Singet dem Herrn ein neues Lied, BWV 190
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...
. He wrote it 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 New Year's Day
New Year's Day
New Year's Day is observed on January 1, the first day of the year on the modern Gregorian calendar as well as the Julian calendar used in ancient Rome...
and first performed it on 1 January 1724. He adapted it in 1730 to Singet dem Herrn ein neues Lied, BWV 190a for the celebration of the Bicentennial of the Augsburg Confession
Augsburg Confession
The Augsburg Confession, also known as the "Augustana" from its Latin name, Confessio Augustana, is the primary confession of faith of the Lutheran Church and one of the most important documents of the Lutheran reformation...
.
History and words
Bach wrote the cantata in his first year in Leipzig for the New Year's Day, which is also the Feast of the circumcision and naming of Jesus, and first performed it on 1 January 1724. The prescribed readings for the day are :23–29 and :21, the prescribed circumcisionCircumcision of Jesus
The Circumcision of Jesus is an event from the life of Jesus of Nazareth according to the Gospel of Luke, which states in verse 2:21 that Jesus was circumcised eight days after his birth...
and naming of Jesus
Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament
Two names and a variety of titles are used to refer to Jesus in the New Testament.In Christianity, the two names Jesus and Emmanuel that refer to Jesus in the New Testament have salvific attributes...
eight days after his birth. The unknown poet, possibly Picander
Picander
Picander was the pseudonym of Christian Friedrich Henrici , a German poet and librettist for many of Johann Sebastian Bach's Leipzig cantatas...
, refers only in a general way to the readings, he mentions the naming at the end of movement 4, "Jesu Namen" (name of Jesus), and he starts every line in the following aria with "Jesus". Otherwise his text stresses praise and thanks for the gifts of the past and prayer for further blessings. The poet compiled for the opening chorus three verses from psalms
Psalms
The Book of Psalms , commonly referred to simply as Psalms, is a book of the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Bible...
, :1 and :4,6, and in between the first two lines 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...
's Deutsches Tedeum (German Te Deum
Te Deum
The Te Deum is an early Christian hymn of praise. The title is taken from its opening Latin words, Te Deum laudamus, rendered literally as "Thee, O God, we praise"....
) Herr Gott, dich loben wir (Lord God, Thee we praise). The words from the Te Deum appear again in the second movement, interspersed 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...
. The 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 the second stanza of Johannes Herman's Jesu, nun sei gepreiset (1591).
Bach performed the cantata again in the second half of the 1730s. Probably in Bach's revision process, parts of the original music got lost: for the first two movements only the vocal parts and the violin parts survived. Reconstruction of the missing parts was attempted by Bernhard Todt (1904), Walther Reinhart (1948), Olivier Alain (1971), Diethard Hellmann
Diethard Hellmann
Diethard Hellmann was a German Kantor and an academic in Leipzig, Mainz and Munich.-Professional career:...
(1995), and Ton Koopman
Ton Koopman
Ton Koopman is a conductor, organist and harpsichordist.Koopman had a "classical education" and then studied the organ , harpsichord and musicology in Amsterdam...
.
In his Christmas Oratorio of 1734, Bach dedicated the complete Part IV for New Year's Day to the naming of Jesus, told in the one verse from the Gospel of Luke
Gospel of Luke
The Gospel According to Luke , commonly shortened to the Gospel of Luke or simply Luke, is the third and longest of the four canonical Gospels. This synoptic gospel is an account of the life and ministry of Jesus of Nazareth. It details his story from the events of his birth to his Ascension.The...
, first performed on 1 January 1735.
Scoring and structure
The cantata is festively scored for altoAlto
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...
soloists, a four-part choir, three trumpet
Trumpet
The trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
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, 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 including bassoon
Bassoon
The bassoon is a woodwind instrument in the double reed family that typically plays music written in the bass and tenor registers, and occasionally higher. Appearing in its modern form in the 19th century, the bassoon figures prominently in orchestral, concert band and chamber music literature...
. The instrumentation is known from the extant closing chorale, although most parts of the first movements are lost.
- Coro: Singet dem Herrn ein neues Lied
- Chorale e recitativo (alto, tenor, bass): Herr Gott, dich loben wir
- Aria (alto, strings): Lobe, Zion, deinen Gott
- Recitativo (bass): Es wünsche sich die Welt
- Aria (tenor, bass, oboe d'amore): Jesus soll mein alles sein
- Recitativo (tenor, strings): Nun, Jesus gebe
- Chorale: Laß uns das Jahr vollbringen
Music
The opening chorus on three psalm verses and two lines from Luther's Tedeum is a complex architecture in three sections. A concerto Singet dem Herrn is concluded by the liturgical melody Herr Gott, dich loben wir in unisonUnison
In music, the word unison can be applied in more than one way. In general terms, it may refer to two notes sounding the same pitch, often but not always at the same time; or to the same musical voice being sounded by several voices or instruments together, either at the same pitch or at a distance...
, a choral fugue Alles was Odem hat (Everything that has breath) is concluded by a similar Herr Gott, wir danken dir, the final section Halleluja is a shortened reprise of the first.
In movement 2 the liturgical melody is set four-part and interrupted by recitatives. The following alto aria is dance-like and simple, the duet is accompanied by an obbligato instrument which may be oboe d'amore or violin. Gardiner tried both, but chose a viola d'amore
Viola d'amore
The viola d'amore is a 7- or 6-stringed musical instrument with sympathetic strings used chiefly in the baroque period. It is played under the chin in the same manner as the violin.- Structure and sound :...
instead. Neither movement has a da capo
Da capo
Da Capo is a musical term in Italian, meaning from the beginning . It is often abbreviated D.C. It is a composer or publisher's directive to repeat the previous part of music, often used to save space. In small pieces this might be the same thing as a repeat, but in larger works D.C...
. The strings intensify the prayer of the last recitative. The choir of trumpets marks the ending of every line in the closing chorale.
Recordings
- J.S. Bach: Cantatas BWV 137 & BWV 190, Hans Thamm, Windsbacher Knabenchor, Das Consortium Musicum, Ingeborg Ruß, 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...
, Franz CrassFranz CrassFranz Crass is a German bass.A native of Wipperfürth, Crass studied with Gerda Heuer in Wiesbaden and with Professor Clemens Glettenberg at the Hochschule für Musik in Köln. He won numerous competitions throughout Germany in the 1950s...
, EMIEMIThe EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...
1966 (Reinhart reconstruction) - Die Bach Kantate Vol. 19, 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...
, Helen WattsHelen WattsHelen Watts CBE was a Welsh contralto. She was born at Wales in Milford Haven and educated at the School of S. Mary and S. Anne, Abbots Bromley and the Royal Academy of Music. She began her career with the Glyndebourne Festival Chorus, and was a regular broadcaster on the Welsh Home Service...
, 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...
, Niklaus Tüller, 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...
1981 (Alain reconstruction) - J.S. Bach: Complete Cantatas Vol. 6, 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...
, Bogna BartoszBogna BartoszBogna Bartosz is a Polish classical mezzo-soprano and alto.- Biography :Bogna Bartosz studied voice at the Academy of Music in Gdansk and graduated with distinction...
, Paul AgnewPaul AgnewPaul Agnew is a Scottish operatic tenor.Agnew read music as a Choral Scholar at Magdalen College, Oxford. He became associated with the Consort of Musicke, the Tallis Scholars, the Sixteen and the Gothic Voices, before embarking on a solo career in the early 1990s.Closely associated with William...
, 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 1997 (Koopman reconstruction) - Bach Cantatas Vol. 15: 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...
, Daniel TaylorDaniel Taylor (countertenor)Daniel Taylor is a Canadian countertenor and early music specialist. He completed his undergraduate studies in English, philosophy, and music at the the Faculty of Music of McGill University and his graduate work in religion and music at the Université de Montréal...
, 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 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: Cantatas Vol. 11, 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...
, 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....
, 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 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....
2002
BWV 190a
For the celebration of the Bicentennial of the Augsburg ConfessionAugsburg Confession
The Augsburg Confession, also known as the "Augustana" from its Latin name, Confessio Augustana, is the primary confession of faith of the Lutheran Church and one of the most important documents of the Lutheran reformation...
on 25 June 1730, Bach adapted the cantata to Singet dem Herrn ein neues Lied, BWV 190a. The different text of Picander survived, published in 1732 in Ernst-Schertzhaffte und Satyrische Gedichte part 3, in Leipzig. The closing chorale was the third stanza of Luther's Es wolle Gott uns gnädig sein (1523). The music is lost and can only be reconstructed from BWV 190, as BWV 120b, written for the same occasion, can only be derived from Gott, man lobet dich in der Stille, BWV 120
Gott, man lobet dich in der Stille, BWV 120
Gott, man lobet dich in der Stille , BWV 120, is a sacred cantata written by the German Baroque composer Johann Sebastian Bach for the occasion of Ratswahl, the inauguration of a new town council of Leipzig in a church service...
. Diethard Hellmann
Diethard Hellmann
Diethard Hellmann was a German Kantor and an academic in Leipzig, Mainz and Munich.-Professional career:...
wrote a reconstruction in 1972.
- Coro: Singet dem Herrn ein neues Lied
- Chorale e recitativo (alto, tenor, bass): Herr Gott, dich loben wir
- Aria (alto): Lobe, Zion, deinen Gott
- Recitativo (bass): Herr, wenn dein Evangelium
- Aria (tenor, bass): Selig sind wir durch das Wort
- Recitativo (tenor): Nun Gott, wir opfern dir
- Chorale: Es danke, Gott, und lobe dich
External links
- Cantata BWV 190 Singet dem Herrn ein neues Lied! on bach-cantatas.com
- Cantata BWV 190a Singet dem Herrn ein neues Lied! 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...
- BWV 190 Singet dem Herrn ein neues Lied on the Bach website (in German)
- BWV 190a Singet dem Herrn ein neues Lied on the Bach website (in German)
- BWV 190 Singet dem Herrn ein neues Lied on uvm.edu
- Chapter 33 BWV 190 Singet dem Herrn ein neues Lied, A listener and student guide by Julian Mincham, 2010
- Entries for BWV 190 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...