Lobt ihn mit Herz und Munde, BWV 220

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Lobt ihn mit Herz und Munde (Praise him with heart and voice), BWV  220, is a church cantata by an unknown composer, formerly attributed to Johann Sebastian Bach. [1]

A cantata is a vocal composition with an instrumental accompaniment, typically in several movements, often involving a choir.

Johann Sebastian Bach German composer

Johann Sebastian Bach was a German composer and musician of the Baroque period. He is known for instrumental compositions such as the Art of Fugue, the Brandenburg Concertos, and the Goldberg Variations as well as for vocal music such as the St Matthew Passion and the Mass in B minor. Since the 19th-century Bach Revival he has been generally regarded as one of the greatest composers of all time.

Contents

History and text

The cantata was written for the Feast of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist. It derives from a chorale by Ludwig Humbold  (scores ) and from Isaiah61:10.

Scoring and structure

The piece is scored for alto, tenor and bass soloists, four-part choir, flauto traverso, two oboes, two violins, viola and basso continuo.

In music, SATB is an initialism for soprano, alto, tenor, bass, defining the voice types required by a chorus or choir to perform a particular musical work. Pieces written for SATB can be sung by choruses of mixed genders, by choirs of men and boys, or by four soloists.

Oboe musical instrument of the woodwind family

Oboes belong to the classification of double reed woodwind instruments. Oboes are usually made of wood, but there are also oboes made of synthetic materials. The most common oboe plays in the treble or soprano range. A soprano oboe measures roughly 65 cm long, with metal keys, a conical bore and a flared bell. Sound is produced by blowing into the reed at a sufficient air pressure, causing it to vibrate with the air column. The distinctive tone is versatile and has been described as "bright". When the word oboe is used alone, it is generally taken to mean the treble instrument rather than other instruments of the family, such as the bass oboe, the cor anglais, or oboe d'amore

Violin bowed string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths

The violin, sometimes known as a fiddle, is a wooden string instrument in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and highest-pitched instrument in the family in regular use. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino piccolo and the kit violin, but these are virtually unused. The violin typically has four strings tuned in perfect fifths with notes G3, D4, A4, E5, and is most commonly played by drawing a bow across its strings, though it can also be played by plucking the strings with the fingers (pizzicato) and by striking the strings with the wooden side of the bow.

It has five movements:

  1. Chorale: Lobt ihn Herz und Munde
  2. Aria (tenor): So preiset den Höchsten, den König des Himmels
  3. Recitative (bass): Auf Gottes Preis muss alle Freude zielen
  4. Aria (alto): Sich in Gott und Jesu freuen
  5. Chorus: Ich freue mich im Herrn

Recording

Wolfgang Helbich was a German church musician, a choral conductor and academic. He was the founder of the Alsfelder Vokalensemble and served as their conductor for decades, a group that toured internationally and received awards for their recordings. After retiring as a church musician, he also conducted the Bremer RathsChor.

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References

  1. Work 0277 at Bach Digital website
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