Bereitet die Wege, bereitet die Bahn! (Prepare the paths, prepare the road!), BWV 132, is a church cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach. He wrote it in Weimar in 1715 for the fourth Sunday in Advent and first performed it on 22 December 1715.
Contents |
In Weimar, Bach was the Konzertmeister of Johann Ernst von Sachsen-Weimar. It was part of his duty to perform a monthly church cantata. He wrote this cantata for the fourth Sunday in Advent and first performed it on 22 December 1715 in the Schlosskirche (ducal chapel).[1] He dated this cantata himself.
The prescribed readings for the Sunday are Philippians 4:4–7, "Rejoice in the Lord alway", and John 1:19–28, the testimony of John the Baptist. The cantata text was written by the court poet Salomon Franck and included the fifth verse of the chorale Herr Christ, der einig Gotts Sohn (1524) of Elisabeth Cruciger. The cantata text was published in 1715 in Evangelisches Andachts-Opffer. Franck paraphrases in the first aria Isaiah 401:3, mentioned in the Gospel, Bereitet dem Herrn den Weg (Prepare the path for the Lord), the same words which open Handel’s Messiah. Franck also refers to the baptism. The individual Christian is addressed as a limb of Christ.[2]
As in several other cantatas on words of Franck, the cantata is scored for a small ensemble, here soprano, alto, tenor, and bass, two oboes, two violins, viola and basso continuo. A choir is only needed for the chorale, if at all. The music of the chorale is lost, it may have been noted in a simple setting on a separate sheet, as in the similar case of Nur jedem das Seine, BWV 163, composed four weeks earlier. For practical purposes the same verse, closing Ihr, die ihr euch von Christo nennet, BWV 164 in 1725, may be used.[2][3]
The first aria is in da capo form in a swinging 6/8 time signature, accompanied by the full ensemble.[4] The soprano calls in melismas of several measures of semiquavers.[1] The oboe adds virtuoso figuration and trills, reminiscent of Bach's secular music. The aria is concluded by rejoicing calls: Messias kömmt an (Messiah arrives!)[2]
The tenor recitative contains extended arioso passages, to stress "der Christen Kron und Ehre" ("the Christians' crown and glory") and "Wälz ab die schweren Sündensteine" ("back the heavy stones of sin"). The voice and the continuo are at times set in imitation, an image for the Nachfolge (following), they go together to express the unity achieved, on the words "daß er mit dir im Glauben sich vereine" ("so that He may unite Himself to you in faith").[1]
In the bass aria the question Wer bist du? (Who are you?), posed by the priests to St. John in the Gospel, is given to the bass as the Vox Christi, as if Jesus asked the listener this question. The first motive in the cello expresses the question and is repeated throughout the movement, the vocal line is derived from it.[2]
The expressive declamation of the alto recitative is highlighted by chords of the strings. A solo violin accents the following aria, possibly inspired by the words "Christus gab zum neuen Kleide roten Purpur, weiße Seide" ("Christ gave as new garments crimson robes, white silk").[2] Gardiner interprets it as "the cleansing effect of baptismal water".[1] Mincham supports that, stating: "Bach seldom neglects opportunities of creating musical images of cleansing water when mention is made of the act of baptism. This is the starting point of his invention of the violin obbligato melody".[4]
The four-part setting of the closing chorale can be taken from Ihr, die ihr euch von Christo nennet, BWV 164.[2]
The first source is the score.
General sources are found for the Bach cantatas. Several databases provide additional information on each single cantata:
|
||||||||