Johann Sebastian BachSiehe, ich will viel Fischer aussenden“See, I shall send forth many fishermen”(Cantata BWV 88) One of two cantatas by J. S. Bach composed for the Fifth Sunday after Trinity is Siehe, ich will viel Fischer aussenden (“See, I shall send forth many fishermen”). The text is inspired by that Sunday’s Gospel reading in which Jesus announces to St. Peter that he will transform him into a fisher of men. While most of Bach’s cantatas commence with a movement sung by the entire choir, this one begins with the words of Jesus sung in a long aria by a bass soloist. Notice in the performance embedded below how frequently…
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Exaudi Domine“Hearken unto my voice, O Lord” The Introit for the Fifth Sunday after Trinity is taken from the middle of Psalm 27. Here are verses 8-10 from that Psalm: Exaudi, Domine, vocem meam, qua clamavi ad te;Hearken unto my voice, O Lord, when I cry unto thee:miserere mei, et exaudi me.have mercy upon me, and hear me.Tibi dixit cor meum: Exquisivit te facies mea;My heart hath talked of thee, Seek ye my face:faciem tuam, Domine, requiram.Thy face, Lord, will I seek.Ne avertas faciem tuam a me; ne declines in ira a servo tuo.O hide not thou thy face from me: nor cast thy servant away in displeasure. One of…
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Johann Sebastian BachIch ruf zu dir, Herr Jesu Christ“I call to you, Lord Jesus Christ”(Cantata BWV 177) The text for the cantata that Bach composed in 1732 for the Fourth Sunday after Trinity is based on a hymn/chorale written by Johann Agricola (1492–1566). The five stanzas of Agricola’s hymn comprise a sequence of entreaties to God: “Bestow your grace on me . . . do not let me despair . . . pardon me also at this hour . . . give me a new life . . . give me constancy until the end . . . if temptation now comes, Lord, defend me.” You may read the entire…
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Johann Sebastian BachEin ungefärbt Gemüte“An unstained character”(Cantata BWV 24) Ein ungefärbt Gemüte is one of three cantatas that Bach wrote for use on the Fourth Sunday after Trinity. Inspired by the Gospel reading, the text by pastor/theologian Erdmann Neumeister (1671–1756) presents a series of reflections and admonitions on the merciful, generous, forgiving, and candid character of true disciples. As Julian Mincham summarizes the text of the cantata, “The theme is essentially two sided: one part expresses God’s honesty and the positive outcomes that eventuate when the uncorrupted Christian’s mind allows itself to be encompassed by His goodness. The other is the almost ferocious and venomous attack on the hypocrites who…
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Lajos BárdosSperent in te“Let them trust in thee” A student of the celebrated teacher and composer Zoltán Kodály (1882–1967), Lajos Bárdos (1899–1986) was a significant figure in the development during the 20th century of Hungarian choral music. His setting of the Offertory for the Third Sunday after Trinity — Sperent in te (“Let them trust in thee”) — was composed in 1946. It is sung here by the Italian ensemble Coro Anthem di Monza, directed by Paola Versetti. The Latin text for the Offertory is presented (with translation) below the embedded video. Sperent in te omnes qui noverunt nomen tuum, Domine,Let them trust in thee all who know thy name:quoniam…
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“The melodies and the notes are precious”
On the First Sunday in Advent, our congregation will sing (at the 10:30 Mass) a hymn that is not included in our Hymnal. “Savior of the nations, come” has a very interesting history, a genealogy which I explored in a recent audio program produced for Mars Hill Audio. You may listen to that program below. And you may download a pdf of the hymn here. Part of that history involves a plainchant setting of an Advent hymn written by St. Ambrose (340–397). Our choir will be chanting that hymn during Communion in the 10:30 service tomorrow. Here is the audio of the feature about “Savior of the nations, come” and its…
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J. S. Bach
Herz und Mund und Tat und Leben
(“Heart and mouth and deed and life,” BWV 147)Bach composed two cantatas to be sung on the Feast of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary. For the first of these, performed first in 1723 — not long after he had assumed his duties as Kantor at Leipzig’s Thomaskirche — Bach adapted a cantata that he had earlier composed for use during Advent. The text presented in this cantata encourages the congregation to recognize the spirit of the Virgin Mary’s own confident expression of faith to be the model for Christian faithfulness. The opening chorus proclaims: “Heart and mouth and deed and life must bear witness of Christ, without fear and hypocrisy, that he is God and savior.”…
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Mary visits Elisabeth; music ensues
“At the end of the day when twilight falls, and again at the beginning of a new day when the lustre of the rising sun becomes visible, the beautiful song of the birds is heard in the open. Accordingly it does not surprise us that in the twilight of the Old Testament dispensation and in the morning splendour of the New Testament dispensation we hear various persons, favoured by God, of Elisabeth, Mary, Zacharias and Simeon and the hymn of the angels.” So wrote Norval Geldenhuys in his commentary on the Gospel of St Luke. This observation introduces his remarks on verses 39 to 56 of the first chapter of…
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Music for Easter
The following pages describe music composed to celebrate the Resurrection of our Lord. Hymns for Easter — Recordings of six of the most popular Easter hymns, including our 2020 “Choir in Quarantine” recording of “Jesus Christ is ris’n today” Jean Richafort (c. 1480–c. 1547), Christus resurgens — This setting of verses from Romans 6 is by an early Renaissance composer from the Low Countries Jean l’Héritier (c. 1480–1551), Surrexit pastor bonus — A motet by a French Renaissance composer declares “The good shepherd has arisen” Francisco Guerrero (1528–1599), Maria Magdalena et altera Maria — One of Spain’s greatest composers depicts the arrival by women at an empty tomb Peter Philips…
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J. S. Bach’s St. John Passion: An Introduction
The first Lutheran hymnal was printed and published in 1524. Two hundred years later, at the Vespers service on Good Friday of 1724, the Lutheran congregation in Leipzig heard the first performance of Johann Sebastian Bach’s St. John Passion. This was a liturgical event, not a concert. And it commenced with the congregational singing of the Lutheran chorale, “Da Jesus an dem Kreuze stund,” “When Jesus stood at the cross.” They probably sang all ten stanzas of the hymn, seven of which repeat the seven last words or sayings of Jesus on the cross: “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do;” “Today you will be with me…