''Tue Rechnung! Donnerwort'', BWV 168

Tue Rechnung! Donnerwort BWV 168
Church cantata by J. S. Bach
Parable of the Unjust Steward, etching by Jan Luyken, Bowyer Bible
Occasion	Ninth Sunday after Trinity
Performed	29 July 1725 (1725-07-29): Leipzig
Movements	6
Cantata text	Salomon Franck
Chorale	by Bartholomäus Ringwaldt
Vocal	SATB solo and choir
Instrumental	2 oboes d'amore 2 violins viola continuo

Tue Rechnung! Donnerwort (Settle account! Word of thunder),^[1] BWV 168,^{[lower-alpha 1]} is a church cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach. He composed it in Leipzig for the ninth Sunday after Trinity and first performed it on 29 July 1725.

Bach set a text by Salomo Franck a librettist with whom he had worked in Weimar. The text, which Franck had published in 1715, uses the prescribed reading from the Gospel of Luke, the parable of the Unjust Steward, as a starting point for thoughts about the debt of sin and its "payment", using monetary terms. He concluded the text with a stanza from Bartholomäus Ringwaldt's hymn "Herr Jesu Christ, du höchstes Gut". Bach structured the cantata in six movements and scored it intimately, as he did for many of Franck's works, for four vocal parts, combined only in the chorale, two oboes d'amore, strings and basso continuo. It is the first new composition in his third year as Thomaskantor in Leipzig.

History and words

Bach composed the cantata in Leipzig for the ninth Sunday after Trinity as the first cantata of his third cantata cycle, being the first new composition in his third year as Thomaskantor in Leipzig.^[2] The libretto is by Salomon Franck who was a court poet in Weimar. Bach had often set Franck's texts when he was Konzertmeister (concertmaster) there from 1714 to 1717. Franck published the text of Tue Rechnung! Donnerwort in 1715 as part of the collection Evangelisches Andachts-Opffer, and Bach would probably have used at the time had it not been for a period of mourning for Prince Johann Ernst of Saxe-Weimar.^[2]

The prescribed readings for the Sunday were from the Epistle to the Romans, 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). Franck's text is closely related to the Gospel, beginning with a paraphrase of verse 2 in the opening aria. The situation of the unjust servant is generalized; he is seen wanting mountains and hills to fall on his back, as mentioned in Luke 23:30. Franck uses explicit monetary terms to speak about the debt, such as "Kapital und Interessen" (capital and interest). A turning point is reached in movement 4, referring to the death of Jesus which "crossed out the debt". The cantata is concluded by the eighth stanza of Bartholomäus Ringwaldt's hymn "Herr Jesu Christ, du höchstes Gut" (1588).^[3]^[4] Bach had treated the complete chorale a year before in his chorale cantata Herr Jesu Christ, du höchstes Gut, BWV 113, for the eleventh Sunday after Trinity.

Bach first performed the cantata on 29 July 1725.^[3]

Scoring and structure

Bach structured the cantata in six movements and scored it intimately, as he did for many of Franck's works. The singers consist of four vocal soloists (soprano (S), alto (A), tenor (T), and bass) (B) plus a four-part choir only in the chorale. The instrumental parts are for two oboes d'amore (Oa), two violins (Vl), viola (Va) and basso continuo (Bc).^[5] The title of the autograph score reads: "9 post Trinit. / Thue Rechnung! Donner Wort / a / 4 Voci / 2 Hautb. d'Amour / 2 Violini / Viola / e / Continuo / di / J.S.Bach".^[6] The duration is given as 17 minutes.^[7]

In the following table of the movements, the scoring and keys and time signatures are taken from Alfred Dürr, using the symbol for common time (4/4).^[7] The instruments are shown separately for winds and strings, while the continuo, playing throughout, is not shown.

Movements of *Tue Rechnung! Donnerwort*, BWV 168
No.	Title	Text	Type	Vocal	Winds	Strings	Key	Time
1	Tue Rechnung! Donnerwort	Franck	Aria	B		2Vl Va	B minor
2	Es ist nur fremdes Gut	Franck	Recitative	T	2Oa
3	Kapital und Interessen	Franck	Aria	T	2Oa (unis.)		F-sharp minor	3/8
4	Jedoch, erschrocknes Herz, leb und verzage nicht	Franck	Recitative	B
5	Herz, zerreiß des Mammons Kette	Franck	Aria	S A			E minor	6/8
6	Stärk mich mit deinem Freudengeist	Ringwaldt	Chorale	SATB	2Oa	2Vl Va	B minor

Music

1

The work opens with a bass aria, accompanied by the strings, "Tue Rechnung! Donnerwort" (Settle account! Word of thunder).^[1] Christoph Wolff notes:

Bach translates Franck's baroque poetry into an extraordinarily gripping musical form. The virtuoso string writing in the opening aria prepares and then underscores the emphatically articulated "word of thunder, that can shatter even the rocks"^[1] ("Donnerwort, das die Felsen selbst zerspaltet"), and which causes the blood to "run cold" ("Blut erkaltet").^[2]

2

The recitative, "Es ist nur fremdes Gut," (It is only an alien good)^[1] is the first movement with the full orchestra.^[2] The oboes first play long chords, but finally illustrate figuratively the text, speaking of toppling mountains and "the flash of His countenance". The musicologist Julian Mincham notes that Bach's recitative is "both melodic and dramatic throughout", showing his familiarity with "the best contemporary operatic styles".^[8]

3

A tenor arie with the oboes in unison develops "Kapital und Interessen" (Capital and interest).^[1] Klaus Hofmann calls the movement dance-like.^[9]

4

A secco recitative for bass demands: "Jedoch, erschrocknes Herz, leb und verzage nicht!" (Nevertheless, terrified heart, live and do not despair!).^[1]

5

A duet of the upper voices, only accompanied by the continuo, reflects "Herz, zerreiß des Mammons Kette" (Heart, rend the chains of Mammon).^[1] Hofmann notes the dotted rhythm of the dance Canarie to the often canonic imitation of the voices. The word "zerreiß" (tear asunder) is depicted by a rest afterwards. The fetters (Kette) are illustrated with "slurred coloraturas", the term "Sterbebett" (deathbed) appears in "darkening of the harmony."^[9]

6

The closing chorale, "Stärk mich mit deinem Freudengeist" (Strengthen me with Your joyful Spirit),^[1]^[10] is a four-part setting.^[3]^[8]

Selected recordings

The listing is taken from the selection on the Bach Cantatas Website.^[11] Ensembles playing period instruments in historically informed performance are highlighted by green background.

Recordings of *Tue Rechnung! Donnerwort*, BWV 168
Title	Conductor / Choir / Orchestra	Soloists	Label	Year	Orch. type
Die Bach Kantate Vol. 45	Rilling, HelmuthHelmuth Rilling Gächinger Kantorei Bach-Collegium Stuttgart	Nancy Burns Verena Gohl Theo Altmeyer Siegmund Nimsgern	Hänssler	1970 (1970)
J. S. Bach: Das Kantatenwerk · Complete Cantatas · Les Cantates, Folge / Vol. 39 – BWV 164–169	Harnoncourt, NikolausNikolaus Harnoncourt Tölzer Knabenchor Leonhardt-Consort		Telefunken	1987 (1987)	Period
Bach Edition Vol. 8 – Cantatas Vol. 3	Leusink, Pieter JanPieter Jan Leusink Holland Boys Choir Netherlands Bach Collegium	Ruth Holton Sytse Buwalda Knut Schoch Bas Ramselaar	Brilliant Classics	1999 (1999)	Period
J.S. Bach: Trinity Cantatas I	Gardiner, John EliotJohn Eliot Gardiner Monteverdi Choir English Baroque Soloists	Katharine Fuge Daniel Taylor James Gilchrist Peter Harvey	Archiv Produktion	2000 (2000)	Period
J. S. Bach: Complete Cantatas Vol. 15	Koopman, TonTon Koopman Amsterdam Baroque Choir Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra	Johannette Zomer Bogna Bartosz Christoph Prégardien Klaus Mertens	Antoine Marchand	2002	Period
J. S. Bach: Cantatas Vol. 40 – Cantatas from Leipzig 1724 - BWV 79, 137, 164, 168	Suzuki, MasaakiMasaaki Suzuki Bach Collegium Japan	Yukari Nonoshita, Robin Blaze Makoto Sakurada Peter Kooy	BIS	2007 (2007)	Period

Notes

↑ "BWV" is Bach-Werke-Verzeichnis, a thematic catalogue of Bach's works.

References

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Dellal, Pamela. "BWV 168 – "Tue Rechnung! Donnerwort"". Emmanuel Music. Retrieved 22 July 2014.
1 2 3 4 Wolff, Christoph. "The transition between the second and the third yearly cycle of Bach’s Leipzig cantatas (1725)" (PDF). Bach Cantatas Website. Retrieved 15 August 2011.
1 2 3 Dürr, Alfred (1981). Die Kantaten von Johann Sebastian Bach (in German). 1 (4 ed.). Deutscher Taschenbuchverlag. pp. 395–397. ISBN 3-423-04080-7.
↑ "Herr Jesu Christ, du höchstes Gut / Text and Translation of Chorale". Bach Cantatas Website. 2006. Retrieved 15 August 2011.
↑ Bischof, Walter F. "BWV 168 Tue Rechnung! Donnerwort". University of Alberta. Retrieved 1 August 2015.
↑ Grob, Jochen (2014). "BWV 168 / BC A 116" (in German). s-line.de. Retrieved 29 July 2015.
1 2 Dürr, Alfred (2006). The Cantatas of J. S. Bach: With Their Librettos in German-English Parallel Text. Translated by Richard D. P. Jones. Oxford University Press. pp. 473–478. ISBN 978-0-19-929776-4.
1 2 Mincham, Julian (2010). "Chapter 2 BWV 168 Tue Rechnung! Donnerwort! / Make Reckoning! Oh thunderous word!". jsbachcantatas.com. Retrieved 1 August 2015.
1 2 Hofmann, Klaus (2007). "Tue Rechnung! Donnerwort / (Give an Account! Thunderous Word), BWV 168" (PDF). Bach Cantatas Website. pp. 6–7. Retrieved 1 August 2015.
↑ "Chorale Melodies used in Bach's Vocal Works / Herr Jesu Christ, du höchstes Gut". Bach Cantatas Website. 2006. Retrieved 15 August 2011.
↑ Oron, Aryeh. "Cantata BWV 168 Tue Rechnung! Donnerwort". Bach Cantatas Website. Retrieved 1 August 2015.

Sources

Tue Rechnung! Donnerwort, BWV 168: Scores at the International Music Score Library Project (IMSLP)
Tue Rechnung! Donnerwort BWV 168; BC A 116 / Sacred cantata (9th Sunday after Trinity) Leipzig University
Tue Rechnung! Donnerwort history, scoring, Bach website (in German)
BWV 168 Tue Rechnung! Donnerwort English translation, University of Vermont

Church cantatas by Johann Sebastian Bach
Before Leipzig	Early: BWV 4 131 71 106 196 150 143 Weimar: BWV 61 70a 186a 132 174a 63 152 155 18 54 80a 182 31 12 172 165 21 185 199 161 162 163 Köthen: BWV Anh. 5
First cycle (1723–24)	Between Trinity and Advent: BWV 75 76 24 167 147 186 136 105 46 179 69a 77 25 138 95 148 48 109 89 60 90 70 From Advent to Trinity: BWV 40 64 190 153 65 154 73 81 83 144 181 22 23 66 134 67 104 166 86 37 44 59 184
Second cycle (& chorale cantatas)	Chorale cantatas between Trinity and Easter: BWV 20 2 7 135 10 93 107 178 94 101 113 33 78 99 8 130 114 96 5 180 38 115 139 26 116 62 91 121 133 122 41 123 124 3 111 92 125 126 127 1 Continuation of the second cycle: BWV 6 42 85 103 108 87 128 183 74 68 175 176 Later additions to the chorale cantata cycle: BWV 80 137 129 58 112 140 177 9 14 Other late chorale cantatas: BWV 117 192 100 97
Third cycle	After Trinity 1725: BWV 168 164 79 Liturgical year 1725–26: BWV 110 57 151 28 16 32 13 72 146 43 39 88 170 187 45 102 35 17 19 27 47 169 56 49 98 55 52 1727: BWV 82 84 34 173
Later and other	Picander cycle: BWV 149 188 197a 171 156 159 145 174 Late parodies: BWV 36 30 191 200 1083 Council election: BWV 119 193 Anh. 3 29 120 69 Wedding: BWV 34a 195 120a 197 Funeral: 157 244a Other: 194 190a 120b 51 158 50 248/VIa Doubtful: 53 142 189 217 220 221 223 224
Bach cantata List of Bach cantatas Discography: Monteverdi Choir/Koopman/Teldec

Cantatas by Johann Sebastian Bach by BWV number

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Anh. 18 — ^*(Doubtful) ^**~~Spurious~~

Lists: Compositions
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Authority control	WorldCat Identities VIAF: 175872529 LCCN: no90014824 BNF: cb139095209 (data) BNE: XX5043162

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