Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern, BWV 1 discography

Last updated • 4 min readFrom Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia

Bach composed Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern, BWV 1 , as chorale cantata for the Marian feast of the Annunciation, for a first performance in a church service in Leipzig on 25 March 1725. [1] The cantata, for soprano, tenor and bass soloists, four-part choir and Baroque orchestra, takes around 25 minutes to perform. [2]

Contents

Recordings

The conductor Fritz Lehmann recorded nine Bach cantatas with the Berliner Motettenchor and the Berliner Philharmoniker for Deutsche Grammophon. Recordings of nine cantatas were made between 1950 and 1952, and Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern was the first one to be released, in 1952. Lehmann died in 1956, preventing an expansion of the project. The nine cantatas were reissued by Eloquence Classics [3] in 2018. [4] Fritz Werner recorded around 50 of Bach's church cantatas with the Heinrich-Schütz-Chor Heilbronn and the Pforzheim Chamber Orchestra between 1959 and 1974, recording Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern in 1965. Several of them were reissued in 2004. A reviewer of the first volume noted: "Fritz Werner has this music in his blood. His instincts for Bach style are generally sound and he directs the music with a profound belief in it. These are performances of quiet conviction." [5]

In 1971, Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern was the first cantata for the project to record all church cantatas by Bach on period instruments in historically informed performances for what is now known as the Teldec series (it began on the Telefunken label); [6] the conductor was Nikolaus Harnoncourt, who was one of two conductors on the project, the other being Gustav Leonhardt. [7] [8] [9] While some instruments such as baroque violins were relatively easily available, other instruments necessary for historically informed performance posed more challenges, for example, the oboe da caccia which is specified in the score of this cantata. A reconstructed version of this instrument was available by 1973, [10] when the revival of the instrument had benefited from scholarly research at the beginning of the 1970s. [11] [12] However, it is not clear what would have been available for Jürg Schäftlein and Karl Gruber, the oboists of Harnoncourt's instrumental ensemble Concentus Musicus Wien, when BWV 1 was recorded. Another aspect of historically informed performance is the use of all male singers (which was the norm for Bach in Leipzig). Harnoncourt conducted the first four cantatas with the Wiener Sängerknaben, with a soprano soloist from the boys' choir and a countertenor for the alto part. [8]

Helmuth Rilling, who began a recording of all Bach cantatas in 1969 and completed it in 1985, [7] recorded Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern in 1980, with the Gächinger Kantorei and Bach-Collegium Stuttgart. [13] : 5  Thomaskantor Hans-Joachim Rotzsch, recorded Bach cantatas with the Thomanerchor and the Neues Bachisches Collegium Musicum. They recorded Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern, coupled with Bach's chorale cantata on a hymn by Nicolai, Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme, BWV 140 , in 1987. [14] Pieter Jan Leusink conducted all Bach church cantatas with the Holland Boys Choir and the Netherlands Bach Collegium in historically informed performance, however with women for the solo soprano parts. He completed the project within a year on the occasion of the Bach Year 2000. A reviewer from Gramophone noted: "Leusink's success elsewhere comes largely through his admirably well-judged feeling for tempos and a means of accentuation which drives the music forward inexorably". [15]

Masaaki Suzuki, who studied historically informed practice in Europe began recording Bach's church cantatas with the Bach Collegium Japan in 1999, at first not aiming at a complete cycle, but completing all in 2017. [16] They released Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern in 2007. [17] Sigiswald Kuijken recorded a series of cantatas with the ensemble La Petite Bande with vocalists singing one voice per part (OVPP). They recorded Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern in 2007. [18] The Swiss J. S. Bach-Stiftung plans to cover all church cantata by Bach in recorded live concerts with introductions. They covered Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern in 2010. [14] In 2013, a CD was released sung by the Thomanerchor with the Gewandhausorchester, conducted by Georg Christoph Biller. As part 9 of their series Das Kirchenjahr mit Johann Sebastian Bach (The church year with J. S. Bach), titled Marian Feasts, they performed Cantata 125 for Purification, Cantata 1 for Annunciation, and Cantata 147 for Visitation. [19]

Recordings of Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern
TitleConductor / Choir / OrchestraSoloistsLabelYear
J. S. Bach: Cantatas BWV 1 Fritz Lehmann [3]
Deutsche Grammophon
OCLC   64384066 		1952 (1952)
Les Grandes Cantates de J. S. Bach Vol. 1 Fritz Werner
Erato
OCLC   1078110812 [5] 		1965
Bach Cantatas Vol. 2 – Easter Karl Richter
Archiv Produktion
OCLC   7023395 		1968 (1968)
J. S. Bach: Das Kantatenwerk • Complete Cantatas • Les Cantates, Folge / Vol. 1 Nikolaus Harnoncourt
Teldec
OCLC   624441832 		1971 (1971)
Die Bach Kantate Vol. 38 Helmuth Rilling
Hänssler
OCLC   673097273 		1980 (1980)
Bach Made in Germany Vol. 4 – Cantatas II Hans-Joachim Rotzsch
Thomanerchor
Neues Bachisches Collegium Musicum
Eterna
OCLC   32373438 		c. 1987 (1987) [14]
Bach Cantatas Vol. 21: Cambridge/Walpole St Peter John Eliot Gardiner
Soli Deo Gloria
OCLC   68812471 		2000 (2000)
Bach Edition Vol. 18 – Cantatas Vol. 9 Pieter Jan Leusink
Brilliant Classics
OCLC   872058181 		2000 (2000)
J. S. Bach: Complete Cantatas Vol. 13 [20] Ton Koopman
Antoine Marchand
OCLC   811333583 		2000 (2000)
J. S. Bach: Cantatas Vol. 34 (Cantatas from Leipzig 1725) Masaaki Suzuki
BIS
OCLC   811226000 		2007 (2007) [17]
Bach: Cantates Marie de Nazareth Eric Milnes
ATMA Classique
OCLC   156910016 		2006 (2006)
J. S. Bach: Cantatas for the Complete Liturgical Year Vol. 6 (Sexagesima and Estomihi Sundays) Sigiswald Kuijken
Accent
OCLC   936410457 		2007 (2007)
J. S. Bach: Kantate BWV 1 "Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern" Rudolf Lutz
Chor der J. S. Bach-Stiftung
Orchester der J. S. Bach-Stiftung
Gallus Media
OCLC   918598096 		2010 (2010) [14]
Bach: Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern – Cantata BWV 1, 48, 78 & 140 Karl-Friedrich Beringer
Windsbacher Knabenchor
Deutsche Kammer-Virtuosen Berlin
 Sony Music
OCLC   953527912 		2011 (2011)
Kantaten · Cantatas / 1, 125, 147 Georg Christoph Biller
Rondeau [19] 2013 (2013)

Related Research Articles

<i>Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern</i>, BWV 1 Church cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach

Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern, BWV 1, is a church cantata for Annunciation by Johann Sebastian Bach. In 1725, when the cantata was composed, the feast of the Annunciation coincided with Palm Sunday. Based on Philipp Nicolai's hymn "Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern" (1599), it is one of Bach's chorale cantatas. Bach composed it in his second year as Thomaskantor in Leipzig, where the Marian feast was the only occasion during Lent when music of this kind was permitted. The theme of the hymn suits both the Annunciation and Palm Sunday occasions, in a spirit of longing expectation of an arrival. As usual for Bach's chorale cantata cycle, the hymn was paraphrased by a contemporary poet who retained the hymn's first and last stanzas unchanged, but transformed the themes of the inner stanzas into a sequence of alternating recitatives and arias.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bach cantata</span> Cantatas by Johann Sebastian Bach

The cantatas composed by Johann Sebastian Bach, known as Bach cantatas, are a body of work consisting of over 200 surviving independent works, and at least several dozen that are considered lost. As far as known, Bach's earliest cantatas date from 1707, the year he moved to Mühlhausen, although he may have begun composing them at his previous post in Arnstadt. Most of Bach's church cantatas date from his first years as Thomaskantor and director of church music in Leipzig, a position which he took up in 1723.

<i>Herr, wie du willt, so schicks mit mir</i>, BWV 73 Church cantata

Herr, wie du willt, so schicks mit mir, BWV 73, is a church cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach. He composed it for the third Sunday after Epiphany and first performed it in Leipzig on 23 January 1724. It was probably composed shortly before the first performance.

<i>Wer weiß, wie nahe mir mein Ende?</i> BWV 27

Wer weiß, wie nahe mir mein Ende?, BWV 27, is a church cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach. He composed it in Leipzig for the 16th Sunday after Trinity and first performed it on 6 October 1726.

<i>Wer da gläubet und getauft wird</i>, BWV 37

Wer da gläubet und getauft wird, BWV 37, is a cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach, a church cantata for the feast of the Ascension of Jesus. Bach composed it in Leipzig and first performed it on 18 May 1724.

<i>Jesu, nun sei gepreiset</i>, BWV 41

Jesu, nun sei gepreiset, BWV 41, is a church cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach. He composed the chorale cantata in Leipzig for New Year's Day and first performed it on 1 January 1725 as part of his second cantata cycle. It is based on the hymn by Johannes Hermann (1591).

<i>Schwingt freudig euch empor</i>, BWV 36 Church cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach

Johann Sebastian Bach composed the church cantata Schwingt freudig euch empor, BWV 36, in Leipzig in 1731 for the first Sunday in Advent. He drew on material from previous congratulatory cantatas, beginning with Schwingt freudig euch empor, BWV 36c (1725). The Gospel for the Sunday was the Entry into Jerusalem, thus the mood of the secular work matched "the people's jubilant shouts of Hosanna". In a unique structure in Bach's cantatas, he interpolated four movements derived from the former works with four stanzas from two important Advent hymns, to add liturgical focus, three from Luther's "Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland" and one from Nicolai's "Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern". He first performed the cantata in its final form of two parts, eight movements, on 2 December 1731.

<i>Am Abend aber desselbigen Sabbats</i>, BWV 42

Am Abend aber desselbigen Sabbats, BWV 42, is a church cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach. He composed it in Leipzig for the first Sunday after Easter and first performed it on 8 April 1725.

<i>Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland</i>, BWV 62

Johann Sebastian Bach composed the church cantata Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland, BWV 62, in Leipzig for the first Sunday in Advent and first performed it on 3 December 1724. The chorale cantata is based on Martin Luther's Advent hymn "Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland". It is part of his chorale cantata cycle.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern</span> Chorale by Philipp Nicolai

"Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern" is a Lutheran hymn by Philipp Nicolai written in 1597 and first published in 1599. It inspired musical settings through centuries, notably Bach's chorale cantata Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern, BWV 1, but also vocal and instrumental works by Baroque composers, Peter Cornelius, Felix Mendelssohn, Max Reger, Hugo Distler, Ernst Pepping, Mauricio Kagel and Naji Hakim.

<i>Erschallet, ihr Lieder, erklinget, ihr Saiten!</i> BWV 172 Church cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach composed for Pentecost Sunday

Erschallet, ihr Lieder, erklinget, ihr Saiten!, BWV 172, is a church cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach, composed in Weimar for Pentecost Sunday in 1714. Bach led the first performance on 20 May 1714 in the Schlosskirche, the court chapel in the ducal Schloss. Erschallet, ihr Lieder is an early work in a genre to which he later contributed complete cantata cycles for all occasions of the liturgical year.

<i>Ich geh und suche mit Verlangen</i>, BWV 49

Johann Sebastian Bach composed the church cantata Ich geh und suche mit Verlangen, BWV 49, in Leipzig for the twentieth Sunday after Trinity Sunday and first performed it on 3 November 1726. It is a solo cantata, a dialogue of soprano and bass.

<i>Bringet dem Herrn Ehre seines Namens</i>, BWV 148 Church cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach

Bringet dem Herrn Ehre seines Namens, BWV 148, is a cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach, a church cantata for the 17th Sunday after Trinity. Bach composed it in Leipzig in 1723 or 1725.

<i>Ich elender Mensch, wer wird mich erlösen</i>, BWV 48

Johann Sebastian Bach composed the church cantata Ich elender Mensch, wer wird mich erlösen, BWV 48, in Leipzig for the 19th Sunday after Trinity and first performed it on 3 October 1723.

<i>Ich glaube, lieber Herr, hilf meinem Unglauben</i>, BWV 109

Johann Sebastian Bach composed the church cantata Ich glaube, lieber Herr, hilf meinem Unglauben, BWV 109, in Leipzig for the 21st Sunday after Trinity and first performed it on 17 October 1723.

<i>Christen, ätzet diesen Tag</i>, BWV 63 Church cantata by J S Bach

Christen, ätzet diesen Tag, BWV 63, is a church cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach. He composed the Christmas cantata for the First Day of Christmas, possibly in 1713 for the Liebfrauenkirche in Halle. He performed it again for his first Christmas as Thomaskantor in Leipzig, on 25 December 1723.

<i>Christus, der ist mein Leben</i>, BWV 95

Johann Sebastian Bach composed the church cantata Christus, der ist mein Leben, BWV 95 in Leipzig for the 16th Sunday after Trinity and first performed it on 12 September 1723.

<i>Was mein Gott will, das gscheh allzeit</i>, BWV 111 1725 cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach

Was mein Gott will, das g'scheh allzeit, BWV 111, is a cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach for use in a Lutheran service. He composed the chorale cantata in Leipzig in 1725 for the third Sunday after Epiphany and first performed it on 21 January 1725, as part of his chorale cantata cycle. It is based on the hymn by Albert, Duke of Prussia, published in 1554, on the topic of the Christian's acceptance of God's will.

<i>Herr Jesu Christ, wahr Mensch und Gott</i>, BWV 127

Herr Jesu Christ, wahr' Mensch und Gott, BWV 127, is a cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach for use in a Lutheran service. He composed the chorale cantata in 1725 in Leipzig for the Sunday Estomihi, the Sunday before Lent. It is based on Paul Eber's 1582 hymn in eight stanzas "Herr Jesu Christ, wahr Mensch und Gott". Bach first performed it on 11 February 1725.

There are 52 chorale cantatas by Johann Sebastian Bach surviving in at least one complete version. Around 40 of these were composed during his second year as Thomaskantor in Leipzig, which started after Trinity Sunday 4 June 1724, and form the backbone of his chorale cantata cycle. The eldest known cantata by Bach, an early version of Christ lag in Todes Banden, BWV 4, presumably written in 1707, was a chorale cantata. The last chorale cantata he wrote in his second year in Leipzig was Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern, BWV 1, first performed on Palm Sunday, 25 March 1725. In the ten years after that he wrote at least a dozen further chorale cantatas and other cantatas that were added to his chorale cantata cycle.

References

  1. ↑ Bach Digital 2021.
  2. ↑ Dürr & Jones 2006, p.  666.
  3. 1 2 Eloquence 2021.
  4. ↑ JPC 2021.
  5. 1 2 Quinn 2004.
  6. ↑ Harnoncourt 1971.
  7. 1 2 Kenyon 2011.
  8. 1 2 Henahan 1971.
  9. ↑ Marshall 1973.
  10. ↑ Harnoncourt 1973.
  11. ↑ Dahlqvist 1973.
  12. ↑ Karp 1973.
  13. ↑ Hamburg 2021.
  14. 1 2 3 4 Bertelsmann 2021.
  15. ↑ Freeman-Attwood 2001.
  16. ↑ Kemp 2017.
  17. 1 2 BIS 2021.
  18. ↑ Veen 2008.
  19. 1 2 AllMusic 2021.
  20. ↑ Anderson 2012.

Cited sources

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.