Gleichwie der Regen und Schnee vom Himmel fällt, BWV 18

Gleichwie der Regen und Schnee vom Himmel fällt (English: "Just like the rain and snow falling from the sky" (the German "Himmel" also means heaven)), BWV 18 is a church cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach. It was composed for Sexagesima Sunday, based on text by Erdmann Neumeister written in 1711 for the Eisenach court, which cites Isaiah and Psalm 118.

The work falls relatively early in Bach's chronology of cantata compositions — it was possibly composed for 24 February 1715, but more probably a year or two earlier. The prescribed readings for the Sunday were taken from the Second Epistle to the Corinthians, "God's power is mighty in the week" (2 Corinthians 11:19–12:9), and from the Gospel of Luke, the parable of the Sower (Luke 8:4–15). The work is scored for an SATB choir, two recorders, a bassoon, violas I-IV, violoncello and continuo. It can be noted that the instrumentation is similar to Brandenburg Concerto n°6, which also omits violins. Furthermore, the second (Leipzig) version of this cantata only uses the middle and low strings, without the recorders.

Movements

It is divided into 5 parts (see Wikisource for text):

1. Sinfonia,

   Composed in 6/4 time in G-minor. Like several of Bach's cantatas — especially the earlier ones — this work begins with an instrumental sinfonia. The form is that of a flexible chaconne, broken into episodes, in a da capo form.

2. Recitativo (Bass): Gleichwie der Regen und Schnee vom Himmel fällt
3. Recitativo & Chorale (Litany) (Soprano, Tenor, Bass, Chorus): Mein Gott, hier wird mein Herze sein
4. Aria (Soprano): Mein Seelenschatz ist Gottes Wort
5. Chorale: Ich bitt, o Herr, aus Herzens Grund

Recordings

• Cantatas, Erhard Mauersberger, Thomanerchor, Gewandhausorchester, Adele Stolte, Gerda Schriever, Peter Schreier, Theo Adam, conductor Eterna, 1967
• J.S. Bach: Complete Cantatas Vol. 2, Ton Koopman, Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir, Barbara Schlick, Kai Wessel, Christoph Prégardien, Klaus Mertens, Antoine Marchand 1995
• J.S. Bach: Cantatas for the Complete Liturgical Year Vol. 6, Sigiswald Kuijken, La Petite Bande, Siri Thornhill, Petra Noskaiova, Marcus Ullmann, Jan van der Crabben, Accent 2007

Sources

The first source is the score.

• Cantatas, BWV 11-20: Free scores at the International Music Score Library Project.

General sources are found for the Bach cantatas. Several databases provide additional information on each single cantata:

• Cantata BWV 18 Gleichwie der Regen und Schnee vom Himmel fällt history, scoring, sources for text and music, translations to various languages, discography, discussion, bach-cantatas website
• BWV 181 - "Gleichwie der Regen und Schnee vom Himmel fällt" English translation, discussion, Emmanuel Music
• Gleichwie der Regen und Schnee vom Himmel fällt history, scoring, Bach website (German)
• BWV 18 Gleichwie der Regen und Schnee vom Himmel fällt English translation, University of Vermont
• BWV 18 Gleichwie der Regen und Schnee vom Himmel fällt text, scoring, University of Alberta
• Chapter 43 BWV 18 Gleichwie der Regen und Schnee vom Himmel fällt, A listener and student guide by Julian Mincham 2010