Cantata 140 "Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme" - JS Bach
Hymns: #536 Torah Song, #490 Houston,
#290 St. George's, Windsor
This week the choir and soloists will present movements 1,
3, 4, and 7 of BWV 140 “Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme.” This cantata is based
on the parable from Matthew 25, the parable of the ten virgins. In this parable
Christ is warning that because no man knows the day or the other of the Lord’s
return that we must be ready at any moment for Christ to return to claim his
church. J.S. Bach sets this story in a bit more positive light using Philipp Nicolai’s
(1556-1608)chorale as the musical basis of the piece he constructed a cantata
in seven movements. The overall structure of the piece is interesting in that
it is symmetrical:
1.)
Chorale fantasy
2.)
Recitative
3.)
Duet
4.)
Chorale
5.)
Recitative
6.)
Duet
7.)
Closing Chorale
The two duets are for soprano and bass. Traditionally bass
solos in the writing of Bach are associated with the voice of Jesus and this
cantata is no different. The soprano sings the role of the “soul of the
believer.” In the first duet the soprano is pleading and longing for Jesus but
in the second duet the soprano sings with joy for the arrival of Christ and the
union of the two.
In movement one Bach uses the French overture style of
angular dotted rhythms to propel the piece forward adding even more rhythmic
interest as the voices prepare to enter. The sopranos sing the chorale tune in
long notes above the dialogue of the lower three voices. Calvin R. Stapert
points out in his book My Only Comfort
that Bach increases the excitement and impatience of the lower voices in the
two A sections by having them enter closer and closer to the soprano’s entrance
on the tune. On the first phrase the
sopranos sing two measures alone in the second only one and in the third phrase
all voices enter together. In the B section the lower three parts enter before
the chorale tune. This bursts into a melismatic cry of “Alleluia.” The lower
three parts are then so excited that they continue to emphatically repeat “make
you ready” before finally finishing the sentence “for the wedding.” The piece ends as it began with the dotted
rhythms of the French overture style erupting into running sixteenth notes in
the violin and reaching an exciting climax.
As previously stated, the third movement is a duet for
soprano (soul of the believer) and bass (Jesus). This movement follows a tenor
recitative where the tenor tells the hearer that the Bridegroom is coming. The
duet is a constant back and forth with Jesus reassuring the soul that he is
coming and that the soul will join him which she does only once on the text “the
heavenly meal.”
The tenor solo (which can be sung by all of the tenors in
the choir) is perhaps one of the best known of Bach’s chorale settings. He
thought highly enough of it to transcribe it for solo organ as one of the six
Schubler chorales. The steady rhythmic nature of the piece suggests the
processional to the wedding feast and the dance-like obbligato adds a sense of
joy that was missing from the previous movement.
The final movement is Bach’s stunning four part setting of
the chorale that is filled with images of the glory of heaven. A satisfying end
to the cantata that starts as a warning and ends in eternal celebration; a
reminder of the promise of heaven and the reward of the watchful.
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