Schlage doch, gewünschte Stunde, BWV 53

Schlage doch, gewünschte Stunde (Haste to strike, oh longed for hour), BWV 53, is an aria for alto, bells, strings and continuo. It was likely composed in the early 18th century, although its date of first performance is unknown. From the second half of the 18th century until the early 1950s the aria was attributed to Johann Sebastian Bach. In 1955, it was suggested by the Bach scholar Karl Anton that the aria's composer was more likely to be a member of Melchior Hoffmann's circle.

Pages 3–4 of the aria "Schlage doch, gewünschte Stunde". Manuscript copy, 1780, Berlin State Library. The campanella bells are marked on the top stave.

The aria was likely part of an otherwise lost church cantata for a funeral. The aria was first published in 1863, by the Bach Gesellschaft. It is one of three works to have been attributed to Bach before being attributed to Hoffmann, the others being the German Magnificats BWV 189 and BWV Anh. 21. It is one of the oldest known western compositions in which tuned bells are used in concert with other musical instruments.

History and attribution

The cantata has often been attributed to Johann Sebastian Bach. However, Alfred Dürr did not include it in his 1971 book Die Kantaten von Johann Sebastian Bach, based on the Bach-Jahrbuch 1955.[1] In the Appendix of the subsequent English version of the 2006 book on Bach's cantatas with Richard D. P. Jones, BWV 53 appears amongst the spurious cantatas. In that Appendix, the entry for 'composer' is listed as Melchior Hoffmann, accompanied by a question mark.[2]

According to Johann Nikolaus Forkel, the aria was composed by a young Bach, which would mean around the first decade of the 18th century.[3][4] Philipp Spitta, in his multi-volume Bach biography in the second half of the 19th century, thought that Bach wrote the aria in his middle Leipzig period, that is around the middle of the 1723–1750 period, when he would also have written other chamber cantatas for private performance, most of them solo cantatas.[5][6] According to Charles Sanford Terry, Bach composed the aria between 1723 and 1734.[4] Biographers in the late 19th and early 20th century attributing the work to Bach include Bitter[7] and Schweitzer.[8] In 1950, Wolfgang Schmieder listed the aria as No. 53 in the first edition of the Bach-Werke-Verzeichnis (BWV).[9]

In 1761, Johann Gottlob Immanuel Breitkopf offered manuscript copies of the aria in a catalogue printed for the Michaelmas fair in Leipzig. This catalogue does not name the composer.[5][6][10][11] Johann Kirnberger added this copy to the Amalienbibliothek – the library of his employer Princess Anna Amalia of Prussia.[12] Wilhelm Rust's edition of Schlage doch, gewünschte Stunde, as Cantata No. 53 in Vol. 12.2 of the Bach-Gesellschaft Ausgabe (BGA), published in 1863, was based on the Amalienbibliothek copy.[13]

The date of the first performance is unknown. The cantata was performed in the Gewandhaus in Leipzig in 1867 and 1873.[14] Martin Elste's history of Bach performances notes that between 1904 and 1907 in Germany, the most performed work was the St Matthew Passion (49 times), with second place taken by BWV 53 (20 times). The Bach-Jahrbuch of 1906 lists 20 public performances of Schlage doch, gewünschte Stunde, in various European cities, in the period from late 1904 to early 1907, which makes it, among the cantatas listed for that period, the most often performed; by the 1930s, Actus tragicus (BWV 106) became the most often performed cantata.[15][16] Albert Schweitzer in 1935 called Schlage doch, gewünschte Stunde "[t]he best known of the solo cantatas for alto".[8]

While current Bach scholarship has ruled out Bach as its possible composer, there is no clear consensus that Hoffmann should be confirmed as the composer of the piece. In the Bach-Jahrbuch of 1955 (published 1956), Karl Anton described the aria as being extracted from a multi-movement cantata which originated in the circle around Hoffmann.[1] A year later, Dürr confirmed that BWV 53 was likely composed by Hoffmann.[17] In 1994 the musicologist Peter Wollny conjectured that the aria BWV 53 might have been part of the funeral music by Hoffmann, commissioned for the memorial service at Halle on 1 May 1713, to mark the death of Frederick I of Prussia in February 1713.[18]: 25–26, 28–29  In the 1998 revision of the BWV, by Dürr and Yoshitake Kobayashi, Schlage doch, gewünschte Stunde was moved to the second Anhang, that is the Anhang of works doubtfully attributed to Bach, naming Hoffmann as its possible composer.[9] If composed by Hoffmann, it must have originated from around the first decade of the 18th century: Hoffmann died in October 1715, ten years after becoming organist and director musices (music director) of the Neukirche in Leipzig.[19]

Many modern full scores or vocal scores, such as the editions of Breitkopf & Härtel and Eulenburg, name the composer of "Schlage doch, gewünschte Stunde" as "M. Hoffmann" or "Melchior Hoffmann".[20]

Text

The author of the text is unknown.[21] It is sometimes attributed to Salomon Franck; Spitta believed that Franck's style can be recognized in the text.[22][5][23]

As the work was likely composed for a funeral service,[24][25][22] the text reflects the hour of death as desired. Translations have included "Haste to strike, oh longed for hour",[26] "Strike my hour, so long awaited", and "Strike then thou, O blessed hour".[25] The title of the cantata is rendered In English as "Strike, O Bell" in the Oxford Orchestral Series, as "Strike thou ear" in the edition of Novello & Co and as "Sound your knell" in the editions of Breitkopf & Härtel and Augener & Co.[27][20]

In a middle section, the angels are asked to open heavenly meadows, to see Jesus soon ("Kommt, ihr Engel, … Öffnet mir die Himmelsauen, meinen Jesum bald zu schauen").[25]

The German text of the aria and its English translation by Lucy Broadwood are as follows:[20]

Music and scoring
A carillon operated by a keyboard in Aarschot, Flanders, Belgium

The aria is composed in the key of E major and has a time signature of 3
2. It is scored for alto, two bells (respectively playing E and B), two violins, viola, and continuo (cello, organ).[25][21][28][29] It is the oldest known composition in which bells are used as a musical instrument.[30] According to musicologist Jeremy Montagu, it is possible that originally the bells might have been activated by the manuals or pedals in the organ register. In modern editions the bells sound as the E above middle C and the B as a fifth higher; the marking Campanella could signify bells in the treble range, as marked, or in the tenor or bass register one or two octaves below. The aria could not have been performed using conventional church bells, because of their size and the problem of coordinating players in the church and the belfry.[31]

When Bach redesigned the organ of the Blasius church in Mühlhausen in 1708, he added a novelty: a register with bells (chimes) in the pedalboard.[32][33] This mechanism—a Glockenspiel in German—was one of Bach's own devising and constructed in collaboration with the organ-builder Johann Friedrich Wender, who had previously assisted Bach on a similar project in Arnstadt.[32][33][34]

According to W. Gillies Whittaker, the musical style of the cantata is "somewhat unusual", with questionable scoring for the violas. He states, however, that the principal theme "is so lovely and the charm of the whole so great that one questions whether any other composer of the day could have written it". In the aria, the tolling bells and continuo play in concert, echoed in the bell-like accompaniment of the crotchets in the violins. The Campanella scoring for the two bells was originally notated in the bass clef with the standard conventions for transposing instruments (so that B and E are scored as D and G respectively). No clear indication is given of the pitch of bells (high or deep).[27]

The aria is characterized by an obbligato bell duet.[35] Clifford Bartlett calls the bell knell "memorable and powerful".[36] Simon Crouch notes that "some of [the aria's] thematic material is suggestive of Bach but the accompanying bells would be unique amongst Bach's surviving output".[26] Forkel considers the usage of bells of doubtful taste.[3][4]

Recordings
External audio
audio icon BWV 53 sung by Hilde Rössel-Majdan
audio icon BWV 53 sung by Charles Humphries

The work was first recorded by Emmi Leisner in 1926; this was the first time a cantata credited to Bach was recorded.[15] in 1999 the discographer Martin Elste singled out the recordings of Leisner and of Hildegard Hennecke, conducted by August Wenzinger in 1951, as being noteworthy.[15]

In the table below, voice types in the third column adopt the terminology as rendered on the issued recording.

Significant recordings
Year Singer Voice type Instrumental Conductor
1926 Emmi Leisner alto Berlin State Opera Orchestra [15]
1936 Lina Falk contralto String orchestra & bells Alexandre Eugène Cellier[37]
1951 Hildegard Hennecke alto Schola Cantorum Basiliensis August Wenzinger[15][38]
1952 Hilde Rössel-Majdan contralto Vienna State Opera Orchestra Hermann Scherchen[38][39]
1958 Helen Watts contralto Philomusica of London Thurston Dart[40]
1963 Claudia Hellmann alto Pforzheim Chamber Orchestra Fritz Werner[41][42]
1964 Maureen Forrester alto I Solisti di Zagreb Antonio Janigro[43][44]
1984 Shirley Love mezzo-soprano Amor Artis Johannes Somary[45][46]
1987 René Jacobs countertenor Ensemble 415 Chiara Banchini[47][48]
1993 Jochen Kowalski altus Academy of St Martin in the Fields Kenneth Sillito[49]
1998 Robin Blaze countertenor The Parley of Instruments Peter Holman[50]
2000 Guillemette Laurens mezzo-soprano I Barocchisti Diego Fasolis[51]
2000 Carlos Mena countertenor Ricercar Consort Philippe Pierlot[52][53]
2001 Daniel Taylor countertenor Theatre of Early Music Daniel Taylor[54][55]
2001 Gérard Lesne alto Il Seminario Musicale Patrick Cohën-Akenine[56][57]
2004 Marianne Beate Kielland mezzo-soprano Cologne Chamber Orchestra Helmut Müller-Brühl[58][59]
2011 Andreas Scholl countertenor Kammerorchester Basel Julia Schröder[60]
2012 Charles Humphries countertenor Kontrabande Charles Humphries[61][62]
2012 Damien Guillon alto il Gardellino Marcel Ponseele[63][64]
2015 Robin Blaze alto Bach Collegium Japan Masaaki Suzuki[65]
2017 Bejun Mehta countertenor Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin Forck[66]

Ballet version

In 1992 the choreographer Mark Morris set BWV 53 as a pas de deux for a female and male dancer. It was titled Beautiful Day in explicit reference to Morris's 1985 pas de deux One Charming Night (to music of Henry Purcell). Morris's biographer, Joan Acolella, described "Beautiful Day" as one of his most sublime dances—"intimate" with no vestiges of the perversity of the 1985 piece.[67] In a review in The New York Times, the critic Jack Anderson felt however that the piece was "choreographically rigid" with too much adherence to the musical score.[68]

References
  1. Anton, Karl [in German] (1956). "Neue Erkenntnisse zur Geschichte der Bachbewegung". In Dürr, Alfred; Neumann, Werner (eds.). Bach-Jahrbuch 1955. Bach-Jahrbuch (in German). Vol. 42. Neue Bachgesellschaft. Evangelische Verlagsanstalt. p. 15 (footnote 9). doi:10.13141/bjb.v1955.
  2. Dürr, Alfred; Jones, Richard D. P. (2006). "Appendix: dubious and spurious cantatas". The Cantatas of J. S. Bach and Their Librettos in German–English Parallel Text. Oxford University Press. p. 926. ISBN 0199297762.
  3. Forkel, Johann Nikolaus (1802). Ueber Johann Sebastian Bachs Leben, Kunst und Kunstwerke: Für patriotische Verehrer echter musikalischer Kunst  (in German). Hoffmeister & Kühnel. pp. 61–62.
  4. Forkel, Johann Nikolaus; Terry, Charles Sanford (1920). Johann Sebastian Bach: His Life, Art and Work – translated from the German, with notes and appendices. Harcourt, Brace and Howe. p. 140.
  5. Spitta, Philipp (1884). "Book V: Leipzig, 1723–1734". Johann Sebastian Bach: his work and influence on the music of Germany, 1685–1750. Vol. II. Translated by Bell, Clara; Fuller Maitland, John Alexander. Novello & Co. pp. 474–477.
  6. Spitta, Philipp (1921) [1880]. "Fünftes Buch. Leipziger Jahre von 1723–1734". Johann Sebastian Bach (in German). Vol. II (3rd ed.). Breitkopf & Härtel. pp. 303–306.
  7. Bitter, Karl Hermann (1865). Johann Sebastian Bach (in German). Vol. II. Schneider. p. XCVI.
  8. Schweitzer, Albert (1935). J. S. Bach. Vol. II. Translated by Newman, Ernest (Reprint ed.). A. & C. Black. p. 253.
  9. Dürr, Alfred; Kobayashi, Yoshitake, eds. (1998). Bach Werke Verzeichnis: Kleine Ausgabe – Nach der von Wolfgang Schmieder vorgelegten 2. Ausgabe [Bach Works Catalogue: Small Edition – After Wolfgang Schmieder's 2nd edition] (in German). Kirsten Beißwenger (collaborator) (BWV2a ed.). Breitkopf & Härtel. ISBN 9783765102493.
  10. Ebata, Nobuaki, ed. (9 September 2018). "Lost source: BWV 53, Breitkopf". Bach Digital.
  11. Breitkopf, Johann Gottlob Immanuel (1761). Verzeichniß Musicalischer Werke, allein zur Praxis, sowohl zum Singen, als für alle Instrumente, welche nicht durch den Druck bekannt gemacht worden; in ihre gehörige Classen ordentlich eingetheilet; welche in richtigen Abschriften bey Joh. Gottlob Immanuel Breitkopf in Leipzig ... zu bekommen sind (in German). Breitkopf. p. 23.
  12. Ebata, Nobuaki, ed. (16 July 2019). "D-B Am.B 43, Fascicle 2". Bach Digital.
  13. Rust, Wilhelm, ed. (1863). Joh. Seb. Bach's Kirchencantaten: Sechster Band, No 51–60 [Joh. Seb. Bach's church cantatas: Sixth volume, Nos. 51–60]. Bach-Gesellschaft Ausgabe (in German). Vol. 12. Bach Gesellschaft. Breitkopf & Härtel. p. X.
  14. Dörffel, Alfred (1884). "Statistik der Concerte im Saale des Gewandhauses zu Leipzig". Geschichte der Gewandhausconcerte zu Leipzig vom 25. November 1781 bis 25. November 1881: Im Auftrage der Concert-Direction verfasst (in German). p. 3.
  15. Elste, Martin (2016) [1999]. Meilensteine der Bach-Interpretation 1750–2000: Eine Werkgeschichte im Wandel (in German). Springer. pp. 90, 154–155. ISBN 9783476037923.
  16. Neue Bachgesellschaft (1907). Bach-Jahrbuch 1906. Bach-Jahrbuch (in German). Breitkopf & Härtel. pp. 116–121.
  17. Dürr, Alfred (1957). "Zur Echtheit der Kantate 'Meine Seele rühmt und preist'". In Dürr, Alfred; Neumann, Werner (eds.). Bach-Jahrbuch 1956. Bach-Jahrbuch (in German). Vol. 43. Neue Bachgesellschaft. Evangelische Verlagsanstalt. p. 155. doi:10.13141/bjb.v1956.
  18. Wollny, Peter (1994). "Bachs Bewerbung um die Organistenstelle an der Marienkirche in Halle und ihr Kontext" [Bach's candidature for the position as organist at the St. Mary's Church in Halle, and its context]. In Schulze, Hans-Joachim; Wolff, Christoph (eds.). Bach-Jahrbuch 1994 [Bach-Yearbook 1994]. Bach-Jahrbuch (in German). Vol. 80. Neue Bachgesellschaft. Evangelische Verlagsanstalt. pp. 25–39. doi:10.13141/bjb.v1994. ISBN 3-374-01550-6. ISSN 0084-7682.
  19. "Hoffmann, Georg Melchior". Bach Digital. 27 May 2019.
  20. Hofmann, Georg Melchior (1961). Raphael, Günther (ed.). Kantate Nr. 53 : "Schlage doch, gewünschte Stunde" : für Alt-Solo [Cantata No. 53 : "Sound your knell, blest hour of parting"] (in German). Translated by Lucy Broadwood. Breitkopf & Härtel. ISMN 979-0-004-17207-0.
  21. "Schlage doch, gewünschte Stunde (Aria) BWV 53 / Anh. II 23‑>". Bach Digital. 11 March 2019.
  22. Wolff, Christoph; Emery, Walter (2001). "Bach, Johann Sebastian". Grove Music Online. Oxford University Press. Doubtful and spurious. doi:10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.6002278195. ISBN 9781561592630.
  23. "[Schlage doch, gewünschte Stunde. BWV 53 Anh II 23 ->]" (in French). BnF. Retrieved 11 January 2021.
  24. "Cantata BWV 53". Bach Cantatas Website. Retrieved 31 May 2013.
  25. "BWV 53 Schlage doch, gewünschte Stunde". University of Vermont. Retrieved 26 May 2014.
  26. Crouch, Simon (1999). Schlage doch, gewünschte Stunde (Haste to strike, oh longed for hour). classical.net. Retrieved 31 May 2013.
  27. Whittaker, W. Gillies (1978). "Cantata No. 53". The Cantatas of Johann Sebastian Bach: Sacred and Secular. Vol. I (Reprint ed.). Oxford University Press. pp. 366–367. ISBN 019315238X.
  28. "Trauer Arie: Schlage doch gewünschte Stunde". Berlin State Library. Retrieved 11 January 2021.
  29. Glöckner, Andreas (2001). "Hoffmann, Melchior". Grove Music Online. Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.13159.
  30. Price, Percival; Rae, Charles Bodman; Blades, James (2001). Bell(i). doi:10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.42837. {{cite encyclopedia}}: |work= ignored (help)
  31. Montagu, Jeremy (2002). Timpani and percussion. Yale University Press. p. 92. ISBN 978-0-300-09337-7.
  32. Wolff, Christoph (2002). "At the Blasius Church in Mühlhausen". Johann Sebastian Bach: The Learned Musician. Norton. p. 109. ISBN 9780199248841.
  33. Eidam, Klaus (2001). "V". The True Life of Johann Sebastian Bach. Translated by Rogers, Hoyt. Basic Books. ISBN 0-465-01861-0.
  34. Wolff, Christoph; Zepf, Markus (2012). The organs of Johann Sebastian Bach: a handbook. Translated by Butler, Lynn Edwards. University of Illinois Press. p. 141. ISBN 9780252078453.
  35. Lessner, Joanne Sydney. "Andreas Scholl: Bach Cantatas". Opera News. 76 (10): 69–70.
  36. Bartlett, Clifford. "Andreas Scholl: Bach Cantatas". Decca Classics. Archived from the original on 23 December 2012. Retrieved 31 May 2013.
  37. Darrell, R. D. (1936). The Gramophone Shop Encyclopedia Of Recorded Music. The Gramophone Shop. p. 34.
  38. Miller, Philip L. [at Wikidata] (1955). The Guide to Long-Playing Music: Vocal Music. Alfred A. Knopf. p. 8.
  39. Rössel-Majdan, Hilde; Scherchen, Hermann; Vienna State Opera Orchestra (1952). Cantates Nos. 170, 53, 54 (LP). Ducretet Thomson. 320CW086.
  40. Pursglove, Glyn (January 2020). "Songs for Courtiers and Cavaliers". MusicWeb International.
  41. Quinn, John (5 May 2005). "Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750): The Cantatas – Volume 2". MusicWeb International.
  42. Hellmann, Claudia; Werner, Fritz; Pforzheim Chamber Orchestra (1969). Cantata no. 68 Also hat Gott die Welt geliebt. Cantata no. 98, Was Gott tut, das ist wohlgetan. Cantata no. 53, Schlage doch, gewünschte Stunde (LP). Musical Heritage Society. OCLC 4357209.
  43. "Bach: Cantatas; Handel / Maureen Forrester, Janigro, Et Al". ArkivMusic. Retrieved 29 January 2021.
  44. Forrester, Maureen; Janigro, Antonio; I Solisti di Zagreb (2000). Cantata BWV 170, "Vergnügte Ruh', beliebte Seelenlust" Cantata BWV 53, "Schlage doch" ; Mass in B minor, Agnus Dei (CD). Amadeus. 7010.
  45. Rosenberg, Kenyon (1990). A Basic Classical and Operatic Recordings Collection on Compact Discs for Libraries. Scarecrow Press. p. 104.
  46. Love, Shirley; Somary, Johannes; Amor Artis (1986). Cantata no. 158 – Motet "Fürchte dich nicht" – Cantata no. 53 – Motet "Der Geist hilft" – Cantata no. 211 (CD). Moss Music Group. OCLC 968800397.
  47. McElhearn, Kirk (3 August 2003). "JS Bach – Cantatas for Alto". MusicWeb International.
  48. Jacobs, René; Banchini, Chiara; Ensemble 415 (1988). Bach: Cantates pour Alto (CD). Harmonia Mundi. OCLC 493506134.
  49. Kowalski, Jochen; Sillito, Kenneth; Academy of St Martin in the Fields (1995). Johann Sebastian Bach: Kantaten – Cantatas BWV 53 – 82 – 170 – 200 (CD). Capriccio. OCLC 886834541.
  50. Wilson, Brian (8 July 2008). "CD review: German 17th-Century Church Music". MusicWeb International.
  51. Laurens, Guillemette; Fasolis, Diego; I Barocchisti (2004). Cantatas: BWV 198 "Trauerode", BWV 106 "Actus tragicus" – BWV 196, BWV 53 (CD). Arts. OCLC 64666762.
  52. Mena, Carlos; Pierlot, Philippe; Ricercar Consort (2001). De Aeternitate (CD). Mirare. OCLC 833390702.
  53. Vernier, David. "De Aeternitate: Review". Classics Today. Retrieved 4 February 2021.
  54. Taylor, Daniel; Theatre of Early Music (2002). Lamento (CD). ATMA. OCLC 1055458144.
  55. Woolf, Jonathan (13 September 2013). "Review: The Best of Daniel Taylor". MusicWeb International.
  56. "Bach Family Arias and Cantatas". Gramophone. August 2002.
  57. Anderson, Nicholas (20 January 2012). "Bach, JM Bach, JC Bach". Classical Music.
  58. Satz, Don (2006). "Sacred Cantatas for Alto". classical.net.
  59. Reichelt, Peter, ed. (2005). "Johann Sebastian Bach: Sacred Cantatas for Alto, Liner notes". Translated by Keith Anderson. Naxos Records. 8.557621.
  60. Lessner, Joanne Sydney (April 2012). "Andreas Scholl: 'Bach Cantatas'". Opera News. Vol. 76, no. 10. pp. 69–70.
  61. Humphries, Charles; Kontrabande (2013). Music of Bach (CD). Claudio. OCLC 906536031.
  62. Billinge, Dave (14 October 2014). "Review: CLAUDIO CR5154-2". MusicWeb International.
  63. Guillon, Damien; Ponseele, Marcel; il Gardellino (2014). Schlage doch gewünschte Stunde: Bach – Telemann – Hoffmann, Cantatas (CD). Passacaille. OCLC 1053416991.
  64. Riedstra, Siebe (January 2015). "CD-recensie: Schlage doch gewünschte Stunde – Bach – Telemann – Hoffmann Cantates". OpusKlassiek (in Dutch).
  65. Stancliffe, David (1 April 2016). "Bach: 'Trauerode'". Early Music Review.
  66. Cookson, Michael (April 2018). "Cantata – Yet Can I Hear..." MusicWeb International.
  67. Acocella, Joan Ross (2004). Mark Morris. Wesleyan University Press. p. 110. ISBN 9780819567314.
  68. Anderson, Jack (9 April 1992). "Dance Review: A Mark Morris Romp With Pink Pajamas". The New York Times. Retrieved 16 January 2021.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.