by Rebecca Cochran
 
Bach’s Cantata 152, Tritt auf die Glaubensbahn (Step upon the path of faith), was composed in Weimar in 1714 for the Sunday after Christmas. It is one of his earliest examples of a dialogue cantata, or Concerto in Dialogo (concerto in dialogue). The dialogue, often between Jesus and the soul (bass and soprano), resembles a miniature opera.
 
This cantata is unique in that it is the only one in which Bach used viola d’amore, a 6- or 7-stringed instrument with sympathetic (or resonance) strings.
 
Enjoy this recording featuring the American Bach Soloists with Jeffrey Thomas, conductor, Christine Brandes, soprano and William Sharp, bass.

by Rebecca Cochran
 
Bach’s Cantata 151, Süßer Trost, mein Jesus kömmt (Sweet comfort, my Jesus comes), was written for the third day of Christmas and first performed on December 27, 1725 in Leipzig.
 
One of my favorites of all the cantatas, I love the intimate scoring that Bach chose. In particular, the opening lullaby instills a special sense of calm for the Christmas season. Read more about the obbligato flute part in my earlier post.

And, enjoy this recording of the opening aria featuring Concerto Copenhagen with Maria Keohane, soprano, Katy Bircher, flute and Lars Ulrik Mortensen, organ and direction.

by Rebecca Cochran
 
The Christmas Oratorio (BWV 248) is unique. Rather than a single work, Bach wrote six separate cantatas to be performed between Christmas Day and Epiphany. Although each of the cantatas uses a different instrumentation, today, the piece is often performed as a whole or in two parts.
 
Bach performed the first cantata twice in Leipzig on December 25, 1734: early in the morning at St. Nicholas Church and, again, in the afternoon at St. Thomas Church. This part, describing the birth of Jesus, is scored for chorus and a festive instrumental ensemble consisting of three trumpets, timpani, two transverse flutes, two oboes, two oboes d’amore, two violins, viola and continuo!
 
Enjoy this stellar recording of Cantatas 1-3 with Nikolaus Harnoncourt conducting the Concentus Musicus Wien with Peter Schreier, tenor, Robert Holl, bass and soloists of the Tolzer Knabenchor.

by Rebecca Cochran
 
Bach composed his Cantata 147, Herz und Mund und Tat und Leben (Heart and mouth and deed and life), in Weimar for the fourth Sunday of Advent in 1716. He later reworked and expanded the cantata for the feast of the Visitation in Leipzig.
 
The expanded version, in two parts, closes with the now famous chorale, Jesus bleibet meine Freude (Jesus shall remain my joy). Today, we know the chorale as Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring.

Enjoy this version for piano solo featuring Glenn Gould.

by Rebecca Cochran
 
A few years ago, the venerable Canadian Brass created a beautiful compilation for Christmas. Entitled Bach’s Bells, it draws inspiration from Bach’s Cantata 29 and Carol of the Bells. The piece, for brass quintet, was composed by Canadian Brass trumpeter, Chris Coletti.

Enjoy Bach’s Bells here.

by Rebecca Cochran
 
Bach’s Cantata 186a Ärgre dich, o Seele, nicht (Do not be confounded, o soul), originally composed in 1716 for the third Sunday in Advent in Weimar, is another of those that was since lost. Luckily, Bach had reworked and expanded the cantata during his Leipzig years. The later 1723 version still survives.
 
Bach’s expanded version (BWV 186) includes recitatives and the addition of taille (tenor oboe). Have a listen to a recording by Ton Koopman and The Amsterdam Baroque Choir.

​by Rebecca Cochran
 
Bach composed his Cantata 21, Ich hatte viel Bekümmernis (I had much grief) in Weimar, possibly in 1713. He marked the work as e per ogni tempo (and for all times) to indicate its suitability for any occasion. Bach revised this cantata several times: during his Köthen years and again, in Leipzig, changing the instrumentation to suit the occasion.
 
The soprano aria in Part 1, Seufzer, Tränen, Kummer, Not (Sighs, tears, anguish, trouble) is gut-wrenchingly beautiful. It is one of the first arias in Italian style in a Bach cantata, accompanied by an obbligato oboe.
 
Enjoy this recording by The Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra and Choir with Ton Koopman, conductor and Barbara Schlick, soprano.

by Rebecca Cochran
 
Bach’s Cantata 36, Schwingt freudig euch empor (Soar joyfully upwards) was composed in 1731 in Leipzig for the beginning of the Advent season. The cantata is unique in structure: Bach interspersed the various arias with chorale instead of recitatives. Another reason I love this cantata is that Bach assigned major roles to the oboes d'amore. In a post earlier this year, I referred to this cantata as “otherworldly.” Read that post here.

Another beautiful aria, for tenor, from Cantata 36, is Die Liebe zieht mit sanften Schritten (Love approaches his beloved). This recording features conductor, Philippe Herreweghe with Christoph Pregardien, tenor. The tenor aria starts at 07:34.

by Rebecca Cochran
 
Bach’s Cantata 61 (Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland) is another that he composed in Weimar to celebrate Advent. It was first performed in 1714. Bach performed the cantata again in Leipzig in 1723.
 
The third movement, an aria for tenor, Komm, Jesu, komm zu deiner (Come, Jesus, come to Your Church) is written in the style of a gigue. The combination of voice, strings and continuo makes it feel like a trio sonata.

Enjoy this Nikolaus Harnoncourt recording with esteemed tenor, Ian Bostridge.

by Rebecca Cochran
 
Bach originally composed the church cantata Wachet! betet! betet! wachet! (Watch! Pray! Pray! Watch!) for the second Sunday of Advent. He later reworked and expanded it, while in Leipzig, to a cantata in two parts for the 26th Sunday after Trinity.
 
The original version, BWV 70a, was first performed on this day in Weimar in 1716. Unfortunately, the original version has been lost. Enjoy this lively rendering featuring the Bach-Collegium Stuttgart directed by Helmuth Rilling. Soloists include Arleen Augér, soprano; Verena Gohl, alto; Lutz-Michael Harder, tenor and Siegmund Nimsgern, bass. The version heard here simply omits the additions from the later version.

by Rebecca Cochran
 
Bach’s Cantata 170, Vergnügte Ruh, beliebte Seelenlust (Delightful rest, beloved pleasure of the soul) is a solo cantata for alto which was first performed in Leipzig in the summer 1726. It is one of three cantatas Bach wrote that summer and fall in which the alto soloist is the only singer.
 
The cantata is fairly brief and intimately scored for a small ensemble of oboe d’amore, two violins, viola, organ and continuo.

Enjoy the restful third movement, for alto, performed by the Choir and Orchestra of the J. S. Bach Foundation with conductor, Rudolf Lutz.

by Rebecca Cochran
 
Bach’s Cantata 17, Wer Dank opfert, der preiset mich (He who offers thanks praises Me) was composed in Leipzig and first performed there on September 22, 1726. With its joyous instrumental opening and two jubilant choral sections, it feels just right for Thanksgiving Day!
 
Enjoy this recording featuring the Holland Boys Choir and the Netherlands Bach Collegium conducted by Pieter Jan Leusink.

 by Rebecca Cochran
 
Bach wrote his cantata 29, Wir danken dir, Gott, wir danken dir (We thank you, God, we thank you) for the inauguration of the newly appointed town council in Leipzig in 1731. This is one of the few sacred cantatas in which Bach opens with an orchestral sinfonia. In this case, the organ dominates. Furthermore, this opening sinfonia is Bach’s reworking of the prelude from his Partita for violin (BWV 1006).
 
Enjoy this recording of the sinfonia with Andrew Parrott conducting the Taverner Players.

by Rebecca Cochran
 
Bach’s Cantata 140, Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme (Sleepers Awake) is one of his most popular cantatas. Dating from his tenure in Leipzig, Bach gave one performance of it there in 1731.
 
Bach scored this cantata for three vocal soloists (soprano, tenor and bass), 4-part choir and an orchestra consisting of two oboes, taille (a tenor oboe), horn, violino piccolo, strings and continuo (including bassoon). It consists of seven movements, three of which are closely based on the Lutheran hymn, Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme. An unknown author provided the poetry for movements 2, 3, 5 and 6.
 
The sixth movement, Mein Freund ist mein! (My Friend is mine!), is a duet for soprano and bass with obbligato oboe. Though the text refers to a love duet between the soprano Soul and the bass Jesus, the musical style is akin to an operatic love duet!
 
Here is a rough translation of the text:
 
“My Friend is mine,
and I am yours,
love will never part us.
I will with You,
you will with Me,
graze among heaven’s roses,
where complete pleasure and delight will be.”
 
Enjoy this joyful recording with Lisa Larsson, soprano, Klaus Mertens, bass, Marcel Ponseele, oboe and Ton Koopman conducting the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra.

by Rebecca Cochran
 
Another example of Bach’s Drammi per Musica is the cantata, Der zufriedengestellte Aeolus (Aeolus placated), BWV 205. It was composed in 1725 to celebrate the nameday of August Friedrich Muller, an academic at the University of Leipzig.

​The libretto, by Picander, is light and silly, even. The orchestra for this work’s premiere may have been the largest that Bach ever assembled! The cantata is one of twelve surviving works that Bach wrote for Leipzig University festive occasions. 

​by Rebecca Cochran
 
Researchers believe that Bach composed a total of 295 sacred cantatas. This number is based on the assumption that, for five years in Leipzig, Bach wrote 59 cantatas a year – one for every Sunday (with the exception of the six Sundays of Lent and the last three Sundays of Advent), plus cantatas for the various Feasts throughout the liturgical year.
 
Since only 190 sacred cantatas are currently known to survive, easily another third of Bach’s cantatas are lost. Wouldn’t it be excellent if someone were to discover a dusty old trunk filled with the lost cantatas? A girl can dream, can’t she? 

by Rebecca Cochran
 
Bach composed four cantatas for solo alto. Three of the four were written around the same time in the year 1726 during Bach’s tenure in Leipzig. The alto parts in these solo cantatas are demanding, so we assume that Bach took the opportunity to compose them for a particular singer who was in his midst at the time.
 
Cantata 35 is one of my favorites. I wrote about the opening instrumental sinfonia with solo organ in an earlier post here. In the second aria of this cantata, Bach dispenses with the orchestra, limiting himself to the voice and obbligato organ, supported only by the continuo.

Enjoy this recording featuring counter-tenor Andreas Scholl, organist Markus Märkl  and the Orchestre du Collegium Vocale directed by Philippe Herreweghe.

by Rebecca Cochran
 
I woke to the news that the famed Austrian conductor, Nikolaus Harnoncourt, passed away yesterday. Harnoncourt was a leader in the revival of Bach’s music in the 20th century. He and Gustav Leonhardt set out, in 1971, to record the complete Bach cantatas. The completed their monumental project in the 1980s.
 
I never had the pleasure of hearing a live performance conducted by Harnoncourt. In this video, however, the pure joy on his face speaks volumes about the man. He leads Concentus Musicus Wien and the Arnold Schoenberg Choir in Cantata BWV 147, Herz und Mund und Tat und Leben.
 
What a legacy!

by Rebecca Cochran
 
For as long as I can remember, whenever I listen to Bach via CD or radio in my car or at home, I’ve found that I cannot turn off my player mid-stream. Yes, I know that I can pick back up where I left off at any time. Or, I can begin the movement “fresh” next time I return to my vehicle. I cannot seem to do this to Bach.
 
This morning, as I was listening to the opening concerto movement to Cantata 35, even though I arrived at my destination somewhere in the middle of the movement, I remained in my vehicle until it concluded. I don’t feel quite this way about other composers.

OK, I should just admit it. This has turned into a serious relationship.

by Rebecca Cochran
 
The link between Bach’s music and jazz is an ongoing topic of discussion, online and off. Recently, when listening to the opening chorale fantasia from BWV 140, Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme (nicknamed Sleepers Awake), I was reminded of Bach’s clever, even “jazzy” use of syncopation among the voices.
 
According to John Eliot Gardiner, conductor, harpsichordist and Bach scholar, “If anyone in the posh world of classical music ever doubted that J.S. Bach could also be considered the father of jazz, here is the proof.”

Have a listen here.

by Rebecca Cochran
 
Today is Schubert’s birthday and I’ve just recalled a post I wrote a few years ago entitled “Where Good Ideas Come From.” In it, I share the story of how, when Schubert’s friend and fellow composer, Lachner, called on him unexpectedly one day, Schubert suggested that they have some coffee. Supposedly, when Schubert began to grind the beans in his old, rusty coffee mill (his prized possession), he began singing the themes of what would become his String Quartet in D minor, Death and the Maiden.
 
Earlier this month, I wrote about Bach’s fascination with coffee in my post about his Cantata 211, nicknamed the Coffee Cantata. In it, Bach and his librettist, Picander, tell the story of a young woman addicted to coffee. This cantata, really a miniature comic opera, was probably first performed in 1734 or 1735 at Zimmermann’s coffee house in Leipzig.
 
Hmmm…there’s something about coffee. Starbucks, here I come!

by Rebecca Cochran
 
When Bach interjected a trumpet part in his works, he did so with great effect. Think of the Brandenburg Concerto No. 2, for instance.
 
Another stunning example of Bach’s writing for trumpet shows up in Cantata BWV 90. In the third movement, an aria for bass (Es reisset euch ein schrecklich Ende), Bach uses the trumpet to call for the last judgment.

Enjoy this exquisite recording performed by the J. S. Bach Foundation of St. Gallen under Rudolf Lutz. The soloists are Klaus Häger, bass, and Patrick Henrichs, trumpet.

by Rebecca Cochran
 
Bach was a master of the gigue. This lively French dance originated from the British jig. Usually appearing at the end of a suite or other work, it was typically written in triple time (three beats per bar). The number 3 was certainly not lost on Bach.
 
For me, the gigue from Cantata No. 7 represents Bach at his ebullient best. The aria is scored for tenor voice, accompanied by two violins. The writing is intricate and challenging, with the violins sometimes imitating each other a bar apart.
 
Have a listen to the aria, Des Vaters Stimme liess sich hören, featuring tenor, Ian Bostridge and Europa Galante led by Fabio Biondi here. I guarantee you’ll feel like dancing!

by Rebecca Cochran
 
I had dinner with a group of friends at a Turkish restaurant last evening. One in our group, during our entire, leisurely meal, was anxiously awaiting ordering coffee –- real, Turkish coffee –- to go with dessert.
 
When her coffee finally arrived, I noted that a Bach harpsichord concerto was being broadcast via the overhead music system. It was at that moment that I knew what I would share in this space today: the beautiful video of a staged performance of Bach’s Cantata 211, "Schweigt stille, plaudert nicht" ("Kaffeekantate"). It features the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir, conducted by Ton Koopman. The soprano soloist is Anne Grimm.
 
This cantata, really a miniature comic opera, was probably first performed in 1734 or 1735 at Zimmermann’s coffee house in Leipzig. Bach and his librettist, Picander, tell the story of a young woman addicted to coffee. One of my favorite lines is, “If I couldn't, three times a day, be allowed to drink my little cup of coffee, in my anguish I will turn into a shriveled-up roast goat." And, of course, I love the fact that Bach wrote a generous flute part!
 
Ah! How sweet coffee tastes! Enjoy watching and listening here.

​by Rebecca Cochran
 
Cantata 35, Geist und Seele wird verwirret (Spirit and soul become confused), is a solo cantata for alto voice. In Bach’s time, the alto part was normally sung by a countertenor, the highest male solo voice type. In this instance, the alto part is quite demanding, so Bach probably wrote it with a specific singer in mind.
 
The cantata consists of seven movements in two parts. Both parts begin with a sinfonia, a sort of orchestral introduction. The entire cantata represents one of Bach’s most joyful moments. Though he would often introduce trumpets and timpani to connote happiness, in this case, he instead chose to use an obbligato solo organ in several movements.
 
If I was given the opportunity to travel back in time, I’d happily choose to be at St. Thomas Church (Thomaskirche) in Leipzig on September 8, 1726 –- the day that Bach led the first performance of Cantata 35. He, most likely, played the organ part himself!
 
Enjoy this jubilant rendering of the fifth movement, sinfonia presto, performed by the J. S. Bach Foundation of St. Gallen under Rudolf Lutz.