Uns ist ein Kind geboren (Telemann)

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Uns ist ein Kind geboren
Church cantata by Georg Philipp Telemann
Telemann 8.jpg
Telemann c. 1725
Catalogue TWV 1:452
Occasion Christmas Day
Written1711
Textby Gottfried Simonis
LanguageGerman
Composed1720
Scoring

Uns ist ein Kind geboren (Unto us a child is born), TWV 1:1452, is a Christmas cantata for the first day of Christmas by Georg Philipp Telemann to a libretto in German by Gottfried Simonis that was first published in 1711. Telemann composed it in Frankfurt in 1720. It is structured in eight movements and is scored for five vocal soloists, a four-part choir, flauto traversi or horns, oboes, strings and continuo.

Contents

History

Telemann composed Uns ist ein Kind geboren when he was music director in Frankfurt. [1] [2] He used a libretto by Gottfried Simonis  [ de ], [1] [3] [4] which contains biblical text, chorale and free poetry, beginning with verse 5 from Isaiah 9. [1]

A libretto with the same title was published in 1711 in a collection of librettos by the writer, theologian, pastor and theorist Erdmann Neumeister. [5] A printed libretto, based on this text, survives in the Stadtgeschichtliches Museum of Leipzig for a cantata with this title because J. S. Bach performed it there. [1] That cantata was believed to have been composed by Bach and was published as one of his works in the 19th century by the Bach-Gesellschaft as Uns ist ein Kind geboren, BWV 142. It was possibly composed by Bach's predecessor, Johann Kuhnau. [5]

Telemann's cantata is closed by the last stanza of Kaspar Füger's hymn "Wir Christenleut". In the opening duet, he used elements from Hanakish and Polish folk music which he may have heard in his former position as kapellmeister for Count Erdmann von Promnitz, in Pleß and Kraków. While Telemann often used folk music in his compositions, it was rare in his church music. [1] He may have wanted to refer to the pastoral music of the shepherds. [1]

Telemann's cantata is extant in two forms: a set of parts, with Johann Balthasar König as the principal copyist, dates to the 1720s and is held by the Frankfurt University Library, and a copied score from the period is kept by the Berlin Singakademie. The parts source is regarded as preferable because it comes from the Frankfurt Telemann tradition. The other copy misses colla parte instruments, ornaments and figured bass. [1]

The cantata was published in 1963, edited by Helga Jaedtke, for Möseler  [ de ], Wolfenbüttel. [6] It was published as part of the Frankfurter Telemann Editions by Habsburger Verlag in 2003. [7] [6] It was published in a critical edition by Carus in 2008, edited by Klaus Hofmann. It was published in 2019 by Bärenreiter, edited by Simon Rettelbach, as part of Telemann, Georg Philipp: Neues Lied. Kirchenmusiken vom 21. bis 26. Sonntag nach Trinitatis und vom 1. Advent bis zum 3. Weihnachtstag, volume 53 of his compositions. [6]

Movements

The cantata is scored for five vocal soloists (two sopranos, alto, tenor and bass), a four-part choir, two flauto traversi or horns, two oboes, two violins, viola and continuo. [4] [6] [8]

The cantata is structured in eight movements: [6] [9]

  1. Chorus: Uns ist ein Kind geboren (For unto us a child is born)
  2. Recitative (bass): Ergötze dich, du Christenheit (Rejoice, Christianity)
  3. Aria (tenor): Liebster Jesu, sei willkommen (Dearest Jesus, be welcome)
  4. Recitative (alto): Dein Einzug in die Welt (Your entry into the world)
  5. Chorus: Ehre sei Gott (Glory to God)
  6. Recitative (tenor): Gib, liebster Gott (Grant, dearest God)
  7. Aria (alto): Jesus ist mein Heil und Leben (Jesus is my salvation and my life)
  8. Chorus: Halleluja! Gelobt sei Gott (Halleluja! Praise be to God)

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Hofmann 2008, p. 4.
  2. ↑ Zohn 2001.
  3. ↑ Sawtschenko 2011.
  4. 1 2 Goethe University Frankfurt 2025.
  5. 1 2 Glöckner 2000, p. 117.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 Telemann digital 2025.
  7. ↑ Habsburger Verlag 2023.
  8. ↑ Hofmann 2008, p. 1.
  9. ↑ Hofmann 2008, p. 2.

Cited sources

  • Hofmann, Klaus (2008). "Georg Philipp Telemann / Uns ist ein Kind geboren / TVWV 1:1452" (PDF). Carus. p. 4. Retrieved 22 December 2025.
  • Sawtschenko, Elena (2011). "Gottfried Simonis als Dichter des "Concertenjahrgangs" von Georg Philipp Telemann. Überlegungen zur Biographie des Autors und zur theologischen Position der Texte.". Telemann-Konferenzberichte (in German). Hildesheim: Olms. pp. 208–227. ISBN   978-3-487-14546-4.
  • Glöckner, Andreas (2000). Johann Sebastian Bach, Varia: Kantaten, Quodlibet, Einzelsätze, Bearbeitungen. Critical commentary. Neue Ausgabe sämtlicher Werke (NBA) (in German). Vol. I/41. Bärenreiter. pp. 117–118.
  • "Ms. Ff. Mus. 1413 - Uns ist ein Kind gebohren, ein Sohn ist uns" (in German). Goethe University Frankfurt. 2025. Retrieved 9 January 2026.
  • "Frankfurter Telemann-Ausgaben / Frankfurter Telemann Editions". Habsburger Verlag. April 2023. Retrieved 9 January 2026.
  • "Uns ist ein Kind geboren" (in German). Telemann digital. 23 September 2025. Retrieved 9 January 2026.
  • Zohn, Steven (2001). "Telemann, Georg Philipp". Grove Music Online (8th ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.27635. ISBN   978-1-56159-263-0.(subscription, Wikilibrary access, or UK public library membership required)
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