Mein liebster Jesus ist verloren, BWV 154

Last updated
Mein liebster Jesus ist verloren
BWV 154
Church cantata by J. S. Bach
Thomaskirche-1885.png
Thomaskirche, Leipzig
OccasionFirst Sunday after Epiphany
Bible text Luke2:49
Chorale
Performed9 January 1724 (1724-01-09): Leipzig
Movements7
Vocal
  • solo: alto, tenor and bass
  • SATB choir
Instrumental
  • 2 oboes d'amore
  • 2 violins
  • viola
  • continuo

Mein liebster Jesus ist verloren (My dearest Jesus is lost), [1] BWV 154, [lower-alpha 1] is a church cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach. He composed it for the first Sunday after Epiphany and first performed it in Leipzig on 9 January 1724.

Contents

History and words

Bach performed the cantata in 1724, his first year in Leipzig on the First Sunday after Epiphany. The musicologist Alfred Dürr assumes that it was written already in Weimar, [2] whereas John Eliot Gardiner shares this view only for movements 1, 4 and 7. [3] The prescribed readings for the Sunday were taken from the Epistle to the Romans, speaking of the duties of a Christian (Romans12:1–6), and from the Gospel of Luke, the finding in the Temple (Luke2:41–52). The unknown poet takes the parents' search for the lost Jesus as the starting point to depict the general situation of man who lost Jesus. Movements 1 and 2 lament this loss. Movement 3 is a chorale, stanza 2 of "Jesu, meiner Seelen Wonne" by Martin Janus (or Jahn), [4] asking Jesus to return. Movement 4 asks the same question in a personal aria. The answer is given by the bass, the vox Christi (voice of Christ), in the words of the Gospel "Wisset ihr nicht, daß ich sein muß in dem, das meines Vaters ist?" (Do you not know that I must be in that which is My Father's? Luke2:49). The joy of the finding is expressed paraphrasing from the Song of Songs "The voice of my beloved! Behold, he comes, leaping on the mountains, skipping on the hills"(Song of Solomon2:8). The cantata ends with stanza 6 of Christian Keymann's chorale " Meinen Jesum laß ich nicht ". [2] [5]

Bach performed the cantata first year on 9 January 1724. [2]

Scoring and structure

Similar to the Weimar cantatas, the work is scored for alto, tenor and bass soloists, a four-part choir for the chorales only, two oboes d'amore, two violins, viola, and basso continuo. The cantata is structured in eighth movements. [2]

  1. Aria (tenor, strings): Mein liebster Jesus ist verloren
  2. Recitative (tenor): Wo treff ich meinen Jesum an
  3. Chorale: Jesu, mein Hort und Erretter
  4. Aria (alto, oboi d'amore, strings, no continuo): Jesu, laß dich finden
  5. Arioso (bass): Wisset ihr nicht, daß ich sein muß
  6. Recitative (tenor): Dies ist die Stimme meines Freundes
  7. Aria (alto, tenor, oboi d'amore, strings): Wohl mir, Jesus ist gefunden
  8. Chorale: Meinen Jesum laß ich nicht

Music

In the three arias Bach sets extreme affekts to music: desperate lament, intense longing and blissful joy. The first aria is based on an ostinato continuo, comparable to the opening of Weinen, Klagen, Sorgen, Zagen, BWV 12 . First the violin, then the tenor perform an expressive melody and repeat it several times. The contrasting middle section is underlined by tremolos in the strings in daring harmonies. John Eliot Gardiner remarked in connection with his Bach Cantata Pilgrimage, that on the words "O Donnerwort in meinen Ohren" (O thunderous word in my ears), [1] "it contains a graphic evocation of ear drumming". [3] The second aria is accompanied by the two oboes d'amore and the violins and viola in unison, without continuo. Similar to the soprano aria Aus Liebe will mein Heiland sterben in Bach's St Matthew Passion , the lack of foundation portrays fragility and innocence. The joy of the finding is expressed in a duet of alto and tenor in homophonic vocal lines of parallel thirds and sixths. It is in three parts, the third not a da capo of the first, but an affirmative conclusion in a faster 3/8 time.

Movement 3 is a four-part setting of Johann Schop's tune of " Werde munter, mein Gemüte " (1642), which became famous as part of Herz und Mund und Tat und Leben, BWV 147 , and was also used in movement 40 of the St. Matthew Passion. The closing chorale is a four-part setting of a 1658 tune by Andreas Hammerschmidt. [2]

Recordings

Notes

  1. "BWV" is Bach-Werke-Verzeichnis, a thematic catalogue of Bach's works.

Related Research Articles

The Bach-Werke-Verzeichnis is a catalogue of compositions by Johann Sebastian Bach. It was first published in 1950, edited by Wolfgang Schmieder. The catalogue's second edition appeared in 1990. An abbreviated version of that second edition, known as BWV2a, was published in 1998.

<i>Halt im Gedächtnis Jesum Christ</i>, BWV 67 Church cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach

Halt im Gedächtnis Jesum Christ, BWV 67, is a church cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach. He composed it in Leipzig for Quasimodogeniti, the first Sunday after Easter, and first performed it on 16 April 1724.

<i>Es ist das Heil uns kommen her</i>, BWV 9 Church cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach

Johann Sebastian Bach composed the church cantata Es ist das Heil uns kommen her, BWV 9 in Leipzig for the sixth Sunday after Trinity between 1732 and 1735. It is a chorale cantata, based on the hymn "Es ist das Heil uns kommen her" by Paul Speratus. Bach composed the cantata to fill a gap in his chorale cantata cycle written for performances in Leipzig from 1724.

<i>Herz und Mund und Tat und Leben</i>, BWV 147 Church cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach

Johann Sebastian Bach composed the church cantata Herz und Mund und Tat und Leben, BWV 147 in 1723 during his first year as Thomaskantor, the director of church music in Leipzig. His cantata is part of his first cantata cycle there and was written for the Marian feast of the Visitation on 2 July, which commemorates Mary's visit to Elizabeth as narrated in the Gospel of Luke in the prescribed reading for the feast day. Bach based the music on his earlier cantata BWV 147a, written originally in Weimar in 1716 for Advent. He expanded the Advent cantata in six movements to ten movements in two parts in the new work. While the text of the Advent cantata was written by the Weimar court poet Salomo Franck, the librettist of the adapted version who added several recitatives is anonymous.

<i>Jesus schläft, was soll ich hoffen?</i> BWV 81 Church cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach

Jesus schläft, was soll ich hoffen?, BWV 81, is a church cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach. He composed it in 1724 in Leipzig for the fourth Sunday after Epiphany and first performed it on 30 January 1724.

<i>Liebster Jesu, mein Verlangen</i>, BWV 32 Church cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach

Liebster Jesu, mein Verlangen, BWV 32, is a church cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach. He composed the dialogue cantata in Leipzig for the first Sunday after Epiphany and first performed it on 13 January 1726 as part of his third cantata cycle.

<i>Ich ruf zu dir, Herr Jesu Christ</i>, BWV 177

Johann Sebastian Bach composed the church cantata Ich ruf zu dir, Herr Jesu Christ, BWV 177. He wrote the chorale cantata in Leipzig for the fourth Sunday after Trinity and first performed it on 6 July 1732. The cantata text is formed by the unchanged five stanzas of Johann Agricola's hymn.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vox Christi</span>

Vox Christi, Latin for Voice of Christ, is a setting of Jesus' words in a vocal work such as a Passion, an Oratorium or a Cantata. Conventionally, for instance in Protestant music of the Baroque era, the vox Christi is set for a bass voice.

<i>Wachet! betet! betet! wachet!</i> BWV 70

Wachet! betet! betet! wachet! is the title of two church cantatas by Johann Sebastian Bach. He composed a first version, BWV 70a, in Weimar for the second Sunday in Advent of 1716 and expanded it in 1723 in Leipzig to BWV 70, a cantata in two parts for the 26th Sunday after Trinity.

<i>Schau, lieber Gott, wie meine Feind</i>, BWV 153

Schau, lieber Gott, wie meine Feind, BWV 153, is a church cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach. He composed it in Leipzig for the Sunday after New Year's Day and first performed it on 2 January 1724.

<i>Sie werden aus Saba alle kommen</i>, BWV 65 Church cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach

Sie werden aus Saba alle kommen, BWV 65, is a church cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach. He composed it in 1724 in Leipzig for Epiphany and first performed it on 6 January 1724 as part of his first cantata cycle.

<i>Was Gott tut, das ist wohlgetan</i>, BWV 98

Johann Sebastian Bach composed the church cantata Was Gott tut, das ist wohlgetan, BWV 98, in Leipzig for the 21st Sunday after Trinity and first performed it on 10 November 1726.

<i>Liebster Immanuel, Herzog der Frommen</i>, BWV 123 Chorale cantata by JS Bach for Epiphany

Liebster Immanuel, Herzog der Frommen, BWV 123, is a church cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach. He composed the chorale cantata in Leipzig for Epiphany and first performed it on 6 January 1725. It is based on the hymn by Ahasverus Fritsch (1679).

Christian Keymann was a German hymnwriter. He is known for writing the chorale "Meinen Jesum laß ich nicht" in 1658, which served as the base for Bach's chorale cantata Meinen Jesum laß ich nicht, BWV 124, and other compositions.

<i>Meinen Jesum laß ich nicht</i>, BWV 124

Meinen Jesum laß ich nicht, BWV 124, is a church cantata written by Johann Sebastian Bach. He composed the chorale cantata in Leipzig for the first Sunday after the Epiphany and first performed it on 7 January 1725. It is based on the hymn "Meinen Jesum laß ich nicht" by Christian Keymann.

In allen meinen Taten, BWV 97, is a church cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach. He composed the chorale cantata in Leipzig in 1734 for an unspecified occasion. The text consists of the unchanged words of the hymn by Paul Fleming (1642).

<i>Bisher habt ihr nichts gebeten in meinem Namen</i>, BWV 87

Bisher habt ihr nichts gebeten in meinem Namen, BWV 87, is a church cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach. He composed it in Leipzig for Rogate, the fifth Sunday after Easter, and first performed it on 6 May 1725.

<i>Ich lasse dich nicht, du segnest mich denn</i>, BWV 157 Church cantata by J. S. Bach

Ich lasse dich nicht, du segnest mich denn, BWV 157, is a church cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach. He composed it in Leipzig in 1726/27 to a libretto by Picander. The first known performance was on 6 February 1727 during a memorial service for Johann Christoph von Ponickau in Pomßen near Leipzig. The work was later assigned to the feast of the Purification celebrated on 2 February.

<i>Nur jedem das Seine</i>, BWV 163 Church cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach

Nur jedem das Seine, BWV 163, is a church cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach. He composed the work in Weimar for the twenty-third Sunday after Trinity and first performed it on 24 November 1715.

References

  1. 1 2 Dellal, Pamela. "BWV 154 – Mein liebster Jesus ist verloren". Emmanuel Music . Retrieved 4 September 2022.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Dürr, Alfred (1981). Die Kantaten von Johann Sebastian Bach (in German). Vol. 1 (4 ed.). Deutscher Taschenbuchverlag. pp.  174–176. ISBN   3-423-04080-7.
  3. 1 2 Gardiner, John Eliot (2010). Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) / Cantatas Nos 32, 63, 65, 123, 124 & 154 (Media notes). Soli Deo Gloria (at Hyperion Records website). Retrieved 31 December 2018.
  4. "Jesu, meiner Seelen Wonne / Text and Translation of Chorale". Bach Cantatas Website. 2009. Retrieved 7 January 2013.
  5. "Meinen Jesum laß' ich nicht / Text and Translation of Chorale". Bach Cantatas Website. 2005. Retrieved 7 January 2013.

Sources