Music for the Fourteenth Sunday
after Pentecost

Proper 17, Year C, August 29, 2010

Cantor and soloist:
Christopher Fominaya

Mass Setting:
Missa de Sancta Maria Magdalena, Healey Willan

Voluntary

Opening Hymn 423:
Immortal, invisible, God only wise, St. Denio

Psalm 81:1 10-16
The congregation chants each half-verse of the psalm beginning at the asterisk *

At the Offertory—
Cantata 56 Ich will den Kreuzstab (mvt. 3), J. S. Bach

Endlich, endlich wird mein Joch
Wieder von mir weichen müßen.
Da krieg ich in dem Herren Kraft,
Da hab ich Adlers Eigenschaft,
Da fahr ich auf von dieser Erden
Und laufe sonder matt zu werden.
O gescheh es heute noch!

Finally, finally my yoke
must again fall from me.
Then will I fight with the Lord’s strength,
then I will have an eagle’s power,
then I will journey from this earth
and run without becoming fatigued.
O let it happen today!
Text: anon., possibly JSB?

Offertory Hymn 376:
Joyful, joyful, we adore thee, Hymn to Joy

During Communion—
Cantata 56 Ich will den Kreuzstab (mvt. 1), J. S. Bach

Ich will den Kreuzstab gerne tragen,
Er kömmt von Gottes lieber Hand,
Der führet mich nach meinen Plagen
Zu Gott, in das gelobte Land.
Da leg ich den Kummer auf einmal ins Grab,
Da wischt mir die Tränen mein Heiland selbst ab.

I will gladly carry the Cross,
it comes from God's dear hand,
and leads me, after my troubles,
to God, in the renowned land.
There at last I will lay my sorrow in the grave,
there my Savior himself will wipe away my tears.
Text: anon., possibly JSB?

Communion Hymn 321:
My God, they table now is spread, Rockingham

Closing Hymn 637:
How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord, Lyons

Voluntary

Music Notes:

Composed for the nineteenth Sunday after Trinity, which fell on October 27, 1726, Johann Sebastian Bach’s (1685-1750) Cantata BWV 56, Ich will den Kreuzstab gerne tragen (I will gladly carry the cross) sets a text by an unknown author based on the Gospel according to Matthew 9:1-8 and concludes with the chorale by Johann Frank from 1653.

In his third year in Leipzig, Bach used single solo voices more frequently than in his earlier years. Many of the solo cantatas, including three of the great alto cantatas as well as the extraordinary bass cantata Ich habe genug BWV 82, are from this season. Although BWV 56 has always been a bit overshadowed by more famous BWV 82, this is undeserved, for in this cantata we have Bach working at his profoundest level. Since Bach wrote no Lenten music except for the Passion settings, what resulted are some of the greatest and most intense pieces for solo voice in the literature.

Why Bach began composing cantatas for solo voices is a mystery. Whether the task of training a chorus for the big opening movements became onerous for him, or the inclination to encompass a whole spiritual journey with a single voice was responsible for this, is not known. It is, therefore, doubly appropriate that this deeply personal work was conceived not only for single voice, but also for that of the bass—heavily symbolic of weight and influence. Bach clearly signals this is an uplifting message that needs to be delivered with strength and conviction.

The third movement (heard today at the offertory) is a hearty da capo aria in the form of a trio sonata for soloist, oboe, and continuo. The palpable sense of relief from the weightiness of the first movement is essential to Jesus’ admonishment to the scribes that their charge of blasphemy is hypocritical.

In the wider context of the whole work, this aria perfectly balances the opposing viewpoints of confinement and freedom—my yoke must be removed and then I shall be free. Thus the juxtaposition of the first and third movements tells the whole story, an artistic sense of equilibrium having been achieved between the initial resigned struggle and the ultimate freedom and joy of union with God.

The first movement (heard today during communion) is a large-scale da capo aria for soloists and full orchestra, with the oboes and taille (a tenor oboe) doubling the strings. The string writing is marked by numerous slurred eighth notes, which might be seen as reflecting tears or at least setting a lamenting tone. Bach is careful to mark the longest melismas (and they are very long!) on the word tragen (carry), to show perhaps the burden of the cross or journey, or at least the length of life’s journey. The Kreuzstab was a navigational tool, a precursor to the sextant, and the text is filled with nautical references. Kreuz means both cross and sharp, and Bach made use of the pun, sharpening notes throughout the first aria.

-- Owen Burdick

Music for the Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost

Music Notes:

Music for the Fourteenth Sunday
after Pentecost