Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra

Selected from the award-winning cycle of recordings of the complete cantatas of J. S. Bach by Ton Koopman and the Amsterdam baroque Orchestra and Choir, the two “Funeral” pieces included in this album represent works from very different periods in Bach’s creative life. The cantata “Aus der Tiefen rufe ich, Herr, zu dir” BWV 131 originates from Mühlhausen and was written in 1707 or 1708 for an unknown occasion, most likely a penitential service perhaps related to the big fire that had devastated large sections of the town of Mühlhausen shortly before Bach’s arrival there in 1707. The Funeral Ode “Laß, Fürstin, laß noch einen Strahl” BWV 198 on the other hand is a large-scale, two-part cantata composed twenty years later in Leipzig in commemoration of the death of the Electress of Saxony and Queen of Poland. It is based on a morning poem in strophic ode format by Johann Christoph Gottsched, at the time Leipzig’s most celebrated literary figure. The artful poem was commissioned by an aristocratic student, Hans Carl von Kirchbach, in the name of the “German Society” at the University and for the academic act of mourning for the death of the Electress of Saxony and Queen of Poland, Christiane Eberhardine, wife of Augustus the Strong. Kirchbach commissioned the music for the event from another Leipzig celebrity, Johann Sebastian Bach, and not from the music director of the University, Johann Gottlieb Görner. The latter complained, but accepted the fact that this was an unusually prominent occasion. The work of 1727 could not be performed again in this form because the text makes concrete references to the queen. However, in 1731 the composer reused major parts of the Funeral Ode for his St. Mark Passion, now lost.

This group of works selected from the award-winning cycle of recordings of the complete cantatas of J. S. Bach by Ton Koopman and the Amsterdam baroque Orchestra and Choir, represent those which set dialogue texts to music. Some of these cantatas were specifically entitled “Dialogus” in Latin or “Dialogo” in Italian as genre designation. This is the case with the Dialogus “Ach Gott, wie manches Herzeleid” (BWV 58), “Erfreut euch, ihr Herzen (BWV 66), “Ich geh und suche mit Verlangen” (BWV 49), “O Ewigkeit, du Donnerwort (BWV 60) and the Concerto in Dialogo “Liebster Jesu, mein Verlangen” (BWV 32).. “Ich geh und suche mit Verlangen” BWV 49 was first performed on November 3, 1726. “O Ewigkeit, du Donnerwort” BWV 60 was written for the 24th Sunday after Trinity and received its first performance on November 7, 1723. “Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme” BWV 140 was composed for the last Sunday of the church year, the 27th after Trinity, and first performed on November 25, 1731. “Wer mich liebet, der wird mein Wort halten” BWV 59 was written for Whit Sunday and performed in Leipzig on May 28, 1724, but perhaps also the year before, on May 16, 1723 at the Pauliner Church for the service of the university community, for which Bach was responsible on the high feasts.

The two works which have been chosen from the award-winning cycle of recordings of the complete cantatas of J. S. Bach by Ton Koopman and the Amsterdam baroque Orchestra and Choir for this album represent those composed by the younger Bach when he held positions as organist in Arnstadt (1703-07), Mühlhausen (1707-08), and Weimar (from 1708) and was not yet primarily responsible for vocal music. Supplying regular pieces for Sundays and holidays (“music of cantors”) was not part of the duties of an organist. Organists, however, frequently wrote works for funerals, weddings, and other special occasions. Bach apparently engaged in this kind of compositional activity from the very beginning even though only a fraction of pertinent works have survived.

Bach’s earliest vocal works demonstrate impressively that he understood how to operate on the level of the greatest composers of the late 17th century, indeed how to compete with Buxtehude, Pachelbel, and the older members of the Bach family, including above all Johann Christoph and Johann Michael Bach. Moreover, he knew how to introduce new musical elements into composing sacred pieces. Works like BWV 106 and 21 demonstrate how, in a deliberate confrontation with traditional and modern trends, Bach laid the foundation for a lifelong and extraordinarily productive occupation with the cantata genre.

The cantata “Gottes Zeit ist die allerbeste Zeit” BWV 106 was composed for a funeral or memorial service. It must have been written at around 1707. The oldest source is a copy dated 1768 and made in Leipzig. It bears the heading “Actus tragicus,” a title that clearly sets the tone of the piece. The cantata “Ich hatte viel Bekümmernis” BWV 21 shows a compositional design of a manner typical of the early Weimar period. It was not written for a specific liturgical occasion but could be performed “at any time.” However, the first documented performance took place in Weimar on the 3rd Sunday after Trinity in 1714. Yet the work is clearly of earlier origin even though its first version - most likely a setting of various psalm texts - did not survive.