Es ist das Heil uns kommen her, BWV 9

Johann Sebastian Bach composed the church cantata Es ist das Heil uns kommen her (It is our salvation come here to us),[1] BWV 9 in Leipzig for the sixth Sunday after Trinity and first performed it on 1 August 1734.[2] It is a chorale cantata, based on the hymn "Es ist das Heil uns kommen her" by Paul Speratus. Bach composed the cantata to fill a gap in his chorale cantata cycle written for performances in Leipzig from 1724.

Es ist das Heil uns kommen her
BWV 9
Chorale cantata by J. S. Bach
Paul Speratus, author of the chorale
OccasionSixth Sunday after Trinity
Chorale"Es ist das Heil uns kommen her"
by Paul Speratus
Performed1 August 1734 (1734-08-01): Leipzig
Movementsseven
VocalSATB choir and solo
Instrumental
  • flauto traverso
  • oboe d'amore
  • 2 violins
  • viola
  • continuo

The cantata is structured in seven movements, framed as the earlier chorale cantatas by a chorale fantasia and a chorale four-part setting, of the first and the twelfth stanza in the original words by the reformer Speratus, published in the First Lutheran hymnal. The theme is salvation from sin by God's grace alone. An anonymous librettist paraphrased the content of ten inner stanzas to alternating recitatives and arias. Bach scored the cantata for a chamber ensemble of four vocal parts, flauto traverso, oboe d'amore, strings and continuo. He gave all three recitatives to the bass, like a sermon interrupted in reflection by a tenor aria with solo violin and a duet of soprano and alto with the wind instruments.

History and words

Bach composed the cantata for the Sixth Sunday after Trinity in 1734. It filled a gap in his second annual cycle of chorale cantatas written for performance in Leipzig. In 1724, when he composed the cycle, he had an engagement in Köthen that Sunday, and therefore left the text for later completion.[3] The cantata is based on a hymn "Es ist das Heil uns kommen her" by Paul Speratus, which was published in 1524 in the Achtliederbuch, the first Lutheran hymnal. The theme of the chorale is the Lutheran creed of salvation from sin by God's grace alone (justification by faith),[4] summarized in the first stanza: "Deeds can never help, ... faith beholds Jesus Christ, ... He has become the Intercessor".[1]

The prescribed readings for the Sunday are from the Epistle to the Romans, "By Christ's death we are dead for sin" (Romans 6:3–11), and from the Gospel of Matthew a passage from the Sermon on the Mount about better justice than the justice of merely observing laws and rules (Matthew 5:20–26). The hymn in 14 stanzas matches the topic of the gospel.[3] An unknown poet transformed the first 12 stanzas of the chorale to seven cantata movements. Dropping the last two stanzas, the librettist retains the first stanza as the first movement, and the 12th as the last movement. He rephrased stanzas 2–4 to a recitative (2), stanzas 5–7 to a recitative (4), stanzas 9–11 to a third recitative (6).[4] Ideas from stanza 8 were made an aria (5), and movement 3 is not derived directly from the chorale, but intensifies the conclusion of the first recitative.[4][5] The three recitatives can be considered a sermon, according to Julian Mincham, who comments: "All three speak of God's Laws; their bestowal, their fulfillment (or lack of it) and our attitudes towards them", and who summarizes: "The three recitatives were clearly planned as a cognate group and encapsulate the fundamental Lutheran creed. The two intervening arias, and finally the chorale, reflect upon and extend their statements."[6] The Bach scholar Christoph Wolff assumes that the text was already written for Bach's 1724 cycle of chorale cantatas by the same librettist.[7]

Bach had used selected stanzas of the hymn before, in 1716 stanza 12 to conclude Mein Gott, wie lang, ach lange? BWV 155, in 1723 both stanza 12 and 11 to conclude the two parts of Ärgre dich, o Seele, nicht, BWV 186, and in 1724 stanza 11 to conclude Wahrlich, wahrlich, ich sage euch, BWV 86.[8]

Music

Structure and scoring

Bach structured the cantata in seven movements, framing by a chorale fantasia and a closing chorale a sequence of alternating recitatives and arias. He scored it for a chamber music ensemble of four vocal soloists (soprano (S), alto (A), tenor (T) and bass (B)), a four-part choir SATB, flauto traverso (Ft), oboe d'amore (Oa), two violins (Vl), one of them solo (Vs), viola (Va), and basso continuo (Bc).[4][6] The autograph title page reads: "Dominica 6. post Trinitatis / Es ist das Heil uns kommen her / a / 4 Voci / 1 Traversa / 1 Hautb: d'Amour / 2 Violini / Viola / e / Continuo / di / Joh:Sebast:Bach".[9]

In the following table of the movements, the scoring follows the Neue Bach-Ausgabe.[10] The keys and time signatures are taken from Alfred Dürr, using the symbol for common time (4/4).[4] The instruments are shown separately for winds and strings, while the continuo, playing throughout, is not shown.

Movements of Es ist das Heil uns kommen her
No. TitleText TypeVocalWindsStrings Key Time
1 Es ist das Heil uns kommen her Speratus Chorale fantasia SATB Ft Oa 2Vl Va E major 3/4
2 Gott gab uns ein Gesetz anon. Recitative B common time
3 Wir waren schon zu tief gesunken anon. Aria T Vs E minor 12/16
4 Doch mußte das Gesetz erfüllet werden anon. Recitative B common time
5 Herr, du siehst statt guter Werke anon. Duet aria S A Ft Oa A major 2/4
6 Wenn wir die Sünd aus dem Gesetz erkennen anon. Recitative B common time
7 Ob sichs anließ, als wollt er nicht Speratus Chorale SATB Ft Oa 2Vl Va E major common time

1

The opening chorus, "Es ist das Heil uns kommen her" (It is our salvation come here to us),[1] is a chorale fantasia, the vocal part embedded in a concerto of the instruments. The cantus firmus of the chorale melody is in the soprano in unadorned long notes, while the lower voices engage in imitation. The scoring with the obbligato instruments flute and oboe d'amore in contrast to the strings is unusual; sometimes the first violin also takes part in the concerto.[4][5]

2

"Gott gab uns ein Gesetz" (God gave us the Law),[1] is the first of three recitatives which are sung by the bass as the vox Christi (voice of Christ), almost like one sermon, which is only deepened by the two arias in between. The recitatives are secco with the exception of the final line of movement 4, "... und fest um Jesu Arme schlingt" (... embrace the arms of Jesus),[1] which is rendered arioso,[4] in "an enlightening major key, a tender vocal phrase and the late semi-quaver continuo line".[6]

3

The tenor aria depicts the "sinking" of "Wir waren schon zu tief gesunken" (We were already too deeply sunk)[1] in downward motifs and an irregular rhythm of syncopes, observed by Dürr as an image of "a giddy descent into the abyss of sin".[4][11]

4

The bass continues the "sermon", "Doch mußte das Gesetz erfüllet werden" (Yet the Law must be fulfilled).[1]

5

The duet "Herr, du siehst statt guter Werke" (Lord, you see, instead of good works)[1] is set for five parts of equal weight, the soprano and alto voices, flute, oboe d'amore and continuo, in intricate canonic counterpoint in da capo form.[4]

6

The bass concludes the "sermon", "Wenn wir die Sünd aus dem Gesetz erkennen" (When we recognize our sin against the Law).[1]

7

The closing chorale, "Ob sichs anließ, als wollt er nicht" (Although it appears that He does not will it),[1] is set for four parts. While Bach's closing chorales are often in simple homophony, the lower voices are set here in unusual polyphony.[4][5]

Recordings

The listing is taken from the selection on the Bach Cantatas Website.[12] Recordings have traditionally been made by large symphonic groups, but increasingly in historically informed performances (HIP) by boys' choirs, chorales (Kantorei, choir dedicated to mostly church music), chamber choirs or groups with one voice per part (OVPP), and matching instrumental ensembles playing on Baroque period instruments. HIP and OVPPensembles are marked by green background.

Recordings of Es ist das Heil uns kommen her
Title Conductor / Choir / Orchestra Soloists Label Year Choir type Orch. type
J. S. Bach: Das Kantatenwerk • Complete Cantatas • Les Cantates, Folge / Vol. 3 Gustav Leonhardt
King's College Choir
Leonhardt-Consort
Teldec 1972 (1972) Chamber Period
Bach Cantatas Vol. 4 – Sundays after Trinity I Karl Richter
Münchener Bach-Chor
Münchener Bach-Orchester
Archiv Produktion 1977 (1977)
Die Bach Kantate Vol. 8 Helmuth Rilling
Gächinger Kantorei
Württembergisches Kammerorchester Heilbronn
Hänssler 1984 (1984) Chorale Chamber
J. S. Bach: Cantatas BWV 9, 94 & 187 Sigiswald Kuijken
La Petite Bande
Deutsche Harmonia Mundi 1999 (1999) OVPP Period
Bach Edition Vol. 14 – Cantatas Vol. 7 Pieter Jan Leusink
Holland Boys Choir
Netherlands Bach Collegium
Brilliant Classics 2000 (2000) Period
J. S. Bach: Cantatas Trinity Cantatas 4 Ansbach/Haddinton For the 6th Sunday after Trinity For the 7th Sunday after Trinity John Eliot Gardiner
Monteverdi Choir
English Baroque Soloists
Archiv Produktion 2000 (2000) Chamber Period
J. S. Bach: Complete Cantatas Vol. 20 Ton Koopman
Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir
Antoine Marchand 2002 Chamber Period
J. S. Bach: Cantatas Vol. 53 Masaaki Suzuki
Bach Collegium Japan
BIS 2012 (2012) Chamber Period

References
  1. Dellal, Pamela. "BWV 9 – Es ist das Heil uns kommen her". Emmanuel Music. Retrieved 20 August 2022.
  2. "Bach digital - Es ist das Heil uns kommen her BWV 9". www.bach-digital.de. Retrieved 2023-06-09.
  3. Hofmann, Klaus (2012). "Es ist das Heil uns kommen her / (Salvation Has Come Unto Us), BWV 9" (PDF). Bach Cantatas Website. pp. 7–8. Retrieved 12 July 2015.
  4. Dürr, Alfred; Jones, Richard D. P. (2006). The Cantatas of J. S. Bach: With Their Librettos in German-English Parallel Text. Oxford University Press. pp. 436–439. ISBN 978-0-19-929776-4.
  5. Leonard, James (2011). "Cantata No. 9, "Es ist das Heil uns kommen her," BWV 9". Allmusic. Retrieved 25 July 2011.
  6. Mincham, Julian (2010). "Chapter 58 Bwv 9 – The Cantatas of Johann Sebastian Bach". jsbachcantatas.com. Retrieved 16 August 2022.
  7. Wolff, Christoph (2002). Johann Sebastian Bach: The Learned Musician. W. W. Norton & Company. p. 280. ISBN 978-0-393-32256-9.
  8. "Chorale Melodies used in Bach's Vocal Works / Es ist das Heil uns kommen her". Bach Cantatas Website. 2005. Retrieved 29 July 2011.
  9. Grob, Jochen (2014). "BWV 9 / BC A 107" (in German). s-line.de. Retrieved 12 July 2015.
  10. Bischof, Walter F. "BWV 9 Es ist das Heil uns kommen her". University of Alberta. Retrieved 12 July 2015.
  11. Quinn, John (2009). "Bach: Cantatas Vol 4 / Gardiner, English Baroque Soloists". arkivmusic.com. Retrieved 25 July 2011.
  12. Oron, Aryeh (2015). "Cantata BWV 9 Es ist das Heil uns kommen her". Bach Cantatas Website. Retrieved 12 July 2015.
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