Wir müssen durch viel Trübsal, BWV 146
We must through much tribulation ( BWV 146 ) is a church cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach. He composed it in Leipzig for the third Sunday after Easter, called Jubilate. The earliest date for the first performance is the 12th of Mai in 1726.
History and words
Bach wrote the cantata in Leipzig for Jubilate Sunday, the third Sunday after Easter. The prescribed readings for the Sunday were 1 Peter 2.11-20 LUT and LUT Jn 16.16-23 from the farewell discourses of Jesus. Bach set to music it mentions the contrast between sadness and joy previously for the same occasion, first in Weimar in 1714, Weeping, Lamenting, Fearing, Hesitating, then 1725 in Leipzig, you will weep and lament. Therefore, the earliest date for the first performance May 12, 1726. The April 18, 1728, is another option. The unknown librettist begins with a verse from the book of Acts, Acts 14:22 LUT, the already Salomon Franck had used for the first recitative of the Weimar cantata. The following three sets lament the suffering in the world, while three other sets bring the hope of the kingdom of God expressed. The main theme is the longing for death. Theorem 5 is a paraphrase of Psalm 126.5 LUT that Brahms chose for A German Requiem. Clause 6 refers to Romans 8:18 LUT: For I am convinced that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory which shall be revealed in us. From the final chorale only the music is handed down. The ninth verse of Gregorius Richter, Refrain from your tears has been proposed.
Scoring and structure
The cantata is staffed with four soloists, soprano, alto tenor and bass, four-part chorus, flute, oboe d' amore, two, waist ( in Baroque tenor position ), obbligato organ, two violins, viola and basso continuo.
Music
Two sets of the cantata, the introductory Sinfonia and the first choral movement, based on Bach's Harpsichord Concerto in D minor BWV 1052, which probably goes back to a lost violin concerto. Theorem 3 is an alto aria with violin obbligato that " the sky " turns. The final chorale is in four parts set to the tune of Will perk up my mind.
Recordings
- The Bach Cantata Vol 33 Helmuth Rilling, Gächinger Kantorei, Bach-Collegium Stuttgart, Helen Donath, Marga Höffgen, Kurt Equiluz, Hanns -Friedrich Kunz. Hänssler, 1973.
- JS Bach: The cantatas - Sacred Cantatas Vol 6 Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Tölz Boys Choir, Concentus Musicus Wien, soloist of the Tölz Boys' Choir, Paul Esswood, Kurt Equiluz, Thomas Hampson. Teldec, 1980.
- Bach Cantatas Vol 24: Altenburg / Warwick. John Eliot Gardiner, Monteverdi Choir, English Baroque Soloists, Brigitte Geller, William Towers, Mark Padmore, Julian Clarkson. Soli Deo Gloria, 2000.
- JS Bach: Complete Cantatas Vol 15, Sibylla Rubens, Bogna Bartosz, James Gilchrist, Klaus Mertens, Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir, Ton Koopman. Antoine Marchand, 2001.
- JS Bach: Cantatas Vol 19 ( Cantatas from Leipzig 1724). Masaaki Suzuki, Bach Collegium Japan, Rachel Nicholls, Robin Blaze, Gerd Türk, Peter Kooy. BIS, 2008.
- "We must through much tribulation ." Cantata BWV 146 Rudolf Lutz, choir and orchestra of the JS Bach Foundation, Ulrike Hofbauer, Markus Forster, Hans Jörg Mammel, Wolf Matthias Friedrich. Velvet introductory workshop and reflection of Miriam Meckel. Gallus Media, 2013.