BachKantaten BWV 103, 105, 110, & 123

Note: ​Peter Wollny (Director of the Bach Archive), Michael Maul (Director of BachFest), and Sir Eliot Gardiner (President of the Bach Archive) have selected the most famous sacred cantatas composed by J.S. Bach in December 2018. I shall highlight all 33 of them by their consecutive BWV numbering in the following months. The seventh series of four cantatas are listed today. 

BWV 103: Ihr werdet weinen und heulen 
Johann Sebastian Bach composed You shall weep and wail for the third Sunday after Easter, called Jubilate, and first performed it on 22 April 1725. The prescribed readings for the Sunday were from the First Epistle of Peter, "Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man" (1 Peter 2:11–20), and from the Gospel of John, Jesus announcing his second coming in the so-called Farewell Discourse, saying "your sorrow shall be turned into joy" (John 16:16–23). For this occasion Bach had already composed in 1714 Weinen, Klagen, Sorgen, Zagen, BWV 12, which he used later as the basis for the movement Crucifixus in his Mass in B minor. The librettist begins with a quotation from the Gospel, verse 20, and concludes with the ninth stanza of Paul Gerhardt’s hymn "Barmherzger Vater, höchster Gott" (1653). Her own poetry reflects, in a sequence of recitatives and arias, in two movements sadness at the loss of Jesus, and in two others joy at his predicted return. Bach edited her writing considerably, for example in movement 4, excising two lines of four and rephrasing the others. Bach contrasts music of sorrow and joy, notably in the unusual first movement, where he inserts an almost operatic recitative of Jesus in the fugal choral setting. The architecture of the movement combines elements of the usual concerto form with the more text-related older form of a motet. Bach scores an unusual flauto piccolo (descant recorder in D) as an obligato instrument in an aria contemplating the sorrow of missing Jesus, who is addressed as a doctor who shall heal the wounds of sins. Bach scores a trumpet in only one movement, an aria expressing the joy about the predicted return of Jesus. 
 
The cantata in six movements is scored for three vocal soloists (alto, tenor and bass), a four-part choir, trumpet, flauto piccolo (descant recorder in D), two oboes d'amore, two violins, viola and continuo.

1. Chorus and arioso (bass): Ihr werdet weinen und heulen
2. Recitative (tenor): Wer sollte nicht in Klagen untergehn
3. Aria (alto): Kein Arzt ist außer dir zu finden
4. Recitative (alto): Du wirst mich nach der Angst auch wiederum erquicken
5. Aria (tenor): Erholet euch, betrübte Sinnen
6. Chorale: Ich hab dich einen Augenblick

 
The cantata begins in B minor, illustrating sorrow, but in movement 4 shifts to the relative major key of D major, illustrating the theme of consolation in Ziegler's text. The opening chorus has an unusual structure, which includes an arioso passage for the bass voice. All instruments except the trumpet play a ritornello, after which a choral fugue pictures the weeping and wailing of the text in unrelated musical material, rich in chromaticism. In great contrast the following line, "aber die Welt wird sich freuen" (But the world will rejoice), is conveyed by the chorus embedded in a repeat of the first part of the ritornello. The sequence is repeated on a larger scale: this time the fugue renders both lines of the text as a double fugue with the second theme taken from the ritornello, then the ritornello is repeated in its entirety. The bass as the vox Christi (voice of Christ) sings three times, with a sudden tempo change to adagio, "Ihr aber werdet traurig sein" (But you will be sad) as an accompagnato recitative. Musicologist Julian Mincham notes: "This recitative is a mere eight bars long but its context and piteousness give it enormous dramatic impact. Bach's lack of respect for the conservative Leipzig authorities' dislike of operatic styles in religious music was never more apparent!"
 
BWV 105: Herr, gehe nicht ins Gericht mit deinem Knecht
Lord, do not pass judgment on Your servant was composed in Leipzig for the ninth Sunday after Trinity and first performed it on 25 July 1723. The musicologist Alfred Dürr has described the cantata as one of "the most sublime descriptions of the soul in baroque and Christian art." The prescribed readings for the Sunday were from the First Epistle to the Corinthians, a warning of false gods and consolation in temptation (1 Corinthians 10:6–13), and from the Gospel of Luke, the parable of the Unjust Steward (Luke 16:1–9). The theme of the cantata is derived from the Gospel: since mankind cannot survive before God's judgement, he should forswear earthly pleasures, "the mammon of unrighteousness," for the friendship of Jesus alone; for by His death mankind's guilt was absolved, opening up "the everlasting habitations." That part of the libretto covers the fourth and fifth movements (the second recitatives and arias). The alto recitative draws from biblical allusions in Psalms 51:11—"Cast me not away from thy presence"— and Malachi 3:5—"I will come near to you to judgment; and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, and against the adulterers." The text of the soprano aria is borrowed from Romans 2:15—"while accusing or else excusing one another." There is a reference to Paul's epistles in the second recitative, Colossians 2:14—"Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us" and "nailing it to his cross." The closing chorale is the eleventh verse of the hymn Jesu, der du meine Seele, written by Johann Rist in 1641.
 
The cantata in six movements is scored for four vocal soloists (soprano, alto, tenor and bass), a four-part choir, corno, two oboes, two violins, viola, and basso continuo. 

1. Chorus: Herr, gehe nicht ins Gericht mit deinem Knecht (Lord, enter not into judgment with thy servant)
2. Recitative (alto): Mein Gott, verwirf mich nicht (My God, cast me not away)
3. Aria (soprano): Wie zittern und wanken der Sünder Gedanken (How they quiver and waver, the thoughts of sinners)
4. Recitative (bass): Wohl aber dem, der seinen Bürgen weiß (Happy is he who knows his protector)
5. Aria (tenor): Kann ich nur Jesum mir zum Freunde machen (If I can but make Jesus my friend)
6. Chorale: Nun, ich weiß, du wirst mir stillen, mein Gewissen, das mich plagt (Now I know that Thou will calm my conscience that torments me.)

 
The cantata opens with a chorus in two parts, a form of prelude and fugue, corresponding to the first two phrases of Psalm 143, "Lord, enter not into judgment with thy servant / for in thy sight shall no man living be justified." The monumental first part, marked adagio, starts in G minor with a sombre harmonically complex orchestral eight-bar ritornello. The throbbing repeated quaver beats of the figured bass play ceaselessly in the prelude. The ritornello has a penitent mood, its slow canon full of tortured chromatic modulations and suspended sevenths, which develop into sighing, mournful motifs in the violins and oboes. Similar chromaticism has been used elsewhere by Bach to illustrate the crucifixion, for example for the Crucifixus section of the Credo in the Mass in B minor and for the last stanza, "trug uns'rer Sünden schwere Bürd' wohl an dem Kreuze lange", in the choral prelude O Mensch, bewein dein Sünde groß, BWV 622.
 
After the first ritornello, the instruments remain silent except for the pulsating basso continuo; the chorus sings in canon for six bars with new independent material in polyphonic motet style. First the alto starts singing a detached crotchet "Herr" followed by semiquavers motifs for "gehe nicht ins Gericht;" two beats later the tenor starts similarly, then the soprano and then the bass. The four voices continue singing the musical phrase "Herr, gehe nicht in Gericht" in an outpouring of imitative diminutions, until reaching a cadence on "mit deinem Knecht. There is then a reprise of the solemn eight-bar ritornello, now in the dominant key with the upper parts interchanged. The six-bar chorus episode is repeated, with the alto responding to the soprano, and then the bass to the tenor. The chorus is now accompanied by the orchestra in double counterpoint, employing motifs derived from the first episode for chorus. After a cadence in the chorus, the orchestra briefly continues the double counterpoint, until there is a third freely composed episode for chorus. Now the sopranos lead the altos, and then the tenors lead the basses. The third episode lasts twelve bars and is richly scored, combining all the musical ideas from the chorus and orchestra: after less than three bars into the episode, in a moment of pathos, the original orchestral ritornello is played in counterpoint with the chorus for the first time. The prelude concludes gracefully on a pel point, with a coda similar to the brief orchestral interlude.
 
The second part of the first movement is a spiritrd permutation fugue, marked allegro, initially scored for only the concertante singers and continuo, but eventually taken up by the whole ripieno choir, doubled by the orchestra. The tone of the text is condemnatory: "Denn vor dir wird kein Lebendiger gerecht"—"For in thy sight shall no man living be justified." The subject of the fugue theme commences resolutely with detached crotchets for "Denn," sung initially by the tenor accompanied by the basso continuo. The following fugal entry is sung by the bass, with the tenor now taking up the countersubject derived partly on the continuo quaver figures at the very beginning of the fugue. The lower voices are joined by successive fugal entries in the soprano and alto. After 21 bars of tightly scored choral singing, the tutti entries begin commencing with the basses doubling the continuo, followed by the tenors doubling the violas, the altos the second violins and oboe and the sopranos the first violins, oboe and corno. The extended fugue, with its increasingly fraught mood of denunciation, draws to a close after a further 50 bars.
 
The short but expressive alto recitative is followed by one of Bach's most original and striking arias, depicting in musical terms the anxiety and restless desperation of the sinner. The movement has been described as "one of the most impressive arias ever composed by Bach. The aria starts with an extended ritornello played eloquently on the oboe. The fragmented phrases in the oboe, anguished and mournful, are accompanied only by repeated semiquavers in the tremolo violins and steady quavers in the violas: the absence of a basso continuo and the amassing sevenths increase the feeling of anxiety and hopelessness. The ritornello concludes with a continuous semiquaver passage of lamentation—musical material heard several times later on the oboe but never the voice. Taking up the detached motifs of the ritornello, the soprano starts the A section, singing the first couplet of the aria, "Wie zittern und wanken, Der Sũnder Gedanken," with the oboe following in canon one crotchet later: their duet is followed by a repetition of the semiquaver passage for oboe. The soprano and oboe repeat the music for the couplet, but at that point the soprano suddenly sings the second couplet, "Indem sie sich unter einander verklagen ... ," accompanied only by the violas, with completely new musical material. The continuous remarkable melodic line of the soprano, with its frenetic upward semiquaver and semi-demi-quaver runs, are developed in canon with the oboe, as if "each makes complaints about the other." Together the two soloists interweave two highly ornate but tortuous melodic lines, their their melismas and disturbing dissonances representing the troubled soul. After a free reprise of the A section for soprano and oboe, there is shorter B section for the third couplet. More sustained then the A sections, it is derived from the musical material in the ritornello. The aria concludes with a reprise of the ritornello. The canonic voice leading, with the oboe echoing the soprano one crotchet later, is similar to the beginning of the sixth Brandenburg Concerto.
 
The mood becomes hopeful in the following accompanied bass recitative: Jesus' assurance that the sinner will attain salvation through His death on the cross. The bass solo is accompanied by the violins and violas playing gentle semiquaver figures; and by the basso continuo playing repeated pizzicato quaver octaves. In Bach's musical iconography, these repeated quavers represent the death knell, when—in the record of goods, body and life—judgement on the soul is passed by God. The recitative leads to a strict da capo aria for tenor, corno and strings, which brings a new rhythmic energy, ecstatic and animated. The ritornello introduction in the corno solo of the aria is initially doubled by the first violins, but then transformed to more rapid and filigree passagework in demi-semi-quavers. The tenor part has a remarkable dance-like quality, similar to a gavotte, which results in the off-the-beat division of phrases into a half-bar--Kann ich nur—or a bar--Jesum nur zum Freunde machen). The angular writing in the tenor part for the phrase So gilt der Mammon nichts bei mir is particularly spirited, with successive upward leaps for the word nichts. There is a contrasting mood in the middle section of the aria, when the corno does not play, "as if reluctant to reflect the comparison." In the middle section, although the melodic material for the tenor is independent, the string accompaniment is derived from the theme of the original ritornello as well as the garlands of demi-semi-quavers.
 
BWV 110: Unser Mund sei voll Lachens
May our mouth be full of laughter is a Christmas cantata composed in Leipzig for Christmas Day and first performed on 25 December 1725. The text has no recitatives alternating with arias. The prescribed readings for the feast day were from the Epistle of 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, Annunciation to the shepherds and the angels' song (Luke 2:1–14). The librettist began with a quotation of two verses from Psalm 126 which deals with the hope for delivery of Jerusalem, "When the Lord turned again the captivity of Zion, we were like them that dream" and the joyful reaction (Psalms 126:2–3). The poet included for a recitative a verse from the Book of Jeremiah, praising God's greatness (Jeremiah 10:6), and he quoted from the Christmas story in the Gospel of Luke the singing of the angels (Luke 2:14). In this early text, three biblical quotations alternate with arias. The closing chorale is the fifth stanza of Caspar Füger's mn "Wir Christenleut." 
 
Bach structured the cantata in seven movements. An opening chorus and a closing chorale frame a sequence of arias, a recitative and a duet. Bach scored the work for four vocal soloists (soprano, alto, tenor, bass), a four-part choir and a Baroque instrumental ensemble of three trumpets and timpani, two transverse flutes, three oboes (also oboe d'amore and oboe da caccia), two violins, viola, and basso continuo including bassoon. The duration is given as 27 minutes.
 
The opening chorus is "Unser Mund sei voll Lachens" (May our mouth be full of laughter). It calls for all instruments to perform. The text "concludes with acknowledgement that the Lord has achieved great things for his people." He followed the format of the French overture by instrumental slow sections framing the fast choral section. When Bach performed the work again later, he added ripieno vocal parts, achieving even more variety in the "concerto." A tenor aria, "Ihr Gedanken und ihr Sinnen" (You thoughts and musings), is accompanied by two transverse flutes. Dürr interprets the choice of the flutes as a symbol for the "lowly birth." A bass recitative, "Dir, Herr, ist niemand gleich" (There is no one like You, Lord), is accompanied by the strings, which accompany the expressive line of the bass voice by "upward-pointing gestures." The alto aria, "Ach Herr, was ist ein Menschenkind" (Ah, Lord, what is a human being), is accompanied by a solo oboe d'amore that "expresses wonder about the nature of man" and God's interest in him. The aria, as the first one, is not a da capo aria, but in two parts. The idea of man in a sinful condition which is presented first, is changed to redemption. The duet "Ehre sei Gott in der Höhe" (Glory to God in the highest), combines two high voices over a simple continuo accompaniment, singing of God's glory in the highest and peace on Earth. The music is based on the Virga Jesse floruit from the Magnificat, changing the vocal lines to the different text but retaining the "essentially lyrical character." The bass aria "Wacht auf, ihr Adern und ihr Glieder" (Awaken, veins and limbs), is a final call to wake up and join the praise of the angels. Trumpet and oboe add to energetic music. The oboes double the strings or rest, for more dynamic effect. Virtuoso passages in the trumpet are reminiscent of the first movement. The first triad call of the trumpet is of martial character, and imitated by the voice. When the text refers to the strings, the winds have a rest. The closing chorale, "Alleluja! Gelobt sei Gott" (Alleluia! Praise be to God), is a four-part setting of the tune by an anonymous composer. Bach set the same tune again to close Part III of his Christmas Oratorio with another stanza from the hymn, "Seid froh, dieweil" (Be glad, therefore).
 
BWV 123: Liebster Immanuel, Herzog der Frommen
​Bach composed Dearest Emmanuel, duke of the pious in Leipzig for Epiphany and first performed it on 6 January 1725. The prescribed readings for the feast day were taken from the Book of Isaiah, the heathen will convert (Isaiah 60:1–6), and from the Gospel of Matthew, the Wise Men From the East bringing gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh to the newborn Jesus (Matthew 2:1–12). The cantata text is based on the chorale in six stanzas by Ahasverus Fritsch (1679). The unknown poet kept the first and the last stanza, and paraphrased the inner stanzas to a sequence of as many recitatives and arias. The text has no specific reference to the readings, but mentions the term Jesusname(name of Jesus), reminiscent of the naming of Jesus celebrated on 1 January. The poet inserts "Heil und Licht" (salvation and light) as a likely reference to the Epiphany, and alludes to Christmas by "Jesus, der ins Fleisch gekommen" (Jesus who came into flesh). Otherwise, the cantata text follows the idea of the chorale: hate and rejection in the world cannot harm those who believe.
 
The cantata in six movements is scored for three vocal soloists (alto, tenor, and bass), a four-part choir, two flauto traverso, two oboes d'amore, two violins, viola, and basso continuo. 

1. Chorus: Liebster Immanuel, Herzog der Frommen
2. Recitative (alto): Die Himmelssüßigkeit, der Auserwählten Lust
3. Aria (tenor): Auch die harte Kreuzesreise
4. Recitative (bass): Kein Höllenfeind kann mich verschlingen
5. Aria (bass): Laß, o Welt, mich aus Verachtung
6. Chorale: Drum fahrt nur immer hin, ihr Eitelkeiten

 
In the opening chorus Bach uses the beginning of the chorale melody as an instrumental motif, first in a long introduction, then as a counterpoint to the voices. The soprano sings the cantus firmus. The lower voices are set mostly in homophony with two exceptions. The text "Komme nur bald" (come soon) is rendered by many calls in the lower voices. The text of the final line is first sung by the bass on the melody of the first line, which alto and tenor imitate to the soprano singing the text on the melody of the last line, thus achieving a connection of beginning and end of the movement. The prominent woodwinds, two flutes and two oboes d'amore, and the 9/8 time create a pastoral mood. The tenor aria, accompanied by two oboes d'amore, speaks of "harte Kreuzesreise" (harsh journey of the Cross), illustrated by a chromatic ritornello of four measures in constant modulation. When the ritornello appears again at the end of the first section, it is calmer in the melodies, with the chromatic theme in the continuo, perhaps because the singer claims he is not frightened. In the middle section, thunderstorms are pictured "allegro" in "exuberant passage-work" of the voice, calming to "adagio" on "Heil und Licht," the reference to the Epiphany. The bass aria is one of the loneliest arias Bach ever wrote. The voice is only accompanied by a single flute and a "staccato" continuo. The cantata is closed by an unusual four-part chorale. The Abgesang of the bar form is repeated, the repeat marked piano. The reason is likely the text which ends "bis man mich einsten legt ins Grab hinein" (until one day I am laid in the grave).
 
Here are four albums:
 
Johann Sebastian Bach: Volume 36 – Cantatas 6, 42, 103, 108. Masaaki Suzuki with Yukari Nonoshita (soprano), Robin Blaze (counter-tenor), James Gilchrist (tenor) & Dominik Wörner (bass), and Bach Collegium Japan. Release Date: 28 Aug 2007. Label: BIS. Catalogue No: BISCD1611. Hi-Res FLAC (Lossless, 44.1 kHz, 24 bit).
 
Johann Sebastian Bach: Volume 10 – Cantatas 105, 179, 186. Masaaki Suzuki with Miah Persson (soprano), Robin Blaze (counter-tenor), Makoto Sakurada (tenor), Peter Kooij (bass), and Bach Collegium Japan. Release Date: 1 Jun 1999. Label: BIS. Catalogue No: BISCD951. FLAC (CD Quality, 44.1 kHz, 16 bit).
 
Johann Sebastian Bach: Volume 43 – Cantatas 57, 110, 151. Masaaki Suzuki with Hana Blažíková (soprano), Robin Blaze (counter-tenor), Gerd Türk (tenor) & Peter Kooij (bass), and Bach Collegium Japan. Release Date: 1 Jun 2009. Label: BIS. Catalogue No: BISSACD1761. Hi-Res FLAC (Lossless, 44.1 kHz, 24 bit).
 
Johann Sebastian Bach: Volume 32 – Cantatas 111, 123, 124, 125. Masaaki Suzuki with Yukari Nonoshita (soprano), Robin Blaze (counter-tenor), Andreas Weller (tenor) & Peter Kooij (bass), and Bach Collegium Japan. Release Date: 28 Aug 2006. Label: BIS. Catalogue No: BISSACD1501. Hi-Res FLAC (Lossless, 44.1 kHz, 24 bit).

References:

Ihr werdet weinen und heulen, BWV 103 (2024, January 12). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ihr_werdet_weinen_und_heulen,_BWV_103

​Herr, gehe nicht ins Gericht mit deinem Knecht, BWV 105 (2024, July 15). In Wikipedia. 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herr,_gehe_nicht_ins_Gericht_mit_deinem_Knecht,_BWV_105
 
​Unser Mund sei voll Lachens, BWV 110 (2024, September 29). In Wikipedia. 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unser_Mund_sei_voll_Lachens,_BWV_110
 
Liebster Immanuel, Herzog der Frommen, BWV 123 (2022, August 31). In Wikipedia. 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liebster_Immanuel,_Herzog_der_Frommen,_BWV_123