Ihr werdet weinen und heulen (BWV 103), written for the Third Sunday after Easter; April 22, l725, is the first of the nine cantatas on texts trom Christiane Mariane von Ziegler's Versuch in Gebundener Schreib-Art published in 1728, that is to say, after the music had been composed. They mark Bach's return, alter the mighty group of chorale cantatas of thc second Leipzig annual cycle (l724/25), to the "madrigal” form in which only the introductory Bible text and the closing chorale stanza relate directly to the Gospel for the particular Sunday; he did, however, alter the texts of the Leipzig poetess quite substantially, mainly by shortening them. The Gospel for the Third Sunday after Easter consists ot Jesus’ words of farewell (John 16: 16-23); the contrasting emotions of sadness and joy which characterise the whole text, as they do in the other cantatas composed for this Sunday, namely Weinen, Klagen, Sorgen, Zagen and Wir müssen durch viel Trübsal, afford the composer ample opportunity to paint both emotions in vivid colours - sadness by chromatic steps, indicative of suffering, and also by altered intervals, whereas joy is expressed by dancing rhythms, coloratura and hrilliant orchestration. Even the highly complex opening chorus is built upon this contrast: the two recitatives and arias extend it still further. The concluding chorale is in simple four-part harmony. Cantata No. 103, composed for the Third Sunday after Easter, is certainly the most intimate of all Bach's cantatas. It lacks both the high pathos of Weinen, Klagen, Sorgen, Zagen and the spaciousness of Wir müssen durch viel Trübsal. By way of compensation, the very intimacy and elegance, redolent of chamber music, achieve a more inward and subjective effect; the unusual scoring - a descant recorder in the opening chorus, which was changed to a solo violin or flute in 1731 f contributes to this result.
Du Hirte Israel, höre (BWV 104), composed for the Second Sunday after Easter, is part of the first Leipzig annual cycle and was pcrforrned on April 23, l724. Of the three cantatas (Cantatas No. 104, No. 85 and no. 112) that interpret the Gospel ol the Good Shepherd (John 10:12-16), this is the most accessible and the one in which the image of the Good Shepherd is translated most directly and in the greatest detail into pastoral idiom: lilting triplets and triads, pedal points hinting at the bagpipe as the shepherds' instrument, and the pastoral sound of the oboe and oboe da caccia. The spacious opening chorus is also full of pastoral touches: these are apparent not only in the orchestral introduction and the block chords for the irnprecatory cries of ”höre" (hear us) and "erscheine" (appear), but even in the two incorporated fugues on the words “der du Joseph hütest wie der Schafe" (thou who guitlest Joseph like a flock). The first aria, in B minor, is the only one in a minor key, indicating that confidence in salvation is still subdued and somewhat anxious. The elaborate four-part writing in which the three upper parts, two oboi d'amore and the tenor voice are supported by the continuo, weave a texture which is as strict as it is charming, by virtue of the instrumentation. Both the theme and the imitatory technique of the rnain section vividly describe the steps of the faithful, hurrying along in spite of misgivings, and the protection, albeit still concealed, vouchsafed by the Good Shepherd. The second aria, in D, in which the soloist is accompanied by rich sonorities of strings and woodwind, is homophonic and dancelilke. The arrival at the destination is once again depicted as a transtigured pastoral scene. The sublime intensity of melody and sound are unusual, even for Bach. The concluding chorale is a simple four-part setting, the key of which (A), is not only more brilliant than that of the opening chorus in G, but also carries symbolic meaning by being pitched one whole-step higher.
Herr, gehe nicht ins Gericht (BWV 105) alsodates from the first Leipzig cycle and was sung on the Ninth Sunday after Trinity (July 25, 1723); it is the tenth of the Leipzig cantatas chronologically. The Gospel forthe day is the parable of the unjust steward (Luke 16: 1-9); an unknown poet has turned it into an affirrnation that Jesus is the guardian who will save the soul of the faithful Christian and against whom the vain world and the Mammon of unrighteousness cannot prevail. This text, which nowadays appears, it anything, a little dry, inspired Bach to one of his greatest feats of interpretation, mainly because he depicted the negative aspects, the sinfulness and guilt of Man, in continually changing pictures which may even be discerned in the second, more positive, half of the cantata. The opening chorus is modelled on the form of a prelude and fugue. The prelude is an adagio in which the presentation of the text is intensified by exaggerated sighing motifs and suspended dissonances in the instrumental parts; in the allegro fugue, the tempo and shape of the subject depict the living, whereas the descending countersubject and chrornaticism exemplify the text ("for in thy sight shall no man living be justified” - Psalm 143). Although the two arias are designed to contrast with one another, their keys (E flat and B flat] not only provide a linlk but also serve to differentiate them from the outer movements, which are in G minor. Mans wickedness is represented on several levels both in the opening chorus and in the aria in E flat: the violins depict trembling and faltering, the oboe and voice parts writhe in sighing figures and broken seventh chords and engage in brief canons ("Each one is the fault of the other beweiling"). The instability of Man's estate is symbolised by the most amazing feature of the whole movement: there is no bass line. The text "How happy is he who is firm assured” is perfectly captured by the recitativo accompagnato; the pizzicato basses represent the funeral bell which tolls until the last bar (”God will open Wide the Gate of Heaven"), an idea which is all the more moving because of its very simplicity. The second aria, on the face of it, affords some relaxation, but here again the music is conceived on several levels: the vocal part, the strings, and the horn part which occasionally resembles an ornamented chorale tune, symbolise the protection afforded by Jesus, the friend of the faithful. Scintillating violin figures depict ”Mammon”. Finally, the chorale in G minor also takes unusual account of the words themselves: above the four-part setting with its very varied harmonies the strings paint a sound-picture of the "conscience that is troubling me," which gradually calms down. The chromatic phrase of the first violin, a two-bar epilogue spanning a fourth, is like an anxious echo of the last line (”Life eternal we will gain”).
Gottcs Zeit ist die allerlaeste Zeit (BWV 106) is a mourning cantata (hence the title Actus tragicus) without any connection with the ecclesiastical year. It is one of Bach’s most famous cantatas, not least because the interpretation of the text is clothed in that highly pictorial musical language typical of Bach's early cantatas (the work probably dates from 1707, when he was at Mühlhausen). It is a ”pre-madrigal” work, almost entirely constructed front biblical texts and hymn stanzas; the inspiration which Bach drew from this potent language enabled him to nroduce, as Alfred Dürr puts it, a work of genius such as even great masters do not often achieve, and which enabled him, when he was only 22 years old, at one stroke to leave his contemporaries far behind. The development of the text, the idea of death under the old and the new covenant, according to the Law and the Gospel, is designed symmetrically, with the change from the Old to the New Testament providing the fulcrum:
- Sonatina: E flat
- Chorus: E flat / C minor
- Solo: C minor
- Solo: C minor / F minor
- Chorus: F minor
- Duett: B flat minor / A flat / C minor
- Chorus and Fugue: E flat
The chorus in F minor is the formal and spiritual centre of the work; it is also its most complex movement. In a fugato which makes use of archaic ideas (Old Testament), an effective, indeed sensitive soprano line ("Even so, come, Lord Jesus" - Revelations 22: 20) and a chorale melody ("lch hab' mein’ Sach' Gott heimgestell" - I laave put myself in God’s hand) played on the reeorder are joined together in a unique, intellectual and musical combination which fades away into the second part of the cantata dealing with salvation through Christ. The outer movements are more direct and simple, and the gentle orchestration (recorders and viole da gamba) is appropriate to its function as a funeral Cantata.