Johann Sebastian Bach
Vergnügte Ruh, beliebte Seelenlust
“Contented peace”
(Cantata BWV 170)

In the summer of 1726, J. S. Bach wrote two cantatas for solo alto based on texts by Georg Christian Lehms (1684–1717). Bach had already composed eight cantatas that set to music the words of this short-lived poet and novelist.

The Epistle reading for the Sixth Sunday after Trinity reminds believers of the deliverance from sin that accompanies their salvation, while the Gospel reading warns of the danger of judgment meted out as a penalty for unloving acts. The lush opening aria of BWV 170 echoes the blessings celebrated in the Epistle, while the four later movements (two arias and two recitatives) stress the temptations that still surround believers in this life. And “stress” is an appropriate verb, since — in the middle aria of the cantata — Bach uses unrelenting sequences of dissonance to evoke the tensions of “satanic intrigues” and “perverted hearts.”

Here is the text to the buoyant opening aria:

Contented peace, beloved delight of the soul,
you cannot be found among the sins of hell,
but only where there is heavenly harmony;
You alone strengthen the weak breast.
Contented peace, beloved delight of the soul,
For this reason nothing but the gifts of virtue
should have any place in my heart.

The entire text of the three arias and two recitatives in this solo cantata can be read here.

Conductor John Eliot Gardiner writes: “The opening aria is pure enchantment, a warm luxuriant dance. . . . You can almost feel Bach’s benign smile hovering over this music, an evocation of Himmelseintracht, the ‘harmony of heaven.’”

The entire cantata is sung below by alto Alex Potter, with the Netherlands Bach Society. In the video below the performance video, Potter discusses how the original liturgical setting of the work informs how he prepares to sing it.

Alto Alex Potter on singing Vergnügte Ruh, beliebte Seelenlust.

The cantata opens with an alto aria which oddly situates the commands of Jesus in the context of national pride: “An unstained character with German faithfulness and goodness makes us beautiful before God and man.” Accompanied by unison violins and violas, the simplicity of this opening movement suggests the sincere integrity of the unstained character described throughout the work.

This is followed by a tenor recitative, in which love of neighbor is enjoined. The concluding command in that mini-sermon: “Make of yourself the image you would like your neighbor to be!” Then, we hear the full choir for the first time, and — as conductor John Eliot Gardiner observes — “Bach brings out his big guns to ram the point home.” The text the choir sings is a verse from the Sermon on the Mount, expressing a simple and familiar moral insight: “Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them.” The music presenting this simple text is intense, forceful, and anything but simple. Mincham comments: “The text has given Bach little specific in the way of inspirational images so he seems to have solved the problem by representing ceaseless activity through constant musical movement.”

After this powerful chorus, a bass recitative warns against the evils of hypocrisy: “Many a devilish monster seems to be an angel. They keep the wolf hidden inside while the sheep’s fleece is turned outside.” This is followed by a tender tenor aria enjoining sincerity: “May faithfulness and truth be the foundation of every thought of yours, as your words and mouth on the outside, so may your heart be inside.”

The cantata concludes with the first stanza from O Gott, du frommer Gott, an eight-stanza chorale by poet Johann Heermann (1585–1647):

Oh God, you righteous God,
You wellspring of all gifts,
Without whom nothing is that is,
From whom we have everything,
Grant me a healthy body,
And [grant] that in that body
An unvexed soul
And clean conscience might abide.

Ein ungefärbt Gemüte is sung here by the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra and Choir, conducted by Ton Koopman. The soloists are Bogna Bartosz, alto; Gerd Türk, tenor; and Klaus Mertens, bass. The cantata’s complete text — with helpful annotations by Michael Marissen and Daniel R. Melamed — is available here.