Gelobet seist du, Jesu Christ, BWV 91
Encyclopedia
Gelobet seist du, Jesu Christ (Praise be to You, Jesus Christ), BWV 91, is a church cantata
by Johann Sebastian Bach
. It was written in Leipzig
in 1724 for Christmas Day
and first performed on 25 December 1724.
from Bach's second annual cycle is based on the main chorale for Christmas Day, Gelobet seist du, Jesu Christ
(1524) of Martin Luther
. The beginning summarizes Christmas in two lines: "Gelobet seist du, Jesu Christ, daß du Mensch geboren bist" ("Praise be to You, Jesus Christ, since You were born a man"). All verses end with the acclamation Kyrieleis. The cantata was Bach's first composed for Christmas Day in Leipzig; in his first year in Leipzig 1723 he had chosen to perform again Christen, ätzet diesen Tag, BWV 63
, written in 1714 in Weimar.
The prescribed readings for the day are :11–14 and :1–14, the birth of Jesus
and its announcement to the shepherds
. The unknown poet of the cantata text kept the first and the last verse, expanded verse 2 by recitative
s, transformed verses 3 and 4 to movement 3, an aria
, verse 5 to a recitative, and verse 6 again to an aria.
Bach performed the cantata again four more times on 25 December, in 1731, in 1732 or 1733, and twice in the 1740s, even after his Christmas Oratorio
had been first performed in 1734, which also uses two verses of the Luther chorale.
, alto
, tenor
, and bass
, a four-part choir, two horn
s, timpani
, three oboe
s, two violin
s, viola
and basso continuo. He would later use the pair of horns in Part IV of his Christmas Oratorio.
s is present also in interludes between the five lines and as accompaniment for the vocal parts. The choral melody is sung by the soprano. The lower voices are set in imitation for the first and the last line, in chords for the second and fourth line, and in a combination in the central line "Von einer Jungfrau, das ist wahr" ("from a virgin, this is true").
In movement 2, the recitative is contrasted with chorale phrases, which are accompanied by a repetition of the first line of the chorale in double tempo. The tenor aria is accompanied by three oboes, whereas the strings illuminate the following recitative. The last aria is a duet, contrasting "Armut" (poverty) and "Überfluss" (abundance), "Menschlich Wesen" (human being), rendered in chromatic upward lines, and "Engelsherrlichkeiten" (angelic splendours), shown in coloraturas and triadic melodies.
At times the horns have independent parts in the closing chorale and embellish especially the final Kyrieleis.
Bach cantata
Bach cantata became a term for a cantata of the German Baroque composer Johann Sebastian Bach who was a prolific writer of the genre. Although many of his works are lost, around 200 cantatas survived....
by Johann Sebastian Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach was a German composer, organist, harpsichordist, violist, and violinist whose sacred and secular works for choir, orchestra, and solo instruments drew together the strands of the Baroque period and brought it to its ultimate maturity...
. It was written in Leipzig
Leipzig
Leipzig Leipzig has always been a trade city, situated during the time of the Holy Roman Empire at the intersection of the Via Regia and Via Imperii, two important trade routes. At one time, Leipzig was one of the major European centres of learning and culture in fields such as music and publishing...
in 1724 for Christmas Day
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
and first performed on 25 December 1724.
History and words
The chorale cantataChorale cantata
In music, a chorale cantata is a sacred composition for voices and instruments, principally from the German Baroque era, in which the organizing principle is the words and music to a chorale. Usually a chorale cantata is in multiple movements or parts. Most chorale cantatas were written between...
from Bach's second annual cycle is based on the main chorale for Christmas Day, Gelobet seist du, Jesu Christ
Gelobet seist du, Jesu Christ
Gelobet seist du, Jesu Christ is a Lutheran chorale of 1524, with words written by Martin Luther. For centuries the chorale has been the prominent hymn for Christmas Day in German speaking Lutheranism, but has also been used in different translations internationally...
(1524) of Martin Luther
Martin Luther
Martin Luther was a German priest, professor of theology and iconic figure of the Protestant Reformation. He strongly disputed the claim that freedom from God's punishment for sin could be purchased with money. He confronted indulgence salesman Johann Tetzel with his Ninety-Five Theses in 1517...
. The beginning summarizes Christmas in two lines: "Gelobet seist du, Jesu Christ, daß du Mensch geboren bist" ("Praise be to You, Jesus Christ, since You were born a man"). All verses end with the acclamation Kyrieleis. The cantata was Bach's first composed for Christmas Day in Leipzig; in his first year in Leipzig 1723 he had chosen to perform again Christen, ätzet diesen Tag, BWV 63
Christen, ätzet diesen Tag, BWV 63
Christen, ätzet diesen Tag , BWV 63, is a church cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach. Bach composed the cantata for the First Day of Christmas, possibly in 1713.-History and words:...
, written in 1714 in Weimar.
The prescribed readings for the day are :11–14 and :1–14, the birth of Jesus
Nativity of Jesus
The Nativity of Jesus, or simply The Nativity, refers to the accounts of the birth of Jesus in two of the Canonical gospels and in various apocryphal texts....
and its announcement to the shepherds
Annunciation to the shepherds
The Annunciation to the shepherds is an episode in the Nativity of Jesus described in the Bible in Luke 2, in which angels tell a group of shepherds about the birth of Jesus...
. The unknown poet of the cantata text kept the first and the last verse, expanded verse 2 by recitative
Recitative
Recitative , also known by its Italian name "recitativo" , is a style of delivery in which a singer is allowed to adopt the rhythms of ordinary speech...
s, transformed verses 3 and 4 to movement 3, an aria
Aria
An aria in music was originally any expressive melody, usually, but not always, performed by a singer. The term is now used almost exclusively to describe a self-contained piece for one voice usually with orchestral accompaniment...
, verse 5 to a recitative, and verse 6 again to an aria.
Bach performed the cantata again four more times on 25 December, in 1731, in 1732 or 1733, and twice in the 1740s, even after his Christmas Oratorio
Christmas Oratorio
The Christmas Oratorio BWV 248, is an oratorio by Johann Sebastian Bach intended for performance in church during the Christmas season. It was written for the Christmas season of 1734 incorporating music from earlier compositions, including three secular cantatas written during 1733 and 1734 and a...
had been first performed in 1734, which also uses two verses of the Luther chorale.
Scoring and structure
The cantata is festively scored for sopranoSoprano
A soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody...
, alto
Alto
Alto is a musical term, derived from the Latin word altus, meaning "high" in Italian, that has several possible interpretations.When designating instruments, "alto" frequently refers to a member of an instrumental family that has the second highest range, below that of the treble or soprano. Hence,...
, tenor
Tenor
The tenor is a type of male singing voice and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, to the A above middle C in choral music, and up to high C in solo work. The low extreme for tenors is roughly B2...
, and bass
Bass (voice type)
A bass is a type of male singing voice and possesses the lowest vocal range of all voice types. According to The New Grove Dictionary of Opera, a bass is typically classified as having a range extending from around the second E below middle C to the E above middle C...
, a four-part choir, two horn
Horn (instrument)
The horn is a brass instrument consisting of about of tubing wrapped into a coil with a flared bell. A musician who plays the horn is called a horn player ....
s, timpani
Timpani
Timpani, or kettledrums, are musical instruments in the percussion family. A type of drum, they consist of a skin called a head stretched over a large bowl traditionally made of copper. They are played by striking the head with a specialized drum stick called a timpani stick or timpani mallet...
, three oboe
Oboe
The oboe is a double reed musical instrument of the woodwind family. In English, prior to 1770, the instrument was called "hautbois" , "hoboy", or "French hoboy". The spelling "oboe" was adopted into English ca...
s, two violin
Violin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
s, viola
Viola
The viola is a bowed string instrument. It is the middle voice of the violin family, between the violin and the cello.- Form :The viola is similar in material and construction to the violin. A full-size viola's body is between and longer than the body of a full-size violin , with an average...
and basso continuo. He would later use the pair of horns in Part IV of his Christmas Oratorio.
- 1. Coro: Gelobet seist du, Jesu Christ
- 2. Recitativo (+ chorale, soprano): Der Glanz der höchsten Herrlichkeit
- 3. Aria (tenor, oboes): Gott, dem der Erden Kreis zu klein
- 4. Recitativo (bass, strings): O Christenheit! Wohlan
- 5. Aria (soprano, alto): Die Armut, so Gott auf sich nimmt
- 6. Chorale: Das hat er alles uns getan
Music
The opening chorus makes use of four choirs: the voices, the horns, the oboes and the strings. The material from the RitornelloRitornello
A ritornello is a recurring passage in Baroque music for orchestra or chorus. The first or final movement of a solo concerto or aria may be in "ritornello form", in which the ritornello is the opening theme, always played by tutti, which returns in whole or in part and in different keys throughout...
s is present also in interludes between the five lines and as accompaniment for the vocal parts. The choral melody is sung by the soprano. The lower voices are set in imitation for the first and the last line, in chords for the second and fourth line, and in a combination in the central line "Von einer Jungfrau, das ist wahr" ("from a virgin, this is true").
In movement 2, the recitative is contrasted with chorale phrases, which are accompanied by a repetition of the first line of the chorale in double tempo. The tenor aria is accompanied by three oboes, whereas the strings illuminate the following recitative. The last aria is a duet, contrasting "Armut" (poverty) and "Überfluss" (abundance), "Menschlich Wesen" (human being), rendered in chromatic upward lines, and "Engelsherrlichkeiten" (angelic splendours), shown in coloraturas and triadic melodies.
At times the horns have independent parts in the closing chorale and embellish especially the final Kyrieleis.
Recordings
- J.S. Bach: Das Kantatenwerk - Sacred Cantatas Vol. 5, Gustav LeonhardtGustav LeonhardtGustav Leonhardt is a highly renowned Dutch keyboard player, conductor, musicologist, teacher and editor. Leonhardt has been a leading figure in the movement to perform music on period instruments...
, Knabenchor Hannover, Collegium Vocale Gent, Leonhardt-Consort, Detlef Bratschke (soloist of the Knabenchor Hannover), Paul EsswoodPaul EsswoodPaul Esswood is an English countertenor. He is best known for his singing in Bach cantatas and the operas of Handel and Monteverdi. Along with his countrymen Alfred Deller and James Bowman, he led the revival of countertenor singing in modern times.Esswood was born in West Bridgford, England. He...
, Kurt EquiluzKurt EquiluzKurt Equiluz is an Austrian classical tenor in opera and concert, known for recording works of Johann Sebastian Bach with Nikolaus Harnoncourt and Helmuth Rilling, a member of the Vienna State Opera as a tenor buffo from 1957 until 1983.- Professional career :Kurt Equiluz was an alto soloist of...
, Max van EgmondMax van EgmondMax van Egmond is a Dutch bass and baritone singer. He has focused on oratorio and Lied and is known for singing works of Johann Sebastian Bach.- Professional career :...
, TeldecTeldecThe Teldec is a German record label in Hamburg, Germany. Today the label is a property of Warner Music Group.-History:...
1979 - J.S. Bach: Complete Cantatas Vol. 12, Ton KoopmanTon KoopmanTon Koopman is a conductor, organist and harpsichordist.Koopman had a "classical education" and then studied the organ , harpsichord and musicology in Amsterdam...
, Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & ChoirAmsterdam Baroque Orchestra & ChoirThe Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir is a Dutch early-music group based in Amsterdam.The Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir was created in two stages by the conductor, organist and harpsichordist Ton Koopman. He founded the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra in 1979 and the Amsterdam Baroque Choir in...
, Lisa LarssonLisa Larsson- Biography :Larsson studied in Basel and since 1993 appeared in the Internationales Opernstudio of the Zurich Opera House under conductors such as Franz Welser-Möst, Nikolaus Harnoncourt and Christoph von Dohnányi....
, Annette MarkertAnnette MarkertAnnette Markert is a German classical mezzo-soprano and alto.- Biography :Annette Markert studied voice at the Leipzig School of Music and was engaged at the Halle Opera House in Halle, Saxony-Anhalt from 1983 to 1990, then at the opera house in Leipzig.Since 1996 she has worked as a free-lance...
, Christoph PrégardienChristoph PrégardienChristoph Prégardien is a German lyric tenor whose career is closely associated with the roles in Mozart operas, as well as performances of Lieder, oratorio roles, and Baroque music...
, Klaus MertensKlaus MertensKlaus Mertens is a German bass and bass-baritone singer who is known especially for his interpretation of the complete works of Johann Sebastian Bach.-Professional career:Klaus Mertens took singing lessons while attending school...
, Antoine Marchand 2000 - Bach Cantatas Vol. 14: New York, John Eliot GardinerJohn Eliot GardinerSir John Eliot Gardiner CBE FKC is an English conductor. He founded the Monteverdi Choir , the English Baroque Soloists and the Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique...
, Monteverdi ChoirMonteverdi ChoirThe Monteverdi Choir was founded in 1964 by Sir John Eliot Gardiner for a performance of the Monteverdi Vespers in King's College Chapel, Cambridge. A specialist Baroque ensemble, the Choir has become famous for its stylistic conviction and extensive repertoire, encompassing music from the early...
, English Baroque SoloistsEnglish Baroque SoloistsThe English Baroque Soloists is a chamber orchestra playing on period instruments, formed in 1978 by English conductor Sir John Eliot Gardiner. Its repertoire comprises music from the early Baroque period to the Classical period...
, Katharine Fuge, Robin Tyson, James GilchristJames Gilchrist (tenor)James Gilchrist is a British tenor specialising in recital and oratoria singing. He began his working life as a doctor, turning to a full-time music career in 1996...
, Peter Harvey, Soli Deo Gloria 2000 - J.S. Bach: Christmas Cantatas from Leipzig, Philippe HerreweghePhilippe HerreweghePhilippe Herreweghe is a Flemish conductor.In his school years at the University of Ghent, Herreweghe combined studies in medical science and psychiatry with a musical education at the Ghent Conservatory, where Marcel Gazelle, Yehudi Menuhin's accompanist, was his piano teacher...
, Collegium Vocale Gent, Dorothee MieldsDorothee MieldsDorothee Mields is a German soprano concert singer of Baroque and contemporary music.-Career:Mields was born in Gelsenkirchen. She studied at the University of the Arts Bremen with Elke Holzmann, Harry van der Kamp and Gabriele Schreckenbach...
, Ingeborg DanzIngeborg DanzIngeborg Danz is a German mezzo-soprano and alto concert singer.- Biography :Ingeborg Danz studied school music at the Hochschule für Musik Detmold and voice with Heiner Eckels...
, Mark PadmoreMark PadmoreMark Padmore is a British tenor appearing in concerts, recitals, and opera.Born in London 8 March 1961, and raised in Canterbury, Kent in England. Padmore studied clarinet and piano prior to his gaining a choral scholarship to King's College, Cambridge...
, Peter KooyPeter KooyPeter Kooy is a Dutch bass singer specialized in baroque music.- Biography :Peter Kooy started his musical career at 6 years as a choir boy. However he started his musical studies as a violin student...
, Harmonia Mundi Franc 2001 - J.S. Bach: Cantatas Vol. 31, conductor Masaaki SuzukiMasaaki Suzukiis a Japanese organist, harpsichordist and conductor, and the founder and musical director of the Bach Collegium Japan.He was born in Kobe to parents who were both Christians and amateur musicians...
, Bach Collegium JapanBach Collegium JapanBach Collegium Japan is composed of an orchestra and a chorus specialising in Baroque music, playing with period instruments. It was founded in 1990 by Masaaki Suzuki with the purpose of introducing Japanese audiences to European Baroque music. Suzuki still remains its music director...
, Yukari Nonoshita, Robin BlazeRobin Blaze- Childhood and education :The son of a professional golfer Peter, Robin Blaze grew up in Shadwell, near Leeds and was educated at Leeds Grammar School, Uppingham School, and Magdalen College, Oxford....
, Gerd TürkGerd Türk- Biography :Gerd Türk received his first musical training as a choir boy at the cathedral of Limburg. He studied in Frankfurt and then at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis with Richard Levitt and René Jacobs, continuing in master classes with Ernst Haefliger and Kurt Equiluz.In the field of...
, Peter KooyPeter KooyPeter Kooy is a Dutch bass singer specialized in baroque music.- Biography :Peter Kooy started his musical career at 6 years as a choir boy. However he started his musical studies as a violin student...
, BISBIS RecordsBIS Records is a record label founded in 1973 by Robert von Bahr. It is located in Åkersberga, Sweden.BIS focuses on classical music, both contemporary and early, especially works that are not already well represented by existing recordings....
2004
External links
- Cantata BWV 91 Gelobet seist du, Jesu Christ on bach-cantatas.com
- German text and English translation, Emmanuel MusicEmmanuel MusicEmmanuel Music is a Boston-based collective group of singers and instrumentalists founded in 1970 by Craig Smith. It was created specifically to perform the complete cycle of over 200 sacred cantatas of J.S. Bach in the liturgical setting for which they were intended, an endeavor twice completed...
- Gelobet seist du, Jesu Christ on the Bach website (in German)
- BWV 91 Gelobet seist du, Jesu Christ on uvm.edu