Mein Herze schwimmt im Blut
Encyclopedia
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...
. In Wolfgang Schmieder
Wolfgang Schmieder
Wolfgang Schmieder was a German musicologist.Schmieder was born in Bromberg. In 1950, he published the BWV, or Bach-Werke-Verzeichnis , a catalog of musical works by Johann Sebastian Bach. The numbering system used in the BWV has since become a nearly universal standard, used by scholars and...
's catalogue of Bach's works, it is BWV
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...
199. The bulk of the text, which concerns a sinner finding redemption through God, is taken from Georg Christian Lehms Gottgefälliges Kirchen-Opffer (a little earlier, he had drawn on the same source for Widerstehe doch der Sünde, BWV 54).
The piece was composed in Weimar
Weimar
Weimar is a city in Germany famous for its cultural heritage. It is located in the federal state of Thuringia , north of the Thüringer Wald, east of Erfurt, and southwest of Halle and Leipzig. Its current population is approximately 65,000. The oldest record of the city dates from the year 899...
in 1714 for performance on the eleventh 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...
. It is written for solo soprano
Soprano
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...
accompanied by 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...
, 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. Bach made major and minor revisions to the cantata for later performances, and the Neue Bach-Ausgabe
Neue Bach-Ausgabe
The Neue Bach-Ausgabe is the second complete edition of the music of Johann Sebastian Bach, published by Bärenreiter. The name is short for Johann Sebastian Bach: Neue Ausgabe sämtlicher Werke...
recognizes two distinct versions: one (the first Weimar version) beginning in C minor with a viola obbligata in the sixth movement and a second (the Leipzig version) a tone higher, with the obbligata viola part given to a violoncello piccolo.
The cantata is in eight parts:
- "Mein Herze schwimmt im Blut" - a recitativeRecitativeRecitative , 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...
for sopranoSopranoA 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...
accompanied by the strings. - "Stumme Seufzer, stille Klagen" - a slow da capo ariaDa capo ariaThe da capo aria is a musical form, which was prevalent in the Baroque era. It is sung by a soloist with the accompaniment of instruments, often a small orchestra. The da capo aria is very common in the musical genres of opera and oratorio...
for the soprano, oboe and continuo. There is a brief secco recitative before the da capo. - "Doch Gott muss mir genädig sein" - a recitative with strings accompaniment.
- "Tief gebückt und voller Reue" - a da capo aria marked Andante (at a walking pace), in 3/4 timeTime signatureThe time signature is a notational convention used in Western musical notation to specify how many beats are in each measure and which note value constitutes one beat....
and accompanied by the strings. There is an adagio (slow) passage just before the da capo. - "Auf diese Schmerzensreu" - a short recitative accompanied by the continuo.
- "Ich, dein betrübtes Kind" - Verse three of the choraleChoraleA 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....
"Wo soll ich fliehen hin" with an obbligato viola or cello part (depending on the version). - "Ich lege mich in diese Wunden" - a recitative accompanied by the strings.
- "Wie freudig ist mein Herz" - a cheerful gigueGigueThe gigue or giga is a lively baroque dance originating from the British jig. It was imported into France in the mid-17th century and usually appears at the end of a suite...
-like da capo aria accompanied by all the instruments in 12/8 time.
Recordings
- J.S. Bach: Complete Cantatas Vol. 2, 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...
, Barbara SchlickBarbara SchlickBarbara Schlick is a German soprano who is particularly admired for interpretations of the concert literature of the baroque era.-Career:...
, Antoine Marchand - Angel's Hide Their Faces: Dawn Upshaw Sings Bach and Purcell, Arthur Haas, harpsichord & organ, Myron Lutzke, cello, Released March, 2001, Nonesuch: CD 79605-2