardt, Paulus, Paulus or Paul Gerhardt (12 March 1607 – 27 May 1676) was a German theologian, Lutheranism, Lutheran minister and hymnodist. Biography Gerhardt was born into a middle-class fam ...

's "" (1647). Bach used an earlier secular cantata as a base for a structure in two parts of six movements each, beginning with an extended choral movement and concluding both parts with

chorale A chorale is the name of several related musical forms originating in the music genre of the Lutheran chorale: * Hymn tune of a Lutheran hymn (e.g. the melody of " Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme"), or a tune in a similar format (e.g. one o ...

stanza In poetry, a stanza (; from Italian ''stanza'', ; ) is a group of lines within a poem, usually set off from others by a blank line or indentation. Stanzas can have regular rhyme and metrical schemes, but they are not required to have either. ...

s. The inner movements are alternating

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 lines ...

s and

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 ...

s. The chorales are the only movements which were certainly newly composed for the occasion. Bach scored the work for three vocal soloists, a four-part choir and a Baroque instrumental ensemble of three oboes, bassoon, strings and continuo. After the first performance in Störmthal, Bach performed the cantata again in Leipzig for

Trinity Sunday Trinity Sunday is the first Sunday after Pentecost in the Western Christianity, Western Christian liturgical year, liturgical calendar, and the Sunday of Pentecost in Eastern Christianity. Trinity Sunday celebrates the Christian doctrine of the ...

, first on 4 June 1724, a shortened version in 1726, and the complete version in 1731.

History and text

The first known performance of the cantata was at Störmthal, a village near Leipzig. The church there had been rebuilt, and a new organ been built on a commission by Statz Friedrich von Fullen. The organ was an early work by

Zacharias Hildebrandt Zacharias Hildebrandt (1688, Münsterberg, Silesia – 11 October 1757, Dresden, Saxony) was a German organ builder. In 1714, his father Heinrich Hildebrandt, a cartwright master, apprenticed him to the famous organ builder Gottfried Silberma ...

. Von Fullen requested an approval of the instrument from

, who was then ''

Thomaskantor (Cantor at St. Thomas) is the common name for the musical director of the , now an internationally known boys' choir founded in Leipzig in 1212. The official historic title of the Thomaskantor in Latin, ', describes the two functions of Cantor ( ...

'' in Leipzig. Bach was satisfied and composed this cantata for the dedication service for the church and the organ on 2 November 1723. The text deals with the inauguration of the church. The organ has no solo function in the cantata. The cantata text was written by an anonymous poet, who took

Solomon Solomon (), also called Jedidiah, was the fourth monarch of the Kingdom of Israel (united monarchy), Kingdom of Israel and Judah, according to the Hebrew Bible. The successor of his father David, he is described as having been the penultimate ...

's prayer for the dedication of the temple as a starting point to reflect the church as the house of God. Frequent Biblical references throughout the text suggest that the author was a theologian. He included as movement 6, ending Part I,

s 6 and 7 of

"" (1630), and as the closing chorale, stanzas 9 and 10 of

's "" (1647). Scholars such as

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 ...

assume that Bach based the cantata on a lost work (), probably composed at

Köthen Köthen () is a town in Germany. It is the capital of the district of Anhalt-Bitterfeld in Saxony-Anhalt, about north of Halle. Köthen is the location of the main campus and the administrative centre of the regional university, Anhalt Univers ...

for an unknown occasion. The music of movements 2, 4, 6, 7, 8 and 10 is lost, and only instrumental parts of the other movements are extant. Bach added the chorales for the 1723 dedication service. ''Höchsterwünschtes Freudenfest'' shows musical similarities also to ''Preise, Jerusalem, den Herrn'', BWV 119, written for the inauguration of the Leipzig town council a few weeks earlier. Bach led the first performance at the dedication service in Störmthal. The printed text mentions Bach as "Hochfürstl. Anhalt-Cöthenischen Capell-Meister, auch Directore Chori musici Lipsiensis" (

Kapellmeister ( , , ), from German (chapel) and (master), literally "master of the chapel choir", designates the leader of an ensemble of musicians. Originally used to refer to somebody in charge of music in a chapel, the term has evolved considerably in i ...

to the Prince of

Anhalt-Köthen Anhalt-Köthen was a Princes of the Holy Roman Empire, principality of the Holy Roman Empire ruled by the House of Ascania. It was created in 1396 when the Principality of Anhalt-Zerbst was partitioned between Anhalt-Dessau and Anhalt-Köthen. T ...

and Director of the Choir at Leipzig), referring to his appointments in the service of

Leopold, Prince of Anhalt-Köthen Leopold of Anhalt-Köthen (29 November 1694 – 19 November 1728) was a German prince of the House of Ascania and ruler of the principality of Anhalt-Köthen. Today, he is best remembered for employing Johann Sebastian Bach as his Kapellmeister ...

. The organ of Störmthal is notable as one of few such instruments still mostly unaltered since Bach's time. A restorer in 1934 remarked that it was tuned about a whole tone lower than

440 Year 440 (Roman numerals, CDXL) was a leap year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Valentinian III, Valentinianus and Anatolius (consul), Anatolius (or, less frequently, year ...

, which may account for the unusually high

vocal range Vocal range is the range of pitches that a human voice can phonate. A common application is within the context of singing, where it is used as a defining characteristic for classifying singing voices into voice types. It is also a topic of stud ...

s. Bach demanded "top Cs" from the sopranos, which is unique in his sacred cantatas. The organ part prepared for the Leipzig revival is notated a minor third lower than the other instruments. Bach revived the cantata for performances in Leipzig for

. The prescribed readings for Trinity were , and , the meeting of Jesus and

Nicodemus Nicodemus (; ; ; ; ) is a New Testament figure venerated as a saint in a number of Christian traditions. He is depicted as a Pharisee and a member of the Sanhedrin who is drawn to hear Jesus's teachings. Like Lazarus of Bethany, Lazarus, Nicode ...

. The general topic and even an "invocation of the

Trinity The Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the Christian doctrine concerning the nature of God, which defines one God existing in three, , consubstantial divine persons: God the Father, God the Son (Jesus Christ) and God the Holy Spirit, thr ...

" in movement 6 made for an easy transition. On 4 June 1724, Bach concluded his first cantata cycle with this work. On 16 June 1726, he presented a shortened version, with movements appearing in the order 12, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 10. The 12-movement version was again performed on 20 May 1731.

Structure and scoring

Bach structured the cantata in two parts of six movements each. It is scored for three vocal soloists (

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 ...

(S),

tenor A tenor is a type of male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. Composers typically write music for this voice in the range from the second B below m ...

(T) and

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Wood * Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...

(B)), a four-part choir (

SATB In music, SATB is a scoring of compositions for choirs or consorts of instruments consisting of four voice types: soprano, alto, tenor and bass. Choral music Four-part harmony using soprano, alto, tenor and bass is a common scoring in classic ...

), and a Baroque instrumental ensemble of three

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, ...

s (Ob),

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 ...

(Fg), 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 (Vl),

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 ...

(Va) 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 ...

. In the following table of the movements, the scoring follows the

Neue Bach-Ausgabe The New Bach Edition (NBE) (; NBA), is the second complete edition of the music of Johann Sebastian Bach, published by Bärenreiter. The name is short for Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750): New Edition of the Complete Works (''Johann Sebastian ...

. The

keys Key, Keys, The Key or The Keys may refer to: Common uses * Key (cryptography), a piece of information needed to encode or decode a message * Key (instrument), a component of a musical instrument * Key (lock), a device used to operate a lock * ...

and

time signature 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 th ...

s are taken from the Bach scholar

Alfred Dürr Alfred Dürr (3 March 1918 – 7 April 2011) was a German musicologist. He was a principal editor of the Neue Bach-Ausgabe, the second edition of the complete works of Johann Sebastian Bach. Professional career Dürr studied musicology and Clas ...

, using the symbol for common time (4/4). The instruments are shown separately for winds and strings, while the continuo, playing throughout, is not shown.

Music

The music has an often dance-like character. All recitatives, the majority of the solo movements, are '' secco'', accompanied only by the continuo. Most of them are followed by an aria performed by the same voice type. Part I begins with a chorus in the style of a

French overture The French overture is a musical form widely used in the Baroque period. Its basic formal division is into two parts, which are usually enclosed by double bars and repeat signs. They are complementary in style (slow in dotted rhythms and fast in ...

with a solemn opening and a fast

fugal 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 ...

central section. The bass sings a recitative and an aria, accompanied by solo oboe and strings. The soprano sings a modulating recitative and an aria in the style of a

gavotte The gavotte (also gavot, gavote, or gavotta) is a French dance, taking its name from a folk dance of the Gavot, the people of the Gap, Hautes-Alpes, Pays de Gap region of Dauphiné in the southeast of France, where the dance originated, accordin ...

. A four-part harmonization of the

ends the first part. Part II begins with the tenor singing a recitative and a

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 ...

in a minor

mode Mode ( meaning "manner, tune, measure, due measure, rhythm, melody") may refer to: Arts and entertainment * MO''D''E (magazine), a defunct U.S. women's fashion magazine * ''Mode'' magazine, a fictional fashion magazine which is the setting fo ...

, characterized by its extensive use of dotted rhythms. A dialogue recitative for bass and soprano leads to a duet aria with oboes and continuo. After a declamatory bass recitative, the work ends with another four-part chorale setting.

Recordings

The entries are taken from the listing on the Bach Cantatas Website. Ensembles with period instruments in

historically informed performance Historically informed performance (also referred to as period performance, authentic performance, or HIP) is an approach to the performance of Western classical music, classical music which aims to be faithful to the approach, manner and style of ...

are marked by green background.

Notes

References

Sources

* *
Höchsterwünschtes Freudenfest (Störmthal version) BWV 194; BC B 31 / Sacred cantata (Consecration of church and organ)

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 ...

fragment BWV 194a; BC (G 11) / Secular cantata (unknown purpose)

Höchsterwünschtes Freudenfest (1st Leipzig version) BWV 194; BC A 91a / Sacred cantata (Trinity Sunday)

(Nun lasst uns Gott, dem Herren?) (2nd Leipzig version) title not clear BWV 194; BC A 91b / Sacred cantata (Trinity Sunday)

BWV 194 Höchsterwünschtes Freudenfest
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 ...

* * Luke Dahn
BWV 194.6
bach-chorales.com * Luke Dahn

bach-chorales.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Hochsterwunschtes Freudenfest Bwv 194 Church cantatas by Johann Sebastian Bach 1723 compositions