Weinen, Klagen, Sorgen, Zagen, BWV 12
Weinen, Klagen, Sorgen, Zagen (Weeping, lamenting, worrying, fearing), BWV 12, is a cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach. The cantata originates from Bach's Weimar period. It was first performed in the Weimar court chapel on the third Sunday after Easter on April 22, 1714. The text, depicting the affliction of the Christians, is assumed to have been written by Salomon Franck, the Weimar court poet.
The cantata is written for soprano, alto, tenor, bass, oboe, trumpet, bassoon, two violins, two violas da gamba and basso continuo. There are seven movements, in F minor unless otherwise noted:
- Sinfonia – For oboe, two violins, two violas da gamba and basso continuo with a bassoon. As with many of Bach's early cantatas, the work opens with a brief instrumental passage, marked adagio assai, which includes an expressive and plaintive solo oboe.
- Chorus "Weinen, Klagen, Sorgen, Zagen" ("Weeping, lamenting, worrying, fearing") – For soprano, alto, tenor, bass, two violins, two violas da gamba and basso continuo with a bassoon. The opening chorus is built upon a basso ostinato, in an old-style 3/2 passacaglia. The words are each sung by a different vocal part, overlapping the next one. The middle section takes a somewhat festive mood and modulates to the key of E-flat major.
- Recitative "Wir müssen durch viel Trübsal" ("We must through much tribulation") – For alto, two violins, two violas da gamba, and basso continuo with a basoon, this is the only recitative in the cantata, which confirms its old style. (C minor)
- Aria "Kreuz und Kronen sind verbunden" ("Cross and crown are bound together") for alto, oboe and basso continuo. (C minor)
- Aria "Ich folge Christo nach" ("I follow after Christ") – For bass, two violins and basso continuo. (E flat major)
- Aria "Sei getreu, alle Pein" ("Be faithful, all suffering") – For tenor, trumpet and basso continuo. Simultaneously with the tenor line, the trumpet plays the chorale tune Jesu, meine Freude, resembling a Central German 17th century compositional technique. (G minor)
- Chorale "Was Gott tut, das ist wohlgetan" ("What God does, that is well-done") (B flat major)
Bach reworked the material of the first chorus to form the Crucifixus movement of the Credo in the Mass in B minor.
Recordings
- Die Bach Kantate Vol. 32, Helmuth Rilling, Gächinger Kantorei, Bach-Collegium Stuttgart, Helen Watts, Adalbert Kraus, Wolfgang Schöne, Hänssler 1972
- J.S. Bach: Das Kantatenwerk - Sacred Cantatas Vol. 1, Gustav Leonhardt, Tölzer Knabenchor & King's College Choir, Leonhardt Consort, Paul Esswood, Kurt Equiluz, Max van Egmond, Teldec 1972
- Bach Cantatas Vol. 2 - Easter, Karl Richter, Münchener Bach-Chor, Münchener Bach-Orchester, Anna Reynolds, Peter Schreier, Theo Adam, Archiv Produktion 1974
- J.S. Bach: Complete Cantatas Vol. 2, Ton Koopman, Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir, Barbara Schlick, Kai Wessel, Christoph Prégardien, Klaus Mertens, Antoine Marchand 1995
- Bach Cantatas Vol. 24: Altenburg/Warwick, John Eliot Gardiner, Monteverdi Choir, English Baroque Soloists, William Towers, Mark Padmore, Julian Clarkson, Soli Deo Gloria 2000
- 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
- J.S. Bach: Weinen, Klagen..., Philippe Herreweghe, Collegium Vocale Gent, Daniel Taylor, Mark Padmore, Peter Kooy, Harmonia Mundi France 2003
- J.S. Bach: Cantatas for the Complete Liturgical Year Vol. 11, Sigiswald Kuijken, La Petite Bande, Gerlinde Sämann, Petra Noskaiová, Christoph Genz, Jan van der Crabben, Accent 2009
Media
External links
- Cantatas, BWV 11-20: Free scores at the International Music Score Library Project.
- Cantata BWV 12 Weinen, Klagen, Sorgen, Zagen, BWV 12 on bach-cantatas
- German text and English translation, Emmanuel Music
- Weinen, Klagen, Sorgen, Zagen University of Alberta
- Weinen, Klagen, Sorgen, Zagen, BWV 12 on the Bach website (in German)
- Entries for BWV 12 on WorldCat