The Schmieder listing
(essentially the order in which the cantatas were published by the
Bach-Gesellschaft) leads to some interesting juxtapositions. From last week’s
philosophically challenging cantata calling for a large orchestra and choir to
celebrate and examine the most significant date in the church year, BWV 32
provides a contrast in both musical and thematic scale. Written for a cold
January Sunday following the Christmas and Epiphany observances, the cantata is
as different as could be imagined from its numerical predecessor.
Labelled on the
first page of the score as a Concerto in
dialogo, the master presents an intimate, chamber piece that sparkles like
a small diamond. The alto and tenor soloists, as well as the choir, are given
their vacations, and minimal forces are utilized in this very personal
statement of the believer’s encounter with God’s love manifested in Christ. With
the appropriate array of talent and a suitable venue, this cantata could be
performed by two soloists, an oboe, and a string quartet.
After a few measures
of introduction, where the motive of yearning is plaintively depicted by the obbligato oboe, the dialogue begins with
the lovely soprano aria from which the cantata takes its name. The singer
portrays the soul in search of Jesus, fearful of loss and separation. But the
mood is not one of despair, it is instead a most ethereal quest requiring the
singer to float languid phrases and match the phrasing of the solo instrumentalist.
The vocal part enters in imitation, contrasting the delicate figure for the
adjective liebster with the longed-for
object, Verlangen. Certain statements,
such as Wo find ich dich? (M.15) need
to be sung as simply as possible while the oboe churns beneath. The tempo
should not be slow to the point where rhythmic integrity is compromised: some recordings show excessive freedom in the solo oboe part, which destroys
forward movement as well as Baroque styling.
Beginning in M.35, there is a set
of two long melismatic phrases focused on erfreue
(which plays off the liebster motive)
and umfangen (which riffs on the
yearning motive). The 32nd-note passages parallel the oboe part
making ensemble quite difficult. The aria is in A-B-C format and provides a challenge suitable for a graduate-level
recital – for the right voice it is stunning. A bit long (about 6 minutes) for
a church service, though, and a great oboist is essential.
Arleen Augér is a
fine interpreter who can teach you everything you need to know about performing this piece, but the voice
is definitely a mature sound. Some listeners may prefer a more boyish sound,
such as that of Agnes Giebel in the historic RIAS sessions with Karl Ristenpart
conducting, or Rachel Nicholls in Suzuki’s recent recording. In choosing
soloists to perform the entire cantata, one factor to keep in mind is that the
soprano must be able to negotiate this aria but also hold her own in the
upcoming duet (where in Rilling’s recording, Augér would be difficult to better).
The
da capo bass aria is a long haul, necessitating very definite ideas on structure and pacing from the singer, but
at 2 ½ minutes, the A section could
be split off and used as a church solo. Either the obbligato violin or an appropriate organ
registration needs to be used (preferably the former). As with the oboe in the
soprano aria, the demands made on the violinist are equal to those of a fine
concerto, requiring a top-notch player. I’m still puzzling over the interesting use of triple stops – what is
Bach representing? It’s almost as if it is a moment of hesitation, or perhaps an
obstacle between the perfect blending of soul and Christ which is to follow.
The vox Christi invites the troubled
one into his realm, but the soul must arrive there by seeking God with sincere faith.
The soprano
and bass alternate lines in the following recitative as the Lehms’ cantata text,
which at times seems abstruse, here weaves in the famous passage from Psalm 84
that begins Wie lieblich ist doch deine
Wohnung. While I wanted to unearth some musical link to Brahms, the arioso has no such connection although
it is evocative in its own right.
If you are a soprano and bass who get along, and want to give your audience and
yourselves a treat, the soprano and bass duet is a delightful five minutes for
either church or recital – easily my favorite cantata duet so far, although the
range is a bit wide for an alto to attempt (but in Baroque pitch it may work
for some "hybrid" voices with the appropriate vocal partner). The instruments associated with the soloists have remained
separate until now, when Bach interweaves them with wonderful, ornate
instrumental writing. Yet the association of oboe with
soprano, and violin with bass, still persists in the background, as at the start
of the B section. The text serves
either sacred or secular purposes and needs the same leggiero handling in both. No flirting allowed here – it is Tamino
and Pamina reunited after overcoming the odds. This is music that disperses the
gloom of the most wintry day – Bach’s Leipzigers were forced to be uplifted
despite themselves.
The chorale in bright G major brings again the melody Freu dich sehr, o meine Seele, most
recently heard as the concluding movement of BWV 30 (with a different poet and text).
There is some disagreement on the origins of this tune: a clear lineage does go
back to the Genevan Psalter (1551). Bach probably knew the music from one of
the many reprintings of the Psalmen
Davids, the German translation of the Psalter by Ambrosius Lobwasser.
Psalm
42 Tune from Lobwasser’s Psalmen Davids (1576 Edition)
This cantata is
filled with charm, warmth, and difficulty but would be immensely rewarding for
both performers and audience. Numerous recordings are available, but the one I
most want to hear features Elly Ameling and Hermann Prey as soloists – I can’t
imagine a better pairing. Unfortunately, it has not been re-issued on CD (at least in the U.S.), so it required an extensive eBay search.
But I did score a copy purportedly in near mint condition – which now makes two
LPs I have acquired for this project that need to be transferred to CD!
That will probably occur about the time I hit BWV 199…
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