Herr, gehe nicht ins Gericht mit deinem Knecht | |
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BWV 105 | |
Church cantata by J. S. Bach | |
![]() Autograph manuscript of the aria for soprano and oboe | |
Occasion | 9th Sunday after Trinity |
Cantata text | anonymous |
Chorale | "Jesu, der du meine Seele" by Johann Rist |
Performed | 25 July 1723 Leipzig : |
Movements | 6 |
Vocal | SATB soloists and choir |
Instrumental |
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Herr, gehe nicht ins Gericht mit deinem Knecht (Lord, do not pass judgment on Your servant), BWV 105 is a church cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach. He composed it in Leipzig for the ninth Sunday after Trinity and first performed it on 25 July 1723.
History and text
Bach composed the cantata in 1723 in his first year in Leipzig for the Ninth Sunday after Trinity. It is likely that the anonymous librettist was a theologian from the city; the opening lines come from Psalm 143.[1][2][3][4] The prescribed readings for the Sunday were from the Epistle to the Romans, a warning of false gods and consolation in temptation (1 Corinthians 10:6–13), and from the Gospel of Luke, the parable of the Unjust Steward (Luke 16:1–9). The theme of the cantata is derived from the Gospel: since mankind cannot survive before God's judgement, he should forswear earthly pleasures, the mammon of unrighteousness, for the friendship of Jesus alone; for by His death mankind's guilt was absolved, opening up the everlasting habitations. The closing chorale is the eleventh verse of the hymn Jesu, der du meine Seele, written by Johann Rist in 1641.[1]
Bach first performed the cantata, on 25 July 1723, at the Thomaskirche in Leipzig.[4][1][5]
Scoring and structure
The cantata in six movements is scored for four vocal soloists (soprano, alto, tenor and bass), a four-part choir, corno, two oboes, two violins, viola, and basso continuo.[1]
- Chorus: Herr, gehe nicht ins Gericht mit deinem Knecht (Lord, enter not into judgment with thy servant)
- Recitative (alto): Mein Gott, verwirf mich nicht (My God, cast me not away)
- Aria (soprano): Wie zittern und wanken der Sünder Gedanken (How they quiver and waver, the thoughts of sinners)
- Recitative (bass): Wohl aber dem, der seinen Bürgen weiß (Happy is he who knows his protector)
- Aria (tenor): Kann ich nur Jesum mir zum Freunde machen (If I can but make Jesus my friend)
- Chorale: Nun, ich weiß, du wirst mir stillen, mein Gewissen, das mich plagt (Now I know that Thou will calm my conscience that torments me.)
Characteristics
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/da/Bwv105-kann-ich-nur.png/220px-Bwv105-kann-ich-nur.png)
The cantata opens with a chorus in two parts, a form of prelude and fugue, corresponding to the first two phrases of Psalm 143, "Lord, enter not into judgment with thy servant / for in thy sight shall no man living be justified." The monumental first part, marked adagio, starts in G minor with a sombre harmonically complex orchestral eight-bar sinfonia constructed as a canon and closing on a cadence, with tortured chromatic modulations, suspended sevenths and a sighing, mournful motif in the violins and oboes. Similar chromaticism has been used elsewhere by Bach[6] to illustrate the crucifixion, for example for the Crucifixus section of the Credo in the Mass in B minor[7] and for the last stanza, "trug uns'rer Sünden schwere Bürd' wohl an dem Kreuze lange", in the choral prelude O Mensch, bewein dein Sünde groß, BWV 622.[8] After the first introductory sinfonia, the chorus sings in canon for six bars, accompanied only by the continuo, with new independent material in polyphonic motet style: the tenor follows the alto, and then the bass follows the soprano. There is then a reprise of the eight-bar sinfonia, now a fifth higher and the higher parts interchanged. The six-bar chorus episode is repeated, with the alto responding to the soprano, and then the bass to the tenor. The chorus is now accompanied by the orchestra in double counterpoint, employing motifs derived from the first episode for chorus. After a cadence in the chorus, the orchestral briefly continues the double counterpoint, until there is a third freely composed episode for chorus. Now the sopranos lead the altos, and then the tenors lead the basses. The third episode lasts twelve bars and is richly scored: after less than three bars into the episode, the original orchestral sinfonia is at last heard for the first time in counterpoint with the chorus. As Spitta writes, "at last it gives out its own penitential cry, going through it completely in the middle range of compass, as if it flowed straight from the hearts of singing hosts." The prelude concludes gently on a pedal point, with a coda similar to the brief orchestral episode.[1][9]
The second part of the first movement is an animated permutation fugue, marked allegro, initially scored for only the concertante singers and continuo, but eventually taken up by the whole ripieno choir, doubled by the orchestra. As André Pirro has written, in the music for Bach's prelude, "neither the description, the drama nor the particular reference to words matter; instead it is the substance that has to be expressed, soberly, without gesticulation, but with a sense of authority, like a herald proclaiming a law or a philosopher declaring the principles of his system." Of the fugue, Pirro writes, "It is not simply a matter of bowing to the just judge, but of showing the inevitable severity of justice. [...] Not only does the repetitive motif of the fugue multiply the overwhelming sentence, but the infallible development of the composition predicts that the punishment will follow from the sin. Bach uses the logic of his art to reveal, amongst its horrors, the axioms of his religion."[1][3][4][10][11]
The short but expressive alto recitative is followed by one of Bach's most original and striking arias, depicting in musical terms the anxiety and restless desperation of the sinner.[1] It has been described as "one of the most impressive arias ever composed by Bach."[4] Over a background of repeated tremolo notes in the upper strings (without continuo), the obbligato oboe and then the soprano interweave two highly ornate but tortuous melodic lines, their melismas and disturbing dissonances representing the troubled soul. The lack of security is created by the increasingly intense responses between oboe and voice; the absence of a bass under the tremulo upper strings only contributes. The canonic voice leading between the soprano and oboe, where the music is echoed after a crotchet, are similar to the beginning of the sixth Brandenburg Concerto.[1][3][4]
The mood becomes hopeful in the following accompanied bass recitative, leading to the ecstatic and animated concerto-like da capo aria for tenor, corno and strings. The ritornello introduction in the corno solo of the aria is initially doubled by the first violins, but then transformed to more rapid and filigree passagework in demisemiquavers. There is a contrasting mood in the middle section of the aria, when the corno does not play, "as if reluctant to reflect the comparison."[1][3]
Throughout the cantata, Bach's use of "word painting" is prevalent, but in the final chorale it is particularly imaginative.[3] The tremolo string motif returns; and with each successive stanza, the tremolo gradually becomes less rapid, echoing the calming of man after conciliation with his Maker and bringing to an end a cantata that the musicologist Alfred Dürr has described as one of "the most sublime descriptions of the soul in baroque and Christian art".[1]
Transcriptions
- Albrecht Mayer (oboe), The English Concert, Trinity Baroque, Concerto for Oboe and Strings (BWV 105/v, 170/i and 49/i), Decca, 2010.
Selected recordings
- Les Grandes Cantates de J.S. Bach Vol. 16, Fritz Werner, Heinrich-Schütz-Chor Heilbronn, Pforzheim Chamber Orchestra, Agnes Giebel, Claudia Hellmann, Helmut Krebs, Erich Wenk, Erato 1963
- J. S. Bach Cantatas BWV 103, 104 and 105, Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Tölzer Knabenchor, Concentus Musicus Wien, Wilhelm Wiedl, Paul Esswood, Kurt Equiluz, Ruud van der Meer, Teldec 1979
- J. S. Bach Cantata BWV 105, Helmuth Rilling, Bach-Collegium Stuttgart, Arleen Augér, Gabriele Schreckenbach / Helen Watts, Adalbert Kraus, Walter Heldwein, Hänssler 1978 / broadcast Alpirsbach Abbey 1983
- J. S. Bach Kantaten: BWV 73, 105 and 131, Philippe Herreweghe, Collegium Vocale, Barbara Schlick, Gérard Lesne, Howard Crook, Peter Kooy, Virgin Records 1990
- J. S. Bach: Complete Cantatas Vol. 7, Ton Koopman, Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir, Lisa Larsson, Elisabeth von Magnus, Gerd Türk, Klaus Mertens, Antoine Marchand 1997
- J. S. Bach: The Sacred Cantatas, Vol. 10, Masaaki Suzuki, Bach Collegium Japan, Miah Persson, Robin Blaze, Makoto Sakurada, Peter Kooij, BIS
- J. S. Bach Cantatas: BWV 94, 105 and 168, John Eliot Gardiner, The English Baroque Soloists, The Monteverdi Choir, Katharine Fuge, Daniel Taylor, James Gilchrist, Peter Harvey, Archiv 2000
Notes
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Dürr & Jones 2006, pp. 464–467
- ^ Whittaker 1959, p. 620
- ^ a b c d e Anderson 1999, p. 215
- ^ a b c d e Leisinger 1999
- ^ Green & Oertel 2019, p. 88
- ^ Chafe 2003, p. 28. According to the iconography of the Lutheran canon, chromaticism symbolized Christus Coronobit Crucigeros.
- ^ Butt 1991, p. 85
- ^ Williams 1980, pp. 61–62
- ^ Spitta 1884, p. 424
- ^ Cantagrel 2010
- ^ Pirro 1907
References
- Anderson, Nicholas (1999), "Herr, gehe nicht uns Gericht, BWV 105", in Boyd, Malcolm (ed.), J.S.Bach, Composer Companions, Oxford University Press, p. 223, ISBN 0198662084
- Butt, John (1991), Bach: Mass in B minor, Cambridge University Press, ISBN 0-521-38716-7
- Cantagrel, Gilles (2010), Les Canatates de J.-S. Bach (in French), Fayard, pp. 826–834, ISBN 9782213644349
- Chafe, Eric (2003), Analyzing Bach Cantatas, Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-516182-3
- Dürr, Alfred; Jones, Richard D. P. (2006), The Cantatas of J.S. Bach, Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-929776-2
- Gardiner, John Elliot (2014), Music in the Castle of Heaven: A Portrait of Johann Sebastian Bach, Penguin, ISBN 9780141977591
- Green, Jonathan D.; Oertel, David W. (2019), Choral-Orchestral Repertoire: A Conductor's Guide, Rowman & Littlefield, p. 88, ISBN 9781442244672
- Leisinger, Ulrich (1999), Foreword to J.S. Bach's Cantata, "Herr, gehe nicht ins Gericht mit deinem Knecht," BWV 105 (PDF), translated by David Kosviner, Carus Verlag
- Pirro, André (1907), L'Esthétique de Jean-Sébastien Bach (in French), Librairie Fischbacher
- Spitta, Philipp (1884), Johann Sebastian Bach: His Work and Influence on the Music of Germany, 1685-1750, translated by Clara Bell; J. A. Maitland-Fuller, Novello, Ewer & Co
- Whittaker, William Gillies (1959), The Cantatas of Johann Sebastian Bach: sacred and secular, Volume I, Oxford University Press, pp. 630–635
- Williams, Peter (1980), The Organ Music of J.S. Bach, Vol. II, Cambridge University Press, ISBN 0-521-31700-2
- Wolff, Christoph (2020), Bach's Musical Universe: The Composer and His Work, W. W. Norton & Company
Further reading
- Marshall, Robert L. (1989), "The Genesis of an Aria Ritornello: Observations on the Autograph Score of 'Wie zittern und wanken' BWV 105/3", The Music of Johann Sebastian Bach: the Sources, the Style, the Significance, Schirmer Books, pp. 143–160, ISBN 9780028717821
External links
- Herr, gehe nicht ins Gericht, BWV 105: performance by the Netherlands Bach Society (video and background information)
- Herr, gehe nicht ins Gericht, BWV 105: Scores at the International Music Score Library Project
- Herr, gehe nicht ins Gericht BWV 105; BC A 114 / Sacred cantata (9th Sunday after Trinity) Bach Digital
- Cantata BWV 105 Herr, gehe nicht ins Gericht mit deinem Knecht history, scoring, sources for text and music, translations to various languages, discography, discussion, bach-cantatas website
- BWV 105 – "Herr, gehe nicht ins Gericht mit deinem Knecht" English translation, discussion, Emmanuel Music
- BWV 105 Herr, gehe nicht ins Gericht mit deinem Knecht English translation, University of Vermont
- Chapter 11 BWV 105 Herr, gehe nicht ins Gericht mit deinem Knecht / Lord, do not enter into judgement with Your servant. Julian Mincham, 2010