(O pleasing melody),

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 ...

210.1 (formerly ),Work at

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 ...

website. is a secular

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 ...

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 ...

for a solo soprano. Bach wrote 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 ...

as a "Huldigungskantate" (homage cantata) for

Christian, Duke of Saxe-Weissenfels Christian (23 February 168228 June 1736) was Duke of Saxe-Weissenfels from 1712 until his death. Biography Christian was born in Weissenfels on 23 February 1682, the second surviving son of Johann Adolf I, Duke of Saxe-Weissenfels, and his f ...

. First performed on 12 January 1729, the cantata became part of his repertory of congratulatory and homage cantatas, dedicated at least twice to different people and occasions. Bach used it as the base for his wedding cantata . Most of the music of was lost, but can be reconstructed from the later work, which survived completely.

History and words

Bach first performed cantata in 1729 and adapted it for two other occasions. The first version, performed on 12 January 1729, paid homage to

on the occasion of his visit to Leipzig. The dates of the later performances are not known, but the dedications were to Joachim Friedrich Count Flemming, the governor of Leipzig (words for that occasion given below), and, thirdly, to the (Patron of Science and Art), this version is also called , the sponsors' cantata).Work , O angenehme Melodei (fragment) BWV 210.1; BWV 210a; BC 29/ Secular cantata (Tribute), at

website. Only the soprano part and a separate printed textbook of the earliest version survived into the twentieth century. The soprano part was lost in World War II. Bach used the five

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 first

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 ...

and the beginning of the last recitative later in his wedding cantata , therefore the music can be reconstructed.

Alexander Ferdinand Grychtolik Alexander Ferdinand Grychtolik (born 6 September 1980 in Berlin) is a German harpsichordist, Improvisation, improviser, musicology, musicologist and academic. Grychtolik is married to the harpsichordist Aleksandra Magdalena Grychtolik, with whom h ...

edited a reconstruction, published by Edition Güntersberg. He chose the third text version as the most general one.

Scoring, structure and music

The cantata in ten movements is probably scored as the surviving , 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 ...

flauto traverso The Western concert flute can refer to the common C concert flute or to the family of transverse (side-blown) flutes to which the C flute belongs. Almost all are made of metal or wood, or a combination of the two. A musician who plays the flute ...

oboe d'amore The ; (), 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 mezzo-soprano of the oboe family, betw ...

, 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 ...

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 ...

, 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 ...

with

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

harpsichord A harpsichord is a musical instrument played by means of a musical keyboard, keyboard. Depressing a key raises its back end within the instrument, which in turn raises a mechanism with a small plectrum made from quill or plastic that plucks one ...

. # Recitative: # Aria: # Recitative: # Aria: # Recitative: # Aria: # Recitative: # Aria: # Recitative: # Aria:

Richard D. P. Jones Richard Douglas P. Jones is a British musicologist and editor, known especially for his work as a Bach scholar. After graduating from the University of Oxford, he has taught at Cardiff University and Sheffield University. Selected publications E ...

notes in his book ''The Creative Development of Johann Sebastian Bach'' that the text deals with the power of music, inspiring Bach to music of "quite exceptional quality".

References

External links

* *
Cantata BWV 210a O angenehme Melodei
history, scoring, sources for text and music, translations to various languages, discography, discussion, Bach Cantatas Website
BWV 210a – "O angenehme Melodei!"
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 ...

BWV 210a O angenehme Melodei!
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 ...

BWV 210a O angenehme Melodei!
text, scoring,

University of Alberta The University of Alberta (also known as U of A or UAlberta, ) is a public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It was founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford, the first premier of Alberta, and Henry Marshall Tory, t ...

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