Jump to content

Ihr Tore zu Zion, BWV 193

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Gerda Arendt (talk | contribs) at 16:18, 20 August 2012 (ref Wolff). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Ihr Tore zu Zion (sometimes Ihr Pforten zu Zion, English: You gates of Zion), BWV 193, is a sacred cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach. He composed it in Leipzigfor Ratswechsel, the inauguration of a new town council, in 1727 and first performed it on 25 August 1727. Some of the music is lost. Bach composed around the same time the secular cantata Ihr Häuser des Himmels, BWV 193a, both works share some movements.

History and words

Bach composed the cantata in Leipzig for the Ratswechsel.[1] The text of an unknown poet includes ideas from psalms, using Psalms 87:2, "The Lord loveth the gates of Zion more than all the dwellings of Jacob.", in movement 1 and Psalms 121:4, "Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep." in movement 2. It praises God as the protector of the "Leipziger Jerusalem".[1]

The inauguration of the newly elected town council took place in a festive service on the Monday following the feast of St. Bartholomew on 24 August. Bach first performed the cantata on 25 August 1727.[2]

Some of the music, namely movements 1, 3 and 5, is probably a parody of cantata Ihr Häuser des Himmels, BWV 193a, composed for the name day of August II on 3 August 1727, based on a text in nine movements by Picander. According to Alfred Dürr, some of both works may go back to earlier music, perhaps composed in Köthen.[1] Christoph Wolff assumes that Picander may have also written the text of the sacred cantata.[2]

One movement of the text is lost, a recitative, and some of the music.[1] A reconstruction was made for Helmuth Rilling in 1983 by Reinhold Kubik. Ton Koopman made a version for his 1999 recording, using also a tenor voice and adding three trumpets and timpani, to achieve the scoring Bach usually used for festive occasions like this.[2]

Scoring and structure

Only part of the music survived, suggesting that the cantata is scored for two soloists—soprano and alto— and a four-part choir, two oboes, two violins, viola and basso continuo.[1]

1. Coro: Ihr Tore zu Zion
2. Recitativo (soprano): Der Hüter Israels entschläft noch schlummert nicht
3. Aria (soprano): Gott, wir danken deiner Güte
4. Recitativo (alto): O Leipziger Jerusalem
5. Aria (alto): Sende, Herr, den Segen ein
6. Recitativo: [missing]
7. Coro: "Ab initio repetatur" (repeated from the beginning)

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Dürr, Alfred (1971). Die Kantaten von Johann Sebastian Bach (in German). Vol. 1. Bärenreiter-Verlag. OCLC 523584.
  2. ^ a b c Wolff, Christoph (1999). The cantatas of the period 1726-1731 and of the Picander cycle (1728-29) (PDF). bach-cantatas.com. p. 12, 15. Retrieved 20 August 2012.

Sources

The first source is the score.

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

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ihr_Tore_zu_Zion,_BWV_193&oldid=508310464"