Ach Gott, wie manches Herzeleid, BWV 3
Oh God, how much heartache ( BWV 3) is a church cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach. He composed the chorale cantata in Leipzig for the second Sunday after Epiphany and first performed it on January 14, 1725 for the first time on.
History and words
Bach wrote the cantata Oh God, how much heartache in his second year in Leipzig for the second Sunday after Epiphany ( Epiphany ). The prescribed readings for the Sunday were 12.6 to 16 Rom LUT, "We have different gifts ," and Jn 2:1-11 LUT, the wedding at Cana.
The cantata is based on the hymn in 18 stanzas, which was published by Martin Moller 1587. It is a paraphrase of the medieval Latin hymn ' " Jesu dulcis memoria ", which is Bernard of Clairvaux attributed to Jesus and sings as a comforter and friend in need.
An unknown poet kept the verses 1, 2 and 18 in the text. He used 1 and 18 as sets 1 and 6 of the cantata, extended in Theorem 2, the verse literally taken over by thoughts of verses 3-5, wrote verse 6 for sentence 3 to, verses 7 to 14 for set 4, verses 15 and 16 for theorem 5 He did not try to connect the cantata text with the Gospel.
The song is sung to the tune of " Lord Jesus Christ, mine life light ", which in Wolflin Lochamers song book was published in Nuremberg in 1455 first.
Bach led the cantata on 14 January 1725 for the first time.
Scoring and structure
The cantata is staffed by four vocal soloists (soprano, alto, tenor and bass), four-part choir, horn ( corno da caccia ), trombone, two oboe d'amore, two violins, viola and basso continuo.
Music
In the opening chorus does not sing as in most chorale cantatas of the soprano cantus firmus, but the bass is amplified by the trombone. Already in its fourth chorale cantata in Leipzig, O Lord, me, a poor sinner ( BWV 135) Bach had tried this after he had entrusted the song melody in the second Choralkantate the Old and in the third tenor. The plaintive mood of this opening chorus is expressed by the " elegiac tones " of the oboe d' amore, which are taken from the upper voices, and sighing motifs in the strings.
The following recitative connects the chorale melody, which is set in four parts sung by the choir, with inserted text sections that are sung by the soloist. The chorale rows can be initiated by a joyful ostinato motif, which is derived from the song melody.
The bass aria, accompanied only by continuo, costs the contrast of " fear of hell " and " joy sky " when the " unermessnen pain " dissolve into "light fog ".
In the duet for soprano and alto in bright E major voices are embedded in a dense quartet texture of instruments, such as Christoph Wolff notes. The final chorale is a simple four-part set.
Recordings
- Bach Aria Group - Cantatas, Arias & Choruses. Brian Priestman, Bach Aria Group Chorus & Orchestra, Lois Marshall, Maureen Forrester, Richard Lewis, Norman Farrow. Vox, late 1960s?
- JS Bach: The cantatas - Sacred Cantatas Vol 1 Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Vienna Boys Choir, Chorus Viennensis, Concentus Musicus Wien, soloist of the Vienna Boys' Choir, Paul Esswood, Kurt Equiluz, Max van Egmond. Teldec, 1970.
- The Bach Cantata Vol 22, Helmuth Rilling, Gächinger Kantorei, Bach-Collegium Stuttgart, Arleen Augér, Gabriele terror Bach, Lutz -Michael Harder, Philippe Huttenlocher. Hänssler, 1980.
- Bach Edition Vol 12 - Cantatas Vol 6 Pieter Jan Leusink, Holland Boys Choir, Netherlands Bach Collegium, Ruth Holton, Sytse Buwalda, Knut Schoch, Bas Ramselaar. Brilliant Classics, 1999.
- Bach Cantatas Vol 19: Greenwich / Romsey. John Eliot Gardiner, Monteverdi Choir, English Baroque Soloists, Joanne Lunn, Richard Wyn Roberts, Julian Podger, Gerald Finley. Soli Deo Gloria, 2000.
- J. S. Bach: Complete Cantatas Vol 15 Ton Koopman, Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir, Sandrine Piau, Bogna Bartosz, Paul Agnew, Klaus Mertens. Antoine Marchand, 2001.
- J. S. Bach: Cantatas Vol 29 Masaaki Suzuki, Bach Collegium Japan, Dorothee Mields, Pascal Bertin, Gerd Türk, Peter Kooij. BIS, 2004.