CLXVI. BACH, J.S.: Cantata #19: Es erhub sich ein Streit, BWV 19

CLXVI. BACH, J.S. (1685-1750)

Cantata #19: Es erhub sich ein Streit, BWV 19 (1726)
1. Chorus: Es erhub sich ein Streit
2. Recitative (bass): Gottlob! der Drache liegt
3. Aria (soprano): Gott schickt uns Mahanaim zu
4. Recitative (tenor): Was ist der schnöde Mensch
5. Aria (tenor): Bleibt, ihr Engel, bleibt bei mir!
6. Recitative (soprano): Laßt uns das Angesicht
7. Chorale: Laß dein Engel mit mir fahren
Soloist of the Wiener Sängerknaben, soprano
Paul Esswood, alto
Kurt Equiluz, tenor
Max van Egmond, bass
Wiener Sängerknaben
Concentus musicus Wien
Nikolaus Harnoncourt, cond.
(19:38)

Composed for the celebration of the Feast of the Archangel Michael (Michaelmas), the text is by Picander, based on Revelation 12:7-9:

"And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels,
And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven.
And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him."

1. Chorus: Es erhub sich ein Streit (There arose a fight)

The basses begin with staggered entrances following ... the music is rich, with three trumpets and timpani. The initial five-word text is repeated for 41 bars before he moves on to the next verses:

Die raende Schlange, der höllische Drache (The raging serpent, the infernal dragon)

Stürmt wider den Himmel mit wütender Rache (Charges against Heaven with furious vengeance)
Aber Michael bezwingt (But Michael triumphs)
Und die Schar, die ihn umringt (And the host that surround him)
stürzt des Satans Grausamkeit (Overthrow the cruelty of Satan)

Very dramatic. The da capo repeats those first 41 bars of tight tension.

2. Recitative (bass): Gottlob! der Drache liegt (God be praised! The dragon has fallen)

3. Aria (soprano): Gott schickt uns Mahanaim zu (God sends Mahanaim to us)

A gorgeous aria, with beautiful interplay between the two oboes and continuo. The da capo ends with the introductory oboe/continuo part.

4. Recitative (tenor): Was ist der schöde Mensch (What is base man?)

5. Aria (tenor): Bleibt, ihr Engel, bleibt bei mir! (Stay, you angels, stay with me!)

This monumental aria makes up the meat of this cantata, lasting nearly seven minutes. The 6/8 "siciliano" rhythm is the motive of the angels (Schweitzer), and the trumpet plays the chorale melody on top (red arrow)...

6. Recitative (soprano): Laßt uns das Angesicht (Let us love the faces)

7. Chorale: Laß dein Engel mit mir fahren (Let your angels travel with me)

Atypically, in 3/4.

CLXV. BACH, J.S.: Cantata #117: Sei Lob und Ehr dem Höchsten Gut, BWV 117

CLXV. BACH, J.S. (1685-1750)

Cantata #117: Sei Lob und Ehr dem Höchsten Gut, BWV 117 (1728-31)
1. Chorale: Sei Lob und Ehr dem höchsten Gut
2. Recitative (bass): Es danken dir die Himmelsheer
3. Aria (tenor): Was unser Gott geschaffen hat
4. Chorale: Ich rief dem Herrn in meiner Not
5. Recitative (alto): Der Herr ist noch und nimmer nicht
6. Aria (bass): Wenn Trost und Hülf ermangeln muss
7. Aria (alto): Ich will dich all mein Leben lang
8. Recitative (tenor): Ihr, die ihr Christi Namen rennt
9. Chorale: So kommet vor sein Angesicht
Unknown, soprano
Ashley Hibbard, mezzo-soprano
Pablo Bustos, tenor
Benjamin Curtis, bass
Eastman School Bach Cantata Series
David Chin, cond.
(22:04)

The hymn tune which informs the entire cantata appears everywhere, but is most plainly stated in the Chorale (#4):

Now notice how Bach resets the Chorale melody (soprano) in the opening Chorale section (#1), with different words. There are four bars of instrumental accompaniment in between each of these seven sections:

Every movement of this cantata ends with the same phrase:

Gebt unserm Gott die Ehre!
To Him be all the glory!

#2: Basso recitative:

#3: Tenor aria:

#5: alto recitative:

#6: bass aria:

#7: alto aria:

#8: Tenor recitative:

The opening chorus (#1) is repeated.

#9: Chorale:

CLXIV. BACH, J.S.: Brandenberg Concerto #2 in F Major, BWV 1047

CLXIV. BACH, J.S. (1685-1750)

Brandenberg Concerto #2 in F Major, BWV 1047 (1721)
1. [no tempo indication]
2. Andante
3. Allegro assai
Netherlands Bach Society
Neil Brough, trumpet
Emma Black, oboe
Pedro Castro, recorder
Shunske Sato, violin, cond.
(11:00)

Sometime in early January of 1967, Paul McCartney heard this piece on a BBC television program.

David Mason was paid 27 pounds for his contribution to Penny Lane.

**

First Movement

Perhaps one of these two licks caught Paul's attention:

Second Movement

The trumpet and ripieno rest, giving just the three soloists the spotlight. Note the staggered entrances:

Third Movement

Or perhaps it was this movement which captured Paul's attention:

Note the fugal writing: the oboe enters at the fifth, followed by the violin back at the tonic, and finally the flute at the fifth ...

CLXIII. BACH, J.S.: Christmas Oratorio, BWV 248

CLXIII. BACH, J.S. (1685-1750)

Christmas Oratorio, BWV 248 (1734)
1. Part 1: The Birth of Jesus
2. Part 2: The Annunciation to the Shepherds
3. Part 3: The Adoration of the Shepherds
4. Part 4: The Circumcision and Naming of Jesus
5. Part 5: The Journey of the Magi
6. Part 6: The Adoration of the Magi
Dorothea Röschmann, soprano
Andreas Scholl, alto
Werner Güra, tenor
Klaus Häger, bass
Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin
RIAS Kammerchor
René Jacobs, cond.
(2:32:29)

This is one of the few complete performance of all six parts on YouTube, and it is excellent.

This is the third long-form Bach work on this blog (St. Matthew Passion: Post I and B Minor Mass: Post XXVIII).

There is something about these endurance-testing listening sessions that really makes one's musical soul pay close attention. Although not as mighty as the Passion or Mass, this oratorio -- really, a combination of parody masses -- is an example of Bach reusing earlier cantatas -- specifically, two or three secular cantatas: BWV 213 and 214 [see Post CCCLIV].

That does not mean that Bach just plopped in the earlier music verbatim -- he rewrote much of it to fit the occasion, and added many new sections, as well.

The text is by Picander, taken mostly from Luke and Matthew.

**

One particular aria stands out for its use of an echo (in both the oboe and soprano part) -- No. 39: Flößt, mein Heiland, flößt dein Namen:

CLXII. SHOSTAKOVICH, Dmitri: Hamlet Suite, Op. 116a

CLXII. SHOSTAKOVICH, Dmitri (1906-1975)

Hamlet Suite, Op. 116a (1963-64)
1. Overture (Suite #1) (2:05)
2. Military Music (0:48)
3. Fanfares (0:14)
4. The Palace Ball (Suite #2) (3:19)
5. Story of Horatio and the Ghost (2:22)
6. The Ball (1:14)
7. The Ghost (Suite #3) (6:43)
8. Hamlet's Parting From Ophelia (5:39)
9. Palace Music (1:00)
10. Arrival of the Players (Suite #6) (2:05)
11. Monologue (What a Rogue and Pleasant Slave) (1:34)
12. Hamlet's Monologue (To Be Or Not To Be) (3:39)
13. Royal Fanfare (3:36)
14. In the Garden (Suite #4) (0:15)
15. Booth Fanfare (2:29)
16. Poisoning Scene (Suite #5) (0:22)
17. The Flutes Play (6:23)
18. Ophelia's Descent Into Madness (Song of Ophelia) (0:46)
19. Ophelia's Insanity (3:41)
20. Death of Ophelia (Suite #7) (3:47)
21. Hamlet at Ophelia's Grave (2:04)
22. The Cemetery (3:13)
23. The Duel -- The Death of Hamlet -- Hamlet's Funeral (Suite #8) (6:29)
Russian Philharmonic
Dmitry Yablonsky, cond.

This was Shostakovich's 33rd film score (out of 36), and one of his finest. 

**

After his father died in 1922, the elder children (Dmitri was 16) went out to work to help make ends meet.

"Thus from November 1923, Dmitri started 'service' on and off in the cinema, illustrating silent films at the piano. He resented the time away from his studies and composition, missing evening concerts, and most of all the dishonesty of some of his employers. In desperation, he took the manager of the 'Picadilly' cinema to court for non-payment and won the case." [Elizabeth Wilson: Shostakovich: A Life Remembered, pp. 27-28]

Thus began his experience with cinema, and a lifelong ability to score a payday with a score when times were tight.

**

Grigori Kozintsev's film is quite good. You can see the entire film here.

The powerful Overture sets the tone for both the tragedy of the story and the introspective nature of the characters.

The performance of the entire score gives one the chance to hear Shostakovich's music clearly, whereas in much of the film, the music is subsumed by the dialogue and scenic action.

CLXI. MOZART, Wolfgang Amadeus: Cassation in B-Flat Major, K. 99

CLXI. MOZART, Wolfgang Amadeus (1756-1791)

Cassation in B-Flat Major, K. 99 (1770)
1. Marcia -- Allegro molto
2. Andante
3. Menuetto -- Trio
4. Andante
5. Menuetto -- Trio
6. Finale: Allegro assai
7. Allegro -- Andante -- Allegro -- Andante
St. Martin in the Fields
Neville Mariner, cond.
[scrolling score]
(18:54)

A cassation is basically the same thing as a serenade or a divertimento.

It seems to mean music prepared for an outdoors performance. Picture a beautiful summer day in Salzburg ...

... the nobility are supping around a large table and off to the side -- the musicians -- making sure that the duchess digests her sweet meats ...

**

The actual origin of the word is not clear. Perhaps it was meant to refer to the word cassa (bass drum), since the movement starts off with a march.

Or perhaps it comes from a transformation of the term gassatim gehen, referring to street performers ...

**

1. Marcia -- Allegro molto

Leonard Bernstein used to show how a composer constructs a theme by illustrating the first four bars of Rossini's William Tell Overture:

In bar 2 it goes up; in bar 4 it goes down ...

Mozart does something similar here. Notice the difference in the melody in bars 1-2 and 5-6:

The first phrase goes down; the second goes up.

At age 14 -- the year Beethoven was born -- this boy was writing exquisite melodies like this. The Allegro which follows contains all the seeds which will germinate in his future music -- the proud, forte declarations; the pianissimo whispers that follow -- all the building blocks were in place when Mozart was a young teenager.

2. Andante

Moving to the sub-dominant (E-Flat Major), this melody spins out like a vocal aria. Mozart uses a few deceptive cadences.

3. Menuetto -- Trio

The duchess finishes her desert and gets up to dance.

4. Andante

Switching to the Relative Minor (G), this movement is more polyphonic than the previous melodic Andante. The texture is rich and layered, with the oboes adding to the higher registers ...

5. Menuetto -- Trio

An exquisite Trio, featuring stretto passages ...

6. Finale: Allegro assai / 7. Allegro-Andante-Allegro-Andante

The cassation concludes with a return to the initial March.

CLX. BACH, J.S.: Cantata #51: Jauchzet Gott In Allen Landen, BWV 51

CLX. BACH, J.S. (1685-1750)

Cantata #51: Jauchzet Gott In Allen Lande, BWV 51 (1726)
1. Aria (soprano): "Jauchzet Gott in allen Landen!"
2. Recitativo (soprano): "Wir beten zu dem Tempel an"
3. Aria (soprano): "Höchster, ache deine Güte"
4. Chorale (soprano): "Sei Lob und Preis mit Ehren"
5. [Aria] (soprano): "Alleluja!"
Choir and Orchestra of the J.S. Bach Foundation
Sibylla Rubens, soprano
Rudolf Lutz, cond. and cembalo
(19:34)

"Music yields all its secrets in the cantatas of Bach," Nadia Boulanger once said to me.

So I immerse myself in these works and -- it's true -- bit by bit, they do reveal wonderful morsels of the unknowable ...

**

This cantata calls for soprano, trumpet, strings and continuo. The opening Aria is in a sunny C Major:

Jauchzet Gott in allen Landen!
Praise ye God thruout creation.

The Recitativo moves down to the relative minor (A) and is solemn -- but at the end of the eighth bar, it becomes arioso ... check out Bach's word-painting on the words lallen (stutter) and schwacher Mund (broken voice)!

A lovely Aria in 12/8 follows -- still in A Minor:

Höchster, mache deine Güte
Ferner alle Morgen neu.

Father, give us still Thy favor
Give it ev'ry morning new

In lieu of a final chorale, Bach provides a choral movement for the soprano soloist, with much contrapuntal writing for the ensemble:

3/4 -- C Major:

and which shortly turns into a glorious C Major 2/4 Alleluja Allegro: