Recording: Rudolf Lutz, Vokalensemble/Instrumentalensemble der Schola Seconda Pratica; Margot Oitzinger, alto; Jens Weber, tenor; Fabrice Hayoz, bass
Yes, that was a mighty long week. But I have
managed at last to escape the eternal fire-fighting that is my life to write about Bach’s
eternal fires, both sacred and secular. The cantata is certainly not at fault
for my tardiness: it’s a lovely work, and I have spent many hours in the
company of both the full recording as well as multiple versions of the very
special alto aria that, as the linch-pin of the piece, “helps to convey a
special color and unity to the whole,” as Sir Hubert Parry describes.
The choral
movements and aria derive from an earlier Leipzig wedding cantata, BWV 34a,
which bears the same title since it uses the identical opening lines. The work,
which does not survive in complete score, must have been composed for a notable
marriage, perhaps for a member of the clergy as suggested by the recitative
text Dir, dessen Fleiss in Gottes Hause
wacht. Certainly the prominence of brass and percussion, as well as full
chorus and four soloists, indicates that the event was one with “no expense
spared”.
BWV 34 was subsequently assembled to provide music for another festive
occasion, Pentecost, or the “birthday of the church”. Recent research cited in
the liner notes for Suzuki’s recording indicates that the shorter, sacred
version was first performed in 1727, with subsequent use as late as 1740,
from which time the surviving manuscripts date.
The brilliant opening chorus evokes
divine flames of virtuous love and faith – the ardor of the faithful – first with
an instrumental prelude of rising and falling surges of strings and brass, then
with the fugal 4-part choral setting depicting both the immensity of eternity
and the dancing fire. Note the little syncopation on entzünde (ignite) that leads off the B section – not one detail is ever glossed over. This is an
immensely rewarding choral movement, although the da segno form makes it long for use as an anthem, the A section stands on its own – for a nimble
and energetic choir that can survive the melismatic flames. Lutz’s
performance for the Bach-Stiftung sparkles, with the vocal parts clearly delineated in a warm
acoustic.
In adapting his earlier work for Pentecost, Bach was provided (either
by his own hand or by an unknown writer) a text focusing on the soul becoming the
selected dwelling place of God. This idea of being chosen is emphasized through use of
the word erwählen and its derivatives
in the recitatives and aria. Note the repetitions in the alto aria (five in the
A section alone) of auserwählten (literally, picked out from
a larger group).
The magnificent Wohl
euch, ihr auserwählten Seelen is surely one of the most beautiful alto
arias in the cantatas. Bach reused the music from the earlier BWV 34a; however,
in that work the text references the Biblical love story of Jacob and Rachel. John
Eliot Gardiner suggests this music “may have had deeper personal significance
to Bach than we can fathom today”, but he sagely withholds any further
inferences. The meltingly tender melody and the manner in which the singer directly
addresses the audience (congregation) bespeak sincere affection. The
instrumental setting using two flutes and strings envelops the singer in warmth,
and the vocal line must be equally buoyant and ethereal, particularly in the first
section of the aria.
In the printed key (A major), the aria is appropriate for
lighter altos and lower sopranos who can easily sing a B4 without any chest
tone. In order to achieve the necessary ease and fluidity, there has first to
be technical mastery, and this aria offers an abundance of challenges that
develop and improve vocal technique. One difficult aspect for a female alto is
the constant crossing of the lower and middle breaks, which can make achieving a
blended sound difficult. Several excellent exercises can be extracted from the
aria to facilitate this process, e.g. M. 20-22.
Although rather long (about 6
minutes) for use as a church service selection, the aria’s A-B-A’ structure permits using the last section in that capacity.
It’s such a beautiful aria that it should be shared with your listeners even if
that must be in an abbreviated form. But by reverting to the original text, what
a perfect piece for a wedding (if anyone out there is still asking for Bach)!
The original BWV 34a version opened the second portion of the cantata (Post copulationem), and apparently used only violin
and continuo for accompaniment, making for a very natural adaptation for voice
and organ. The music is available in the Breitkopf and Härtel edition of 1894 (on
IMSLP).
Margot Oitzinger’s performance in BWV 34 (also available as a video clip on YouTube)
is a wonderful example of a fresh, warm sound with naturally minimal vibrato that
nevertheless maintains exceptional intonation. But do not neglect the recording
by Janet Baker, which shows how a larger, weightier voice, when managed well,
can produce the effortless quality needed in this aria.
A bass recitative
summons the adagio choral declaration
Friede über Israel, from which flows
out the closing chorus of thanks. In an extraordinary passage resolving the
brief contrapuntal opening, all four voices repeat dankt in emphatic unison (in the secular version, where this music
concludes the first portion of the cantata prior to the sermon, the motif
belongs to the word eilt). An
instrumental interlude provides more celebratory touches before a short B section and recapitulation.
Given the
opulence of the writing in the two surviving choral movements, it’s reasonable
to assume that the lost final chorus of BWV 34a was probably something of a tour de force. The 1894 B&H full
score includes the extant soprano and bass parts together with fragmentary strings
and continuo parts, with the empty alto and tenor staves taunting you in
their blankness. The manuscript alto part bears only a blank page where this
music should have been – in the flurry to complete all the parts for the
performance, the alto and tenor lines must have been written out on separate
sheets that disappeared. If I could have some lost pieces found, it would be
the other parts for this chorus, whose text alternates the famous benediction
from Numbers 6 (May the Lord bless you and keep you) with other words of blessing,
and concludes in a long sequence of Amens.
A complete BWV 34a would be a significant addition to the repertoire.
Some time
has passed and I’m behind in this project, but that was probably inevitable
given the scope of the task as well as my hectic schedule. Among other events
has come in October the publication of John Eliot Gardiner’s Bach book, Music in the Castle of Heaven. As I have
worked through this first year and utilized so many of Sir John’s liner notes
from his Cantata Pilgrimage journals, I found myself hoping that somehow these
journals would be collected and published separately. And here they are! Well,
perhaps not in their entirety, but much of that material has been incorporated here, along with a lifetime’s
experience studying, performing, and living this repertoire. If you still owe a musician a Christmas present, here it is.
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