Selig ist der Mann, BWV 57

Blessed is the man ( BWV 57) is a church cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach. He composed it in Leipzig in 1725 for the 2nd Christmas Day, which is also the Stephanus day, and performed it on the first time on December 26, 1725.

History and words

Bach wrote the cantata in 1725 in his third cantata cycle for the 2nd Christmas Day, which was celebrated this year as the Feast of Stephen the martyr. The prescribed readings were Acts 6.8 to 7.22 LUT LUT Acts 7.51 to 59, the stoning of Stephen, and Matthew 23:34-39 LUT, the complaint about Jerusalem. The cantata poet Georg Christian Clay concerned all of the readings and expanded it by more biblical references. The first set is based on Jak 1.12 LUT mentioned therein ie Greek stephanos crown. Clay wrote the text as a dialogue between "Jesus" and " anima " ( soul). He watched as the final chorale a verse from Johann Heermann's praise to God, which is hour occur, but Bach instead chose the sixth stanza of Ahasuerus Fritsch Hast thou, Jesus, your face completely hidden, called " Seelengespäch with Christ," so the continue dialogue.

Scoring and structure

The cantata is chamber music occupied by two soloists (soprano and bass ), two oboes, two violins, viola and basso continuo. A four-part choir is only required in the final chorale. The oboe playing in the outer movements with the strings.

Music

The music of the dialogue is more dramatic than in most church cantatas of Bach. Most recitatives are secco and drive the action. In the first aria sustained over several cycles tones dominate saved to the words and tried with that illustrate the eternal duration. The second aria set to music a denied as unreal sensation: the desperate longing of the soul after death (not as complete, but as destruction ) that you would remain left alone without the ( actually donated ) love of Jesus. The conflicting emotions is characterized by a brook leading upwards line that ends at a ninth down in a sudden jump, as well as a turn in bright major with the line " if you, my Jesus, I did not love ."

The third aria shows Jesus as the winner, by fanfare in broken triads. The figure of the solo violin in the last aria can be interpreted as the "stormy Sichfallenlassen in the arms of Jesus " (Alfred Dürr ). After a mystical connection is in the second part of this aria achieved, " My Savior, I am dying with the greatest desire " is not a da capo possible; Aria ends with the question "what do you schenkest me? " which is answered by the Chorale.

Recordings

  • Willem Mengelberg - Volume 1 ( JS Bach). Willem Mengelberg, Concertgebouw Orchestra, Jo Vincent, Max Kloos. Mengelberg Edition, 1940.
  • Bach Made in Germany Vol 1 - Cantatas I. Günther Ramin, St. Thomas Choir, Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, Agnes Giebel, John Oettel. Berlin / Leipzig Classics, 1951.
  • J. S. Bach: Cantata No.. 140, Cantata No.. 57 Karl Ristenpart, Choir of the Conservatory Saarbrücken, Saarland Chamber Orchestra, Ursula Buckel, Jakob Stämpfli. Club Français du Disque, 1962.
  • Les Grandes Cantates de J. S. Bach Vol 13, Fritz Werner, Heinrich-Schütz -Chor Heilbronn, Pforzheim Chamber Orchestra, Agnes Giebel, Barry McDaniel. Erato, 1963.
  • Bach Cantatas Vol 15: New York. John Eliot Gardiner, Monteverdi Choir, English Baroque Soloists, Joanne Lunn, Peter Harvey. Soli Deo Gloria, 2000.
  • J. S. Bach: Complete Cantatas Vol 18 Ton Koopman, Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir, Sibylla Rubens, Klaus Mertens. Antoine Marchand, 2002.
  • Bach: Cantatas Dialogue - Dialogue Cantatas. Rainer Kussmaul, RIAS Chamber Choir, Berlin Baroque Soloists, Dorothea Rosch Mann, Thomas Quasthoff. German Grammophon, 2007.
  • J. S. Bach: Cantatas Vol 43 Masaaki Suzuki, Bach Collegium Japan, Hana Blažíková, Peter Kooij. BIS, 2008.
  • Christmas Cantatas ( BWV 57,91,122,151 ) Sigiswald Kuijken, La Petite Bande, Gerlinde sower, Petra Noskaiová, Jan van der crabbing, Christoph Genz. Accent, 2010
  • Bach Cantatas No.. 6 BWV 57, 73, 140 Rudolf Lutz, choir and orchestra of the JS Bach Foundation, Julia Neumann, Antonia Frey, Nicolas Savoy, Ekkehard Abele. ( BWV 57). Susanne Frei, Makoto Sakurada, Markus Volpert. ( BWV 73). Nuria Rial, Bernhard Berchtold, Markus Volpert. ( BWV 140). Gallus Media, in 2012.
  • Blessed is the man that endureth temptation. Cantata BWV 57 Rudolf Lutz, choir and orchestra of the JS Bach Foundation, Julia Neumann, Antonia Frey, Nicolas Savoy, Ekkehard Abele, velvet introductory workshop and reflection by Annemarie Pieper. Gallus Media, St. Gallen, 2011.
Georg Christian Lehms Bach-Werke-Verzeichnis Epistle of James Ahasverus Fritsch Bass (voice type) Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra Deutsche Grammophon Peter Kooy BIS Records Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme, BWV 140 Werner Neumann Ach Gott, wie manches Herzeleid, BWV 3 Allein zu dir, Herr Jesu Christ, BWV 33 Brich dem Hungrigen dein Brot, BWV 39 Am Abend aber desselbigen Sabbats, BWV 42 Also hat Gott die Welt geliebt, BWV 68 Alles nur nach Gottes Willen, BWV 72 Alles, was von Gott geboren, BWV 80a Bisher habt ihr nichts gebeten in meinem Namen, BWV 87 Ach, lieben Christen, seid getrost, BWV 114 Christum wir sollen loben schon, BWV 121 Auf Christi Himmelfahrt allein, BWV 128 Aus der Tiefen rufe ich, Herr, zu dir, BWV 131 Bereitet die Wege, bereitet die Bahn! BWV 132 Erforsche mich, Gott, und erfahre mein Herz, BWV 136 Bringet dem Herrn Ehre seines Namens, BWV 148 Ach! ich sehe, itzt, da ich zur Hochzeit gehe, BWV 162 Barmherziges Herze der ewigen Liebe, BWV 185 Mein Herze schwimmt im Blut, BWV 199 Entfliehet, verschwindet, entweichet, ihr Sorgen, BWV 249a St Mark Passion (Bach)
156783
de