O Ewigkeit, du Donnerwort, BWV 20

This article is about the cantata BWV 20. For the 1723 cantata with the same title BWV 60, see O Ewigkeit, du Donnerwort, BWV 60.

O Ewigkeit, du Donnerwort (O eternity, thou, word of thunder), BWV 20, is a sacred cantata composed by Johann Sebastian Bach. It is the first chorale cantata from his second cantata cycle, based on the chorale by Johann Rist.

It was composed in Leipzig in 1724 for the first Sunday after Trinity Sunday, which occurred that year on 11 June, date of the work's first performance.

The prescribed readings for the day are 1 John 4:16-21 and Luke 16:19-31. The texts of movements 1, 7 and 11 of the cantata were written by Johann Rist, whereas authorship of the remaining movements is unknown.

The homonym chorale theme was composed by Johann Schop for the hymn Wach auf, mein Geist, erhebe dich, which appeared in his collection Himlische Lieder (Lüneburg, 1642). It is featured in all the three movements whose text is Rist's.

Scoring and structure

The piece is scored for tromba da tirarsi in C, oboes I//II/III, violins I/II , viola, and basso continuo, three vocal soloists (altus, tenor, and bass) and four-part choir. It is in eleven movements, divided in two parts (to be performed before and after the sermon):

Part one

1. Coro: "O Ewigkeit, du Donnerwort" for choir, tromba da tirarsi col Soprano, tutti.
2. Recitativo: "Kein Unglück ist in aller Welt zu finden" for tenor and continuo.
3. Aria: "Ewigkeit, du machst mir bange" for tenor, strings, and continuo.
4. Recitativo: "Gesetzt, es dau'rte der Verdammten Qual" for bass and continuo.
5. Aria: "Gott ist gerecht in seinen Werken" for bass, oboes, and continuo.
6. Aria: "O Mensch, errette deine Seele" for altus, strings, and continuo.
7. Chorale: "Solang ein Gott im Himmel lebt" for choir, tromba da tirarsi, oboes I/II, and violin I col Soprano, oboe III & violin II coll'Alto, viola col Tenore, and continuo.

Part two

1. Aria: "Wacht auf, wacht auf, verlornen Schafe" for bass and tutti.
2. Recitativo: "Verlass, o Mensch, die Wollust dieser Welt" for alto and continuo.
3. Aria (Duetto): “O Menschenkind" for altus, tenor, and continuo.
4. Chorale: "O Ewigkeit, du Donnerwort" for choir, tromba da tirarsi, oboes I/II, and violin I col Soprano, oboe III & violin II coll'Alto, viola col Tenore, and continuo.

Recordings

• J.S. Bach: Das Kantatenwerk - Sacred Cantatas Vol. 2 - Alt.: Paul Esswood; Ten.: Kurt Equiluz; Bass: Max van Egmond; Wiener Sängerknaben & Chorus Viennensis (Chorus Master - Hans Gillesberger) / Concentus Musicus Wien; Nikolaus Harnoncourt, conductor. Label: Teldec
• J.S. Bach: Complete Cantatas Vol. 10 - Alt.: Michael Chance; Ten.: Paul Agnew; Bass: Klaus Mertens; Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir; Ton Koopman, conductor. Label: Erato/Antoine Marchand
• J.S. Bach: Cantatas Vol. 22 - Cantatas from Leipzig 1724 - Alt.: Robin Blaze; Ten.: Jan Kobow; Bass: Peter Kooy; Bach Collegium Japan; Masaaki Suzuki, conductor. Label: BIS 1321
• J.S. Bach: Cantatas for the First and Second Sundays After Trinity - Alt.: Pamela Dellal; Ten.: Gerald Gray; Bass: David Kravitz; Orchestra and Chorus of Emmanuel Music (Chorus Master: Michael Beattie); Craig Smith, conductor. Label: Koch International
• J.S. Bach: Cantatas for the Complete Liturgical Year Vol. 7 Cantatas BWV 20 · 2 · 10 - Sopr.: Siri Thornhill; Alt.: Petra Noskaiova; Ten.: Marcus Ullmann; Bass: Jan van der Crabben; La Petite Bande; Sigiswald Kuijken, conductor. Label: Accent
• J.S. Bach: “O Ewigkeit du Donnerwort” - Cantatas BWV 2, 20 & 176 - Alt.: Ingeborg Danz; Ten.: Jan Kobow; Bass: Peter Kooy; Collegium Vocale Gent; Philippe Herreweghe, conductor. Label: Harmonia Mundi France
• Die Bach Kantate Vol. 39 - Alt.: Verena Gohl, Martha Kessler; Ten.: Theo Altmeyer, Adalbert Kraus; Bass: Wolfgang Schöne; Frankfurter Kantorei / Bach-Collegium Stuttgart; Helmuth Rilling, conductor. Label: Hänssler
• Bach Edition Vol. 18 - Cantatas Vol. 9 - Alt.: Sytse Buwalda; Ten.: Knut Schoch; Bass: Bas Ramselaar; Holland Boys Choir / Netherlands Bach Collegium; Pieter Jan Leusink, conductor. Label: Brilliant Classics
• Bach Cantatas Vol. 1: City of London - Alt.: Wilke te Brummelstroete; Ten.: Paul Agnew; Bass: Dietrich Henschel; Monteverdi Choir / English Baroque Soloists; John Eliot Gardiner, conductor. Label: Soli Deo Gloria

Sources

• Craig Smith, Programme notes - BWV 20, Emmanuel Music.
• Walter F. Bischof, Text and orchestration for BWV 20, Bach Cantatas, University of Alberta.

External links

• Cantatas, BWV 11-20: Free scores at the International Music Score Library Project.
• Cantata BWV 20 O Ewigkeit, du Donnerwort on the bach cantatas website
• German text and English translation, Emmanuel Music
• O Ewigkeit, du Donnerwort on the Bach website (German)
• BWV 20 O Ewigkeit, du Donnerwort University of Vermont