Ach Gott, vom Himmel sieh darein, BWV 2

Ach Gott, vom Himmel sieh darein
BWV 2
Chorale cantata by J. S. Bach

Thomaskirche, Leipzig 1885
Occasion Second Sunday after Trinity
Performed 18 June 1724 – Leipzig
Movements 6
Cantata text anonymous
Chorale Martin Luther: "Ach Gott, vom Himmel sieh darein"
Vocal
  • SATB choir
  • solo: alto, tenor and bass
Instrumental
  • 2 oboes
  • 4 trombones
  • 2 violins
  • viola
  • continuo

Ach Gott, vom Himmel sieh darein (Oh God, look down from heaven), BWV 2, is a church cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach, composed in Leipzig for the second Sunday after Trinity and first performed on 18 June 1724. It is the second cantata of his second annual cycle of chorale cantatas, and is based on Martin Luther's hymn "Ach Gott, vom Himmel sieh darein", published in 1524 in the first Lutheran hymnal.

History and words

Bach composed the cantata for the Second Sunday after Trinity in Leipzig as the second cantata of his second annual cycle, which began a week before with O Ewigkeit, du Donnerwort, BWV 20.[1][2] The prescribed readings for the Sunday were from the First Epistle of John, "He that loveth not his brother abideth in death" (1 John 3:13–18), and from the Gospel of Luke, the parable of the great banquet (Luke 14:16–24). The cantata is based on the six-stanza chorale Ach Gott, vom Himmel sieh darein, published by Martin Luther in 1524 in the Achtliederbuch, paraphrasing Psalm 12. The words are used unchanged in movements 1 and 6. An unknown poet transcribed the ideas of stanzas 2–5 into recitatives and arias.[1][2] Bach first performed the cantata on 18 June 1724.[1]

Scoring and structure

The work in six movements is scored for three vocal soloists (alto, tenor, and bass), a four-part choir, four trombones, two oboes, two violins, viola, and basso continuo. The trombones play colla parte with the choir.[1]

  1. Chorus: Ach Gott, vom Himmel sieh darein
  2. Recitative (tenor, bass): Sie lehren eitel falsche List
  3. Aria (alto, violin solo): Tilg, o Gott, die Lehren
  4. Recitative (bass, strings): Die Armen sind verstört
  5. Aria (tenor): Durchs Feuer wird das Silber rein
  6. Chorale: Das wollst du, Gott, bewahren rein

Music

In the first and last movements, which use the original words of Luther's hymn, the style of the music is "archaic"—the instruments include a choir of trombones doubling the voices.[2][3] In the first movement the melody of the chorale is sung by the alto in long notes, doubled by two oboes. Each line is prepared by fugal entrances of the other parts on the same theme.[4] The second movement is a secco recitative, changing to arioso for two lines that resemble the words of the chorale, marked adagio. The alto aria is written in "modern" style with a solo violin in lively figuration. The bass recitative is accompanied by the strings. In contrast, the tenor aria is accompanied by a concerto of the oboes and strings, which are silent in the middle section until its transition to the da capo. The closing chorale is a four-part setting.[1]

Recordings

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Dürr, Alfred (1981). Die Kantaten von Johann Sebastian Bach (in German) 1 (4 ed.). Deutscher Taschenbuchverlag. pp. 340–342. ISBN 3-423-04080-7.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Hofmann, Klaus (2004). "Ach Gott, vom Himmel sieh darein, BWV 2 / Oh God, Look Down from Heaven" (PDF). bach-cantatas.com. p. 6. Retrieved 11 June 2012.
  3. ↑ Julian Mincham (2010). "Chapter 3 BWV 2 Ach Gott, vom Himmel sieh darein". jsbachcantatas.com. Retrieved 11 June 2012.
  4. ↑ John Eliot Gardiner (2010). "Cantatas for the Second Sunday after Trinity / Basilique Saint-Denis, Paris" (PDF). bach-cantatas.com. p. 1. Retrieved 11 June 2012.

Sources