Christ lag in Todes Banden, BWV 4

Christ lag in Todes Banden
BWV 4
Chorale cantata by J. S. Bach
Resurrection of Jesus on the title page of a Luther Bible, 1769
Occasion	First Day of Easter
Chorale	"Christ lag in Todes Banden"
Movements	8
Vocal	SATB soloists and choir
Instrumental	cornetto 3 trombones 2 violins 2 violas continuo

Christ lag in Todes Banden (Christ lay in death's bonds), also written Christ lag in Todesbanden, BWV 4, is a cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach. It is one of his earliest cantatas, and probably intended for a performance at Easter in 1707, related to his application for a post at Mühlhausen. John Eliot Gardiner describes the work as Bach's "first-known attempt at painting narrative in music".

It is a chorale cantata, a type of composition in which both text and music are based on a Lutheran hymn, in this case Martin Luther's hymn of the same name. In each of the seven vocal movements, Bach used the unchanged words of one of the seven stanzas of the chorale, and its tune as a cantus firmus.

History and words

Bach composed the Easter Sunday cantata early in his career; its style implies a date between 1707 and 1713. It shows similarities to a composition of Johann Pachelbel based on the same Easter chorale.

Bach revived the work during his time at Leipzig. As only copies from this later period are preserved, the original date of performance is not certain. It is known that Bach performed a cantata of his own composition at Easter in 1707 as a part of his application for the post of organist of Divi Blasii church, Mühlhausen, and this may have been Christ lag in Todes Banden. He was then twenty-two. The work is generally seen as remarkably accomplished for this early stage of his career, seven years before his sequence of Weimar cantatas, begun in 1714 with Himmelskönig, sei willkommen, BWV 182, and 17 years before he started a complete annual cycle of chorale cantatas in Leipzig in the middle of 1724. There are, however, a few cantatas surviving from either the Mühlhausen period or, like this one, possibly from his years at Arnstadt, and these early works include some fine writing. Christoph Wolff suggests that there may have been other early cantatas which Bach did not think worth preserving.

Bach also wrote other settings of the tune, including two chorale preludes, BWV 625 and BWV 718.

Words

The prescribed readings for the feast day were from the First letter to the Corinthians ("Christ is our Easter lamb" – 1 Corinthians 5:6–8) and from the Gospel of Mark (the Resurrection of Jesus – Mark 16:1–8). Luther's chorale is an important Easter hymn in German Lutheranism, similar to Gelobet seist du, Jesu Christ for Christmas. It stresses the struggle between Life and Death. The third stanza refers to the "sting of death", as mentioned in 1 Corinthians 15. The fifth stanza relates to the "Osterlamm", the Paschal Lamb. The final stanza recalls the tradition of baking and eating Easter Bread.

In contrast to the chorale cantatas that Bach composed in Leipzig, the text of the chorale is kept unchanged. Introduced by an instrumental Sinfonia, the seven stanzas are set in seven movements.

Publication

Like nearly all Bach's cantatas, the work was unpublished during the composer's lifetime. It was included in the first volume of the [Bach-Gesellschaft-Ausgabe] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) edition of Bach's complete works, which was published in Leipzig in 1851.

Recent performances

In 2000 the cantata was performed at Eisenach, in the church where Bach was baptised, as part of the Monteverdi Choir's Bach Cantata Pilgrimage (the live recording was released in 2007). The Monteverdi Choir also performed the cantata in 2013 in the Royal Albert Hall. This performance, which had audience participation, was part of a nine-hour "Bach marathon".

The cantata was successfully staged by English Touring Opera in 2012. It was paired with the opera The Emperor of Atlantis and arranged by Iain Farrington for the same instrumental forces as the opera (chamber ensemble including such unusual instruments as banjo and harmonium).

Scoring and structure

Bach structured the cantata in eight movements, a sinfonia and seven movements corresponding to the stanzas of the hymn. The title of the original parts reads: "Feria Paschatos / Christ lag in Todesbanden / a.4. Voc: / Cornetto / 3 Trombon. / 2 Violini / 2 Viole / con / Continuo / Di Signore Joh.Seb.Bach". Bach scored the work for for vocal parts, soprano, alto, tenor, and bass, a choir of cornetts and three trombones, two violins, two violas and basso continuo .

The parts can be sung by soloists or a choir, as the work is a "Choralkonzert" (chorale concerto) in the style of the 17th century; Bach only began composing recitatives and arias for church cantatas in 1714. The string accompaniment is in line with the limited instrumental forces which were normally available to the young Bach. However, the 1725 version also has an instrumental choir of cornetts and three trombones playing colla parte with the voices: this may well reflect the original scoring, as it looks back to 17th century polychoral writing. One of the other early cantatas, Gott ist mein Konig, BWV 71, is also richly scored, similarly evoking a tradition associated with Heinrich Schütz.

1. Sinfonia: strings and continuo
2. Versus 1 (chorus): "Christ lag in Todes Banden"
3. Versus 2 (soprano, alto): "Den Tod niemand zwingen kunnt"
4. Versus 3 (tenor): "Jesus Christus, Gottes Sohn"
5. Versus 4 (chorus): "Es war ein wunderlicher Krieg"
6. Versus 5 (bass): "Hier ist das rechte Osterlamm"
7. Versus 6 (soprano, tenor): "So feiern wir das hohe Fest"
8. Versus 7 (chorus): "Wir essen und leben wohl"

Music

Comparison: Victimae Paschali Laudes, Christ ist erstanden and Christ lag in Todes Banden

Tune of stanza seven

Luther's tune is based on the 12th-century Easter hymn "Christ ist erstanden" (Christ is risen), which relies both in text and melody on the sequence for Easter, Victimae paschali laudes. A new version was published by Luther in 1524 and adapted by Johann Walter in his Wittembergisch Geistlisch Gesangbuch (1524). Bach's version includes passing notes and modifications to conform rhythmic patterns to a regular time signature.

The cantata begins with an instrumental sinfonia that introduces the first line of the melody. The seven stanzas are treated in seven movements as chorale variations "per omnes versus" (for all stanzas), with the melody always present as a cantus firmus. The strings are in five parts: two violins, two violas and continuo (a combination described by Richard Taruskin as "archaic"). The sequence of the seven stanzas shows symmetry: chorus – duet – solo – chorus – solo – duet – chorus. Unlike Bach's later cantatas, all movements are in the same key, E minor. All stanzas end on the word Halleluja. John Eliot Gardiner calls Bach's setting of Luther's hymn "a bold, innovative piece of musical drama" and observes "Bach drawing on medieval musical roots (the hymn tune derives from the eleventh-century plainsong Victimae paschali laudes) and of his total identification with the spirit and letter of Luther's fiery, dramatic hymn". Bach could follow "Luther’s ideal in which music brings the text to life". The musicologist Julian Mincham remarks: "The variety of ideas and range of inventiveness is incredible but never disguises the presence of the chorale."

The first stanza is treated as a chorale fantasia. The soprano sings the cantus firmus in unadorned long notes, while the lower voices sing free counterpoint. A figure in the violins known as suspiratio (sigh) reflects "Christ’s suffering in the grip of death". The style recalls the 16th-century stile antico, although the harmony and orchestral writing is up-to-date.

The second stanza, a duet between the soprano and alto, "Den Tod niemand zwingen kunnt" (No one could defeat death) deals with "humanity helpless and paralysed as it awaits God’s judgement against sin". Bach has the music almost freeze on the first words "den Tod" (death), and the word "gefangen" (imprisoned) is marked by a sharp dissonance of the soprano and alto.

In the third stanza the tenors are accompanied by two obbligato violins, which first illustrate how Christ slashes at the enemy. The music stops completely on the word "nichts" (naught remained …). The violins then present in four notes the outline of the cross, and finally the tenors sing their joyful "Halleluja" to a virtuoso violin accompaniment.

The fourth stanza, "Es war ein wunderlicher Krieg, da Tod und Leben rungen" (It was a strange battle, that death and life waged) is sung by four voices, accompanied only by the continuo. The altos sing the cantus firmus, transposed by a fifth to B, while the other voices follow each other in a fugal stretto with entries just a beat apart, until they fall away one by one. In the final Halleluja in all four voices, the bass descends nearly two octaves.

Stanza five is sung by the basses alone, accompanied at first by a descending chromatic line in the continuo. The strings then resume the chorale, while the basses sing the final victorious Hallelujas, spanning two octaves. Taruskin writes of this verse, "With its antiphonal exchanges between the singer and the massed strings ... this setting sounds like a parody of a passacaglia-style Venetian opera aria, vintage 1640".

Stanza six is a duet for soprano and tenor accompanied only by the continuo. It is a dance of joy: the word "Wonne" (joy) is rendered in figuration that Gardiner finds reminiscent of Purcell. Bach incorporates the solemn rhythms of the French overture into this verse, reflecting the presence of the word feiern (celebrate) in the text. It may be the first time that Bach used these rhythms.

Bach's first four-part setting of the final stanza is lost; it may have been a repeat of the opening chorus. The one he added in 1725 is now used. It is a simple chorale harmonization that the congregation might have sung.

Selected recordings

This cantata is significant as an early Bach composition for Easter, and it has been frequently recorded. Different recordings make different choices regarding whether to use just one voice per part or larger groupings.

Robert Shaw recorded the cantata in 1946 and again in 1959. Günther Ramin conducted the Thomanerchor in 1950. Fritz Lehmann conducted the choir of the Staatliche Hochschule für Musik Frankfurt with soloists Helmut Krebs and Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, also in 1950, the anniversary of Bach's death. Karl Richter and his Münchener Bach-Chor recorded it first in 1958 and again in 1968. A second recording of the Thomanerchor was conducted by Kurt Thomas with the Gewandhausorchester and soloists Agnes Giebel, Marga Höffgen, Hans-Joachim Rotzsch and Theo Adam in 1959.

The following table is taken from the listing by Aryeh Oron on the Bach-Cantatas website. Some recordings rely on choir without or with few solo voices. Choirs are roughly marked as large by red background to One voice per part (OVPP) by green background, orchestras from large (red) to period instruments in historically informed performances (green).

Recordings of Christ lag in Todes Banden, BWV 4

Title	Conductor / Choir / Orchestra	Soloists	Label	Year	Choir type	Orch. type
Les Grandes Cantates de J. S. Bach Vol. 8	Fritz Werner Heinrich-Schütz-Chor Heilbronn Pforzheim Chamber Orchestra	Claudia Hellmann Helmut Krebs Jakob Stämpfli	Erato Records	1961 (1961)		Chamber
Bach Cantatas Vol. 2 – Easter	Karl Richter Münchener Bach-Chor Münchener Bach-Orchester	Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau	Archiv Produktion	1968 (1968)	Bach	Bach
J. S. Bach: Das Kantatenwerk – Sacred Cantatas Vol. 1	Nikolaus Harnoncourt Wiener Sängerknaben Chorus Viennensis Concentus Musicus Wien	Soloist of the Wiener Sängerknaben Paul Esswood Kurt Equiluz Max van Egmond	Teldec	1971 (1971)		Period
J. S. Bach: Cantatas	John Eliot Gardiner Monteverdi Choir English Baroque Soloists	Stephen Varcoe	Erato	1980 (1980)		Period
Die Bach Kantate Vol. 13	Helmuth Rilling Gächinger Kantorei Bach-Collegium Stuttgart	Edith Wiens Carolyn Watkinson Peter Schreier Wolfgang Schöne	Hänssler	1980 (1980)		Bach
J. S. Bach: Oster-Oratorium	Andrew Parrott Taverner Consort Taverner Players	Emily van Evera Caroline Trevor Charles Daniels David Thomas	Virgin Classics	1993 (1993)	OVPP-RP	Period
J. S. Bach: Complete Cantatas Vol. 1	Ton Koopman Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir	Barbara Schlick Kai Wessel Guy de Mey Klaus Mertens	Antoine Marchand	1994 (1994)		Period
J.S. Bach: Cantatas Vol. 1	Masaaki Suzuki Bach Collegium Japan	Yumiko Kurisu Koki Katano Akira Tachikawa Peter Kooy	BIS	1995 (1995)		Period
J. S. Bach: Christ lag in Todesbanden; Lobet den Herrn; Himmelskönig sei willkommen	de Choeur de Chambre de Namur Ricercar Consort	Greta de Reyghere Steve Dugardin Ian Honeyman Max van Egmond	Ricercar	1995 (1995)	Chamber	Period
Bach Edition Vol. 20 – Cantatas Vol. 11	Pieter Jan Leusink Holland Boys Choir Netherlands Bach Collegium	Ruth Holton Sytse Buwalda Nico van der Meel Bas Ramselaar	Brilliant Classics	2000 (2000)	Boys	Period
J. S. Bach: Actus Tragicus – Cantatas BWV 4, 12, 106 & 196	Konrad Junghänel Cantus Cölln	Johanna Koslowsky Elisabeth Popien Gerd Türk Wilfried Jochens Stephan Schreckenberger	Harmonia Mundi France	2000 (2000)	OVPP	Period
Bach/Webern: Ricercar	Christoph Poppen Hilliard Ensemble Münchener Kammerorchester	Monika Mauch David James Rogers Covey-Crump Gordon Jones	ECM	2001 (2001)	OVPP	Chamber
Aus der Notenbibliothek von Johann Sebastian Bach, Vol. II	Thomas Hengelbrock Balthasar-Neumann-Chor Balthasar-Neumann-Ensemble	Dorothee Mields Hans Jörg Mammel Wolf Matthias Friedrich	Hänssler	2001 (2001)		Period
J. S. Bach Early Cantatas Volume I	Purcell Quartet	Emma Kirkby Michael Chance Charles Daniels Peter Harvey	Chandos	2004 (2004)	OVPP	Period
Bach J. S: Cantatas Vol 22	John Eliot Gardiner Monteverdi Choir English Baroque Soloists		Soli Deo Gloria	2000 (2000)		Period

Sources

• Free scores by Christ lag in Todesbanden, BWV 4 at the International Music Score Library Project (IMSLP)
• Christ lag in Todes Banden (early version) BWV 4; BC A 54a / Chorale cantata (1st Easter Day) Leipzig University
• Christ lag in Todes Banden (leipzig version) BWV 4; BC A 54b / Chorale cantata (1st Easter Day) Leipzig University

External links

• John Eliot Gardiner, Monteverdi Choir, June 22 2014 Performance