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== Background ==
== Background ==
===Leipzig ===
{{See also|Christmas Oratorio#History}}
[[Johann Sebastian Bach|Bach]] had been presenting [[church cantata]]s for the [[Christmas season]] in the [[Thomaskirche]] (''St. Thomas'') and [[Nikolaikirche, Leipzig|Nikolaikirche]] (''St. Nicholas'') since his appointment as [[director musices]] in [[Leipzig]] in 1723.{{sfn|Wolff|2002|pp=237–257}}{{sfn|Dürr|Jones|2006|pp=22–35}}{{sfn|Buelow|2016|p=272}}
[[Johann Sebastian Bach|Bach]] was appointed as ''[[Thomaskantor]]'' (''director of church music'') of [[Leipzig]] in 1723. They allowed him responsibility for the music at four churches, where he trained and educated boys singing in the ''[[Thomanerchor]]''.{{sfn|Wolff|2002|pp=237–257}} [[Bach cantata|Cantata music]] was required for the two major churches, [[Thomaskirche]] (''St. Thomas'') and [[Nikolaikirche, Leipzig|Nikolaikirche]] (''St. Nicholas''), and simpler church music for two smaller churches, [[St. Matthew, Leipzig|Neue Kirche]] (''New Church'') and [[St. Peter, Leipzig|Peterskirche]] (''St. Peter'').{{sfn|Dürr|Jones|2006|pp=23–26}}{{sfn|Buelow|2016|p=272}}

Bach assumed office on the first Sunday after [[Trinity Sunday|Trinity]]. Cantata music was expected in Leipzig on Sundays and feast days except during [[Advent]] and [[Lent]]. In his first year, Bach decided to compose new works for almost all liturgical events; these works became known as his [[Bach's first cantata cycle|first cantata cycle]].{{sfn|Dürr|Jones|2006|pp=22–28}} He continued the following year, composing a [[Chorale cantata cycle|cycle of chorale cantatas]] with each cantata based on a [[Lutheranism|Lutheran]] hymn.{{sfn|Dürr|Jones|2006|pp=29−35}} His [[Bach's third cantata cycle|third cantata cycle]] includes works composed during his later time in Leipzig, when he wrote less regularly. He thus accumulated a repertoire to draw from the liturgical year.


===Dresden court ===
===Dresden court ===

Revision as of 12:24, 14 December 2019

Jauchzet, frohlocket!
Part I of Christmas Oratorio
Christmas cantata by J. S. Bach
First page of the manuscript of the score
CatalogueBWV 248 I
Relatedbased on
Text
Performed25 December 1734 (1734-12-25): Leipzig
Movements9
VocalSATB choir and soloists
Instrumental
  • 3 trumpets
  • timpani
  • 2 flauto traverso
  • 2 oboes
  • 2 oboe d'amore
  • 2 violins
  • viola
  • cello
  • violone
  • continuo

Jauchzet, frohlocket! (Shout for joy, exult!),[1] BWV 248 I,[2] is a 1734 Christmas cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach as the first part of his Christmas Oratorio. Bach was then Thomaskantor, responsible for church music at four churches in Leipzig, a position he had assumed in 1723.

The cantata follows the nativity of Jesus accounted by an unknown librettist, followed by choral voices detailing movements including a quotation from the Gospel of Luke, a recitative representing the narration, an aria reflecting it, and a chorale. Bach scored four vocal part s and a festive Baroque orchestra with trumpets, timpani, flutes, oboes and strings. He led the first performances at the two main churches of Leipzig on 25 December 1734 during morning and vespers services.

The libretto by an unknown author recounts the nativity of Jesus, following the Gospel of Luke. A choral introduction is followed by two scenes, each a sequence of four movements. A scene is built by a quotation from the Gospel of Luke]], a recitative reflecting the narration, an aria like prayer or meditation, and a chorale setting a stanza from a Lutheran hymn. Bach scored the structure of nine movements for four vocal parts and a festive Baroque orchestra with trumpets, timpani, flutes, oboes and strings.

The opening movement and the two arias rely on secular cantatas composed for members of the Dresden court. The opening and an aria are based on Tönet, ihr Pauken! Erschallet, Trompeten! (Resound, ye drums! Ring out, ye trumpets!), BWV 214, which he had composed for the birthday of Maria Josepha of Saxony on 8 December 1733. the other taria is based on Laßt uns sorgen, laßt uns wachen, BWV 213, written for the 11th birthday of Crown Prince Friedrich Christian the same year.

A tenor soloist narrates the Biblical story in secco recitative, as the Evangelist. There are two chorales: a four-part setting of Paul Gerhardt's "Wie soll ich dich empfangen" and a closing score with an independent orchestra set to text for a stanza from Martin Luther's "Vom Himmel hoch, da komm ich her". Bach led the first performances with the Thomanerchor at the two main churches of Leipzig on 25 December 1734 during morning and vespers services.

Background

Leipzig

Bach was appointed as Thomaskantor (director of church music) of Leipzig in 1723. They allowed him responsibility for the music at four churches, where he trained and educated boys singing in the Thomanerchor.[3] Cantata music was required for the two major churches, Thomaskirche (St. Thomas) and Nikolaikirche (St. Nicholas), and simpler church music for two smaller churches, Neue Kirche (New Church) and Peterskirche (St. Peter).[4][5]

Bach assumed office on the first Sunday after Trinity. Cantata music was expected in Leipzig on Sundays and feast days except during Advent and Lent. In his first year, Bach decided to compose new works for almost all liturgical events; these works became known as his first cantata cycle.[6] He continued the following year, composing a cycle of chorale cantatas with each cantata based on a Lutheran hymn.[7] His third cantata cycle includes works composed during his later time in Leipzig, when he wrote less regularly. He thus accumulated a repertoire to draw from the liturgical year.

Dresden court

bust painting of a young festively dressed woman, whose body is turned to the right but who is facing the viewer,
Maria Josepha, the dedicatee of Tönet, ihr Pauken, in a 1720 painting by Rosalba Carriera

In 1733, Augustus III of Poland succeeded his father, Augustus the Strong as Elector of Saxony, and took residence in Dresden. Bach hoped to become court composer, and dedicated his Missa in B minor to Augustus, later the Kyrie and Gloria of his Mass in B  minor.[8] It was performed on 5 September 1733, on the 11th birthday of the son of the elector.[9] He wrote a further cantata for the elector's wife Maria Josepha to honour her 34th birthday on 8 December:[10] Tönet, ihr Pauken! Erschallet, Trompeten!, BWV 214 (Resound, ye drums! Ring out, ye trumpets!).[11] It is also known as "Glückwunschkantate zum Geburtstage der Königin" (Congratulation cantata for the Queen's birthday), although Maria Josepha was not crowned Queen of Poland until January 1734.[12]

Three extended movements are based on music from these two cantatas: the opening chorus follows the opening of Tönet, ihr Pauken!, the alto aria an aria from Laßt uns sorgen, and the bass aria an aria from Tönet, ihr Pauken!.[13]

Christmas Day

Bach composed several cantatas for Christmas Day, with his first written in 1714 for celebration in Weimar.[14][14] For 1724, he composed the chorale cantata Gelobet seist du, Jesu Christ, BWV 91, based on the hymn by Martin Luther.[15] The following year year later he wrote Unser Mund sei voll Lachens, BWV 110,[16] and around 1728 composedEhre sei Gott in der Höhe, BWV 197a, which is partially partly lost.[17] His last Christmas cantata, in 1745, is in Latin, Gloria in excelsis Deo, BWV 191, using music from the Gloria of his Mass in B minor.[18]

Readings and text

Bach composed Jauchzet, frohlocket! in 1734. The cantata forms Part I of his Christmas Oratorio, which was performed on six occasions during Christmas time, beginning with Part I on Christmas Day.[2] The prescribed readings for the feast day were from the Epistle to Titus, "God's mercy appeared" (Titus 2:11–14) or from Isaiah, "Unto us a child is born" (Isaiah 9:2–7), and from the Gospel of Luke, the nativity, the annunciation to the shepherds and the angels' song (Luke 2:1–14).[19] The identity of the librettist is unknown;[2] they may have been Picander, an earlier collaborator.[20] After the opening chorus, the story is told following the Gospel of Luke, interspersed with reflecting recitatives, arias and chorales. Part I describes the nativity of Jesus until the child is born.[20]

The work is structured in nine movements. The text of the opening chorus is a free paraphrase of the beginning of Psalm 100.[21] The chorus is followed by two groups of four movements each, following the pattern reading / recitative / aria / chorale. Dürr notes that the theologian August Hermann Francke and others had recommended three steps when reading the Bible: reading / meditation / prayer, and sees a similar approach, with the chorale comparing to the Amen confirming the prayer.[20]

The tenor soloist narrates from Martin Luther's translation of the Bible in recitative] as the Evangelist (Luke 2:1, 3–7).[2] The choir sings two chorales, a four-part setting of Paul Gerhardt's "Wie soll ich dich empfangen" and a setting for choir and independent orchestra of the 13th stanza from Martin Luther's "Vom Himmel hoch, da komm ich her", to close the cantata.[2][22] In the seventh movement, a recitative is combined with the sixth stanza of Luther's hymn "[Gelobet seist du, Jesu Christ".[23]

First performance

Title page of the 1734 print of the libretto, with letters in different size
Title page of the printed libretto

Bach led the first performance during a morning rendition at the Nikolaikirche in 1734.[24] The libretto was printed and bears the title of the oratorio, Oratorium, welches die Heilige Weyhnacht über in beyden Haupt-Kirchen zu Leipzig musiciret wurde. Anno 1734. (Oratorio, which was played over the Holy Christmas in the two main churches of Leipzig. 1734.) The title for Jauchzet! frohlocket! reads: "Am 1sten Heil. Weynachts-Feyertage. Frühe zu St. Nicolai, und Nachmittage zu St. Thomas" (On the 1st Holy Christmas Day. Morning at St. Nicholas, afternoon at St. Thomas).

Music

Scoring and structure

Bach structured the cantata in nine movements, beginning with an extended chorus. The other eight movements contain a Gospel reading in a tenor secco recitative, a meditative, accompanied recitative, a prayer-like aria, and an affirming chorale.[20] It features four vocal soloists, a four-part choir (SATB) and a Baroque instrumental ensemble of three trumpets (Tr), timpani, two transverse flutes (Ft), two oboes (Ob), two oboes d'amore (Oa), two violins (Vl), viola (Va) and basso continuo.[25] A typical performance lasts 29 minutes.[1]

The following scoring adheres to the Neue Bach-Ausgabe (New Bach Edition). The keys and time signatures are from Alfred Dürr, and use the symbol for common time.[26] The continuo, played throughout, is not shown.

Movements of Jauchzet, frohlocket!
No. Title Text Type Vocal Brass Winds Strings Key Time
1 Jauchzet, frohlocket! anon. Chorus SATB 3Tr 2Ft 2Ob 2Vl Va D major 3/8
2 Es begab sich aber zu der Zeit Luke 2:1, 3–6 Recitative T common time
3 Nun wird mein liebster Bräutigam anon. Recitative A 2Oa common time
4 Bereite dich, Zion anon. Aria A Oa Vl A minor 3/8
5 Wie soll ich dich empfangen Gerhardt Chorale SATB 2Ft 2Ob 2Vl Va A minor common time
6 Und sie gebar ihren ersten Sohn Luke 2:7 Recitative T common time
7 Er ist auf Erden kommen arm
Wer will die Liebe recht erhöhn 		Luther
anon. 		Chorale e recitative S
B 		2Oa D major 3/4
common time
8 Großer Herr und starker König anon. Aria B Tr Ft 2Vl Va D major 2/4
9 Ach mein herzliebes Jesulein Luther Chorale SATB 3Tr 2Ft 2Ob 2Vl Va D major common time


Movements

1

Baroque orchestra with prominent timpani (kettledrums) and trumpets surrounded by a choir in a rehearsal
Baroque orchestra with timpani (kettledrums) and trumpets
Detail from the manuscript score of "Tönet, ihr Pauken" with changes for "Jauchzet, frohlocket!"
Detail from the manuscript score of Tönet, ihr Pauken with changes for Jauchzet, frohlocket!

The text of the opening chorus is "Jauchzet, frohlocket! Auf, preiset die Tage", translated by Richard D. P. Jones as "Shout for joy, exult, rise up, praise the day!"[1] and by Pamela Dellal as "Celebrate, rejoice, rise up and praise these days").[23] It is an extended complex ternary form (A-B-A). Unusually for Bach's music, it opens with the timpani (kettledrums) alone.[27] The trumpets then enter, followed by strings and woodwinds.[28] This sequence follows the secular model Tönet, ihr Pauken, where the text asks the instruments to enter in this order: "Tönet, ihr Pauken! Erschallet, Trompeten! Klingende Saiten, erfüllet die Luft! Singet itzt Lieder, ihr muntren Poeten," (Sound, you drums! Ring forth, trumpets! Vibrating strings, fill the air! Now sing songs, you exuberant poets).[29] The extended instrumental ritornello presents the musical material of the whole movement in changing instrumental colours. The first measures explore the D major triad in different colours of instrumental sounds.[30]

The voices enter in unison, imitating at first timpani then trumpets.[28] In the following section, the vocal lines are mostly homophonic and sometimes imitative, while the instrumental forces drive the movement. With the text "Lasset das Zagen, verbannet die Klage" (Abandon despair, banish laments),[23] the voices, now in imitation, dominate while the instruments accompany.[31] The second section is a modified repetition of the first.[32]

The middle section (B) also comprises two passages. "Dienet dem Höchsten mit herrlichen Chören" (Serve the Highest with glorious choruses)[23] is an imitative section in B minor, accompanied only by the strings.[32] "Laßt uns den Namen des Herrschers verehren!" (Let us revere the name of the sovereign)[1] is set mostly in homophony with strings and woodwinds. After the middle section, the beginning A is repeated in full.[32]

The musicologist Markus Rathey notes that in the secular model, Tönet, ihr Pauken, Bach had not initially thought of beginning with the timpani alone, but arrived at the solution in a revision. Rathey suggests that Bach sought a more dramatic way to begin with reduced force and let the music increase, in keeping with his endeavor to transfer operatic features from Dresden to Leipzig.[33] Rathey observes how contemporary listeners may interpret the dominant trumpets as royal instruments, here three trumpets and timpani, corresponding to the obbligato trumpet in the aria "Großer Herr uns starker König", which addresses the newborn as king and saviour.[34]

2

The tenor begins with the secco recitative "Es begab sich aber zu der Zeit" (It came to pass at that time),[23] from Luke 2:1,3–6. It is one of the longest recitatives in the oratorio, beginning with the decree for a census by Caesar Augustus. It follows a pattern influenced both by operatic recitatives and liturgical singing, with phrases often beginning with an upward fourth and ending with a downward fourth, in rhythm as if speaking and in moderate range. Accents are made by high notes, here for the word "Joseph", and changes of harmony, here for "David". The building of harmonic tension ends when Mary's pregnancy is mentioned.[35]

3

The alto provides the narration, particularly the announcement of a birth, in a recitative, "Nun wird mein liebster Bräutigam, nun wird der Held aus Davids Stamm" (Now comes my dearest bridegroom, now comes the hero from David's line),[23] expressing eagerness to meet her bridegroom, a descendant of David, in the imagery of the Song of Songs. In an accompanied recitative, two oboes d'amore support the voice.[13]

4

comparison of corresponding measures in the secular model and an aria
Juxtaposition of corresponding measures in the secular model and the aria

In the alto da capo aria "Bereite dich, Zion, mit zärtlichen Trieben" (Prepare yourself, Zion, with tender efforts),[23] the singer prepares herself to meeting her beloved. The oboe d'amore supports the tender expressiveness. The movement is based on the aria "Ich will dich nicht hören" (No. 9) from the secular cantata Laßt uns sorgen, laßt uns wachen, BWV 213, with a different affect. While the secular model demands destruction ("zermalmet"), the aria in the oratorio speaks of the most beautiful beloved ("den Liebsten, den Schönsten").[36]

5

A chorale concludes the first scene, "Wie soll ich dich empfangen" (How shall I embrace You),[23][37] deepening the right preparation for the reception of the beloved. It is the first stanza of Paul Gerhardt's Advent song, with the melody which was associated with it in Leipzig, the same melody also used for Gerhardt's Passion hymn "O Haupt voll Blut und Wunden". The same melody of this first chorale in the oratorio reappears in the final movement of the final Part VI, "Nun seid ihr wohl gerochen".[36]

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6

The tenor continues the narration with another secco recitative, "Und sie gebar ihren ersten Sohn" (And she bore her first son),[23] after Luke 2:7, reporting the birth of the baby which is laid in a manger.[23]

7

16th-century print of a chorale melody
The chorale melody of "Gelobet seist du, Jesu Christ" in Johann Walter's Wittenberg Hymnal

In a combination of chorale and recitative, the soprano sings the sixth stanza, "Er ist auf Erden kommen arm" (He came to earth poor),[23] from Luther's hymn "Gelobet seist du, Jesu Christ"[23] in a triple metre and embellished. Line by line, it is interspersed with comments by the bass, who begins "Wer will die Liebe recht erhöhn" (Who can rightly exalt this love),[23] in contrasting common time.[36] The voices are supported by two oboes d'amore.[38]

8

The bass da capo aria, "Großer Herr, o starker König, liebster Heiland, o wie wenig" (Great Lord, o powerful King, dearest Savior, o how little),[23] contrasts the birth of Our Lord with poverty. The movement is taken from the bass aria in Tönet, ihr Pauken, in which the Queen is addressed, accompanied by an obbligato trumpet to refer to her royalty.[13]

9

The cantata is closed with the chorale "Ach mein herzliebes Jesulein" (Ah, my heart's beloved little Jesus),[23][39] the 13th stanza of Luther's hymn "Vom Himmel hoch, da komm ich her".[23] While the compassionate text addresses the baby, interludes with trumpets recall the opening movement and refer to his godly nature.[36]

Column-generating template families

The templates listed here are not interchangeable. For example, using {{col-float}} with {{col-end}} instead of {{col-float-end}} would leave a <div>...</div> open, potentially harming any subsequent formatting.

Column templates
Type Family
Handles wiki
 table code?†
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Mobile suited 		Start template Column divider End template
Float "col-float" Yes Yes {{col-float}} {{col-float-break}} {{col-float-end}}
"columns-start" Yes Yes {{columns-start}} {{column}} {{columns-end}}
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"columns-list" No Yes {{columns-list}} (wraps div col) – –
Flexbox "flex columns" No Yes {{flex columns}} – –
Table "col" Yes No {{col-begin}},
{{col-begin-fixed}} or
{{col-begin-small}} 		{{col-break}} or
{{col-2}} .. {{col-5}} 		{{col-end}}

† Can template handle the basic wiki markup {| | || |- |} used to create tables? If not, special templates that produce these elements (such as {{(!}}, {{!}}, {{!!}}, {{!-}}, {{!)}})—or HTML tags (<table>...</table>, <tr>...</tr>, etc.)—need to be used instead.

Performances and legacy

Bach may have performed Jauchzet, frohlocket! again, but there is no record of it.[40] Although performances of Jauchzet, frohlocket! in services on Christmas Day have become rare,[41] they are regularly held in Leipzig, where the work was first performed.[42] The cantata is often presented in concerts, which usually combine several of the parts of the Christmas Oratorio, most frequently parts I to III. It is a Christmas tradition for many German-speaking people to attend such a concert.[41]

Dürr and Jones described the cantata as "one of the pinnacles of world music literature".[20] Rathey observes that although the Christmas Oratorio is one of Bach's most frequently performed works, it has not attracted much scholarship in English.[43]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Dürr & Jones 2006, p. 102.
  2. ^ a b c d e Bach Digital 2018.
  3. ^ Wolff 2002, pp. 237–257.
  4. ^ Dürr & Jones 2006, pp. 23–26.
  5. ^ Buelow 2016, p. 272.
  6. ^ Dürr & Jones 2006, pp. 22–28.
  7. ^ Dürr & Jones 2006, pp. 29−35.
  8. ^ Rathey 2003.
  9. ^ Bach Digital 214 2018.
  10. ^ Dürr & Jones 2006, pp. 102, 820, 827–830.
  11. ^ Bach Digital 213 2019.
  12. ^ Wessel 2015, pp. 25–44, 47, 99–100.
  13. ^ a b c Wessel 2015, p. 47.
  14. ^ a b Bach Digital 63 2019.
  15. ^ Bach Digital 91 2019.
  16. ^ Bach Digital 110 2019.
  17. ^ Bach Digital 197a 2019.
  18. ^ Bach Digital 191 2019.
  19. ^ Dürr & Jones 2006, p. 91.
  20. ^ a b c d e Dürr & Jones 2006, p. 104.
  21. ^ Rathey 2016, p. 174.
  22. ^ Rathey 2016, p. 152.
  23. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Dellal 2018.
  24. ^ Villa Musica 2018.
  25. ^ Bischof 2018.
  26. ^ Dürr & Jones 2006, pp. 102–103.
  27. ^ Rathey 2016, pp. 148–149.
  28. ^ a b Rathey 2016, p. 148.
  29. ^ Dellal 2017.
  30. ^ Rathey 2016, p. 151.
  31. ^ Rathey 2016, p. 152.
  32. ^ a b c Rathey 2016, p. 153.
  33. ^ Rathey 2016, p. 149.
  34. ^ Rathey 2016, p. 160.
  35. ^ Rathey 2016, p. 161.
  36. ^ a b c d Dürr & Jones 2006, p. 105.
  37. ^ Dahn 5 2018.
  38. ^ Dürr & Jones 2006, p. 103.
  39. ^ Dahn 9 2018.
  40. ^ Hofmann 2005.
  41. ^ a b Schönewolf 2019.
  42. ^ Konzerthaus Dortmund 2008.
  43. ^ Rathey 2016, p. 5.

Cited sources

Bach Digital

Books

Online sources

External links

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