Bach: Gelobet seist du Jesu Christ, BWV 91 | Philippe Herreweghe and the Collegium Vocale Gent

An elegant celebration of the Christmas miracle: Bachs Kantate ‘Gelobet seist du Jesu Christ’ (BWV 91) performed by the Collegium Vocale Gent conducted by Philippe Herreweghe. The concert took place in 2016 in the Saint-Roch church in Paris.

Starring:
Grace Davidson | SOPRANO
Damien Guillon | ALTUS
Thomas Hobbs | TENOR
Peter Kooij | BASS

Collegium Vocale Gent
Philippe Herreweghe | CONDUCTOR

The cantata ‘Gelobet seist du Jesu Christ’ was composed by Johann Sebastian Bach (1685 - 1750) for Christmas Day 1724. The opening chorale, whose instrumentation (in contrast to other cantatas) was augmented by an additional oboe and by horns and timpani, sounds accordingly festive. ‘Gelobet seist du Jesu Christ’ is a choral cantata, since it is based on a hymn by Martin Luther from 1524. As such, BWV 91 conforms to the usual scheme: stanzas 1 and 7 of Luther’s hymn were taken verbatim and form the cantata’s opening and closing chorales. Strophe 2 still corresponds approximately to Luther’s text, while the remaining strophes were freely re-penned for the parts of the cantata. The librettist of Bach’s cantata is unknown, as is commonly the case.

Despite its brevity, the cantata BWV 91 is rich in compositional peculiarities through which the text has been aptly “translated” into music. The practice of composing out important passages of the text flourished uniquely in European baroque music. Several music theorists wrote so-called ‘figure doctrines’, in which they related musical figures to traditional rhetorical figures, and compiled entire catalogs of examples. In the fourth movement, the bass recitative, Bach uses a striking musical figure in response to the words “to lead through this vale of tears” – the passus duriusculus (Latin for “hard walk”), which is a chromatically ascending melodic line that could not be more dissonant (08:13). It leads into a cadenza whose final chord shines again in perfect harmony.

The aria for soprano and countertenor that follows responds directly to the successful ascent from the “vale of tears”. Bach musically realizes the textual juxtaposition of the “poverty” of the Son of God in the manger and the accompanying “abundance of heavenly treasures” for man in the most artful way. In the lower register, the instruments play a rhythmically monotonously driven movement in unison. Above this, the ornamented duet song unfolds as if it were freely performed, radiantly singing of the Christmas miracle.

The internationally renowned conductor and Bach expert Philippe Herreweghe founded the Collegium Vocale Gent in 1970 and together they performed early music as a kind of historical performance practice. In 1989, the orchestra of the Collegium Vocale Gent joined the choir, which is made up of first-class international performers of baroque music. With the Collegium Vocale Gent choir and orchestra, Herreweghe has since produced landmark early music recordings, including the cantatas of Johann Sebastian Bach.

(00:00) Introduction

(00:10) Chorale: Gelobet seist du, Jesu Christ,
Dass du Mensch geboren bist
Von einer Jungfrau, das ist wahr;
Des freuet sich der Engel Schar.
Kyrie eleis!

(03:09) Recitativo: Der Glanz der höchsten Herrlichkeit,
Das Ebenbild von Gottes Wesen,
Hat in bestimmter Zeit
Sich einen Wohnplatz auserlesen.
Des ewgen Vaters einigs Kind,
Das ewge Licht, von Licht geboren,
Itzt man in der Krippe findt.
O Menschen, schauet an,
Was hier der Liebe Kraft getan!
In unser armes Fleisch und Blut
(Und war denn dieses nicht verflucht, verdammt, verloren?)
Verkleidet sich das ewge Gut
So wird es ja zum Segen auserkoren.

(04:52) Aria: Gott, dem der Erden Kreis zu klein,
Den weder Welt noch Himmel fassen,
Will in der engen Krippe sein.
Erscheinet uns dies ewge Licht,
So wird hinfüro Gott uns nicht
Als dieses Lichtes Kinder hassen.

(07:31) Recitativo: O Christenheit!
Wohlan, so mache dich bereit,
Bei dir den Schöpfer zu empfangen.
Der große Gottessohn
Kömmt als ein Gast zu dir gegangen.
Ach, laß dein Herz durch diese Liebe rühren;
Er kömmt zu dir, um dich vor seinen Thron
Durch dieses Jammertal zu führen.

(08:47) Aria: Die Armut, so Gott auf sich nimmt,
Hat uns ein ewig Heil bestimmt,
Den Überfluß an Himmelsschätzen.
Sein menschlich Wesen macht euch
Den Engelsherrlichkeiten gleich,
Euch zu der Engel Chor zu setzen.

(15:41) Choral: Das hat er alles uns getan,
Sein groß Lieb zu zeigen an;
Des freu sich alle Christenheit
Und dank ihm des in Ewigkeit.
Kyrie eleis!


A production of Prismédia
In association with ARTE France
With the participation of the CNC
© Prismédia

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