“Es ist das Heil uns kommen her" (BWV 9) is a chorale cantata that according to its type would seem to belong to the period 1724/1725, that is, to the second Leipzig series of cantatas, but, in fact, was not written until probably ten years later, about 1732/1735. On the sixth Sunday after Trinity in 1724 Bach was staying for a while in Cöthen and therefore most probably made a note of the appropriate text to be set to music at some later date.
The text is based on a hymn by Paul Speratus (1523), the premise of which is justification by faith only. There is an immediate connection to be seen between its message and that of the gospel for the day, Matthew 5, 20-26, in which Jesus warns against the self-righteousness of the Scribes and the Pharisees; for this reason the hymn is frequently sung on this particular Sunday in the Church’s Year. Bachßs unknown librettist omitted the last two verses of the 14-verse hymn (a rhymed version of the I.ord’s Prayer) and re-formed the remaining verses into a 7-verse cantata text by retaining verses 1 and 12 in their original form as opening and closing sections and re-writing verses 2-11 as recitatives and arias.
The form of the opening chorus is typical of Bach's chorale cantatas. The melody is presumed line by line in the treble, supported by imitative work in the three lower vocal parts and embedded in thematically independent instrumental writing. The instrumental sound owes its distinctive charm to the use of a flute and oboe d’amore which at times play in concertato style against the strings and at times include the first violins in their concertino.
The three rccitatives of the cantata, which are obliged to encompass the condensed version of the hymn, are all given to the solo bass and are set in simple declamatory secco style throughout, except for the close of the 4th movement which taltes on the form of an arioso. The impression thus created is that of a continual sermon with two interludes for contemplation, namely the arias.
The first aria, "Wir waren schon so ticf gesunken", is an example of Bach's pictorial representation of the text: the downward striving figures on the violin and syncopated rhythms symbolize the reeling plunge into the abyss of sin.
The second aria, a duet for soprano and alto with flute, oboe d’amore and basso continuo, is quite different in style. Whereas the basso continuo limits itself to simple supporting harmony, the upper parts develop a series of instrumental canons, an even more complicated double canon arising with the addition of the vocal parts. The middle section is treated canonically too, though here the instruments merely follow the vocal parts, occasionally decorating the melodic line. What is so amazing about this movement is the ease with which Bach solves all the problems created by this strict counterpoint without the listener’s even being aware of the strictness of form. A simple 4- part chorale, with freely moving lower voices, closes the work.
“Meine Scel erhebt den Herren” (BWV 10) stands apart from Bach's other chorale cantatas in that it is not based on a Protestant hymn but on the "Magnificat”, hymn of the Virgin Mary (Luke 1, 46-55), in the Martin Luther translation. This canticle had long since formed part of the liturgy of the Vespers; in Bach's time it was sung by the choir of St. Thomas' Leipzig at Evensong, in four parts to the Gregorian plainsong of the 9th psalmtone. The “Magnificat” is also appointed to be read as the lesson for the day on the feast of the Visitation ol the Blessed Virgin Mary (]uly 2nd), and it was for this occasion that Bach set it as a chorale cantata. Bach's unknown librettist kept the original wording of verses 46-48 (1st movement), 54 (5th movement) and the usual doxology (7th movement) and adapted the remaining verses as recitalives and arias.
Written for july 2nd, 1724, this work is the fifth chorale cantata in the second Leipzig series, The first movement opens with a thematically independent instrumental sinfonia on the strings and oboes. The chorus interpolates with half-verses of the text. For the first verse the melody of the 9th psalm-tone lies in the treble; the lower voices run freely in polyphonic style, their thematic material borrowed from the instrumental part.
For the seeoncl verse the melody moves to the alto; this second section is essentially a repetition of the first half, in the subdominant with a change of parts. A return to the main key is achieved through the insertion of a free choral passage into the final repeat of the opening sinfonia.
The two arias of the cantata differ both in instrumentation and in style. The first (2nd movement) uses the strings with interpolating oboes in conccrtante style. The second (4th movement) is accompanied only by the basso continuo, whose introductory ritornello bars re-appear as "basso quasi ostinato" in the vocal sections.
In the duet (5th movement) Bach not only retains the original Biblical text but also quotes the melody of the 9th psalm-tone in the instrumental parts against the thematically independent, imitative voice parts. Bach later transcribed this movement for organ (BWV 648) and incorporated it in the group of six organ chorales he had printed by Schübler.
Each of the two rccitativcs begins in secco style with basso continuo accompaniment. The first (3rd movement) broadens into an arioso towards the end; the second (6th movement) develops, even more impressively, into an accompagnato distinguished by motifs on the strings illustrating the fulfilment of God's promise to Abraham.
The two final verses are set as a simple 4-part choral movement, thc 9th psal-tone melody lying in the treble.
“Lobet Gott in seinen Reichen" (BWV 11) is one of the group of compositions that Bach, around 1734/35, named “oratorio”. To list it among the cantatas, as in the old Bach Gesamtausgabe, is therefore misleading, and the more so because it is thus, without any justification, set apart from the other two works similarly designated, the Christmas and Easter Oratorios. It is true that Bach performed the oratorios during the normal church service in place of a cantata; nevertheless, with these works he was obviously trying to present to the congregation the stories of Christmas, Easter and the Ascension in narrative form and to break away from the conventional scheme of contemporary cantata texts-an endeavour that it is not our place to disguise by re-naming it after the event.
The text of the Ascension Oratorio rests mainly on the Biblical account in Luke 24, 50-52, Acts of the Apostles l, 9-12 and Mark 16, 19; in addition come non-Biblical words in choruses, recitatives and arias and two verses of chorales (verse 4 of the hymn "Du Lebensfürst, Herr ]esu Christ" by Johann Rist, 1641, and verse 7 of the hymn “Gott fähret auf gen Himmel” by Gottfried Wilhelm Sacer, 1697).
As in the Christmas Oratorio Bach writes the Evangelist's account in secco style (one exception being the direct speech of the two men, which is an arioso for tenor and bass), whereas the non-Biblical recitatives are written in accompagnato style, with passages on the flutes illustrating the text from time to time.
The opening chorus and the arias are not new compositions but have heen borrowed from secular cantatas. The original cantatas are now lost to us and therefore we cannot gauge to what extent Bach re-arranged these pieces. One thing we can judge though is how admirably suited the music is to its new words - the joyful excitement of the opening da-capo chorus, the pleading tone of the violins in the aria “Ach bleibe doch" and, particularly, the delightful instrumentation for the aria “Jesu deine Gnadenblicke" which, in doing with out all the lower-pitched instruments evokes quite naturally an impression of freedom from earthly ties.
The first chorale (6th movement) is a simple 4-part composition. The final chorale, on the other hand, once more summons the full orchestra, producing a magnificent concertante instrumental movement into which is inserted the chorus proclaiming the words line by line, with the chorale melody of "Von Gott will ich nicht lassen" in the treble.
Towards the end of his life Bach again borrowed the music of the aria "Ach bleibe doch” for the “Agnus Dei" of the B minor Mass; he used, however, the version from the lost secular cantata and not the version from the Ascension Oratorio.