Cantata No. 50: the shortest of them all.

There's a cantata for that makes a pretty good tagline, or even philosophy of life.  Only have four minutes with a double chorus and orchestra?  Bach has you covered.  

No. 50 is that one oddball work which probably comes from a larger fragment, but might also be a random piece of another composer (gasp!).  The text is Luther's translation of Revelation 12:10:

Now is the salvation and the power and the kingdom and the might of our God and of His Christ come, since he is cast down who accused them day and night before God.

Revelation 12:7-12 is the epistle reading for St. Michael's, so it's possible that Bach could have composed this for a special festival performance, and the other movements got "misplaced."  Or - maybe it's a MOTET portion!  Theorizing is fun.  

If any other arrangement of the text was used, the attributes of Christ's glory would not have as much "punch" as they do.  Each thing ("Heil," "Kraft," "Reich" and "Macht") falls on a higher degree of the major scale - the upper neighbor, the third, fifth, and then octave in the sunny, triumphant key of D Major.

 The second subject, "Since he is cast down," descends in a laughing motion while each vocal part restates itself.  Once everybody is in, the trumpet, timpani, and rest of the instrumentalists jump into the victory party.  Right before the end, the second phrase is quietly repeated in a downward stepping motion, followed by a highly uncharacteristic chromatic slide and quick cadence.  

On a side note, this makes for mightily effective alarm-clock music. It's also quite helpful when I'm out running and encounter a particularly steep hill.  :)  Enjoy!

http://emmanuelmusic.org/notes_translations/translations_cantata/t_bwv050.htm#pab1_7
http://erato.uvt.nl/files/imglnks/usimg/6/6d/IMSLP01185-BWV0050.pdf
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AC_2_y2n0qc

Cantata BWV 8: just a walk in the park.

For Bach, that's what death is.  That's also what his Cantata No. 8 for the the 16th Sunday after Trinity, "Dearest God, when will I die?" sounds like.

Outside the Thomaskirche, Leipzig 

This might very well be my favorite J.S. Bach cantata.  Somehow, it always makes me feel more courageous about the end of life.  Before we get started - 

Recording:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8LvsUqq9FPI
Translation:  http://www.emmanuelmusic.org/notes_translations/notes_cantata/n_bwv008.htm
Vocal score:  http://conquest.imslp.info/files/imglnks/usimg/b/b0/IMSLP24176-PMLP03250-bwv008.pdf

With warm, oboish hues and gentle plucked strings, Bach sets up the scenery for this highly picturesque work.  The Christian steps through the lush cemetery outside the church, pondering his or her own death.  Birds call in the trees, heartbeats flutter, and the 24 chimes of the Leipzig church bell ring (flute), also signifying the passing hours in the day.

Next, the tenor asks his soul why it should turn back when the last hour strikes, since he is already bowed towards the earth.  "When?" is peppered in at many different pitch levels, as if a question.  Describing the "thousand" that are also carried to the grave, he seems to use that many wandering notes.  While the oboe searches and runs from the hour of passing, the continuo accompaniment ticks on.

The alto presents three extremely chromatic and jagged questions:  Where is rest?  Who will give me rest?  What will happen to my loved ones?  In accompanying, the anxious strings provide no resolve, not even at the cadence, which sweeps the listeners right into A Major for the confident bass answer:  "Depart, you empty worries!"  Assuming the style of a gigue (an innately happy form), he laughs tauntingly on the words "foolish" ("tollen") and "worries" (Sorgen), and the turns spin depicting the rising of the sun in the "Morgen," as well as the believer's transfiguration with ascending patterns.  Skipping away at the end, he muses rhetorically "Who wouldn't go?" over and over again.

Even a child shares in this confidence over death. The soprano recitative, sung originally by a pre-teenage boy, tells the world that it can claim all of his possessions (including toys!) because the heavenly Father's love is the only thing he needs.

"Lord over death and life, make my end good!" all voices join in singing at the finale, the composer Daniel Vetter's original arrangement of the chorale.  Quite possibly, this might be my favorite Bach chorale - and it's not even his.

It's intriguing to note that whenever Bach paints Christ's death, it involves strife and tension, but in setting forth the believer's viewpoint, it becomes peaceful and hopeful.  Likewise, God desires all of us to see it in that manner - as enjoyable as a pastoral afternoon outing.

Lord, Your Love Will Never Fail Me

I don't just appreciate hymns; I also write them.  However, like most great lyrics, they usually come from within the "depths of despair," as Anne Shirley would say.  

This one bears no exception, as a product of the college choir tour where "everybody got sick" (then again, which one doesn't?).  Having returned that May with my vocal chords and general respiratory functions intact, I believed myself to be in the clear.  Not so.  Three days later, said bodily members were hit with the worst kind of flu imaginable for a young woman coming off of a vacation with 90 of her best friends.  My temperature rocketed, my lungs and whole face ached, my voice disappeared, and the pain escalated to such that I slept (or attempted to sleep) propped sitting-up on pillows in hopes that breathing normally would be feasible.  

In that manner, feeling utterly yucky, I laid awake at two a.m. in my shadowy, cold room with my apparently uninhibited mind chasing me.  "Who could love me in this state?"  I kept wondering.  "I feel totally unlovable.  This is what unlovable feels like."  

Then, I answered my question. "God still loves me.  He cares even when I feel and look my absolute worst."  Words shot into my head.  "Lord, Your love will never fail me, though the world's be never sure.  When its threats try to derail me, by Your word I'll sleep secure."  

"I'm writing hymns!  Yeah!" was my first response.  "I'm writing hymns - great..." was the second.  Defying the weakness of the flesh with the willing spirit, I pulled out the nearest source of paper (my planner) and writing utensil (a purple Sharpie).  There, I scribbled out in random order the following verses, along with sketches of melodies in rudimentary noteheads and solfege.  

Lord, Your love will never fail me

Though the world’s be never sure

When its threats try to derail me

By Your word I’ll sleep secure

My mind quakes with doubt and fear

But the Shepherd holds me near

In the fire I am tested

With this hurt that tries my soul

Sickness leaves my heart unrested

Nothing here can make me whole

You alone with grace and might

Can uphold me through the night

Earthly woes may be assailing

But they are Your instrument

More than that, forgive my sins

Which plague my life without relent

Father, Son, and Holy Ghost:

You are what I need the most.

God, help me to be now learning

What I am supposed to do

Though Your hand may seem withholding

It is for my blessing, too

What appears to be unjust

Only makes more sure my trust

Many things I now desire

Health, assurance, lasting love

Often I crave gifts here higher

Than Your treasures from above

When these hopes are dashed away

Jesus’ grace alone will stay.

In Your time, my skies will brighten

Healing will replace the pain

You have promised I’m forgiven

Now my soul can sing again

If my worries make me sore,

You are stronger all the more.

(Copyright  herandhymn, 2012)

By morning, I amazingly awoke from sleep (!), and also somehow deciphered my jagged inscription of the late-night inspiration.  In lieu of my traditional sudoku-and-crossword exercises, I proceeded to write out two complete and interchangeable tunes, as well as the four-part harmonization (yes, without the lights on, I did encounter many parallel 5ths).  Needless to say, my family found the whole ordeal quite "puzzling" until I explained the origination.  

Months later, a chamber choir led the new music recital audience in singing it, and it has found its way into some church services.  As with Paul Gerhardt's heaps of illness-related poetry, the Lord used the bleak situation to get another hymn put on paper.  Perhaps I should contract the flu more often?   

Gabriele

Today five years ago, the love of my life came into my house for the first time.  At 5'10-1/2, and 660 lbs, she looked amazing for 86 years old and one facelift.  I called her Gabriele.

Gabriele O' Steinway.  Yes, that's my 1922 Steinway O grand piano.

Ever since I was young, I used to declare that I would like a real piano for my 16th birthday.  Beginning piano lessons, my brother and I learned to play on a keyboard.  Of course, this was only real in the sense that silk flowers are living and growing.  As I progressed to a serious stage in my study of piano, my teachers on all sides recommended that I purchase an acoustic instrument soon; even better, a grand.

Keeping in mind our limited money and space, my family and I explored vast seas of pianos in local showrooms, figuratively rummaged through online auctions, and told everyone we knew.  Bostons, though a secondary product of their mother company Steinway and Sons, caught my eye and ear the most.  Yet, not even the smallest used ones appeared feasible.

One night, I browsed more advertisements online, and saw that a mahogany Steinway O near where I lived needed a home more than a large sticker price, and I excitedly sent the page to my parents.  Within the next day, we set up a visit to the owners' home.

He was a former Air Force pilot; she was a retired high-school music teacher.  Both of them were preparing a move to a smaller home, and if their precious Steinway could not be adopted by another, she would need to be put in a specially conditioned warehouse for old pianos - a sort of nursing home.  Maybe I could learn to love a blonde, I decided. Trying to remember something from the WTC, I admired the deep, glassy sound, and the deed was done.  Upon returning home, we called them, they removed the advertisement, and Gabriele would come home in two more days.

The morning they scheduled to escort her over, it rained, posing some difficulties for the transporters attempting to lift her down the nearly vertical drop of a driveway (I do not skid.  Sledding there would be phenomenal).  Pacing around the bare living room, I felt distressed as if there was an impending performance to happen.  At last, the two movers made a entrance.

"Where do you want it?" I pointed. Deftly and smoothly, they carried in the soundboard and separate legs and bench, promptly assembled the dismembered instrument, and tipped here upright in what seemed like under a minute.  "There you go.  Have a great day."  Then, they left.

Suddenly, I felt angry.  Maybe I really didn't want the piano, but there she stood.  Too overwhelmed to speak or play anything, I shut myself in my room and cried relentlessly for an hour or two.

Imagine daydreaming about tasting chocolate your whole life, and then one day someone placing a truffle in your palm, saying "Here.  This is for you - enjoy."  That is precisely what it felt like.  Eventually, I did calm down, and my family and I traveled out for a late lunch - a celebratory mini-torte was in order.

The lesson of the day:  sometimes when you pray for a Boston, God gives a Steinway.  "Pray with faith, for though He try you, no good thing can God deny you" (Evangelical Lutheran Hymnary, No. 256).

O God, Thou Faithful God

 Happy 428th Birthday to German hymnwriter Johann Heermann!  To celebrate, I am presently baking German chocolate cake cookies (they're almost done!) while blogging about my favorite hymn of his:  "O God, Thou Faithful God."

As Martin Luther describes, the things that shape a true theologian are meditatio (meditation), tentatio (testing) and oratio (prayer).  Clearly, in his lifetime during the Thirty Years' War which swept Germany, his testing moved him to meditation and thus prayer.  Born October 11, 1585 in Silesia, he became destined early on for the ministry when his ill mother promised him theological training.  God provided richly for him as he grew in wisdom under several pastors who encouraged his poetic ability, and began tutoring his patron Wenzel von Rothkirch's boys.  Finally, at the age of 25, he received a pastoral call to Koeben in present-day Poland, unexpectedly taking over duties in full as the elder minister there died.  Yet, on and off for the rest of his life, he dealt with numerous worldly trials that kept him on his knees:  eye, nose, and throat infections; losing his first wife, and constant peril of the Catholic armies.  Formed by these experiences, "O God, Thou Faithful God" is one of the most all-inclusive prayers one can observe in the hymnal.  Take a look for yourself. 

O God, Thou faithful God,
Thou fountain ever flowing,
Without whom nothing is,
All perfect gifts bestowing;
A pure and healthy frame
O give me, and within
A conscience free from blame,
A soul unhurt by sin.

And grant me, Lord, to do
With ready heart and willing,
Whate'er Thou shalt command,
My calling here fulfilling;
To do it when I ought,
With all my might, and bless
The work I thus have wrought,
And crown it with success.

And let me promise naught
But I can keep it truly,
Abstain from idle words,
And guard my lips still duly;
And grant, when in my place
I must and ought to speak,
My words due pow'r and grace;
Nor let me wound the weak.

If dangers gather round,
Still keep me calm and fearless;
Help me to bear the cross
When life is dark and cheerless;
To overcome my foe
With words and actions kind:
When counsel I would know,
Good counsel let me find.

And let me be with all
In peace and friendship living,
As far as Christians may;
And if Thou aught art giving
Of wealth and honors fair,
That naught be mingled there
Of goods unjustly got.

And if a longer life
Be here on earth decreed me,
And Thou through many a strife
To age at last wilt lead me,
Thy patience on me shed.
Avert all sin and shame
And crown my aged head
With pure untarnished fame.

Let nothing that may chance
Me from my Savior sever;
And, dying with Him, take
My soul to Thee for ever;
And let my body have
A little space to sleep
Beside my fathers' grace,
And friends that o'er it weep.

And when the end is come
And all the dead are waking,
O reach me down Thy hand,
Thyself my slumbers breaking;
Then let me hear Thy voice,
And change this earthly frame,
And bid me aye rejoice
With those who love Thy name (Evangelical Lutheran Hymnary, No. 470).

See?  That covers everything.  Also, for your listening/viewing pleasure:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CiBkYDibgaY

I can smell the cookies from here...

Johann Crüger’s Praxis Pietatis Melica: Its Importance and Implications

From the Nicolakirche in Berlin, where both Crüger and Paul Gerhardt worked

Johann Crüger’s Praxis Pietatis Melica is recognized today as the most central chorale book of the 1600s, as well as the most reprinted hymnal.  Why did it enjoy such popularity?  Certainly the abundance of original Crüger melodies must have helped to further its usage in home and church.  However, the group of theologicially insightful hymnwriters contributing – Johann Franck, Paul Gerhardt, Johann Heermann, and more – truly enrich this publication.  Thus, because of the legacy of the Praxis Pietatis Melica, the Lutheran church remembers the edifying work of these 17^th-century men today. 

 Crüger was born on April 9, 1598 in Gross-Breesen in Lower Lusatia, and received instruction as a youth in nearby Guben until he was about 15.  Then, he primarily learned while traveling, and studied with Paul Homberger, who potentially learned from Giovanni Gabrieli, and began publishing his own music in 1619.  Additionally, he was accepted as a student of theology at the University of Wittenberg, but thereafter he is mainly known for musical accomplishments in the realm of music theory, composition, and of course hymnal-editing.  [1]

During Crüger’s lifetime, Germany observed a move towards personal, meditative worship in anticipation of Pietism, officially coined by Philip Jakob Spener with his Pia Desideria (1675).  In 1640, Crüger edited his first hymnal of the prevailing devotional-style hymns, Newes vollkömliches Gesangbuch (1640).  This was meant “for home or church use,” and was arranged with the vocal melody and figured bass so that they could be accompanied on a harpsichord in one’s living room, as well as on an organ at church.  In this collection, he also updated the modal inflections of the Reformation-era tunes with harmonic-minor accidentals and leading tones.  This is the first version of what would later come to be known as the Praxis Pietatis Melica, republished in more than 40 editions into the 1700s.[2]    

Just two years after the most authoritative Praxis appeared, Cruger updated it once more, this time with instrumental parts.   This incarnation, named Geistliche Kirchen-Melodeien, held settings of chorales for four voices, two descant lines for violins or trumpets, and a continuo as before.[3]   “[He] was a skillful composer and his tunes are sturdy, simple, and syllabic, with firm metrical rhythm.  There is a lyric quality quite unlike the early, primitive chorale melodies.” [4]  

Another notable feature about the Praxis Pietatis Melica’s 1647 edition was the inclusion of 15 new hymns by Paul Gerhardt.  Upon becoming deacon at the Nicolaikirche at which Crüger worked, Gerhardt got acquainted with him and collaborated on many well-known hymns in Lutheran hymnals today.  Crüger’s next publication was the first part of Psalmodia sacra in 1658, which simply dealt with the 150 psalms in the same fashion:  an SATB setting, three instrumental parts, and a bassline.  The second part, bearing the date of 1657, had 105 instrumental additions out of 173 psalms and songs. [5]  Finally 1736, the Praxis Pietatis Melica had been re-edited 44 times, and was known as the most authoritative hymnal in Germany.[6]

            One such hymnwriter, Johann Franck, ended up in his position unexpectedly so, for he originally intended to be a lawyer.  Born in 1618 in Güben, Germany, he studied jurisprudence at the University of Konigsberg, but returned quickly to Güben in 1640 to comfort his mother while the Swedish and Saxon troops stormed through the city.  Perhaps the famous words of the hymn began forming in his mind: 

Hence, all fear and sadness!
For the Lord of gladness,
Jesus, enters in.[7]

Later, he continued his law practice, and became a burgess, burgomaster, and finally the deputy from Güben to Lower Lusatia.  Despite his occupation, Franck still found time to write secular and sacred poetry, including 110 hymns, which he published under the title Geistliches Sion in 1674.[8]  Crüger wrote 14 melodies for him.[9]  As the Handbook to the Lutheran Hymnal states, “His leading idea is the union of the soul with its Savior.”[10] 

Johann Heermann (1585-1647) is thought by some to be the second greatest hymnwriter next to Paul Gerhardt, and endured a nearly equal amount of hardship in his 61 years.  Of his four older siblings, he was the only one that survived to adulthood, and after the Lord upheld him through a serious sickness, his mother promised to give him a seminary education, though she and his father, a furrier, had little spare money.  Nonetheless, he continued on to study at several area schools, tutored for the Fraustadt pastor’s and later the Baron von Rothkirch’s sons, but severe eye and throat infections, losing his job and possessions, nearly getting stabbed and shot, and his son becoming Catholic and poisoned thereafter weighed heavily on his mind.  Out of those trials came these words:
            Whate’er of earthly good this life may grant me,
            I’ll risk for Thee; no shame, no cross, shall daunt me;
            I shall not fear what man can do to harm me
            Nor death alarm me.[11]

            Probably the best-known and most significant of the poets featured in the Praxis editions was Paul Gerhardt.  After his father, the mayor of Gräfenhaynichen, died while Gerhardt was young, a good deal of the great pastor’s life was spent amidst the turmoil of the Thirty Years’ War.  Because of it, he did not leave Wittenberg for schooling until he was about 35 years old, and in 1642 became tutor to a family in Berlin, where he met Crüger and began writing hymns.[12]  Shortly after many of them were published in the first Praxis, Gerhardt received a call to his first clerical position in Mittenwalde in 1651, and then to be third assistant pastor at the Nicolaikirche in Berlin.  Yet, this did not ensure a trouble-free career. Gerhardt’s poetry is seasoned with the sadness of a man who lost his father very young, his wife, and all but one son; on top of that, the Calvinist rulers deposed him of his pastorate for holding to the use of the baptismal exorcism.[13]  Strengthened in faith through these hardships, he confidently expresses his joy through hymnody:

My heart from care is free,
No trouble troubles me.
Misfortune now is play,
And night is bright as day.[14]

Most of his hymns attained recognition by their first publication in his friend’s hymnals, and the pairing of a Gerhardt text and Crüger tune predominates most of the author and composer pairs of hymn collections today. 

            In the end, why could and should Johann Crüger’s work, as specifically seen in the Praxis Pietatis Melica, be venerated and applied in the Lutheran church today?  First of all, his hymn tunes carry some of the jewels of Lutheran poetry (see Appendix A).  Living at a timely place in church history, he received the privilege of composing music for some of the best hymnwriters of the Lutheran faith.  During and following the Thirty Years’ War, a host of German Lutherans were inspired to assemble devotional poetry based on their dire worldly situation; when hard-pressed with instability in earthly life, one is increasingly drawn to meditate on Scriptural promises and be reminded that the Christian’s real treasure lies in heaven. 

            What is more, the fact that Crüger felt the supplementation of instrumental parts was important in a congregational hymnal manifests the Lutheran participatory philosophy of worship.  In the 17^th century, it was common for people to own a viol or harpsichord, and in the absence of an organ - especially in domestic devotions – parishioners were encouraged to beautify the hymn singing with what they already possessed and made use of for enjoyment. 

            Along with the above, the chorale’s transcription into four-part cantionale style points out that Crüger and his contemporaries thought that hearing the melody remained central, but around that supporting harmonies could also help enhance it.  In Martin Luther’s day, the practice still continued to give the tenor the cantus firmus, but placing the melody in the soprano rendered it more easily heard due to its penetrative high register, rather than hidden under two or three other voices.  This technique of cantionale setting built the bridge from modal medieval harmony to chordal harmony of the common practice period. 

            To ignore the influence of Johann Crüger’s work, particularly in editing the Praxis Pietatis Melica and its various incarnations, would be to discount a landmark in the progress of Lutheran church music.  Both its venerable list of contributors and its accessible musical arrangements worked together to render it successful as a hymnal and musical document, and the further editions helped to preserve some of the riches of hymnody.  May it inspire Christian authors, composers, and hymnologists to do the same in years to come.

Nicolaikirche, Berlin

Bibliography

Bach-cantatas.com. “Johann Crüger (Hymn-Writer, Composer).”  Bach Cantatas Website,      web accessed 10 June 2013, http://www.bach-cantatas.com/Lib/Cruger-Johann.htm. 

Buelow, George J. "Crüger, Johannes." Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online. Oxford         University Press, accessed June 16, 2013, http://      0www.oxfordmusiconline.com.topcat.switchinc.org/subscriber/article/             grove/music/06901.

Commission on Worship of the Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod.  Lutheran Service Book.            St. Louis:  Concordia Publishing House, 2006. 

Marshall, Robert L and Robin A. Leaver. "Chorale." Grove Music Online. Oxford Music            Online. Oxford University Press, accessed June 16, 2013, http://0-www.oxfordmusiconline.com.topcat.switchinc.org/subscriber/article/grove/music/05652.

Polack, W. G.  The Handbook to the Lutheran Hymnal, 3^rd ed.  St Louis:  Concordia Publishing          House, 1958. 

Reynolds, William Jensen.  A Survey of Christian Hymnody.  New York:  Holt, Rinehart and    Winston, Inc., 1963. 

Stulken, Marilyn Kay.  Hymnal Companion to the Lutheran Book of Worship.  Philadelphia:    Fortress Press, 1981. 

The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 5^th ed.  London:  Macmillan Publishers Ltd., 1980. 

Appendix A: Johann Crüger Melodies in Lutheran Service Book (by order of appearance)

O Lord, How Shall I Meet You? Wie soll ich dich empfangen     1653              334
            Praxis Pietatis Melica, 1653

All My Heart This Night Rejoices Frohlich soll mein Herze springen 1653     360
            Praxis Pietatis Melica, 1653

O Dearest Jesus Herzliebster Jesu                                                                          439

Newes vollkömliches Gesangbuch, 1640

Awake, My Heart, With Gladness Auf, Auf, Mein Herz                                      467
            Praxis Pietatis Melica, 1648

Jesus Lives!  The Victory’s Won Jesus, Meine Zuversicht                                               490

Geistliche Oden und Lieder, 1757

Lord, To You I Make Confession Herr, ich habe missgehandelt                        608

            Geistliche Kirchen-Melodier, 1649

Soul, Adorn Yourself With Gladness Schmücke dich, O liebe Seele                  636

             Geistliche Kirchen-Melodier, 1649

Jesus Christ, My Sure Defense Jesus, meine Zuversicht  1653                           741
            Geistliche Lieder und Psalmen, 1653

Jesus, Priceless Treasure Jesu, meine Freude      1653                                       743

            Praxis Pietatis Melica, 1653

Feed Thy Children, God Most Holy Schmücke dich, O liebe Seele                    774

Praxis Pietatis Melica, 1656

The Lord, My God, Be Praised Nun danket alle Gott                                         794

            Praxis Pietatis Melica, 1647

Come, Let Us Join Our Cheerful Songs Nun danket all  1647                           812

            Praxis Pietatis Melica, 1647

Let Children Hear The Mighty Deeds Nun danket all                                      867
            Praxis Pietatis Melica, 1653

Now Thank We All Our God Nun danket alle Gott                                              895
            Praxis Pietatis Melica, 1647

This Is The Day The Lord Has Made Nun danket all                                        903
            Praxis Pietatis Melica, 1653

---

[1] George J. Buelow. "Crüger, Johannes." Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online. Oxford University Press, accessed June 17, 2013, http://0-www.oxfordmusiconline.com.topcat.switchinc.org/subscriber/article/grove/music/06901.

 [2] Robert L. Marshall and Robin A. Leaver. "Chorale." Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online.Oxford University Press, accessed June 17, 2013, http://0-www.oxfordmusiconline.com.topcat.switchinc.org/subscriber/article/grove/music/05652.

[3] Buelow, "Crüger, Johannes." 

[4] William Jensen Reynolds, A Survey of Christian Hymnody, (New York:  Holt, Rinehart and Winston, Inc., 1963), 23

[5] The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 5^th ed.  (London:  Macmillan Publishers Ltd., 1980), 70. 

 [6] Reynolds, A Survey, 23.

[7] Commission on Worship of the Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod,  Lutheran Service Book,  (St. Louis:  Concordia Publishing House, 2006), 743:4

[8]W.G. Polack, “Gerhardt, Paul,” Handbook to the Lutheran Hymnal, 507.

[9] Bach-cantatas.com, “Johann Crüger (Hymn-Writer, Composer).”  Bach Cantatas Website, web accessed 10 June 2013, http://www.bach-cantatas.com/Lib/Cruger-Johann.htm. 

[10] Polack, “Gerhardt, Paul,” Handbook,  507.

[11] Commission on Worship, Lutheran Service Book, 439:13

[12] Marilyn Kay Stulken, “O Lord, How Shall I Meet You?,” Hymnal Companion to the Lutheran Book of Worship,  (Philadelphia:  Fortress Press, 1981), 121-122.

[13]  Polack, “Gerhardt, Paul,” Handbook, 510-511.

[14] Commission on Worship,  Lutheran Service Book, 467:5 

My current obsession.

I MUST post about this amazing little gem.  Further analysis awaits, but just to get this out there here is your basic tour.  

 

BWV 226:  Der Geist hilft unser Schwachheit auf (The Spirit helps in our weakness) is the latest subject of my Bach motet "kick."  Motets musically can be very tricky to pin down, but I realized in the past day that as J.S. defines them, they are entirely choral cantatas (no recitatives or arias).  This particular one bases itself on one of my favorite biblical texts, Romans 8:26-27.  As follows, it adheres to a basic structure:

1. Der Geist hilft unser Schwachheit auf:  The Spirit gives aid to our weakness. For we do not know for what we should pray, what is proper; but the Spirit itself intercedes for us in the best way with unutterable sighs.  

"Geist," being "spirit" of course, is text-painted with a lot of breath - melismas!  Tossing the opening figure across the room at one another, the two choirs illustrate "helping" one another out.  In the following idea, Bach brings in a fugal entrance pattern to show the Spirit "interceding" for us, with layer upon layer of parts standing in the way.  Lastly, at "with unutterable sighs," the double chorus is reduced to one SATB group, and the choppy, syncopated  and highly chromatic entrances mimic a sighing motion between the parts.  

2.  Der aber die Herzen forschet:  He, however, who examines hearts, He knows what the Spirit's intention is, since it intercedes for the saints according to that which pleases God.

Here, Bach utilizes one of his favorite "blended" musical style devices:  the stile antico fugue, drawn upon in other places to demonstrate a "standard," as in the BWV 232 "Credo" fugue.  Examining something indicates that there must be some kind of "law" or canon against which to measure it.  Also, the "intercession" of choral entrances is aptly applied, and melismas of laughing breath occur on the word for "saints" ("Heiligen"), perhaps denoting the souls or spirits which are in heaven.  Divisions of two frequently indicate the believer's dual natures of saint and sinner, and here the measures also seem to be felt in two, with groups of two eighth notes throughout. On earth in the Church Militant, all members are in dire need of intercession because of this duality.  

3.  Du heilige Brunst, süßer Trost: 
Come, holy Fire, Comfort true;
Grant us the will your work to do
And in your service to abide;
Let trials turn us not aside.
Lord, by your power prepare each heart,
And to our weakness strength impart
That bravely here we may contend,
Through life and death to you, our Lord, ascend.Alleluia! Alleluia! (Christian Worship:  A Lutheran Hymnal, No. 176)

This is the third verse of the  Pentecost  chorale "Come Holy Ghost, God and Lord," also categorized under "Invocation" in some contemporary hymnals.  What an ingenious pairing.  In this verse, the Christian prays to be called, enlightened, sanctified, and kept in the faith by the Holy Spirit.  

Have a listen with a good cup of coffee (although the opening alone will startle you awake):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dXxRDkeh4ZY

Translation:
http://emmanuelmusic.org/notes_translations/translations_motets/t_bwv226.htm#pab1_7

And score- you're set!:
http://erato.uvt.nl/files/imglnks/usimg/f/ff/IMSLP04140-Bach_-_BGA_-_BWV_226.pdf

Other sources:
http://www.bach-cantatas.com/VD/BWV226.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Der_Geist_hilft_unsrer_Schwachheit_auf,_BWV_226