Jesu, meine Freude, BWV 227

"Jesu, meine Freude" in Johann Crüger's Praxis pietatis melica, 1653

The text of Jesu, meine Freude is compiled from two sources, the 1653 hymn of the same name with words by Johann Franck, and Bible verses from the Epistle to the Romans, 8:1–2 and 9–11.[13] In the motet, the six hymn stanzas form the odd movement numbers, while the even numbers each take one verse from the Epistle as their text.[13] The hymn's first line, which Catherine Winkworth translated as "Jesu, priceless treasure" in 1869,[14] is repeated as the last line of its last stanza, framing the poetry.[15]

Johann Crüger's chorale melody for the hymn, Zahn 8032, was published for the first time in his Praxis pietatis melica of 1653, after which several variants of the hymn tune were published in other hymnals over the ensuing decades.[16] The tune is in bar form.[16][17] In the version of Vopelius's Neu Leipziger Gesangbuch of 1682, the hymnal used in Leipzig, the melody of the first line is the same as that of the last line.[16][18][17] The hymn tune appears in several variants in the uneven movements of the motet.[19]

As a key teaching of the Lutheran faith, the Gospel text reflects on Jesus Christ freeing man from sin and death, focused on the contrast of living "in the flesh" or "according to the Spirit".[20] The hymn text is written from an individual believer's point of view, addressing Jesus as joy and support, against enemies and the vanity of existence, which are expressed in stark images. The hymn adds a layer of individuality and emotions to Biblical teaching.[21]

Most of Bach's motets are difficult to date, and Jesu, meine Freude is no exception.[22][23] Spitta, Bach's early biographer, assigned the motets, including Jesu, meine Freude, to Bach's Leipzig years.[24] In 1912, Bernhard Friedrich Richter wrote that Jesu, meine Freude was likely written in Bach's first year as Thomaskantor in Leipzig, for the funeral of Johanna Maria Kees, the wife of the Leipzig postmaster, on 18 July 1723, because a scripture reading of verse 11 from the Epistle passage set in the motet, in the tenth movement, is documented for the funeral.[25][26] The Cambridge musicologist Daniel R. Melamed wrote in his 1995 book about Bach's motets that this is not conclusive evidence for a motet performance, but that the date was still "nearly universally accepted".[25] The order of that particular service was found in 1982, mentioning neither a motet nor even the chorale.[25]

Friedrich Smend was the first to analyse the motet's symmetrical structure, a feature which can also be found in Bach's St John Passion of 1724 and St Matthew Passion of 1727, which led Smend to suggest that the work was composed in the 1720s.[27] Looking at the four-part settings of the chorale movements 1, 7 and 11, which seem unusual for a five-part work, and at the older version of the chorale melody used as the cantus firmus in the ninth movement, which suggests an origin of that movement in Bach's Weimar period, or even earlier, Melamed thought that the motet was likely in part compiled from music Bach had composed before his Leipzig period.[19]

Christoph Wolff suggested that the motet might be intended not for a funeral but the education of the Thomanerchor, as also Singet dem Herrn ein neues Lied, BWV 225.[28] According to Richard D. P. Jones, several movements of the motet show a style too advanced to have been written in 1723, so that the final arrangement of the work likely happened in the late 1720s, around the time when two other motets which can be dated with more certainty, Singet dem Herrn ein neues Lied and the funeral motet Der Geist hilft unser Schwachheit auf, BWV 226, were written.[29] The Dietel manuscript, written around 1735, contains three chorales extracted from the motet: the composition of the motet is supposed to have been completed before that time.[11][30]

In the following table, the movement number is followed by the beginning of the text, its source, the voices, and key and time signatures.

Movements of Bach's Jesu, meine Freude

No.	Title	Text source	Voices	Key	Time
1	Jesu, meine Freude	verse 1	SATB	E minor
2	Es ist nun nichts Verdammliches	Romans 8:1	SSATB	E minor	3/2
3	Unter deinen Schirmen	verse 2	SSATB	E minor
4	Denn das Gesetz	Romans 8:2	SSA	G major	3/4
5	Trotz dem alten Drachen	verse 3	SSATB	E minor	3/4
6	Ihr aber seid nicht fleischlich	Romans 8:9	SSATB	G major
7	Weg, weg mit allen Schätzen	verse 4	SATB	E minor
8	So aber Christus in euch ist	Romans 8:10	ATB	C major	12/8
9	Gute Nacht, o Wesen	verse 5	SSAT	A minor	2/4
10	So nun der Geist	Romans 8:11	SSATB	E minor	3/2
11	Weicht, ihr Trauergeister	verse 6	SATB	E minor

The motet begins with a four-part setting of the first stanza of the hymn[34] "Jesu, meine Freude" (Jesus, my joy).[13][35] This and most other movements related to the hymn are in E minor. The text, in the first person, speaks of longing for Jesus.[13] Jones noted that the tenor part is particularly expressive.[29] The last movement has exactly the same music to the different text of the last stanza, creating a frame which encloses the whole work:[29]

The second movement begins with excerpts from the Epistle to the Romans with "Es ist nun nichts Verdammliches an denen, die in Christo Jesu sind" (Now there is nothing damnable in those who are in Christ Jesus).[13] The difference of living in the flesh and the spirit is an aspect that will be repeated throughout the motet.[13] The movement is also in E minor, but for five voices.[36] The text is rendered first in rhetorical homophony.[29]

In setting the first sentence, Bach accented the word "nichts" (nothing), repeating it twice, with long rests and echo dynamics. Jones noted that dramatic word painting of this kind was in the tradition of 17th-century motets, such as by Johann Christoph Bach and Johann Michael Bach.[37]

End of the third movement

The third movement is a five-part setting of the second stanza of the hymn,[38] "Unter deinen Schirmen bin ich für den Stürmen aller Feinde frei" (Under your protection I am safe from the storms of all enemies).[13][39] While the soprano provides the chorale melody, the lower voices supply vivid lines expressing the text.[29]

The fourth movement sets the second verse from the Epistle, "Denn das Gesetz des Geistes, der da lebendig machet in Christo Jesu, hat mich frei gemacht von dem Gesetz der Sünde und des Todes" (For the law of the spirit, which gives life in Christ Jesus, has made me free from the law of sin and death).[13] The thought is set for the two sopranos and alto, beginning in G major.[40] The sopranos often move in "beatific" third parallels.[37]

Beginning of the fifth movement, highlighting motifs from the chorale tune in the melody sung by the soprano.

The fifth movement is a setting of the third stanza of the hymn,[41] "Trotz dem alten Drachen" (Defiance to the old dragon).[13] The defiant opposition, also to death, fear and the rage of the world, is expressed in a free composition. The soprano melody quotes short motifs from the chorale, while keeping the bar form of the original melody.[3][29] Five voices take part in dramatic illustration of defiance, in the same rhetorical style as the beginning of the second movement,[29] here often expressed in powerful unison.[29] The voices also depict standing firmly and singing, again in rhetorical homophony and reinforced in unison.[42] John Eliot Gardiner noted that the firm stance against opposition could depict Martin Luther's attitude and also the composer's own stance.[43]

The central sixth movement sets verse 9 from the Epistle, "Ihr aber seid nicht fleischlich, sondern geistlich" (You, however, are not of the flesh, but rather of the Spirit).[13] Again beginning in G major, the tenor begins with a fugue theme that stresses the word "geistlich" (of the Spirit) by a long melisma in fast notes, while the opposite "fleischlich" is a long note stretched over the bar-line.[33] The alto enters during the melisma. All five voices participate in a lively fugue,[44] the only one within the motet.[29] It is a double fugue, with a first theme for the first line, another for the second,[37] "so anders Gottes Geist in euch wohnet" (since the Spirit of God lives otherwise in you),[13] and then both combined [37] in various ways, parallel and in stretti. By contrast, the third line of verse 9, "Wer aber Christ Geist nicht hat, der ist nicht sein" (Any one who does not have the spirit of Christ does not belong to him) is set in a homophonic adagio with deeply unsettling harmonies: "not of Christ".

The seventh movement is a four-part setting of the fourth stanza of the hymn,[45] "Weg mit allen Schätzen" (Away with all treasures).[13] While the soprano sings the chorale melody, the lower voices intensify the gesture dramatically: "weg" is repeated several times in fast succession.[45][46] Throughout the movement, the lower voices intensify the expressiveness of the text.[29]

The eighth movement sets verse 10 from the Epistle, "So aber Christus in euch ist, so ist der Leib zwar tot um der Sünde willen; der Geist aber ist das Leben um der Gerechtigkeit willen" (However if Christ is in you, then the body is dead indeed for the sake of sin; but the spirit is life for the sake of righteousness).[13] As in the fourth movement, it is set as a trio, this time for alto, tenor and bass, beginning in C major.[47] Third parallels in the upper voices resemble those in the fourth movement.[37]

The ninth movement is a setting of the fifth stanza of the hymn,[48] "Gute Nacht, o Wesen, das die Welt erlesen" (Good night, existence that cherishes the world).[13] For the rejection of everything earthly, Bach composed a chorale fantasia, with the cantus firmus in the alto voice and two sopranos and tenor repeating "Gute Nacht" often.[49] Jones pointed out that the absence of a bass may depict that "the world" lacks a firm foundation in Christ.[50] The chorale melody used in this movement is slightly different from the one in the other settings within the motet,[51] a version which Bach used mostly in his earlier time in Weimar and before.[19] For Gardiner, the "sublime" music suggests the style of Bach's Weimar period.[52]^:10 Jones, however, found that the "bewitchingly lyrical setting" matched compositions from the mid-1720s in Leipzig,[53] comparing the music to the Sarabande from the Partita No. 3, BWV 827.[51]

The tenth movement sets verse 11 from the Epistle, "So nun der Geist des, der Jesum von den Toten auferwecket hat, in euch wohnet" (So now the spirit that awakened Jesus from the dead dwells in you).[13] In symmetry, the music recalls that of the second movement.[54]

The motet ends with the same four-part setting as the first movement, now with the text of the last stanza of the hymn,[55] "Weicht, ihr Trauergeister" (Hence, you spirits of sadness).[13][35] The final line repeats the beginning, on the same melody: "Dennoch bleibst du auch im Leide, / Jesu, meine Freude" (You stay with me even in sorrow, / Jesus, my joy).[13]

As for most of Bach's motets, there is no extant autograph of Jesu, meine Freude. The motet's SATB chorales were copied in several 18th-century manuscripts collecting chorale harmonisations by Bach.[60][61] The earliest extant of such chorale collections, the Dietel manuscript, also contains a SATB version of the motet's five-part third movement: Dietel's copy omitted the second soprano part of that movement.[30][62][63] Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach retained the two other chorales, based on the motet's first (=11th) and seventh movements, in the third volume of Breitkopf's 1780s edition of Bach's four-part chorales.[35][46][60][61]

After Bach's death, the motets, unlike much of his other music, were kept continuously in the repertoire of the Thomanerchor.[64] A choral version of the entire motet, that is without any indication of instrumental accompaniment, was first published in 1803, in the second volume of Breitkopf & Härtel's first edition of six motets by (or at least, attributed to) Bach.[65][66] Together with other motets edited by Franz Wüllner, Jesu, meine Freude was published in 1892 in volume 39 of the Bach-Gesellschaft Ausgabe (BGA).[67]

In the 1920s, the large Bach Choir in London performed Bach's works conducted by Ralph Vaughan Williams, while Charles Kennedy Scott performed Jesu, meine Freude with his Bach Cantata Club in chamber formation, which prompted a reviewer to write:

It would be absurd to forbid Bach's Motets to big choirs, but this performance left no doubt that the listener gets the truth of the music from voices few and picked.[68]

Scott and the Bach Cantata Club made the first recording of it, which was the first of any motet by Bach, in 1927, sung in English.[69]

The New Bach Edition (Neue Bach-Ausgabe, NBA) published the motet in 1965, edited by Konrad Ameln, with critical commentary published in 1967.[11] In 1995, Bärenreiter published the vocal parts of the six motets BWV 225–230 from the NBA in one volume, with a preface by Klaus Hofmann.[64] The motets were published by Carus-Verlag in 1975, edited by Günter Graulich, and again in 2003, edited by Uwe Wolf, as part of the Stuttgarter Bach-Ausgaben, a complete edition of Bach's vocal works.[70] Modern editions of the motet may supply a reconstructed instrumental accompaniment, such as a continuo realisation, and/or a singable translation of the lyrics, as for instance in Carus's 2003 publication of the motet.[71]

Jesu, meine Freude has been recorded more than 60 times, mostly in combination with other motets by Bach.[72] These recorded sets of motets are partially listed at Motets by Johann Sebastian Bach, discography and include:

• Philippe Herreweghe with the Collegium Vocale Gent and La Chapelle Royale, 1985
• Harry Christophers with The Sixteen, 1989
• Masaaki Suzuki with the Bach Collegium Japan, using instruments playing colla parte, 2009[1]
• Philippe Herreweghe, second set recorded in 2010.[73]

Bach Digital

• "Der Gerechte kömmt um BWV deest (BC C 8)". Bach Digital. Leipzig: Bach Archive; et al. 2019-05-25.
• "Jesu, meine Freude BWV 227". Bach Digital. Leipzig: Bach Archive; et al. 2019-05-14.
• "Jesu, meine Freude BWV 227/1". Bach Digital. Leipzig: Bach Archive; et al. 2019-05-23.
• "Jesu, meine Freude BWV 227/3". Bach Digital. Leipzig: Bach Archive; et al. 2019-05-23.
• "Jesu, meine Freude BWV 227/7". Bach Digital. Leipzig: Bach Archive; et al. 2019-05-23.

Books

• Ameln, Konrad (1965). Bach, Johann Sebastian / Jesu, meine Freude for Five-part Mixed Choir in E minor BWV 227. Bärenreiter. ISMN 979-0-00-649848-2. Retrieved 19 March 2020.
• Dürr, Alfred; Kobayashi, Yoshitake, eds. (1998). Bach Werke Verzeichnis: Kleine Ausgabe – Nach der von Wolfgang Schmieder vorgelegten 2. Ausgabe [Bach Works Catalogue: Small Edition – After Wolfgang Schmieder's 2nd edition] (in German). Kirsten Beißwenger (collaborator). (BWV^2a ed.). Wiesbaden: Breitkopf & Härtel. ISBN 9783765102493. Preface in English and German.
• Gardiner, John Eliot (2013). Music in the Castle of Heaven: A Portrait of Johann Sebastian Bach. Penguin UK. pp. 350–352. ISBN 978-1-84-614721-0.
• Graulich, Günter; Wolf, Uwe, eds. (2003). Johann Sebastian Bach: Jesu, meine Freude / Jesus, My Salvation – BWV 227 (PDF) (Urtext, full score). Stuttgarter Bach-Ausgaben (in German and English). Translated by Lunn, Jean. Continuo realisation by Horn, Paul. Carus. CV 31.227.
• Haskell, Harry (1996). The Early Music Revival: A History. Courier Corporation. p. 38. ISBN 978-0-48-629162-8.
• Hofmann, Klaus (1995). "Preface". J. S. Bach / Motetten / Motets. Bärenreiter. pp. VII–IX. ISMN 979-0-00-649848-2
• Jones, Richard D. P. (2013). The Creative Development of Johann Sebastian Bach, Volume II: 1717–1750: Music to Delight the Spirit. Oxford University Press. pp. 202–205. ISBN 978-0-19-969628-4.
• Melamed, Daniel R. (1995). Chronology, Style, and Performance Practise of Bach's Motets. J. S. Bach and the German Motet. Cambridge University Press. pp. 98–106. ISBN 978-0-52-141864-5.
• Schneider, Max, ed. (1935). Altbachisches Archiv: aus Johann Sebastian Bachs Sammlung von Werken seiner Vorfahren Johann, Heinrich, Georg Christoph, Johann Michael u. Johann Christoph Bach [Old-Bachian Archive: From Johann Sebastian Bach's Collection of Works by His Forefathers Johann, Heinrich, Georg Christoph, Johann Michael and Johann Christoph Bach]. Vol. I of Das Erbe deutscher Musik (in German). 1: Motetten und Chorlieder (Motets and choral songs) – 2: Kantaten (Cantatas). Leipzig: Breitkopf & Härtel. Reprint: 1966.
• Spitta, Philipp (1899). Johann Sebastian Bach: His Work and Influence on the Music of Germany, 1685–1750. II. Translated by Bell, Clara; Fuller Maitland, John Alexander. Novello & Co.
• Vopelius, Gottfried (1682). Neu Leipziger Gesangbuch [New Leipzig hymnal] (in German). Christoph Klinger.
• Wolf, Uwe (2002). "Zur Schichtschen Typendruck-Ausgabe der Motetten Johann Sebastian Bachs und zu ihrer Stellung in der Werküberlieferung" [On Schicht's movable font edition of the motets of Johann Sebastian Bach, and on its place in the work transmission]. Musikalische Quellen, Quellen zur Musikgeschichte: Festschrift für Martin Staehelin zum 65. Geburtstag [Musical sources, sources for the history of music: commemorative paper for Martin Staehelin's 65th birthday] (in German). Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht. pp. 269–286. ISBN 978-3-52-527820-8.
• Wolf, Uwe, ed. (2002). "Preface". Johann Sebastian Bach / Motetten / Motets (PDF) (Urtext, full score). Stuttgarter Bach-Ausgaben (in German and English). Translated by Coombs, John. Carus. CV 31.224.
• Wolff, Christoph (2002). Johann Sebastian Bach: The Learned Musician. Oxford University Press. pp. 278–279. ISBN 978-0-393-32256-9.
• Zahn, Johannes (1891). Die Melodien der deutschen evangelischen Kirchenlieder [The melodies of the German evangelical hymns] (in German). IV. Gütersloh: Bertelsmann.

Journals

• Riley, Paul (2012). "Bach, JS: Motets BWV 225-230". BBC Music Magazine. Retrieved 9 May 2020.
• Schmidt, Eckart David (1 December 2011). "'Jesu, meine Freude'. Zu einer theologischen und pragmatischen Hermeneutik von Text und Musik in J. S. Bachs Motette BWV 227" ['Jesu, meine Freude': On a theological and practical hermeneutics of text and music of J. S. Bach's motet BWV 227]. International Journal of Practical Theology (in German). De Gruyter. 15 (2). doi:10.1515/IJPT.2011.034. S2CID 146854834. Retrieved 19 March 2020.
• Schulze, Hans-Joachim (1983). "'150 Stücke von den Bachischen Erben': Zur Überlieferung der vierstimmigen Choräle Johann Sebastian Bachs" ["150 pieces from the Bach estate": on the transmission of Johann Sebastian Bach's four-part chorales]. In Schulze, Hans-Joachim; Wolff, Christoph (eds.). Bach-Jahrbuch 1983 [Bach Yearbook 1983]. Bach-Jahrbuch (in German). 69. Neue Bachgesellschaft. Berlin: Evangelische Verlagsanstalt. pp. 81–100. doi:10.13141/bjb.v1983. ISSN 0084-7682.

Online sources

• Cookson, Michael (May 2010). "Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) / Motets". musicweb-international.com. Retrieved 20 March 2020.
• Dahn, Luke (2018). "BWV 227.1=227.11". bach-chorales.com. Retrieved 21 March 2020.
• Dahn, Luke (2018). "BWV 227.3". bach-chorales.com. Retrieved 21 March 2020.
• Dahn, Luke (2018). "BWV 227.7". bach-chorales.com. Retrieved 21 March 2020.
• Dellal, Pamela (2020). "BWV 227 - "Jesu, meine Freude"". Emmanuel Music. Retrieved 19 March 2020.
• Eckerson, Sara (2020). "On J. S. Bach's Sublime 'Gute Nacht' of Jesu, meine Freude (BWV 227)". Forma de Vida. Retrieved 19 March 2020.
• Elste, Martin (2000). "Die Motetten BWV 225–230 und 118." [The motets BWV 225–230 and 118]. Meilensteine der Bach-Interpretation 1750–2000 (in German). J. B. Metzler. pp. 176–179. doi:10.1007/978-3-476-03792-3_16. ISBN 978-3-476-01714-7.
• Gardiner, John Eliot (2012). "Bach Motets" (PDF). mStuttgartonteverdi.org.uk. pp. 6, 10–11. Retrieved 28 February 2017.
• May, Thomas (2020). ""Let All That Have Breath Praise": The Motets of J.S. Bach". Los Angeles Master Chorale. Retrieved 27 March 2020.
• Posner, Howard (2020). "Jesu, meine Freude, BWV 227 / Johann Sebastian Bach". Los Angeles Philharmonic. Retrieved 19 March 2020.
• Robins, Brian (2020). "Johann Sebastian Bach / Jesu, meine Freude, motet for 5-part chorus, BWV 227 (BC C5)". AllMusic. Retrieved 19 March 2020.
• Veen, Johan van (2010). "CD reviews / Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750): Motets". musica-dei-donum.org. Retrieved 24 March 2020.
• "Composition Type: Sacred Music / Work: Jesu, meine Freude, BWV 227". arkivmusic.com. Retrieved 28 March 2020.
• "Jesu, meine Freude, meines Herzens Weide". hymnary.org. Retrieved 31 March 2020.
• "Jesu, meine Freude". ccel.org. Retrieved 12 May 2014.
• "Jesu, meine Freude". hymnary.org. Retrieved 31 March 2020.