Recording: Ton Koopman, Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra and Choir; Franziska Gottwald, alto; Paul Agnew, tenor; Klaus Mertens, bass
For
mid-September, here is a cantata originally premiered in September, nearly three
hundred years ago in 1724. This chorale cantata opens with a large-scale,
hybrid sinfonia/coro that blends the
extensively-developed instrumental sections with straight-forward utterances of
the Konrad Hubert hymn text. From the chorister’s perspective, this can make
the movement seem fragmented, but in this case, it’s all about the text. If you
want contrapuntal complexity and challenging fugues, look elsewhere. Expressing
fundamental concepts of his faith, Bach allows the choral parts to focus on declaiming
the words and assigns the complexity to the orchestra. The elaborate orchestral
passages highlight the text, setting it off so that the audience can consider
each statement.
The movement is in A-A-B-C
format, with the sturdy A section affirming
the role of Christ as comforter and beacon of hope. The soprano carries the cantus firmus. The declamatory B section clarifies that no mortal can
provide a substitute for Christ as leader on the path out of sin and
to salvation. Accordingly, the C
segment begins with the imploring cry Ich
ruf dich an. The soprano line presents the words with calm assurance; the
alto/tenor/bass provide a rumbling contrast beneath them with a more urgent
entreaty.
Emerging from this collective call are the individual calls in the succeeding recitatives and
arias. Using text from an unknown poet that builds on Hubert’s
1540 hymn, Bach gives the soloists ample dramatic opportunity in the interior
movements. The bass recitative following the opening chorus is a wonderful
study in communicating the ambivalent moods of the seeker after faith, and it ends
in a brief arioso with a nice melisma
on the capstone verb erfreuen.
Then comes
what John Eliot Gardiner refers to as “arguably one of the most beautiful of
all Bach’s alto arias”. Having glimpsed ahead to the meltingly tender Wohl euch in BWV 34, I have to wonder
what else is out there, since this project has already revealed quite a few
beautiful mezzo solos. Wie furchtsam
wankten meine Schritte is certainly one of them, but by the random chance
of the catalog numbering, this beautiful BWV 33 aria, with its demands on
phrasing, line and precise intervals, will be followed by that simple but
gorgeous moment of gratitude in BWV 34, and then by the alto cantata BWV 35,
where agility, technique and stamina will be tested in a service-length series
of arias and recitatives. Good times (and lots of work) for altos!
In this
cantata, the alto aria portrays the erring mortal’s hesitation in approaching true
faith, but the wavering is mitigated by belief in Christ’s mercy and love. The
timid steps – and the initial four consonants of Schritte need to precede the beat despite the context – are
depicted by the motive of “drooping” thirds in the A section of the aria. The intervals require clean handling with no
scooping, and in the written key the female alto voice has challenges in
achieving blend across the lower break. Quick catch-breaths are definitely
allowed and are preferable to the alternative of a too-fast tempo that enables
unbroken phrases but runs counter to the sense of the text.
An interesting
exercise is to play or sing the line with the droops removed, whereupon a stalwart
melody emerges, quite similar to the positive statement that enters in the middle of M. 15:
Snippet of Alto Aria (M.13-15) - As Written and...
With a Little Less Uncertainty
This
observation does not presume to illuminate Bach’s compositional process;
rather, it suggests that his genius intuitively processed the potential of a
simple structure and reworked it to meet the demands of the text, probably all on a subconscious level.
The unknown
poet also enabled Bach to return to a favorite theme in this aria: through Christ’s
death and resurrection, everything has been done for us already, dass er für mich genug getan. Emphasizing the insignificance of the
individual, the musical line places für
mich at the lowest pitch, with upward movement on dass er and genug:
At
approximately 8 minutes, this great da
capo aria is best used in recital – for structural reasons, it should not
be abridged. Its chief difficulty lies in interpretation, as it makes few
phrasing or technical demands. However, this does not detract from its value as
a fantastic study piece. Even if you never plan to perform it, there is a
wealth of education here in a far gentler and accessible format than many of
the “big” arias.
The
tenor recitative parallels the bass verse in its request for tolerance as the
sinner makes his slow way to God’s mercy. It includes more wonderful language
that allows word-painting such as the setting of verwirf in the first line, as well as whatever emoting fits within
the overall shape of the cantata. The subsequent tenor and bass duet is an
unusual pairing of the two lower voices. Beginning in a simple block form, the
vocal lines become more intricate once the spirit is ignited (entzünde meinen Geist). The vocal lines
are evenly matched, requiring both voices to have flexibility as well as
robust, complementary timbres. The eight lines of text in the stanza are
divided into four sections by their rhyme scheme creating an A-B-C-D structure, and Bach handles each
segment differently. For the right voices, this duet would make an interesting
choice for a worship service.
The final chorale reverts to Hubert’s text, which
appears to be a German version of the Gloria
patri and could be used in a similar capacity to introduce a Bach chorale into service music. Although BWV 33 was not composed for one of the high Sundays of the liturgical year, the master ensured with this conclusion that the congregation departed to the resounding statement that by their sincere
acts of worship, they had pleased God Hier in dieser
Zeit/Und folgends in der Ewigkeit. If the church calendar did not always provide significance, the musical offering did. For Bach, every Sunday was a high
Sunday.
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