Ehre sei Gott in der Höhe, BWV 197a
Ehre sei Gott in der Höhe | |
---|---|
BWV 197.1 · 197a | |
Christmas cantata by J. S. Bach | |
Caspar Ziegler, the author of the chorale | |
Performed | 25 December 1728/1729 (1728/1729-12-25): Leipzig |
Ehre sei Gott in der Höhe (Glory be to God in the Highest), BWV 197a (197.1), is a Christmas cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach. He composed it in Leipzig for the First Day of Christmas in 1728 or 1729.[1]
History and text
Bach composed the work in Leipzig for Christmas Day in 1728 or 1729.[1] The prescribed readings for the feast day were from the Epistle of Titus, "God's mercy appeared" (Titus 2:11–14) or from Isaiah, "Unto us a child is born" (Isaiah 9:2–7), and from the Gospel of Luke, the Nativity, Annunciation to the shepherds and the angels' song (Luke 2:1–14). The text of the cantata is by Picander.[2] The chorale is from the 1697 hymn "Ich freue mich in dir" by Caspar Ziegler.[3] Bach later revised the piece into Gott ist unsre Zuversicht, BWV 197.2.[4]
Scoring and structure
The cantata is scored for solo alto and bass voices, a four-part choir, two flutes, oboe d'amore, two violins, viola, bassoon, cello, and continuo.[2]
The piece has seven movements (although there may also have been an opening sinfonia):[2][5]
- Chorus: Ehre sei Gott in der Höhe
- Aria: Erzählet, ihr Himmel, die Ehre Gottes
- Recitative: O! Liebe, der kein Lieben gleich
- Aria: O du angenehmer Schatz
- Recitative: Das Kind ist mein
- Aria: Ich lasse dich nicht
- Chorale: Wohlan! so will ich mich
Music
Only the last four movements of the piece are extant.[5]
The nineteen surviving bars of the fourth movement, an alto aria, demonstrate a rare bassoon obbligati and assume a combined ritornello-ternary form.[5]
The fifth movement is a bass recitative with only continuo accompaniment. It is a "harmonically adventurous", "forceful little movement marked by a robust melodic line".[5]
The following bass aria is accompanied by oboe d'amore and continuo, and is a "jaunty, pastoral dance" in 6/8 time and ritornello-ternary form. The movement is notable for a long rising melisma omitted from the reworked version in BWV 197.2.[5]
Musicologist Julian Mincham suggests that the chorale is "one of the sturdiest in the repertoire".[5]
Recordings
The recordings are taken from the listing on Bach-Cantatas:[6]
- Gächinger Kantorei / Bach-Collegium Stuttgart, Helmuth Rilling. Edition Bachakademie Vol. 140. Hänssler, 1999.
- Bach Collegium Japan, Masaaki Suzuki. J. S. Bach: Cantatas Vol. 54. BIS, 2012.
References
- ^ a b Work 00245 at Bach Digital website.
- ^ a b c "BWV 197a". University of Alberta. Retrieved 21 December 2013.
- ^ Dürr, Alfred (2006). The cantatas of J.S. Bach: with their librettos in German-English parallel text. Jones, Richard (trans.). Oxford University Press. p. 101. ISBN 978-0-19-929776-4.
- ^ Work 00244 at Bach Digital website.
- ^ a b c d e f Mincham, Julian. "Chapter 38 BWV 197a". The Cantatas of Johann Sebastian Bach. Retrieved 9 September 2022.
- ^ Oron, Aryeh. "Cantata BWV 197a / Ehre sei Gott in der Höhe". Bach-Cantatas. Retrieved 26 December 2015.
External links
- Ehre sei Gott in der Höhe, BWV 197a: Scores at the International Music Score Library Project
- Ehre sei Gott in der Höhe BWV 197a; BC A 11 / Sacred cantata (1st Christmas Day): Leipzig University
- BWV 197a Ehre sei Gott in der Höhe: English translation, University of Vermont
- Luke Dahn: BWV 197a.7 bach-chorales.com
- v
- t
- e
Leipzig
(1723–24)
(and chorale
cantatas)
- Chorale cantatas between Trinity and Easter: BWV 20
- 2
- 7
- 135
- 10
- 93
- 107
- 178
- 94
- 101
- 113
- 33
- 78
- 99
- 8
- 130
- 114
- 96
- 5
- 180
- 38
- 115
- 139
- 26
- 116
- 62
- 91
- 121
- 133
- 122
- 41
- 123
- 124
- 3
- 111
- 92
- 125
- 126
- 127
- 1
- Continuation of the second cycle: BWV 6
- 42
- 85
- 103
- 108
- 87
- 128
- 183
- 74
- 68
- 175
- 176
- Later additions to the chorale cantata cycle: BWV 80
- 137
- 129
- 58
- 112
- 140
- 177
- 9
- 14
- Other late chorale cantatas: BWV 117
- 192
- 100
- 97
and other
- Picander cycle: BWV 149
- 188
- 197a
- 171
- 156
- 159
- 145
- 174
- Late parodies: BWV 36
- 30
- 191
- 200
- 248 (I, II, III, IV, V, VI)
- 1083
- Council election (Leipzig): BWV 119
- 193
- 29
- 120
- 69
- (lost: 1139.1, 1140–1141)
- Wedding: BWV 34a
- 195
- 120a
- 197
- Funeral: 157
- 244a
- Other: 194
- 190a
- 120b
- 51
- 158
- 50
- Doubtful: 53
- 142
- 189
- 217
- 220
- 221
- 223
- 224
- Bach cantata
- List of Bach cantatas
- Discography: Monteverdi Choir/Koopman/Teldec