Ich armer Mensch, ich Sündenknecht, BWV 55
Encyclopedia
Ich armer Mensch, ich Sündenknecht (I, wretched man, a servant to sin), BWV
55, is a church cantata
written by Johann Sebastian Bach
in Leipzig
for the 22nd Sunday after Trinity
, first performed on 17 November 1726.
The prescribed readings for the Sunday were from the Epistle to the Philippians
, thanks and prayer for the congregation in Philippi , and from the Gospel of Matthew
, the parable of the unforgiving servant . The unknown poet of the cantata text stressed the opposites of the gospel, God's justice versus unjust men, in the words of the first aria "Er ist gerecht, ich ungerecht" (He is just, unjust am I). In the first two movements the singer reflects his sinful condition, in the following two he askes God for mercy, beginning both with Erbarme dich (Have mercy). The following closing chorale
is verse 6 of Werde munter mein Gemüte of Johann Rist (1642). Bach used the same verse later in his St Matthew Passion, again following Erbarme dich, the aria of Peter, regretting his denial of Jesus.
soloist, a four-part choir (only for the final chorale), flauto traverso, oboe d'amore
, two violin
s, viola
, and basso continuo.
. The motifs seem to illustrate the faltering steps and a despairing heart of the steward summoned before his master. The second aria is as expressive, accompanied by a virtuoso flute. The first recitative is secco, but the second one accompanied by string chords.
The closing chorale is the same text and melody as in the St Matthew Passion, here in a simpler four-part setting. Those two occurrences are the only ones of the text, whereas the melody was used frequently in other contexts, best known in Wohl mir, dass ich Jesum habe closing in two verses both parts of Herz und Mund und Tat und Leben, BWV 147.
Commentators have concluded from the autograph that the last three movements were originally part of an earlier untraced composition for Passiontide
, possibly the lost 1717 Weimar Passion.
BWV
The Bach-Werke-Verzeichnis is the numbering system identifying compositions by Johann Sebastian Bach. The prefix BWV, followed by the work's number, is the shorthand identification for Bach's compositions...
55, is a church cantata
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....
written 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...
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...
for the 22nd Sunday after Trinity
Trinity Sunday
Trinity Sunday is the first Sunday after Pentecost in the Western Christian liturgical calendar, and the Sunday of Pentecost in Eastern Christianity...
, first performed on 17 November 1726.
History and words
Bach wrote the cantata, a solo cantata for a tenor, in 1726 in Leipzig for the 22nd Sunday after Trinity and performed it first on 17 November 1726. It is Bach's only extant cantata for tenor.The prescribed readings for the Sunday were from the Epistle to the Philippians
Epistle to the Philippians
The Epistle of Paul to the Philippians, usually referred to simply as Philippians, is the eleventh book in the New Testament. Biblical scholars agree that it was written by St. Paul to the church of Philippi, an early center of Christianity in Greece around 62 A.D. Other scholars argue for an...
, thanks and prayer for the congregation in Philippi , and from the Gospel of Matthew
Gospel of Matthew
The Gospel According to Matthew is one of the four canonical gospels, one of the three synoptic gospels, and the first book of the New Testament. It tells of the life, ministry, death, and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth...
, the parable of the unforgiving servant . The unknown poet of the cantata text stressed the opposites of the gospel, God's justice versus unjust men, in the words of the first aria "Er ist gerecht, ich ungerecht" (He is just, unjust am I). In the first two movements the singer reflects his sinful condition, in the following two he askes God for mercy, beginning both with Erbarme dich (Have mercy). The following closing chorale
Chorale
A chorale was originally a hymn sung by a Christian congregation. In certain modern usage, this term may also include classical settings of such hymns and works of a similar character....
is verse 6 of Werde munter mein Gemüte of Johann Rist (1642). Bach used the same verse later in his St Matthew Passion, again following Erbarme dich, the aria of Peter, regretting his denial of Jesus.
Scoring and structure
The cantata is scored for a tenorTenor
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...
soloist, a four-part choir (only for the final chorale), flauto traverso, oboe d'amore
Oboe d'amore
The oboe d'amore , less commonly oboe d'amour, is a double reed woodwind musical instrument in the oboe family. Slightly larger than the oboe, it has a less assertive and more tranquil and serene tone, and is considered the mezzo-soprano of the oboe family, between the oboe itself and the cor...
, 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.
- 1. Aria: Ich armer Mensch, ich Sündenknecht (I, wretched man, a servant to sin)
- 2. Recitativo: Ich habe wider Gott gehandelt (I have offended against God)
- 3. Aria: Erbarme dich! Laß die Tränen dich erweichen (Have mercy! Let my tears move Thee)
- 4. Recitativo: Erbarme dich! Jedoch nun tröst ich mich (Have mercy! However, I console myself)
- 5. Chorale: Bin ich gleich von dir gewichen, stell ich mich doch wieder ein (Though I have turned aside from Thee, Yet shall I return)
Music
A rich polyphonic setting for flute, oboe d'amore and two violins, without viola, accompanies the opening ariaAria
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...
. The motifs seem to illustrate the faltering steps and a despairing heart of the steward summoned before his master. The second aria is as expressive, accompanied by a virtuoso flute. The first recitative is secco, but the second one accompanied by string chords.
The closing chorale is the same text and melody as in the St Matthew Passion, here in a simpler four-part setting. Those two occurrences are the only ones of the text, whereas the melody was used frequently in other contexts, best known in Wohl mir, dass ich Jesum habe closing in two verses both parts of Herz und Mund und Tat und Leben, BWV 147.
Commentators have concluded from the autograph that the last three movements were originally part of an earlier untraced composition for Passiontide
Passiontide
Passiontide is a name for the last two weeks of Lent, beginning on Passion Sunday and ending on Holy Saturday....
, possibly the lost 1717 Weimar Passion.
Recordings
- Bach Cantatas Vol. 5, Karl Richter, Münchener Bach-ChorMünchener Bach-ChorMünchener Bach-Chor is a mixed choir for concert and oratorio in Munich. Performances, international tours and recordings with Karl Richter and the Münchener Bach-Orchester made the choir internationally known.- Heinrich-Schütz-Kreis :...
, Münchener Bach-Orchester, Ernst HaefligerErnst HaefligerErnst Haefliger was a Swiss tenor.Haefliger was born in Davos, Switzerland and studied at the Zürich Conservatory. He studied with Fernando Capri in Geneva and Julius Patzak in Vienna....
, Archiv Produktion 1959 - Bach Made in Germany Vol. 3 - Cantatas II, Erhard MauersbergerErhard MauersbergerErhard Mauersberger was a German choral conductor, conducting the Thomanerchor as the fourteenth Thomaskantor since Johann Sebastian Bach...
, ThomanerchorThomanerchorThe Thomanerchor is a boys' choir in Leipzig, Germany. The choir was founded in 1212. At present, the choir consists of 92 boys from 9 to 18 years of age...
, Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, Peter SchreierPeter SchreierPeter Schreier is a German tenor and conductor.-Early life:Schreier was born in Meissen, Saxony, and spent his first years in the small village of Gauernitz, near Meissen, where his father was a teacher, cantor and organist...
, Eterna 1968 - Bach: Solokantaten, Hans-Martin LindeHans-Martin LindeHans-Martin Linde is a noted virtuoso flute and recorder player of baroque and early music.He authored a number of original and highly instructive books on the flute and recorder respectively....
, Schola Cantorum BasiliensisSchola Cantorum BasiliensisSchola Cantorum Basiliensis is a music academy and research institution located in Basel, Switzerland, and focusing on early music and historically informed performance....
, Nicolai GeddaNicolai GeddaNicolai Gedda is a Swedish operatic tenor. Having made some two hundred recordings, Gedda is said to be the most widely recorded tenor in history...
, EMIEMI RecordsEMI Records is the flagship record label founded by the EMI company in 1972 and launched in January 1973 as the successor to its Columbia label. The EMI label was launched worldwide...
1971 - J.S. Bach: Das Kantatenwerk - Sacred Cantatas Vol. 3, 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, Leonhardt-Consort, 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...
, TelefunkenTelefunkenTelefunken is a German radio and television apparatus company, founded in Berlin in 1903, as a joint venture of Siemens & Halske and the Allgemeine Elektricitäts-Gesellschaft...
1975 - Die Bach Kantate Vol. 57, Helmuth RillingHelmuth RillingHelmuth Rilling is an internationally known German choral conductor, founder of the Gächinger Kantorei , the Bach-Collegium Stuttgart , the Oregon Bach Festival , the Internationale Bachakademie Stuttgart and other Bach Academies worldwide, and the "Festival Ensemble Stuttgart"...
, Gächinger KantoreiGächinger KantoreiGächinger Kantorei is an internationally known German mixed choir, founded by Helmuth Rilling in 1954 in Gächingen and still conducted by him. A "Kantorei" is a choir of high standard dedicated mostly, but not exclusively, to sacred music. The ensemble operates in Stuttgart now and is therefore...
, Bach-Collegium StuttgartBach-Collegium StuttgartBach-Collegium Stuttgart is an internationally known German instrumental ensemble, founded by Helmuth Rilling in 1965 to accompany the Gächinger Kantorei in choral music with orchestra...
, Adalbert KrausAdalbert KrausAdalbert Kraus is a German tenor in opera and concert, known for singing the works of Johann Sebastian Bach.- Biography :...
, HänsslerHänssler ClassicHänssler Classic is a German classical record label based in Holzgerlingen.Friedrich Hänssler Senior founded Musikverlag Hänssler in 1919 to publish church music. Since 1972 Hänssler Classic has also published contemporary and jazz music...
1982 - J.S. Bach: Solo-Kantaten und Arien, Peter SchreierPeter SchreierPeter Schreier is a German tenor and conductor.-Early life:Schreier was born in Meissen, Saxony, and spent his first years in the small village of Gauernitz, near Meissen, where his father was a teacher, cantor and organist...
, RIAS KammerchorRIAS KammerchorThe RIAS Kammerchor is a professional chamber choir of the RIAS in Berlin, founded originally for contemporary music, with an international reputation.-History:...
, Kammerorchester Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, Peter SchreierPeter SchreierPeter Schreier is a German tenor and conductor.-Early life:Schreier was born in Meissen, Saxony, and spent his first years in the small village of Gauernitz, near Meissen, where his father was a teacher, cantor and organist...
, PhilipsPhilips RecordsPhilips Records is a record label that was founded by Dutch electronics company Philips. It was started by "Philips Phonographische Industrie" in 1950. Recordings were made with popular artists of various nationalities and also with classical artists from Germany, France and Holland. Philips also...
1994 - J.S. Bach: Kantate BWV 55 · Concerto a-Moll, Matthias Eisenberg, Thomanerchor Leipzig, Leipziger Barockorchester, Martin Petzold, RAM 1998
- Cantatas, Arias & Motet, Ludwig GüttlerLudwig GuttlerLudwig Güttler, also Ludwig Guttler, is an internationally known German trumpet and corno da caccia virtuoso....
, Virtuosi Saxoniae, Christoph GenzChristoph Genz- Biography :Christoph Genz was a member of the Thomanerchor. He studied at the King’s College, Cambridge where he was a member of the King’s College Choir. He studied voice with Hans-Joachim Beyer at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater „Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy“ Leipzig and with Elisabeth...
, Dresden Classics 1999 - Bach Cantatas Vol. 12, 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...
, 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...
, Soli Deo GloriaSoli Deo Gloria (label)Founded in 2004 in order to release the recordings made during the Bach Cantata pilgrimage that took place in the year 2000. Following its launch in 2005, Soli Deo Gloria has established itself as one of the leading independent record labels....
2000 - J.S. Bach: Complete Cantatas Vol. 18, 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...
, 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...
, Antoine Marchand 2002 - J.S. Bach: Cantatas for the Complete Liturgical Year Vol. 1, Sigiswald KuijkenSigiswald KuijkenSigiswald Kuijken is a Belgian violinist, violist, and conductor known for playing on authentic instruments.-Biography:Kuijken was born in Dilbeek, near Brussels. He was a member of the Alarius Ensemble of Brussels between 1964 and 1972 and formed La Petite Bande in 1972...
, La Petite BandeLa Petite BandeLa Petite Bande is a Belgium-based ensemble specialising in Baroque music played on period instruments. They are particularly known for their recordings of works by Corelli, Rameau, Handel, and Bach.-History:...
, Sophie Karthäuser, Petra NoskaiováPetra NoskaiováPetra Noskaiová is a Slovak classical mezzo-soprano, active in the field of Baroque music.- Professional career :Petra Noskaiová studied studied music at the conservatory of Bratislava from 1988 to 1994 and voice with Ružena Illenbergerová...
, Christoph GenzChristoph Genz- Biography :Christoph Genz was a member of the Thomanerchor. He studied at the King’s College, Cambridge where he was a member of the King’s College Choir. He studied voice with Hans-Joachim Beyer at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater „Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy“ Leipzig and with Elisabeth...
, Dominik Wörner, Accent 2004 - J.S. Bach: Cantatas Vol. 38 (Solo Cantatas), 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...
, 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...
, 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....
2006
External links
- Cantata BWV 55 Ich armer Mensch, ich Sündenknecht on bach-cantatas
- 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...
- Ich armer Mensch, ich Sündenknecht University of AlbertaUniversity of AlbertaThe University of Alberta is a public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford, the first premier of Alberta and Henry Marshall Tory, its first president, it is widely recognized as one of the best universities in Canada...
- Ich armer Mensch, ich Sündenknecht, BWV 55 on the Bach website (in German)
- Entries for BWV 55 on WorldCatWorldCatWorldCat is a union catalog which itemizes the collections of 72,000 libraries in 170 countries and territories which participate in the Online Computer Library Center global cooperative...