Several years ago, a couple friends and I got into some reasonably vigorous debates over tempi used in some Bach choral music, with the focus being on the Christmas Oratorio, BWV 248. Specifically, attention was drawn to the opening chorus of Cantata 5, “Ehre sei dir, Gott, gesungen”.
Our focus was primarily on the John Eliot Gardiner version, although we discovered another partial set of YouTube videos which featured Peter Schreier as both director and “Evangelist” singer.
Here’s a webpage featuring some of our concerns:
Peter Schreier’s and John Eliot Gardiner’s Christmas Oratorio
Personally, I favored the Schreier version, in part because of the Munich setting, plus the close proximity of the singers and the musicians.
However, in early 2024, we became aware of a newer version, this from an “official” Bach “expert”, Swiss Rudolph Lutz. Here is the link to his direction of BWV248 in 2022:
J.S. Bach – Cantata BWV 248 Weihnachtsoratorium (J.S. Bach Foundation) (2:34:12)
Note that the 6 cantatas comprising the Oratorio were performed on different dates, mostly one week apart. You will notice for example some singers and instrumentalists appear in all six, and others only in some. Similar for the soloists.
There are many highlights that could be noted, including several in Cantata IV. For example, consider the following timestamps in IV:
1:20:00 – Beginning of Cantata 4
1:28:30 – Beginning of the Echo section
1:36:00 – Beginning of the rapid fugue
In the Echo section, the soloist, soprano Miriam Feuersinger is asking “yes/no” questions as to whether Christ hears our prayers, or are we abandoned? The answers by the “echo-ist” is either “nein” or “ya” (or “ya YA”)
To me, a neat thing about the echo section are some of the singers and instrumentalists trying not to smile too much, they seem to love that piece!
Note: If you’d prefer to deal with Cantata 4 (with English subtitles) on your own, just click here.
Here are the lyrics for Cantata 4:
Cantata BWV 248/4 – English Translation
The “Rapid Fugue” section features tenor soloist Daniel Johannson. Note that this in part features many notes on a single syllable. This kind of musical writing is called a “melisma”, or “melismatic passage”. It’s a feature developed in the Baroque era, whereby certain words – actually often syllables of words – in the dialogue are stressed by repetition. For example, in Handel’s Messiah: “And He shall pur-i-fy” with the repetition on the syllable “fy”, as if to say, getting “pure” requires a lot of action. Or – also in Messiah – “All We Like Sheep”. The phrase “We have turned every one to his own way”, the word “turned” is divided into two syllables, with the melisma on the “turn-“, as if there are lots of ways to “turn” to our own ways.
Additional Bach works featuring Rudolph Lutz
One other large Bach choral piece is the Passion According to St. John. There are YouTube videos of Lutz conducting both St. Matthew and St. John, but here the focus is on the St. John, performed in Leipzig in 2022.
Here is the link:
Here are the lyrics in English:
Johannes-Passion BWV 245 – English Translation in Interlinear Format
There’s way too much to comment about, but perhaps note in the opening piece, the starting word, “Herr” or “Lord”, after repeating, then the lyrics “unser Herrscher”: “our Ruler”. An excellent feature is the skill of the camera focus. Sometimes the repeat of “Herr” starts in the bass, then next by the sopranos, and a third by the tenors, with the camera focusing on each “Herr” at exactly the right time.
Well there’s much more, but maybe a brief focus on the very last section of St. John, a chorale.
Go to 1:51:45
At this point, Jesus is in the tomb, and a final reflection by “the people” is given by Bach. Here is the score:
Bach – St. John – Final Chorale
Here are the lyrics in English and German (minus umlats!):
40. Chorale
Ach Herr, lass dein lieb Engelein
Ah Lord, let your dear angels
Am letzten End die Seele mein
at my final hour carry my soul
In Abrahams Schoss tragen,
to Abraham’s bosom,
Den Leib in seim Schlafkammerlein
while my body in its narrow chamber
Gar sanft ohn eigne Qual und Pein
gently without pain or torment
Ruhn bis am jungsten Tage!
rests until the last day.
Alsdenn vom Tod erwecke mich,
Wake me then from death,
Dass meine Augen sehen dich
so that my eyes see you
In aller Freud, o Gottes Sohn,
in all joy, o God’s son,
Mein Heiland und Genadenthron!
my saviour and throne of mercy
Herr Jesu Christ, erhore mich,
Lord Jesus Christ, hear me,
Ich will dich preisen ewiglich!
I shall praise you eternally!
The chorales essentially express the thoughts of the onlookers, in both the Christmas Oratorio, and the St. John Passion.
A Couple Closing Links
Here is an example of Rudolph Lutz analyzing Bach’s “Christ Lag in Todesbanden” (Christ Lay in Bonds of Death) BWV 4. Much of the analysis is spoken in English. References made to other Bach works, Brahms Requiem, and Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis. (Ok, you really need to have the 100 or so minutes to watch this!)
Introduction to BWV 4 Christ lag in Todesbanden – Rudolf Lutz (J. S. Bach Foundation) (1:45:56)
One final thought, on a bit lighter note. Consider the following video, recorded in Schaffhausen, Germany, near Rhein Falls, and just over the border from Rudolph’s Switzerland (and about a one-hour drive from his St. Laurenzen Kirche in St. Gallen):
Flashmob Johannes-Passion BWV 245 Chorus ‘Herr, unser Herrscher’ (08:20)