Ein ungefärbt Gemüte, BWV 24

A unstained mind ( BWV 24) is a church cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach. He wrote it in Leipzig for the 4th Sunday after Trinity and first performed it on June 20, 1723 for the first time. It is the third newly composed cantata in his first year cycle.

History and words

Bach composed the cantata in his first year in Leipzig for the 4th Sunday after Trinity as three new cantata in his first year cycle, which he should after Trinity when he took office with Les Misérables on the first Sunday had started eating. The prescribed readings were as Epistle Romans 8:18-23 LUT, " Any creature longs for us after the revelation of the sons of God," and as the Gospel Lk 6.36 to 42 LUT, from the Sermon on the Mount " Practice compassion, not directed ". It seems likely that Bach had not found a new lyricists in Leipzig, for he fell back on a text by Erdmann Neumeister, in the collection "Spiritual poetry with mixed under Biblical sayings and chorale " had appeared already in 1714. In a symmetric composition Neumeister presented a Bible passage in the middle, a quotation from the Sermon on the Mount Matthew Matthew 7:12 LUT, " Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you the that does them well ." He framed it by two recitatives, these two arias. Theme of the first recitative is " The honesty / is one of the gifts of God ", which is contrasted with " The hypocrisy / is a breed that gehecket Belial ". The seal on the topic " Do Christians and trade " was considered too pedantic. The cantata will be decided with the first stanza of Johann Heermann's song O God, thou good God (1630 ).

Bach led the cantata on 20 June 1723 for the first time. It is likely that he also the earlier cantata merciful heart of eternal love aufführte in the same church, which he had composed for the same occasion in 1715 in Weimar. On the three previous Sundays he had each listed two-piece cantatas, the new plants The meek ​​shall eat and The heavens declare the glory of God, and the former I had a lot of grief. On the fourth Sunday he played probably the new cantata before, the elderly after the sermon.

Scoring and structure

The cantata is staffed with three soloists, alto, tenor and bass, four-part choir, Clarino, two oboes, two oboe d'amore, two violins, viola and basso continuo.

Music

In his composition Bach gives the central Bible word weight by letting it sing the chorus, while the framing rates are busy chamber music. The obbligato voice of the first aria is played by the violins and violas in unison and is similar to the material of the singing voice. The following recitative, which resembles a short sermon, secco is and ends up as arioso.

The central choir set consists of two sections, the entire text is presented first free, then as a joint, similar to the concept Prelude and Fugue. Two oboes double the strings, a Clarino plays an independent voice. The fugue is a double fugue, " allegro vivace " means. The first singing " concertisten " are initially accompanied only by continuo, then the rate increases by the choir and orchestra, and achieved with a theme using the Clarino as the fifth voice its peak.

The following recitative is similar in structure to the first, but it is accentuated by strings. It also ends up being Arioso, without the strings, and so emphasizes the prayer "God preserve me for that! ". The final aria is accompanied by two oboes d' amore. The tenor sings an unusual coloratura on the last words " power to God and angels ", perhaps to the " multitude of the heavenly hosts " to suggest.

The eight lines of the final hymn to be sung in four-part set, each framed by instrumental parts and accompanied by the orchestra. This type of treatment was Bach chorale with its predecessor in Leipzig, Johann Kuhnau. The last prayer asks for " an uninjured soul and pure conscience."

Recordings

• Bach Made in Germany Vol 1 - Cantatas VI, Günther Ramin, St. Thomas Boys Choir, the Gewandhaus Orchestra, Eva Fleischer, Gert Lutze, Hans Hauptmann, Leipzig Classics 1952
• J. S. Bach: The cantatas - Sacred Cantatas Vol 2, Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Vienna Boys' Choir & Chorus Viennensis, Concentus Musicus Wien, Paul Esswood, Kurt Equiluz, Max van Egmond, Teldec 1973
• Bach Cantatas Vol 3 - Ascension Day, Whitsun, Trinity, Karl Richter, Munich Bach Choir, Munich Bach Orchestra, Anna Reynolds, Peter Schreier, Dietrich Fischer- Dieskau, Archiv Produktion 1975
• The Bach Cantata Vol.41, Helmuth Rilling, Gächinger Kantorei, Bach-Collegium Stuttgart, Arleen Augér, Helen Watts, Adalbert Kraus, Wolfgang Schöne, Haenssler 1978
• J. S. Bach: Complete Cantatas Vol 7, Ton Koopman, Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir, Bogna Bartosz, Gerd Türk, Klaus Mertens, Antoine Marchand 1997
• J. S. Bach: Cantatas Vol 9 - Leipzig Cantatas, Masaaki Suzuki, Bach Collegium Japan, Robin Blaze, Gerd Türk, Chiyuki Urano, TO 1998
• Bach Cantatas Vol 3: Tewkesbury / Mühlhausen, John Eliot Gardiner, Monteverdi Choir, English Baroque Soloists, Nathalie Stutzmann, Paul Agnew, Nicolas Testé, Soli Deo Gloria 2000
• Bach Edition Vol 21 - Cantatas Vol 12, Pieter Jan Leusink, Holland Boys Choir, Netherlands Bach Collegium, Sytse Buwalda, Marcel Beekman, Bas Ramselaar, Brilliant Classics 2000