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1 CD -
BIS-2041 SACD - (p) 2013
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SECULAR
CANTATAS - Volume 3
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Johann
Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) |
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Serenata |
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"Durchlauchtster
Leopold", BWV 173a |
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18' 35" |
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Soprano, Basso, Flauto
traverso I, II, Violino I, II, Viola,
Bassono, Violoncello, Continuo |
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[Recitativo] (Soprano I): Durchlauchster
Leopold... |
0' 40"
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Aria (Soprano): Güldner Sonnen
frohe Stunden... |
3' 35" |
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[Aria] (Basso): Leopolds
Vortrefflichkeiten... |
1' 47" |
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Aria (Soprano, Basso): Unter
seinem Purpursaum... |
3' 45" |
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Recitativo (Soprano, Basso): Durchlauchtigster,
den Anhalt Vater nennt... |
1' 14" |
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Aria (Soprano): So schau dies
holden Tages Licht... |
3' 19" |
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Aria (Basso): Dein Name gleich
der Sonnen geh... |
2' 04" |
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Chorus (Soprano, Basso): Nimm
auch, großer Fürst, uns auf... |
2' 01" |
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"Weichet
nur, betrübte Schatten", BWV 202 |
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19' 53" |
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Soprano solo (all
movements), Oboe, Violino I, II,
Viola, Continuo |
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[Aria] (Soprano): Weichet nur,
betrübte Schatten... |
6' 03" |
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[Recitativo] (Soprano): Die Welt
wird wieder neu... |
0' 28" |
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Aria (Soprano): Phoebus eilt mit
schnellen Pferden... |
3' 05" |
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Recitativo (Soprano): Drum sucht
auch Amor sein Vergnügen... |
0' 41" |
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Aria (Soprano): Wenn die
Frühlingslüfte streichen... |
2' 45" |
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Recitativo (Soprano): Und dieses
ist das Glücke... |
0' 42" |
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Aria (Soprano): Sich üben im
Lieben... |
3' 56" |
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Recitativo (Soprano): So sie das
Band der keuschen Liebe... |
0' 27" |
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Gavotte (Soprano): Sehet in
Zufriedenheit... |
1' 23" |
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Serenata |
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"Die Zeit, die
Tag und Jahre macht", BWV 134a |
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34' 56" |
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Oboe I, II,
Violino I, II, Viola, Soprano,
Alto (Göttliche Vorsehung),
Tenore (Zeit), Basso, Continuo,
Violone
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[Chorus]: Schwingt freudig euch
empor und dringt bis an die
Sternen... |
4' 02" |
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Recitativo (Tenore): Ein Herz,
in zärtlichem Empfinden... |
0' 58" |
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Aria (Tenore): Die Liebe führt
mit sanften Schritten... |
5' 49" |
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Recitativo (Basso): Du bist es
ja, o hochverdienter Mann... |
0' 48" |
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Aria (Basso): Der Tag, der
dich vordem gebar... |
2' 46" |
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Recitativo (Soprano): Nurd
dieses Einz'ge sorgen wir... |
0' 38" |
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Aria (Soprano): Auch mit
gedämpften, schwachen Stimmen... |
8' 51" |
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Recitativo (Tenore): Bei solchen
freudenvollen Stunden... |
0' 22" |
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Chorus [ e Recitativo] (Soprano,
Tenore, Basso): Wie die Jahre
sich verneuen... |
3' 18" |
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Quodlibet,
BWV 524 (Fragment) |
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10' 46" |
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Soprano, Alto,
Tenore, Basso, Continuo |
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...Steiß. / Was seind das vor große
Schlösser... |
10' 46" |
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Joanne Lunn, soprano |
BACH COLLEGIUM
JAPAN / Masaaki Suzuki, Direction
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Hiroya Aoki,
counter-tenor |
- Kiyomi Suga, Flauto
traverso I |
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Makoto Sakurada,
tenor |
- Liliko Maeda, Flauto
traverso II |
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Roderick Williams,
baritone |
- Masamitsu
San'nomiya, Oboe & Oboe d'amore |
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- Natsumi Wakamatsu,
Violino I leader |
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Masamitsu
San'nomiya, oboe & oboe
d'amore |
- Paul Herrera, Violino
I (BWV 36c & 173a) |
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Natsumi Wakamatsu,
violin & viola d'amore |
- Yuko Takeshima, Violino
I (BWV 36c & 173a]
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- Azumi Takada, Violino
II |
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CHORUS |
- Yuko Araki, Violino
II (BWV 36c & 173a) |
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Soprano: |
- Yukie Yamaguchi, Violino
II (BWV 36c & 173a) |
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Joanne Lunn,
Minae Fujisaki, Yoshie Hida, Eri Sawae
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- Emilio Moreno, Viola |
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Alto: |
- Mika Akiha, Viola
(BWV 36c & 173a) |
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Hiroya Aoki,
Toshiharu Nakajima, Yumi Nakamura, Tamaki
Suzuki |
- Natsumi Wakamatsu,
Viola d'amore |
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Tenore: |
Continuo (all
works): |
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Makoto Sakurada,
Satoshi Mizukoshi, Jun Suzuki |
- Hidemi Suzuki, Violoncello |
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Basso: |
- Takashi Konno, Violone |
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Roderick Williams,
Toru Kaku, Yusuke Watanabe |
- Yukiko Murakami, Bassono
(BWV 36c & 173a) |
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- Masato Suzuki, Cembalo |
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- Masaaki Suzuki, Organo |
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Luogo
e data di registrazione |
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MS&AD
Shirakawa Hall, Nagoya (Japan) -
July 2012
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Registrazione: live /
studio |
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studio |
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Producer | Engineer |
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Ingo
Petry | Andreas Ruge | Akimi
Hayashi |
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Edizione CD |
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BIS -
BIS-2041 SACD - (1 CD) - durata
77' 26" - (p) & (c) 2013 - DDD |
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Note |
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COMMENTARY
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Durchlauchtster
Leopold, BWV
173a Most
illustrious
Leopold
During the years
1717−23, when Bach
was Hofkapellmeister
in the service
of Prince Leopold
von Anhalt-Köthen
(1694−1728), his
duties included
providing
congratulatory
cantatas each New
Year’s Day and on
the Prince’s
birthday, 10th
December. Durchlauchtster
Leopold is one
of these birthday
cantatas.
The identity of the
librettist remains
unknown, but in his
text the people of
Anhalt and Köthen
pay homage to their
Prince with the
solicitude typical
of the era. In this
context, the two
singers may be
interpreted as
allegorical figures,
the soprano perhaps
as an embodiment of
providence, the bass
as an allegory of
renown.
Despite the limited
instrumental and
vocal forces, Bach
succeeded in setting
the multi-faceted
text to music of
great variety. It
starts with an accompagnato
for the soprano,
addressing the
Prince by name; at
the end, the
Prince’s title
‘Durchlauchtster’
(‘Most illustrious’)
is effectively
ornamented with a
brilliant
coloratura. The
soprano sings of a
golden age under the
Prince’s rule in a
lively aria with a
rhythmically concise
theme. The bass
joins in too,
praising ‘Leopold’s
excellent
attributes’; the
words ‘machen uns
itzt viel zu tun’
(‘give us now much
to do’) are re
flected in the
bustling activity in
the accompanying
string parts.
The most remarkable
movement in the
cantata is the
three-strophe duet
for soprano and bass
‘Unter seinem
Purpursaum’ (fourth
movement). It is
marked Al tempo
di minuetto,
and is indeed a
genuine minuet that
could be danced to.
The three strophes
are written as a set
of varia tions, the
key signatures
rising stepwise
according to the
circle of fifths in
each verse while at
the same time the
music becomes
increasingly
condensed. The first
strophe begins in G
major; the minuet
melody is given to
the solo bass,
accompanied by the
strings. In the
second strophe, in D
major, the soprano
takes up the melody,
and flutes are added
to the orchestra. In
the third strophe,
in A major, the
orchestra is
augmented by a
richly figured
violin part; both
vocal soloists take
part, the bass once
again with the
minuet melody and
the soprano with a
free accompaniment.
Another duet in
minuet form
concludes this
birthday cantata.
These two dance
movements give the
work the character
of a courtly
serenade, and it is
therefore slightly
surprising that Bach
had no qualms about
reusing such clearly
secular music –
slightly shortened,
with its last
movement now set for
four vocal parts,
and with a new
sacred text – as a
church cantata for
Whit Monday in
Leipzig (Erhöhtes
Fleisch und Blut,
BWV 173).
Weichet nur,
betrübte Schatten,
BWV 202 Merely
yield, sorrowful
shadows
This charming
wedding cantata
would have been lost
forever if a
13-year-old boy,
Johannes Ringk, in
the province of
Thuringia had not
made a copy of it in
1730. Might this
same boy – who later
became a respected
musician as organist
of the Marienkirche
in Berlin – have
been the soprano
soloist in the
cantata?
We know nothing
about the origins of
the work; the name
of the librettist is
unknown, as are the
identities of the
bride and groom for
whom the piece was
intended. Clearly,
however, they were
from the
bourgeoisie;
otherwise the focus
would have been more
on display and the
sounds of trumpets
and drums, whilst
charm, grace,
amiability and
humour might
possibly have been
replaced by
convention and
stately manners. A
stroke of luck, in
other words.
The cantata text,
which the poet
presented to the
bride and groom as a
wedding present, is
a loosely arranged
set of tableaux in
baroque style.
Clearly referring to
the seasonal events
at the time of the
wedding, it depicts
a landscape that
gradually becomes populat
ed with some
well-known
mythological
figures. It is the
season in which the
‘sorrow ful shadows’
of the long winter
nights and spring
mists yield, and the
‘frost and winds’
attain ‘peace’; ‘the
world becomes new
once more’, ‘spring
breezes flutter’ –
in short: spring has
arrived. Flora
appears, the goddess
of flowers, with a
cornucopia of
blooms. And she is
not alone: Phoebus
Apollo, ‘hastens
with swift horses
through the new-born
world’ (third
movement). He is
followed by Amor
(fourth and fifth
movements), sneaking
through the fields
and keeping a
lookout for lov ing
couples – and hey
presto! here is one:
our bride and
bridegroom.
After that, the poet
himself puts in an
appearance with the
recommendation: ‘To
become proficient at
love, to embrace
with good humour…’
(seventh movement)
and with the
friendly wish: ‘May
the band of virtuous
love, o betrothed
pair, thus be free
from the fickleness
of changeability’
(eighth movement),
in other words that
their love should be
long-lasting and un
shakeable – neither
by ‘sudden mis
chance’, giving the
composer an implicit
cue, nor by ‘clap of
thunder’ (at which
point the composer
promptly includes a
rumbling in the
continuo). The end
of the work is full
of good wishes:
‘gratification’, ‘a
thousand bright days
of prosperity’ and,
of course, that love
should ‘bring forth
blossom’ – in other
words, that children
should ensue.
Bach was inspired by
the sprightly
libretto to produce
some beautiful
music, and has
charmingly coloured
the poetic images
with the broad
palette of his
formal, descriptive
and expressive
artistry. The
weightiest piece in
the cantata is
without question the
opening aria. It is
astonishing how Bach
begins the movement,
preparing the
listener for the
first words of the
aria even before
they are heard by
means of a musical
depiction full of
nature poetry.
Before the oboe and
vocal line enter,
the strings’ calmly
rising chords
portray the shadows
which – as the text
will soon inform us
– yield and, as
Bach’s music shows,
are in fact already
lifting like spring
mists. Then the oboe
comes in and, with
its long-held note
immediately followed
by the soprano’s
entry, sunbeams seem
to penetrate the
walls of cloud.
In the other
movements, too, Bach
writes in an
unusually
descriptive way. On
occasion he appears
very folksy, as in
the next aria (third
movement), in which
he sets Phoebus’s
horses galloping in
an Allegro
assai in
12/8-time. And in
the next aria (fifth
movement) Amor seems
to want to tease the
lovers with the solo
violin’s playful
little echo phrases.
In the last
movements the
dance-like element
comes to the fore.
The oboe aria ‘Sich
üben im Lieben’
(seventh movement)
is a sung passepied
with folk-like
traits. The finale
is not even called
an ‘aria’ any more,
but rather a
‘gavotte’ – which is
entirely apt; indeed
it is a particularly
attractive example
of the form which,
more over, must have
indicated to the
wedding party that
it was now time to
push the tables to
one side and start
dancing.
Schwingt freudig
euch empor…,
BWV 36c Soar
joyfully upwards…
Bach’s score, from
the spring of 1725,
tells us nothing
about the occasion
and purpose of this
congratulatory
cantata. Some
information can,
however, be gleaned
from the text: the
congratulations are
addressed to a
teacher, and the day
of the celebration
is when ‘the years
renew themselves’
(ninth movement), in
other words his
birthday. The
references to the
‘constant teachings’
and the ‘silver
embellishment of
age’ suggest many
years of service and
a man who has
reached a
considerable age;
the reference to him
as a ‘man of
outstanding merit’
and of ‘high est
honour’ (fourth
movement) indicates
that he had attained
an elevated rank.
Remarks concerning
his renown as a
teacher (second
movement) and his
wide spread
recognition (ninth
movement) reinforce
this impression. So
far, however, all of
these hints – plus
other references in
the text – have
proved insufficient
to permit us to
identify this
learned gentle man.
From the very first
bar, Bach’s music is
infused with
cheerful animation.
Introduced by a solo
from the oboe
d’amore – as songful
as it is
invigorating, and
further enlivened by
triplet figures –
the choir enters,
one part after
another.
Figuratively and
literally it is
‘upward-soaring’
from the bass, via
the tenor and alto,
to the soprano, with
a melodic idea that
in itself rises
upwards, reaching a
top a'' in the
soprano on the words
‘und dringt bis an
die Sternen’ (‘and
reach out towards
the stars’). The
text allows for a
particularly
striking
dramaturgical effect
with the words ‘Doch
haltet ein!’ (‘But
stop!’): this is the
sudden revocation of
all the previous
encouragement to
‘soar upwards’, and
for a moment the
orchestra falls
silent as well.
The oboe d’amore
also dominates the
instrumental texture
of the tenor aria
(third movement),
symbolically
illustrated by the
text ‘Die Liebe
führt mit sanften
Schritten
ein Herz, das seinen
Lehrer liebt’
(‘Love, with gentle
steps, leads a heart
that loves his
teacher’). The solo
bass, with baroque
exuberance, compares
the beloved
teacher’s birth day
with the First Day
of Creation and
God’s command ‘Let
there be light!’
(fifth movement).
The soprano aria
(seventh movement),
a display piece
exquisitely scored
with viola d’amore
and with all sorts
of echo effects in
the middle section,
proclaims that we
can praise the
teacher fittingly
‘even with hushed,
faint voices’
(although, as is
suggested, he would
have merited praise
with trumpets and
drums). The work is
rounded off by a
chorus in
fleet-of-foot
gavotte style,
summarizing all the
good wishes and also
allowing the three
aria soloists one
more chance to stand
out.
Bach must have been
extremely fond of
this cantata. Soon
after composing it,
he reworked it as
the Advent cantata Schwingt
freudig euch empor,
BWV36, which he
revised and extended
again in 1731.
Before that, in
1726, the work had
served as a birthday
cantata for Countess
Charlotte Friederike
Wilhelmine von
Anhalt-Köthen (with
the parody text Steigt
freudig in die
Luft, BWV
36a), and later on,
around 1735,
starting with the
text Die Freude
reget sich,
BWV 36b, as a
tribute to a member
of the Rivinus
family of Leipzig
scholars.
Quodlibet, BWV
524
As with Weichet
nur, betrübte
Schatten, this
is a piece of
wedding music,
albeit of an
entirely different
kind and on a wholly
different stylistic
level. As for the
genre, this is not a
cantata as such but
rather a socalled
‘catalogue
quodlibet’, a folk
form of humorous
character, close to
improvisation, that
derives much of its
effect from
juxtaposing
unrelated fragments,
together with
topical allusions.
Traditionally such
works combine
quotations from
songs, toasts,
market traders’ and
nightwatchmen’s
calls, proverbs,
puns and so on with
witty, often
boisterous and
coarse references to
the reason for and
participants in a
social gathering.
Such quodlibets were
especially popular
at weddings, where
they frequently got
out of hand. In 1730
the literary scholar
Johann Christoph
Gottsched wrote in
his Critische
Dichtkunst
with obvious
reservations: ‘At
weddings this sort
of witty poem has
its uses, if it does
not become merely
offensive.’
This Quodlibet poses
all kinds of riddle.
A fair copy from
1707/08, in Bach’s
own hand, has
survived but it is
not intact.
Apparently at some
stage the outer
sheets were removed,
thereby depriving us
of the beginning and
ending of the piece
– including the
title as well as
information about
whose wedding it was
performed at. Above
all, the name of the
composer is missing,
and it is thus by no
means certain that
it is Bach’s own
work. It may, for
instance, have been
a collaboration
between several of
the wedding guests.
The type of occasion
for which the piece
was written is
clear. The text
mentions ‘Große
Hochzeit, große
Freuden’ (‘Great
wedding, great joy’)
and there are
various intimations
that leave no
possibility for
doubt. We do not
know, however, whose
wedding it was; nor
can we be certain of
the sort of people
who were the guests,
despite a whole
series of indirect
references,
including one to
‘Salome’, possibly
Bach’s sister Maria
Salome, whose
married name was
Wiegand (1677−1727).
Also unclear is the
nature of a certain
event to which
ironic allusions are
constantly being
made, and which is
associated with sea
journeys to the
Dutch East Indies.
Apparently it
concerned a
spectacularly
unsuccessful attempt
− maybe by the
bridegroom himself –
to use a baker’s
trough as a boat.
Almost as though it
had been designed
with subsequent Bach
research in mind,
the text of this
Quodlibet contains a
very precise
chronological
indication. Towards
the end of the piece
the tenor sings:
‘This year we have
two eclipses of the
sun’. There were two
total eclipses in
each of the years
1705, 1706 and 1708,
and two slightly
less impressive
partial eclipses in
1707 too. This
limits the possible
dates of
composition. The
piece cannot,
however, have been
composed for Bach’s
own marriage to
Maria Barbara Bach
in October 1707, as
he himself wrote out
the fair copy of the
score that was in
all probability
intended as a
dedication example
for the bride and
groom.
© Klaus
Hofmann 2013
Production
Notes
Here I would like
give a few brief
comments in
connection with the
Quodlibet, BWV 524.
As Klaus Hofmann
mentions in his
commentary, this
work has been handed
down in the form of
J. S. Bach’s own
manuscript of the
full score, but at
least one of the
sheets of this score
in folio is missing.
The extant score
consists of three
sheets, each
containing four
pages of notation,
and it would appear
thus that the first
two pages and the
final section of
approximately two
pages has been lost.
The composer’s name,
which should of
course appear at the
head of the work, is
missing, and the
current situation is
that only the
central part of the
work has been handed
down for performance
purposes. But the
section that has
survived is of
considerable musical
interest, and I
decided therefore to
include it in the
programme. The
fragment opens with
a four-part chord on
the word Steiß,
meaning ‘backside’
and often referring
to the tail of a
bird or animal, but
it is unclear what
it could mean in
this context. At the
very end of the
manuscript, the
final line of text
reads ‘What a nice
fugue this is!’ in a
passage on the
dominant key,
implying that this
section was
originally followed
by a fugue.
Unfortunately this
fugue is now lost,
meaning that all we
can do is imagine it.
©
Masaaki
Suzuki
2013
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