Was mein Gott will, das g'scheh allzeit (BWV 111), written for the Third Sunday after Epiphany (January 21) 1725 is, like Cantatas No.113 and No. 114, one of a group of chorale cantatas which constitute the core of the second Leipzig annual cycle (1724/25). In these a hymn for the Sunday in question is interpreted in the manner of a sermon, both textually and musically; as a rule the outer stanzas are unchanged in word and tune, while the inner ones are rewritten and set as rccitatives and arias. Cantata No. 111 is planned in just this way: the tirst stanza of the hymn is a large-scale chorale arrangement, the second is presented as an aria and recitative, the third as a duet and recitative, and the last one is a simple four-part chorale. This plan is emphasised by the choice of keys: both outer stanzas are in A minor, the aria in E minor, the duet in G major. In the opening chorus the hymn tune is sung by the sopranos in long note values; the other parts sing as Vorimitation, conventional imitation and free imitation. The line scheme is ab ab cd ab; identical melodic lines are always accompanied in the same way, both by the other voices and the orchestra. The unity thus achieved is further enhanced by the constant repetition and variation of the orchestral ritornello which has an independent motif of its
own based on the anapaestic rhythm typical of Bach. It has the shape and tonal quality of the French overture. The bass aria is accompanied only by continuo, the four-bar ritornello of which is played over and over again, almost like an ostinato, providing the foundation of the movement's ternary structure. Above it, the vocal line interprets the textual details with considerable emphasis ("entsetze" - affright; "Welt" - world; "Widerstreben" - oppose); the words "Gott ist dein Trost und Zuversicht/und deiner Seele Leben" (God is your comfort and hope/and the life of your soul) are set to a decorated version of the hymn tune. Key, pedal point, dotted rhythm and frequent use of canon in the vocal parts of the generously proportioned, richly sonorous duet illustrate the "beherzten Schritte” (confident steps) referred to in the txt. The soprano recitative descrihes the journey from the ”battlefield” of dying to the bliss of death in a progression moving; from intense chromatic chords for the oboes to a delicate arioso. The last hymn stanza concludes the cantata with a simple four-part chorale.
Der Herr ist mein getreuer Hirt (BWV 112), written for the Second Sunday after Easter l73l (April 8) is despite its being a late work still cast in the form of a chorale cantata. On this occasion the text is a hymn based on the 23rd Psalm l"The Lord is my Shepherd”), the traditional tune of which appears only in the first and last movements. The first stanza, a large-scale adaptation of the hymn tune, is both simpler in its form and, by virtue of the concertino function allotted to the two horns, more resplendent than that of Cantata No. 111. Presumably the horns are to be regarded allegorically as instruments appropriate to shepherds. The first horn doubles the soprano line, which sings the hymn tune. The second stanza is also treated as a bucolic idyll; there is an important obbligato part for the oboe d’amore, the rhythm is dancelike and the ftgurations underline the joyful ("wohlgemut") character of the piece. The third stanza is an arioso in binary form whose gloomy images of the valley of the shadows ("im finstern Tal”) and evil (”Verfolgung, Leiden, Trübsal”) are as expressively set as is the comforting conclusion which modulates from F minor via E major to G major. In tho fourth stanza the dancelike character of the second movement is heightened still further, developing into a positively joyous dance in the nature of a bourrée, with symmetrical four-bar phrases and dashing rhythms. The fifth stanza, a simple four-part chorale in which the two horns are once again employed, concludes the cantata.
Herr Jesu Christ, du höchstes Gut (BWV 113) is also part of the second Leipzig annual cycle and was written for the Eleventh Sunday after Trinity (August 20, 1724). The hymn has eight stanzas and the cantata eight movements; the texts of stanzas 1, 2, 4 and 8 are set verbatim, the others are paraphrased. Even more profound and varied use is made of the hymn tune.
Stanza 1: Extended arrangement of the hymn tune
Stanza 2: Three-part setting (in the manner of an organ trio), with the hymn tune in the middle voice
Stanza 3: The first line related to the chorale, thereafter free
Stanza 4: Chorale with continuo; interpolated recitatives
Stanza 5: Free setting except for the last line of the text, in which the last line of the hymn tune is quoted with ornamentation
Stanza 6: Free setting
Stanza 7: The odd lines ot the text are set to the hymn tune and ornamented, the even ones are set freely; in the style of a sacred concerto with continue
Stanza 8: Four-part chorale setting.
Both the stress on strict, indeed archaic settings and forms (organ trio, sacred concerto) and the discreet orchestration are in keeping with the serious nature of this penitential hymn. Conversely, it is appropriate that the only movement which is cheerful throughout - the paraphrase in the fifth stanza - should also be the only one that is consciously “modern” (free da cape form, long solo passages for the flute, the key of D major).
Ach, lieben Christen, seid getrost (BWV 114) written for the 17th Sunday after Trinity in 1724 (October1) is yet another chorale cantata. Three stanzas of the hymn (Nos. 1, 3 and 6 are retained unchanged as regards both tune and words, although different sellings are emp1oyed for each one. One the other hand in stanzas 2/3 and 5/6, which are treated as aria and recitarive in each case, the texts are paraphrased and the me1ody is quite free. The resulting format is completely symmetrical and the key structure is also remarkably consistent:
Stanza 1: Extended arrangement of the hymn tune G minor
Stanza 2: Tenor aria with flute obbligato D minor
Stanza 3: Bass recitative G minor, changing to D minor
Stanza 4: Hymn tune in the soprano, with continuo G minor
Stanza 5: Alto aria with oboe and strings B flat
Stanza 6: Tenor recitative G minor
Stanza 7: Four-part chorale setting G minor
However, this rigid framework contains a remarkable degree of rich and differentiated detail and interpretation of the text. In the opening chorus two motifs from the first line of the hymn are elaborated into an orchestral ritornello while the lower voices illustrate the details of the text (”getrost” - good cheer; ”heimsuchen" - afflict; ”bekennen" - confess), their unification and simultaneous differentiation achieving a positively dialectical interpenetration. In the tenor aria the question and answer contained in the words is heightened by the clearly contrasting emotions, keys, metres and tempi. Although the alto aria is in the major, occasional glimpses of the minor mode and chromatic steps in the melodic line impart an almost frightening intensity to the interpretation ofthe words. In the first line, for example, the A flat on ”Tod" (death) is virtually negated by the A natural on "nicht” (not); equally telling are the triumphant turn of phrase on ”die Freiheit mir erlange” (I am set free) and the chilling touches of B flat rninor and E flat minor on the words ”es muß ja so einmal gestorben sein” (since death comes in the end). Even the final chorale, in which the hymn tune is reinforced by a horn, as in the opening chorus, expresses the meaning of the words in greater detail than is usually the case.