BachKantaten BWV 39, 56, 61 & 65

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 fourth series of four cantatas are listed today. 
 
BWV 39: Brich dem Hungrigen dein Brot

Johann Sebastian Bach composed Break with hungry men thy bread  in Leipzig and first performed on 23 June 1726, the first Sunday after Trinity that year. The text of the cantata is taken from a 1704 collection of librettos from Meiningen, many of which had been set to music in the cantatas of Bach's distant cousin Johann Ludwig Bach, Kapellmeister at Meiningen. The librettos have been attributed to his employer Duke Ernst Ludwig von Sachsen-Meiningen. The symmetrical structure of seven movements is typical for this collection: the opening quotation from the Old Testament, followed by a recitative and an aria; then the central quotation from the New Testament, followed by an aria and a recitative, leading into the final chorale. The prescribed readings for the Sunday were from the Old Testament passage taken from the Book of Isaiah (Isaiah 58:7–8) and the New Testament passage from the Epistle to the Hebrews (Hebrews 13:16) and the First Epistle of John, (the "God is Love" verses, 1 John 4:16–21), and from the Gospel of Luke (the parable of the Rich man and Lazarus, Luke 16:19–31). The final section of the libretto is the sixth verse of David Denicke's 1648 hymn "Kommt, laßt euch den Herren lehren," which involves the same themes. This hymn was sung to the same melody as the hymn "Freu dich sehr, o meine Seele." The melody was first published by Louis Bourgeois as Psalm 42 in his collection of Psaumes octante trios de David (Geneva, 1551). The psalm melody itself was probably derived from the secular song "Ne l'oseray je dire" in the Manuscrit de Bayeux published around 1510.
 
Bach scored the cantata for three vocal soloists (soprano (S), alto (A) and bass (B)), a four-part choir SATB, and a Baroque instrumental ensemble of two alto recorders, two oboes, first and second violins, violas and basso continuo. There are two sets of continuo parts from 1726: one is a score transposed for positive organ with figuration added by Bach in the first three movements; the other has annotations by the copyist for violoncello and double bass.
 
The cantata BWV 39 is in two parts, conforming to the structure of the Meiningen series. The first part begins with a long choral movement for four-part chorus and full orchestra. It is followed by a recitative for bass and an aria for alto, with obbligato violin and oboe. The second part begins with the central movement based on the New Testament text, a solo for bass, as vox Christi, accompanied by an obbligato violoncello. It is followed by an aria for soprano with obbligato recorders in unison. The second recitative for alto and strings leads into the concluding four-part chorale in which the choir doubled by the full orchestra. The complex scoring of the monumental opening movement, employing full orchestra and chorus, contrasts with that of the succeeding non-choral movements, which are accompanied by smaller more intimate groups of instruments.
 
The cantata is written in seven movements, with a symmetrical form: the first and last movements are for chorus and orchestra; the second and sixth movements are recitatives; the third and fifth movements are arias in two parts with da capo repeats only for the instrumental ritornello; and the central fourth movement is an accompanied solo. The metrical English translations below of the texts of the first six movements are by Henry Sandwith Drinker; and that of the seventh movement (chorale) is from the 1722 Psalmodica Germanica of John Christian Jacobi and Isaac Watts.
 
BWV 56: Ich will den Kreuzstab gerne tragen
'I will gladly carry the cross-staff'  was composed for the 19th Sunday after Trinity and was first performed in Leipzig on 27 October 1726. The text was written by Christoph Birkmann, a student of mathematics and theology in Leipzig who collaborated with Bach. He describes in the first person a Christian willing to "carry the cross" as a follower of Jesus. The poet compares life to a voyage towards a harbour, referring indirectly to the prescribed Gospel reading which says that Jesus travelled by boat. The person, at the end, yearns for death as the ultimate destination, to be united with Jesus. This yearning is reinforced by the closing chorale: the stanza "Komm, o Tod, du Schlafes Bruder" ('Come, o death, you brother of sleep') from Johann Franck's 1653 hymn "Du, o schönes Weltgebäude" which uses the imagery of a sea voyage. Bach structured it in five  movements, alternating arias and recitatives for a bass soloist, and closing with a four-part chorale. He scored the work for a Baroque instrumental ensemble of three woodwind instruments, three string instrument parts and continuo. An obbligato cello features in the first recitative and an obbligato oboe in the second aria, resulting in different timbres in the four movements for the same voice part. 
 
The prescribed readings for that Sunday were from Paul's epistle to the Ephesians—"Put on the new man, which after God is created" (Ephesians 4:22–28)—and the Gospel of Matthew: healing the paralytic at Capernaum (Matthew 9:1–8). For the occasion, Bach had composed in 1723 Ich elender Mensch, wer wird mich erlösen, BWV 48 (Wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me?), and in 1724 the chorale cantata Wo soll ich fliehen hin, BWV 5 (Where shall I flee), based on Johann Heermann’s penitential hymn of the same name.
 
The librettist built on Erdmann Neumeister's text from "Ich will den Kreuzweg gerne gehen", which was published in 1711. Kreuzweg, the Way of the Cross, refers to the Stations of the Cross and more generally to the "cross as the burden of any Christian." Here Kreuzweg is replaced with Kreuzstab, which can refer to both a pilgrim's staff (or bishop's crosier) and a navigational instrument known as a cross staff or Jacob's staff. Birkmann had an interest in astronomy and knew the second meaning from his studies. In the cantata's text, life is compared to a pilgrimage and a sea voyage. Birkmann's text alludes to Matthew's gospel; although there is no explicit reference to the sick man, he speaks in the first person as a follower of Christ who bears his cross and suffers until the end, when (in the words of Revelation 7:17) "God shall wipe away the tears from their eyes." The cantata takes as its starting point the torments that the faithful must endure. The text is also rich in other biblical references. The metaphor of life as a sea voyage in the first recitative comes from the beginning of that Sunday's Gospel reading: "There He went on board a ship and passed over and came into His own city" (Matthew 9:1). Affirmations that God will not forsake the faithful on this journey and will lead them out of tribulation were taken from Hebrews 13:5 and Revelation 7:14. The third movement expresses joy at being united with the saviour, and its text refers to Isaiah 40:31: "Those that wait upon the Lord shall gain new strength so that they mount up with wings like an eagle, so that they run and do not grow weary." The theme of joy, coupled with a yearning for death, runs through the cantata. The final lines of the opening aria ("There my Saviour himself will wipe away my tears") are repeated just before the closing chorale. This uncommon stylistic device appears several times in Bach's third cantata cycle. 
On the title page, Bach replaced the word "Kreuz" with the Greek letter χ, a rebus he used to symbolize the paradox of the cross. The final chorale is a setting of the sixth stanza of Johann Franck's "Du, o schönes Weltgebäude" which contains ship imagery: "Löse meines Schiffleins Ruder, bringe mich an sichern Port" ("Release the rudder of my little ship, bring me to the secure harbour"). The hymn was published in 1653 with a 1649 melody by Johann Crüger. Its text describes (in the first person) renouncing the beautiful dwelling place of the world ("schönes Weltgebäude"), only longing so dearly for the most cherished Jesus ("allerschönstes Jesulein"). This phrase recurs, with slight variations, at the end of each stanza.
 
The cantata is structured in five movements, with alternating arias, recitatives and a four-part chorale. Bach scored for a bass soloist, a four-part choir (SATB) in the closing chorale, and a Baroque instrumental ensemble of two oboes, taille, two violins, viola, cello, and basso continuo. In his biography of Bach, Albert Schweitzer points out that Ich will den Kreuzstab gerne tragen is among the few works in which Bach carefully marked the phrasing of the parts; others are the Brandenburg Concertos, the St Matthew Passion, the Christmas Oratorio and a few other cantatas, including Ich habe genug and O Ewigkeit, du Donnerwort, BWV 60.
 
BWV 61: Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland
Now come, Savior of the heathens was composed in Weimar for the first Sunday in Advent, the Sunday which begins the liturgical year, and first performed it on 2 December 1714. The cantata text was provided by Erdmann Neumeister, who quoted the Book of Revelation and framed his work by two hymn stanzas, the beginning of Martin Luther's "Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland," the main hymn for Advent with a melody based on Medieval chant, and the end from Philipp Nicolai's "Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern." The librettist developed his thoughts like a sermon. Bach structured the cantata in six movements, beginning with a chorale fantasia, followed by a series of alternating recitatives and arias, and concluded by a four-part chorale. The librettist quoted the Book of Revelation in the fourth movement: "Siehe, ich stehe vor der Tür und klopfe an. So jemand meine Stimme hören wird und die Tür auftun, zu dem werde ich eingehen und das Abendmahl mit ihm halten und er mit mir." – "Behold, I stand at the door and knock. Anyone that hears My voice and opens the door, to him I will enter and keep the evening meal with him and he with me." (Revelation 3:20). The poet combined the ideas of Jesus' entry into Jerusalem and his promise to return with an invitation to enter the heart of the individual Christian. He developed his thoughts like a sermon, as the Bach scholar Alfred Dürr notes: mentioning that the arrival of Jesus brings blessing every day (movement 2), a prayer that Jesus may come to his congregation (movement 2), and in response to his statement of being at the door (movement 4) the opening of the heart of the individual Christian who knows about his sinfulness (movement 5). He scored it for three vocal soloists (soprano, tenor and bass) , strings and continuo. 
 
BWV 65: Sie werden aus Saba alle kommen
They will all come forth out of Sheba was composed it in 1724 in Leipzig for Epiphany and first performed it on 6 January 1724 as part of his first cantata cycle. Bach wrote the cantata to conclude his first Christmas season as Thomaskantor in Leipzig which had been celebrated with five cantatas, four of them new compositions, the Magnificat and a new Sanctus. he 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, myrrh and frankincense to the newborn Jesus (Matthew 2:1–12). The unknown poet of the cantata text may be the same as for BWV 40 and BWV 64 for the Second and Third Day of Christmas, a person "theologically competent and poetically skilfull (sic)," as the Bach scholar Klaus Hofmann writes.The librettist begins with the final verse of the epistle reading, Isaiah's prophecy "all they from Sheba shall come: they shall bring gold and incense." The poet juxtaposes the prediction by a chorale, stanza 4 of the old anonymous Christmas carol "Ein Kind geborn zu Bethlehem [de]" ("Puer natus in Bethlehem," "A babe is born in Bethlehem," 1543), which describes the arrival of the "Kön'ge aus Saba" (Kings from Sheba), related to the epistle. The first recitative proclaims that the gospel is the fulfilment of the prophecy and concludes that it is the Christian's duty to bring his heart as a gift to Jesus. This idea is the theme of the following aria. The second recitative equates the gifts of the contemporary Christian to those of the kings: Faith to the gold, Prayer to the incense, and Patience to the myrrh. The last aria expresses that the devoted Christian offers his heart as a present. The cantata ends with a chorale. The text is not extant, but it is assumed to be stanza 10 of Paul Gerhardt's hymn "Ich hab in Gottes Herz und Sinn."
 
Bach festively scored the seven-movement cantata, for two vocal soloists (tenor and bass), a four-part choir and a Baroque instrumental ensemble of two horns, two recorders, two oboes da caccia, strings and basso continuo. All recitatives are secco, but the full orchestra plays for the opening chorus, the last aria and the closing chorale. Bach uses scoring and especially instrumentation to illustrate the contrast between poverty and abundance. While all recitatives are secco, and the strings are silent for the first aria which is supported only by the oboes da caccia in low register, a festive orchestra with three kinds of wind instruments and strings accompanies not only, as usual, the opening chorus and the closing chorale, but also the penultimate movement, a tenor aria expressing how the believer gives his heart as a present. Hofmann notes that Bach "combines high art with the folk style."
 
Here are four albums:
 
Johann Sebastian Bach: Volume 45 – Cantatas 39, 129, 187. Masaaki Suzuki with Yukari Nonoshita (soprano), Robin Blaze (counter-tenor) & Peter Kooij (bass), and Bach Collegium Japan. Release Date: 30 Nov 2009. Label: BIS. Catalogue No: BISSACD1801. Hi-Res FLAC (Lossless, 44.1 kHz, 24 bit).
 
Johann Sebastian Bach: Volume 41 – Cantatas 56, 82, 84, 158. Masaaki Suzuki (harpsichord and conductor) with Carolyn Sampson (soprano) & Peter Kooij (bass), and Bach Collegium Japan. Release Date: 1 Dec 2008. Label: BIS. Catalogue No: BISSACD1691. Hi-Res FLAC (Lossless, 44.1 kHz, 24 bit).
 
Johann Sebastian Bach: Volume 7 – Cantatas 61, 63, 132, 172. Masaaki Suzuki with Ingrid Schmithüsen (soprano), Yoshikazu Mera (counter-tenor), Makoto Sakurada (tenor), Peter Kooij (bass), and Bach Collegium Japan. Release Date: 1 Apr 1998. Label: BIS. Catalogue No: BISSCD881. FLAC (CD Quality, 44.1 kHz, 16 bit).
 
Johann Sebastian Bach: Volume 21 – Cantatas 65, 81, 83, 190. Masaaki Suzuki with Robin Blaze (counter-tenor), James Gilchrist (tenor), Peter Kooij (bass), and Bach Collegium Japan. Release Date: 16 May 2003. Label: BIS. Catalogue No: BISSCD1311. FLAC (CD Quality, 44.1 kHz, 16 bit).

​References:
Brich dem Hungrigen dein Brot, BWV 39. (2024, June 9). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brich_dem_Hungrigen_dein_Brot,_BWV_39


Ich will den Kreuzstab gerne tragen, BWV 56. (2024, October 21). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ich_will_den_Kreuzstab_gerne_tragen,_BWV_56
 
Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland, BWV 61. (2024, August 28). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nun_komm,_der_Heiden_Heiland,_BWV_61
 
Sie werden aus Saba alle kommen, BWV 65. (2023, August 19). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sie_werden_aus_Saba_alle_kommen,_BWV_65