Herrscher des Himmels, erhöre das Lallen, BWV 248 III
Herrscher des Himmels, erhöre das Lallen (Ruler of heaven, hear our babble),[1] BWV 248III (also written as BWV 248 III), is a 1734 church cantata for the third day of Christmas (27 December) which Johann Sebastian Bach composed as the third part of his Christmas Oratorio.[2] The Christmas cantata was first performed in 1734, in Leipzig.[2]
History
Bach had been presenting church cantatas for the Christmas season in the Thomaskirche (St. Thomas) and Nikolaikirche (St. Nicholas) since his appointment as director musices in Leipzig in 1723, including these cantatas for the third day of Christmas:[3][4][5]
- As part of his first cantata cycle: Sehet, welch eine Liebe hat uns der Vater erzeiget, BWV 64, first performed in 1723.[6]
- As part of his second cantata cycle: Ich freue mich in dir, BWV 133, first performed in 1724.[7]
- As part of his third cantata cycle: Süßer Trost, mein Jesus kömmt, BWV 151, first performed in 1725.[8]
Music and content
The work is structured in 13 movements. Unlike the other cantatas in the Christmas Oratorio, the opening chorus of the cantata is repeated as the closing movement. The alto aria is perhaps the only newly composed aria in the entire oratorio.[9] The cantata features four vocal soloists (soprano, alto, tenor, and bass), a four-part choir (SATB) and a Baroque instrumental ensemble of three trumpets (Tr), two traversos (Tra) two oboes (Ob) also doubling as oboes d'amore (Oa), two violins (Vl), viola (Va) and basso continuo.[2]
The scoring follows the Neue Bach-Ausgabe (New Bach Edition). The keys and time signatures are from Alfred Dürr, and use the symbol for common time.[10] No key is shown for the recitatives, because they modulate.
| No. | Key | Time | First line | Scoring | Source – Audio | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 24 | Chorus | D major | 3/8 | Herrscher des Himmels, erhöre das Lallen | Trumpet I, II, III, timpani, flute I, II, oboe I, II, strings, continuo | BWV 214: Chorus, Blühet, ihr Linden in Sachsen, wie Zedern |
| 25 | Recitative (Evangelist, tenor) | Und da die Engel von ihnen gen Himmel fuhren | Continuo | Luke 2:15a | ||
| 26 | Chorus | A major | 3/4 | Lasset uns nun gehen gen Bethlehem | Flute I, II, oboe d'amore I, II, strings, continuo | Luke 2:15b |
| 27 | Recitative (bass) | Er hat sein Volk getröst't | Flute I, II, continuo | |||
| 28 | Chorale | D major | Common | Dies hat er alles uns getan | Flute I, II, oboe I, II, strings, continuo | "Gelobet seist du, Jesu Christ", v. 7 (Martin Luther, 1524); Zahn 1947 (Wittenberg 1524)[11][12] |
| 29 | Duet (soprano, bass) | A major | 3/8 | Herr, dein Mitleid, dein Erbarmen | Oboe d'amore I, II, continuo | BWV 213: Aria, Ich bin deine, du bist meine |
| 30 | Recitative (Evangelist, tenor) | Und sie kamen eilend | Continuo | Luke 2:16-19 | ||
| 31 | Aria (alto) | D maj/B min | 2/4 | Schließe, mein Herze, dies selige Wunder | Violin solo, continuo | |
| 32 | Recitative (alto) | Ja, ja! mein Herz soll es bewahren | Flute I, II, continuo | |||
| 33 | Chorale | G major | Common | Ich will dich mit Fleiß bewahren | Flute I, II, oboe I, II, strings, continuo | "Fröhlich soll mein Herze springen", v. 15 (Paul Gerhardt, 1653); Zahn 6461 (Georg Ebeling, 1666)[13] |
| 34 | Recitative (Evangelist, tenor) | Und die Hirten kehrten wieder um | Continuo | Luke 2:20 | ||
| 35 | Chorale | F♯ minor | Common | Seid froh, dieweil | Flute I, II, oboe I, II, strings, continuo | "Laßt Furcht und Pein", v. 4 (Christoph Runge, 1653); Zahn 2072 (Kaspar Füger, 1593)[14] |
| 24 | Chorus da capo | D major | 3/8 | Herrscher des Himmels, erhöre das Lallen | Trumpet I, II, III, timpani, flute I, II, oboe I, II, strings, continuo | BWV 214: Chorus, Blühet, ihr Linden in Sachsen, wie Zedern |
References
- Dürr & Jones 2006, p. 131.
- Bach Digital Work 11387
- Wolff 2002, pp. 237–257.
- Dürr & Jones 2006, pp. 22–35.
- Buelow 2016, p. 272.
- Bach Digital Work 00080
- Bach Digital Work 00163
- Bach Digital Work 00185
- Dürr & Jones 2006, p. 133.
- Dürr & Jones 2006, pp. 131–133.
- BWV2a (1998), p. 474.
- Luke Dahn (2018). BWV 248(3)/28(5) at www
.bach-chorales ..com - Luke Dahn (2018). BWV 248(3)/33(10) at www
.bach-chorales ..com - Luke Dahn (2018). BWV 248(3)/35(12) at www
.bach-chorales ..com
Sources
- Buelow, George J. (2016). The Late Baroque Era. The Late Baroque Era: Vol 4. From The 1680s To 1740. Springer. ISBN 978-1-34-911303-3.
- Dürr, Alfred; Jones, Richard D. P. (2006). The Cantatas of J. S. Bach: With Their Librettos in German-English Parallel Text. Oxford University Press. pp. 102–105, 820. ISBN 978-0-19-929776-4.
- Wolff, Christoph (2002). Johann Sebastian Bach: The Learned Musician. W. W. Norton & Company. ISBN 978-0-393-32256-9.