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Ach! ich sehe, itzt, da ich zur Hochzeit gehe, BWV 162

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Ach! ich sehe, itzt, da ich zur Hochzeit gehe
BWV 162
Church cantata by J. S. Bach
The Schlosskirche in Weimar
Occasion20th Sunday after Trinity
Cantata textSalomon Franck
Choraleby Johann Rosenmüller
Composed1715 (1715)?: Weimar
Movements6
Scoring
  • S T B soloists
  • SATB choir
  • corno da tirarsi
  • 2 violins
  • 2 violas
  • continuo

Johann Sebastian Bach composed the church cantata Ach! ich sehe, itzt, da ich zur Hochzeit gehe (Ah! I see, now, when I go to the wedding),[1] BWV 162, in Weimar for the 20th Sunday after Trinity and first performed it in 1715 or 1716.

History and words

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On 2 March 1714 Bach was appointed concertmaster of the Weimar court capelle of the co-reigning dukes Wilhelm Ernst and Ernst August of Saxe-Weimar. As concertmaster, he assumed the principal responsibility for composing new works, specifically cantatas for the Schlosskirche (palace church), on a monthly schedule.[2] He wrote the cantata for the 20th Sunday after Trinity.[3] The prescribed readings for the Sunday were from the Epistle to the Ephesians, "walk circumspectly, ... filled with the Spirit" (Ephesians 5:15–21), and from the Gospel of Matthew, the parable of the great banquet (Matthew 22:1–14). The cantata text was provided by the court poet Salomon Franck, published in Evangelisches Andachts-Opffer (1715). He refers to the gospel and reflects how essential it is to follow the loving invitation of the Lord. Franck's language is rich in contrasts, such as Seelengift und Himmelsbrot (poison for the soul and bread of heaven),[1] and of images derived from the Bible, such as "Der Himmel ist sein Thron" (Heaven is his throne)[1] after Isaiah 66:1. The closing chorale is the seventh stanza of Johann Rosenmüller's hymn "Alle Menschen müssen sterben" (1652).[4]

Bach first performed the cantata on 3 November 1715 (according to the musicologist Alfred Dürr)[5] or on 25 October 1716.[3] Bach performed the cantata again on 10 October 1723 in his first year in Leipzig in a revised version, including a corno da tirarsi, a baroque wind instrument mentioned only in Bach's music and thought to have been similar to the slide trumpet (tromba da tirarsi). Bach's score is lost, and some parts seem to be missing as well.[5]

Scoring and structure

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Bach structured the work in six movements. Like other cantatas written during this period in Weimar, it is scored for a small ensemble, four soloists, and a Baroque instrumental ensemble of corno da tirarsi (likely added in Leipzig), two violins, viola, and basso continuo, including bassoon in movement 1. Only the chorale is set for four voices.[5]

  1. Aria (bass): Ach! ich sehe, itzt, da ich zur Hochzeit gehe
  2. Recitative (tenor): O großes Hochzeitfest
  3. Aria (soprano): Jesu, Brunnquell aller Gnaden
  4. Recitative (alto): Mein Jesu, laß mich nicht
  5. Duet aria (alto, tenor): In meinem Gott bin ich erfreut
  6. Chorale: Ach, ich habe schon erblicket

Music

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The cantata opens with a bass aria in A minor, accompanied by three instruments in a polyphonic setting, the two violins and the viola (with the corno). The motif for the first words is present most of the time. The soprano aria seems to lack a part for an obbligato instrument.[5] For the Bach Cantata Pilgrimage of the Monteverdi Choir (and John Eliot Gardiner), Robert Levin reconstructed a version for flauto traverso and oboe d'amore.[6] The duet is also accompanied only by the continuo, but seems complete. The melody of the closing chorale is rare elsewhere, but appeared in Weimar not only in this work, but also in a chorale prelude of Johann Gottfried Walther.[5]

Recordings

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References

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  1. ^ a b c Dellal, Pamela. "BWV 162 – "Cantata BWV 162 Ach! ich sehe, itzt, da ich zur Hochzeit gehe". Emmanuel Music. Retrieved 7 September 2022.
  2. ^ Koster, Jan. "Weimar 1708–1717". let.rug.nl. Archived from the original on 28 March 2014. Retrieved 16 December 2011.
  3. ^ a b Braatz, Thomas (2005). "Bach's Weimar Cantatas". Bach Cantatas Website. Archived from the original on 24 September 2010. Retrieved 4 October 2010.
  4. ^ "Chorale Melodies used in Bach's Vocal Works / Alle Menschen müssen sterben". Bach Cantatas Website. 2008. Retrieved 28 October 2012.
  5. ^ a b c d e Dürr, Alfred (1971). Die Kantaten von Johann Sebastian Bach (in German). Vol. 1. Bärenreiter-Verlag. OCLC 523584.
  6. ^ Gardiner, John Eliot (2006). Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) / Cantatas Nos 38, 49, 98, 109, 162, 180 & 188 (Media notes). Soli Deo Gloria (at Hyperion Records website). Retrieved 13 October 2018.

Sources

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