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.