Music for the Seventh Sunday
after Pentecost

Proper 10, Year C, July 11, 2010

Today’s cantor and soloist:
Marshall Macomber

Mass Setting:
Missa de Sancta Maria Magdalena, Healey Willan

Voluntary

Opening Hymn 390:
Praise to the Lord, the Almighty, Lobe den Herren

Psalm 82
The congregation chants each half-verse of the psalm beginning at the asterisk

At the Offertory—
Cantata 55, Ich armer Mensch (movt. 1), J. S. Bach

Ich armer Mensch, ich Sündenknecht,
Ich geh vor Gottes Angesichte
Mit Furcht und Zittern zum Gerichte.
Er ist gerecht, ich ungerecht.
Ich armer Mensch, ich Sündenknecht!

I pitiful man, I slave of sin,
I go before the face of God
with fear and trembling for judgment.
He is righteous, I am unjust.
I pitiful man, I slave of sin!
Text: anon.

Offertory Hymn 603:
When Christ was lifted from the earth, St. Botolph

During Communion—
Cantata 55, Ich armer Mensch (movt. 3), J. S. Bach
Erbarme dich!
Laß die Tränen dich erweichen,
Laß sie dir zu Herzen reichen;
Laß um Jesu Christi willen
Deinen Zorn des Eifers stillen!
Erbarme dich!

Have mercy!
Let tears soften You,
let them reach into Your heart;
may, for the sake of Jesus Christ,
the zeal of Your anger be quieted!
Have mercy!
Text: anon.

Communion Hymn 304:
I come with joy to meet my Lord, Land of Rest

Closing Hymn 609:
Where cross the crowded ways of life, Gardiner

Voluntary

Music Notes:

Thus far in our summer solo cantata series we have had two solo cantatas for soprano and one each for bass and alto. This, the only extant one Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) wrote for tenor, is one of the least expansive of the five; but this does not detract from its quality. One can only wish that Bach had written more works for this voice, because this cantata is a perfect little gem!

Lasting well under a quarter of an hour in performance, it consists of two arias (accounting for two thirds of its length), two recitatives, and a final chorale. Its chamber qualities are further enhanced by the instrumentation: one flute, one oboe, strings, and continuo. Even the violas are dispensed with in all but the second recitative and the normal doubling duties in the chorale.

Composed for the Twenty-third Sunday after Trinity, which fell on November 27, 1726, Cantata No. 55, Ich arme Mensch, ich Sündenknecht (I pitiful man, I slave of sin) sets a text by an unknown poet on the Gospel story from Matthew (Chapter 18, Verses 23 through 35) and closes with a chorale by Johann Rist from 1642. The story of the unfaithful servant has prompted the writer to concoct an excruciating text full of images of pain and suffering. The cantata starts in doleful G minor and closes in the more cheerful relative major of B flat major, with its first movement in G minor, its second and third movements in D minor, and its fourth and fifth movements in B flat major.

Two characteristics of the opening—and exceedingly anguished—da capo aria Ich armer Mensch, (heard today at the offertory) are likely to strike the perceptive listener even upon first hearing. The first is the delicate interplay between the two solo instrumental lines and the strings. The second is the high tessitura of the vocal writing communicating, right from the start, a sense of stress and tension.

The second movement is an agonized secco recitative for tenor and organ continuo.

The third movement, Erbarme dich!, (heard today during communion) is a melancholy aria in the form of a trio sonata for tenor, highly embellished flute, and continuo. This aria is almost as long as the first and certainly as memorable. The one flute becomes the obligato instrument, at first sight an odd choice as the more astringent timbre of the oboe d’ amore might seem more suited to the mood of the piece. Presumably it is the undulating arabesques characterizing this melodic line that determined this option.

The fourth movement is a recitative that moves from despair to faith for tenor and strings. The cantata concludes with a quietly hopeful harmonization of Rist's chorale for the entire chorus and orchestra.

Although the entire cantata is likely to last little more than 12 minutes in performance, within that short time we make a seamless and unforgettable journey from the fearful insecurities of isolation to the certainties of rescue and deliverance.

-- Owen Burdick

Music for the Seventh Sunday after Pentecost

Music Notes:

Music for the Seventh Sunday
after Pentecost