A List of Church Cantatas in Presumed Order of Production83
(An obelus indicates that the date to which it is affixed is not absolutely certain. The numbers following the titles are those of the edition published by the Bach-Gesellschaft; those to which no number is attached remain in manuscript, with few exceptions, at Berlin.)
| I. | Denn du wirst meine Seele (15) | Easter day, | 1704† |
| II. | Meine Seele soll Gott loben84 | 1707-8† | |
| III. | Aus der Tiefe rufe ich: Psalm cxxx. (131) | ″ | |
| IV. | Gottes Zeit ist die allerbeste Zeit (106) | (Actus tragicus) | ″ |
| V. | Gott ist mein König (71) (Municipal) | 4th February, | 1708 |
| VI. | Der Herr denket an uns85 (Wedding) | ″ | |
| VII. | Nach dir, Herr, verlanget mich | 1708-12† | |
| VIII. | Uns ist ein Kind geboren | Christmas day, | 1712-14† |
| IX. | Gleichwie der Regen und Schnee (18) | Sexagesima | 1713-14† |
| X. | Ich weiss, dass mein Erlöser lebt | Easter day, | 1713-14† |
| XI. | Nun komm’, der Heiden Heiland (61) | 1st in Advent, | 1714 |
| XII. | Ich hatte viel Bekümmerniss (21) | Per ogni tempo, | ″ |
| XIII. | Himmelskönig, sei willkommen86 | Palm Sunday, | 1714-15 |
| XIV. | Der Himmel lacht, die Erde jubiliret (31) | Easter day, | 1715 |
| XV. | Barmherziges Herze der ewigen Liebe87 | 4th after Trinity, | ″ |
| XVI. | Komm, du süsse Todesstunde | 16th after Trinity, | ″ † |
| XVII. | Ach ich sehe, jetzt da ich | 20th after Trinity, | ″ |
| XVIII. | Nur jedem das Seine | 23rd after Trinity, | 1715† |
| XIX. | Bereitet die Wege (132) | 4th in Advent, | ″ |
| XX. | Tritt auf die Glaubensbahn | Sunday after Christmas, | ″ |
| XXI. | Mein Gott wie lang, ach lange | 2nd after Epiphany, | 1716† |
| XXII. | Alles was von Gott geboren88 | 3rd in Lent, | ″ |
| XXIII. | Wer mien liebet, der wird mein Wort (59) | Whitsunday, | ″ |
| XXIV. | Wachet, betet, seid bereit (70) | 2nd in Advent, | ″ |
| XXV. | Herz und Mund und That | 4th in Advent, | ″ |
| XXVI. | Der Friede sei mit dir | Candlemas or Easter Tu., before | 1717 |
| XXVII. | Wer sich selbst erhöht (47) | 17th after Trinity, | 1720 |
| XXVIII. | Das ist je gewisslich wahr | 3rd in Advent, | ″ † |
| XXIX. | Jesus nahm zu sich die Zwölfe (22) | Quinquagesima, | 1723 |
| XXX. | Du wahrer Gott und Davids sohn89 (23) | ″ | ″ |
| XXXI. | Die Elenden sollen essen (75) | 1st after Trinity, | ″ † |
| XXXII. | Die Himmel erzählen (76) | 2nd after Trinity, | ″ |
| XXXIII. | Ein ungefärbt Gemüte (24) | 4th after Trinity, | ″ † |
| XXXIV. | Ärgre dich, o Seele, nicht | 7th after Trinity, | ″ |
| XXXV. | Ihr die ihr euch von Christo nennet | 13th after Trinity, | ″ † |
| XXXVI. | Preise, Jerusalem (119) (Municipal) | 24th August, | ″ |
| XXXVII. | Höchsterwünschtes Freudenfest | ||
| (Church festival at Stoermthal)2nd November, | ″ | ||
| XXXVIII. | Christen, ätzet diesen Tag (63) | Christmas day, | ″ † |
| XXXIX. | Dazu ist erschienen (40) | 2nd Christmas day, | ″ † |
| XL. | Sehet, welch’ eine Liebe (64) | 3rd Christmas day, | ″ † |
| XLI. | Gottlob, nun geht das Jahr zu Ende (28) | Sunday after Christmas, | 1723-7† |
| XLII. | Singet dem Herrn ein neues Lied | New Year’s day, | 1724† |
| XLIII. | Schau, lieber Gott. | Sunday after New Year, | ″ † |
| XLIV. | Sie werden aus Saba (65) | Epiphany, | ″ |
| XLV. | Mein liebster Jesus ist verloren | 1st after Epiphany, | ″ † |
| XLVI. | Jesus schläft (81) | 4th after Epiphany, | ″ |
| XLVII. | Erfreute Zeit im neuen Bunde (83) | Candlemas, | ″ |
| XLVIII. | Christ lag in Todesbanden (4) | Easterday, | ″ † |
| XLIX. | Weinen, Klagen, Sorgen, Zagen (12) | 4th after Easter, | ″ † |
| L. | Erschallet, ihr Lieder | Whitsunday, | 1724† |
| LI. | Erwünschtes Freudenlicht | Whitsun Tuesday, | ″ † |
| LII. | O heilges Geist und Wasserbad | Trinity Sunday, | ″ † |
| LIII. | Siehe zu, dass deine Gottesfurcht | 2nd after Trinity, | ″ |
| LIV. | Lobe den Herrn, meine Seele, No. I. (69) | 12 thafter Trin., | ″ |
| LV. | Herr Gott, dich loben wir (16) | New Year’s day, | 1721-790 |
| LVI. | Alles nur nach Gottes Willen (72) | 3rd after Epiphany, | ″ |
| LVII. | Herr, wie du willt (73) | 3rd after Epiphany, | ″ |
| LVIII. | Nimm, was dein ist, und gehe hin. | Septuagesima, | ″ |
| LIX. | Leichtgesinnte Flattergeister | Sexagesima, | ″ |
| LX. | Halt im Gedächtniss Jesum Christ (67) | 1st after Easter, | ″ |
| LXI. | Du Hirte Israëls (104) | 2nd after Easter, | ″ |
| LXII. | Wo gehst du hin | 4th after Easter, | ″ |
| LXIII. | Wahrlich, ich sage euch (86) | 5th after Easter, | ″ |
| LXIV. | Sie werden euch in den’ Bann thun (44) | Sunday after Ascension, | ″ |
| LXV. | O Ewigkeit, du Donnerwort (20) | 1st after Trinity, | ″ |
| LXVI. | Ihr Menschen, rühmet GottesLiebe | S. John Baptist, | ″ |
| LXVII. | Erforsche mich, Gott (136) | 8th after Trinity, | ″ |
| LXVIII. | Thue Rechnung | 9th after Trinity, | ″ |
| LXIX. | Herr, gehe nicht in’s Gericht (105) | ″ | ″ |
| LXX. | Schauet doch und sehet (46) | 10th after Trinity, | ″ |
| LXXI. | Du sollst Gott, deinen Herren lieben (77) | 13th after Trinity, | ″ |
| LXXII. | Liebster Gott, wann werd’ ich sterben (8) | 16th after Trinity, | ″ |
| LXXIII. | Es erhub sich ein Streit (19) | Michaelmas, | 1725† |
| LXXIV. | Ich lasse dich nicht (Mourning at Pomssen) | 6th February, | 1727 |
| LXXV. | Wünschet Jerusalem Glück (Municipal) | 25th August, | ″ |
| LXXVI. | Falsche Welt, dir trau ich nicht (52) | 23rd after Trinity, | 1727-34 |
| LXXVII. | Widerstehe doch der Sünde (53) | ″ | ″ |
| LXXVIII. | Schlage doch, gewünschte Stunde (54) | ″ | |
| LXXIX. | Meine Seele rühmt und preiset | ″ | |
| LXXX. | Wer nur den lieben Gott (93) | 5th after Trinity, | 1728† |
| LXXXI. | Gott, man lobei dich (120) (Municipal) | before | 1730 |
| LXXXII. | Ehre sei Gott in der Höhe91 | Christmas day, | 1729-30† |
| LXXXIII. | Gott, wie dein Name | New Year’s day, | ″ † |
| LXXXIV. | Sehet, wir gehen hinauf gen Jerusalem | Quinquag., | ″ † |
| LXXXV. | Auf, mein Herz | Easter Tuesday, | ″ † |
| LXXXVI. | Ich steh mit einem Fuss im Grabe | 3rd after Epiph., | 1730† |
| LXXXVII. | Herr Gott, Beherrscher aller Dinge | (Wedding), | ″ † |
| LXXXVIII. | Ein’ feste Burg (80) | (Reformation Festival)31st Oct., | 1730† |
| LXXXIX. | Erhöhtes Fleisch und Blut92 | Whitsun Monday, about | ″ |
| XC. | Schwingt freudig euch empor (36) | 1st in Adv., about | ″ |
| XCI. | Ich habe meine Zuversicht | 21st after Trinity, | 1730-31 |
| XCII. | Wer da gläubet und getauft wird (37) | Ascension, | 1731† |
| XCIII. | Dem Gerechten muss das Licht | (Wedding), | ″ † |
| XCIV. | Es ist das Heil (9) | 6th after Trinity, | ″ † |
| XCV. | Herr, deine Augen sehen (102) | 10th after Trinity, | ″ † |
| XCVI. | Geist und Seele wird verwirret (35) | 12th after Trin., | ″ † |
| XCVII. | Wir danken dir, Gott (29) | (Municipal) 27th Aug., | ″ |
| XCVIII. | Es ist nichts Gesundes (25) | 14th after Trinity, | ″ † |
| XCIX. | Wer weiss, wie nahe mir mein Ende (27) | 16th after Trinity, | ″ |
| C. | Man singet mit Freuden vom Sieg | Michaelmas, | ″ |
| CI. | Ich glaube, lieber Herr (109) | 21st after Trinity, | ″ † |
| CII. | Ich armer Mensch (55) | 22nd after Trinity, | ″ † |
| CIII. | Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme (140) | 27th after Trin., | ″ |
| CIV. | Ich habe genug (82) | Candlemas, | 1731-2 |
| CV. | Ich bin vergnügt (84) | Septuagesima, | ″ |
| CVI. | Der Herr ist mein getreuer Hirt (112) | 2nd after Easter, | ″ |
| CVII. | Ich liebe den Höchsten | Whitsun Monday, | ″ |
| CVIII. | Jauchzet Gott in allen Landen (51) | 15th after Trin., | ″ |
| CIX. | Gott soll allein mein Herze haben | 18th after Trin., | ″ |
| CX. | Ich will den Kreuzstab (56) | 19th after Trinity, | ″ |
| CXI. | Ich geh’ und suche (49) | 20th after Trinity, | ″ † |
| CXII. | Was Gott tut, das ist wolgetan, No I. (98) | 21st after Trinity, | ″ † |
| CXIII. | Gelobet sei der Herr, mein Gott | Trinity Sunday, | 1732 |
| CXIV. | Ich ruf zu dir, Herr Jesu Christ | 4th after Trinity, | ″ |
| CXV. | Siehe, ich will viel Fischer (88) | 5th after Trinity, | 1732 |
| CXVI. | Vergnügte Ruh | 6th after Trinity, | ″ † |
| CXVII. | Es wartet alles auf dich | 7th after Trinity, | ″ |
| CXVIII. | Lobe den Herren, den mächtigen König (137) | 12th after Trinity, | ″ |
| CXIX. | Christus, der ist mein Leben (95) | 16th after Trin., | ″ † |
| CXX. | Was soll ich aus dir machen (89) | 22nd after Trin., | ″ † |
| CXXI. | O Ewigkeit, du Donnerwort (60) | 24th after Trinity, | ″ † |
| CXXII. | Ach Gott wie manches Herzeleid (58) | Sunday after New Year, | 1733 |
| CXXIII. | Was Gott thut, das ist wohlgethan, No. II. (99) | 15th after Trinity, | ″ † |
| CXXIV. | In allen meinen Thaten (97) | 1734 | |
| CXXV. | Nun danket alle Gott (imperfect) | about | ″ |
| CXXVI. | Lobet Gott in seinem Reichen (11) | (Oratorium) Ascension, about | ″ |
| CXXVII. | Was willst du dich betrüben (107) | 7th after Trinity, about | ″ |
| CXXVIII. | Sei Lob und Ehr’ dem höchsten Gut (117) | about | ″ |
| CXXIX. | Was Gott thut, das ist wohlgethan, No. III.(100) | about | ″ |
| CXXX. | Es ist ein trotzig und versagt Ding | Trinity, after | 1732 |
| CXXXI. | Unser Mund sei voll Lachens (110) | Christmas, after | 1734 |
| CXXXII. | Wir müssen durch viel Trübsal (Jubilee music) | after | ″ |
| CXXXIII. | Brich dem Hungrigen dein Brod’ (39) | Trinity, after | ″ |
| CXXXIV. | Es ist dir gesagt, Mensch (45) | 8th after Trin., after | ″ |
| CXXXV. | Lobe den Herrn, meine Seele, No. II. | New Year’s day, | 1735 |
| CXXXVI. | Wär’ Gott nicht mit uns (14) | 4th after Epiphany, | ″ |
| CXXXVII. | Erfreut euch, ihr Herzen (66) | Easter Monday, | ″ |
| CXXXVIII. | Ein Herz, das seinen Jesum93 (134) | Easter Tuesday, | ″ |
| CXXXIX. | Ich bin ein guter Hirt (85) | 2nd after Easter, | ″ |
| CXL. | Ihr werdet weinen (103) | 3rd after Easter, | ″ |
| CXLI. | Es ist euch gut, dass ich hingehe (108) | 4th after Easter, | ″ |
| CXLII. | Bisher habt ihr nichts gebeten (87) | 5th aft. Easter, | ″ |
| CXLIII. | Gott fähret auf mit Jauchzen (43) | Ascension day, | ″ |
| CXLIV. | Auf Christi Himmelfahrt allein (128) | Ascension day (second service), | ″ |
| CXLV. | Sie werden euch in den Bann tun | Sunday after Ascension, | 1735 |
| CXLVI. | Wer mich liebet, der wird mein Wort (74) | Whitsunday, | ″ |
| CXLVII. | Also hat Gott die Welt geliebt (68) | Whitsun Mon., | ″ |
| CXLVIII. | Er rufet seine Schafe mit Namen | Whitsun Tuesday, | ″ |
| CXLIX. | Was frag’ ich nach der Welt (94) | 9th after Trinity, | ″ |
| CL. | Wo soll ich fliehen hin (5) | 19th after Trinity, | ″ |
| CLI. | Gott, der Herr, ist Sonn und Schild (79) | 21st after Trinity, | ″ † |
| CLII. | Ich freue mich in dir (133) | 3rd Christmas day, | ″ |
| CLIII. | Jesu, nun sei gepreiset (41) | New Year’s day, | 1736 |
| CLIV. | Bleib’ bei uns (6) | Easter Monday, | ″ |
| CLV. | Wer Dank opfert (17) | 14th after Trinity, before | 1737 |
| CLVI. | O Jesu Christ, mein’s Lebens Licht (118) | ″ | |
| CLVII. | Gott ist unsere Zuversicht94 | (Wedding), 17 | 37-8 |
| CLVIII. | Freue dich erlöste Schaar (30) | S. John Baptist, | 1738 |
| CLIX. | O ewiges Feuer, o Ursprung der Liebe (34) | Whitsunday, | 1740-1 |
| CLX. | Du Friedefürst, Herr Jesu Christ (116) | 25th after Trinity, | 1744 |
| CLXI. | Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland (62) | 1st Sunday in Advent, | 1736-44 |
| CLXII. | Gelobet seist du, Jesu Christ (91) | Christmas day, | ″ |
| CLXIII. | Christum wir sollen loben schon | 2nd Christmas day, | ″ |
| CLXIV. | Selig ist der Mann (57) | ″ | ″ † |
| CLXV. | Süsser Trost, mein Jesus kommt | 3rd Christmas day | ″ † |
| CLXVI. | Das neugeborne Kindelein (122) | Sunday after Christmas, | ″ |
| CLXVII. | Liebster Immanuel (123) | Epiphany, | ″ |
| CLXVIII. | Liebster Jesu, mein Verlangen (32) | 1st after Epiphany, | ″ † |
| CLXIX. | Meinen Jesum lass ich nicht (124) | ″ | ″ |
| CLXX. | Meine Seufzer, meine Tränen (13) | 2nd after Epiphany, | ″ † |
| CLXXI. | Ach Gott, wie manches Herzeleid (3) | ″ | ″ |
| CLXXII. | Was mein Gott will, das g’scheh’ allzeit (111) | 3rd after Epiphany, | 1736-44 |
| CLXXIII. | Mit Fried und Freud ich fahr dahin (125) | Candlemas, | ″ |
| CLXXIV. | Ich hab’ in Gottes Herz und Sinn (92) | Septuag., | ″ |
| CLXXV. | Herr Jesu Christ, wahr’ Mensch und Gott (127) | Quinquagesima, | ″ |
| CLXXVI. | Am Abend aber desselbigen Sabbaths (42) | 1st after Easter, | ″ † |
| CLXXVII. | Ach Gott vom Himmel sieh darein (2) | 2nd after Trinity, | ″ |
| CLXXVIII. | Schmücke dich, o liebe Seele | ″ | ″ |
| LXXIX. | Christ unser Herr zum Jordan kam (7) | S. John Baptist, | ″ |
| CLXXX. | Erhalt uns, Herr, bei deinem Wort (126) | 6th after Trinity, | ″ |
| CLXXXI. | Meine Seele erhebet den Herren (10) | Visitation of S. Mary, | ″ |
| CLXXXII. | Warum betrübst du dich, mein Herz (138) | 15th after Trinity, | ″ † |
| CLXXXIII. | Nun ist das Heil and die Kraft (50) | Michaelmas, | ″ |
| CLXXXIV. | Herr Gott, dich loben alle wir (130) | ″ | ″ |
| CLXXXV. | Ach lieben Christen, seid getrost (114) | 17th after Trinity, | ″ |
| CLXXXVI. | Herr Christ der ein’ge Gottessohn (96) | 18th after Trinity, | ″ |
| CLXXXVII. | Ich elender Mensch (48) | 19th after Trinity, | ″ |
| CLXXXVIII. | Aus tiefer not schrei ich zu dir (38) | 21st after Trinity, | ″ |
| CLXXXIX. | Mache dich, mein Geist, bereit (115) | 22nd after Trinity, | ″ |
| CXC. | Ach wie flüchtig, ach wie nichtig (26) | 24th after Trinity, | ″ |
| CXCI. | Es reifet euch ein schrecklich Ende (90) | 25th after Trinity, | ″ |
| CXCII. | Ihr Pforten zu Zion (Municipal) composed in Leipzig.95 | ||
| CXCIII. | Ach Herr, mich armen Sünder (135) | 3rd after Trinity. | |
| CXCIV. | Wo Gott der Herr nicht bei uns hält | 8th after Trinity. | |
| CXCV. | Nimm von uns, Herr (101) | 10th after Trinity. | |
| CXCVI. | Herr Jesu Christ, du höchstes Gut (113) | 11th after Trinity. | |
| CXCVII. | Allein zu dir, Herr Jesu Christ (33) | 13th after Trinity. | |
| CXCVIII. | Jesu, der du meine Seele (78) | 14th after Trinity. | |
| CXCIX. | Wohl dem, der sich auf seinen Gott (139) | 23rd after Trinity. | |
| CC. | Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern (1) | Annunciation. | |
Footnotes
1 The lines on this print are given by Spitta, vol. i. p. 9:—
Hier siehst du geigen Hansen Bachen,
Wenn du es hörst, so mustu lachen.
Er geigt gleichwohl nach seiner Art
Und trägt einen hübschen Hans Bachens Bart.
2 Spitta, i. 160. The genealogist, however, in a list of thirty-seven musicians, signalises one drunkard, Johann Friedrich, the third son of the great Johann Christoph: ibid. 139.
3 Ausdrückend was the distinctive title associated to his great-uncle by Philipp Emanuel Bach: Spitta, i. 50.
4 According to the new style the day is the 31st. Handel was born a month earlier; and English notices, since the year in this country began on the 25th of March, place his birthday in 1684. That this should create a misconception in the minds of foreign writers was natural; but it is curious that they have all failed to detect the source of the confusion, and unanimously exposed an imaginary error.
5 Bach-Gesellschaft, II. No. 15.
6 They are a fugue in C minor, and a prelude and fugue in the same key, printed in Peters’ collected edition of the instrumental works, series v. pt. 4. 9 and 5.
7 Dr. Spitta analyses the characteristics of Bach’s pedal-use in these early fugues as (1) incidental, for a single emphasis, (2) in cadences, and (3) as a pedal-point to strengthen a prolonged fundamental harmony: i. 243 f.
8 To the latter part of the stay at Arnstadt are attributed the preludes and fugues in C and A minor (Peters, v. 3. 7, 9) and a fantasia in G (v. 4. 11). Another fantasia and a fugue, both in G and presumably of the same period, remain in MS., one in the Berlin library, the other in the possession of the present cantor of S. Thomas’s, Leipzig, Dr. Wilhelm Rust.
9 Besides the pieces mentioned below, a prelude and fugue in E flat (a MS. in Dr. Rust’s possession), and a fugue in E minor seem to belong to the Arnstadt period, if indeed this latter does not date as far back as Lueneburg. It appears at No. 212, p. 12, of Peters’ cheap edition, to which, as the most generally accessible, I always refer for the clavichord works.
10 Another capriccio, which may be even earlier than the preceding, has in one copy the interesting heading, In honorem Joh. Christoph. Bachii, his brother and old preceptor at Ohrdruf (No. 216, p. 2).
11 Bach’s appointment is dated 14th June, 1707. The signatures of three members of the consistory are absent; they offer a pathetic excuse. Their houses had just been burnt to the ground in a great fire that had laid waste much of the town, and they were destitute even of the means of signing their names, hätten keine Feder oder Tinte, wären wegen des Unglücks so bestürzet, dass sie an keine Music dächten; wie es die anderen Herren machten wären sie zufrieden: Spitta, i. 851 f.
12 The description of the scene, in somewhat sesquipedalian Latin, is quoted by Spitta, i. 801.
13 Note to Quintilian, Inst. Orat. 1. xii. 3, in Spitta ii. 89.
14 Forkel, Life of J. S. Bach, pp. 30 f., E. T., London, 1820.
15 The early works for organ have already been enumerated, above pp. 21 f.
16 An excellent catalogue of this edition is contained in Alfred Doerffel’s Thematisches Verzeichniss, u.s.w., Leipzig, 1867.
17 He might indeed just go too far, as we may see from the complaints made against Bach when at Arnstadt (above p. 25).
18 Handel too was a student of Legrenzi, as a motive in one of his oratorios bears witness.
19 Mattheson proposed the theme some years later, without stating its derivation, to a candidate for examination on the organ: Spitta, i. 634 f.
20 This fugue is based upon the G minor violin-sonata, and possibly was composed at Coethen.
21 To this period belongs also a fragmentary Fantasia in C minor, preserved in MS. at Berlin.
22 The inventory of Bach’s property at his death mentions among his books August Pfeiffer’s Anti-Calvinismus. He certainly possessed it at Coethen, as witnesses the inscription on a Clavier-Büchlein written for his second wife.
23 Their intimate relations may be illustrated by the fact that a child of Bach’s, born in November, 1718, was christened after the Prince and one of his brothers, who with a sister and two courtiers all stood sponsors to the boy.
24 Bernhard Bach came to occupy his father’s old post at Muehlhausen. He afterwards studied law at Jena, but died there of a fever in 1739.
25 Spitta, i. 665-669.
26 A fifth, in A minor, remains in MS. at Berlin.
27 Dr. Spitta argues in support of its genuineness, and is inclined also to accept another one, at present unpublished, of which he quotes the opening bars: vol. ii. p. 686.
28 Add to these three detached minuets printed at 216, pp. 30 f.
29 An early sonata and two capriccios have already been noticed above, p. 23.
30 At Weimar he had already written a concerto in C minor, which remains in MS. The arrangements for clavichord of Vivaldi’s violin concertos (217) are of singular interest, as evidence of Bach’s view of the requirements and capacities of the clavichord; but they cannot be included in a list of his original works.
31 The other three have been already included under the concertante instruments.
32 Three of them have been excellently transcribed for the pianoforte by Joachim Raff, and published at Leipzig by Rieter-Biedermann.
33 Another composition for these instruments is one of the endless varieties of the Musikalische Opfer, but its position there removes it somewhat from the field of Bach’s chamber works.
34 Forkel, pp. 22 f.
35 Goerner has one claim to remembrance, since he lived to draw out the stops for Mozart when he made his historical visit to the Thomaskirche in 1789.
36 Vol. ii. p. 52.
37 To this class we may assign without hesitation the cantatas, Ich bin vergnügt mit meinem Glücke (No. 84) and Ich habe genug (No. 82). The latter is printed in a form which Bach afterwards gave to it, changing the soprano into a bass solo. Possibly Wer nur den lieben Gott lässt walten (93) had a like origin: see Spitta, ii. 274 f., 302 f., 269 ff. A secular cantata of which the subject closely resembles that of the two first-named works should seem to belong to the same category: it is printed in the Bach-Gesellschaft xi. (2) p. 105.
38 Ein Teuflisches Geplerr und Geleyer. The expression occurs in his treatise on Thorough Bass, printed by Spitta, ii. 913-950.
39 Published by the Bach-Gesellschaft, xi. (2) p. 139. The music was used again for the Coronation Festival in 1734.
40 B.-G. xx. (2) p. 73; used again for the King’s birthday.
41 B.-G. xi. (2) p. 3.
42 This and the two following exist in MS. at Berlin.
43 B.-G. xx. (2) p. 3. It was revived for a royal anniversary in 1736 or 1737.
44 Cp. below, p. 106.
45 The Edifying Reflexions of a Tobacco-smoker are printed by C. H. Bitter in his Life of Bach, vol. i. pp. 124 f. (Berlin, 1865), and the music added in facsimile at the end. The words recall entirely the old English song, Tobacco’s but an Indian weed, of Tom d’Urfey’s Pills to Purge Melancholy, 1699, or Wither’s delicious verses, with the refrain Thus think and drink tobacco, of which d’Urfey’s are a réchauffé. But the English has not the analogy of the pipe and the human soul carried into such detail as Bach’s text; witness the lines:—
Wie oft geschieht’s nicht bei dem Rauchen,
Dass, wenn der Stopfer nicht zu Hand,
Man pflegt den Finger zu gebrauchen?
Dann denk’ ich, wenn ich mich verbrannt,
O macht die Kohle solche Pein;
Wie heiss mag erst die Hölle sein.
46 The two comic cantatas have been published by S. W. Dehn in two editions; the second is issued by C. A. Klemm at Leipzig.
47 Three are mentioned: one is lost; the second probably dates from Coethen, and is published by the Bach-Gesellschaft, xi. (2) p. 75; and the third had already been used for certainly three occasions before it was adapted to a marriage festival, it seems in 1749.
48 Possibly we should add a cantata which seems to belong to some court festival, and exists in private hands at Dresden: Spitta, ii. 450 f.
49 MS. at Berlin.
50 Afterwards absorbed into the church cantata, Erhöhtes Fleisch und Blut.
51 Afterwards re-written as church cantata No. 35.
52 The Trauer-Ode is published in the Bach-Gesellschaft, xiii. p. 3.
53 Of this sort Bach is only known to have written three cantatas, of which two remain. One, Non sà che sia dolore, lies in MS. at Berlin; the other, Amore traditore, is printed by the Bach-Gesellschaft, xi. (2) p. 93.
54 All but No. 2 have been published at Leipzig by Breitkopf and Haertel: a few others are of doubtful genuineness.
55 Preface to the twentieth volume, first division, of the Bach-Gesellschaft.
56 Vol. ii. pp. 335 ff.
57 Vol. ii. pp. 338-346.
58 Sometimes in Italy the oratorio was actually presented with all the scenic accessories of the opera, just as Liszt’s Saint Elisabeth was performed at Weimar, in 1881.
59 The only change is by way of addition, namely, of two place from S. Matthew xxvi. 75, xxvii. 51, 52, to the distinct invigoration of the somewhat colourless narrative of the fourth Gospel.
60 G. A. Macfarren, preface to Novello’s edition of the Passion, p. ii.
61 In the interval it had apparently formed part of the Passion music written for 1725, of which indeed it remains the solitary relic. See above, p. 89.
62 This idea had already suggested itself to Telemann, in his S. Mark Passion; and before him it had been used by Heinrich Schuetz in his Seven Words. Another method had been to give Christ’s words to a chorus, as though too great for any single voice: Spitta, vol. ii. pp. 374 f.
63 The smaller masses are in G major and minor, A, and F; the two former are simple adaptations of pieces from the church cantatas. All are of later composition than the S. Matthew Passion; those in G and A apparently dating from about 1737. The four Masses are printed in the eighth volume of the Bach-Gesellschaft. A Christe eleison in C minor and four Sanctuses (B.-G. xi. pt. 1) complete the list of Bach’s Latin works.
64 As already mentioned, p. 65, the Kyrie and Gloria of the High Mass were written for Dresden and dedicated to the king on the 27th of July, 1733; the Credo may have been composed for use at Leipzig even a year or two earlier. The completion of the whole cannot be fixed later than 1738.
65 Bach’s thankfulness has often this same emotional tenour. In the Mass it is made conspicuous by the identity of the music of the Dona nobis with that of the Gratias agimus. The subject is an old church one. Bach had used it before in the great chorus of his Rathswahl-Cantate of 1731, Wir danken dir, Gott (No. 29), where the similar, but different and less elaborate treatment of the same subject—the second subject also is all but identical—offers an instructive study.
66 Forkel, p. 87.
67 See above, p. 53.
68 One good he got from it. The town having awoke to the advantage of hearing good music, it became more liberal in the arrangements, and especially the financial arrangements of the Thomaskirche. It had slept apparently through the S. Matthew Passion.
69 The title is often given in French as the Clavecin bien tempéré; but this is confusing, for the works were never intended for the harpsichord (clavecin), but for the more expressive clavichord (clavier).
70 “You will then,” he adds, “surely become an able musician.”
71 An early form of the prelude and fugue in G (in the second part) will be found in No. 214, p. 42, and yet another prelude to the same fugue at p. 44. The relation of these essays to their inimitable successor is full of suggestion. Similarly the prelude and fugue in A flat (also in the second part) were at first written in F. See 214, p. 40.
72 It is interesting to compare the great organ-fugues, as that in G which dates from 1724-5, or that in C from 1730.
73 Pp. 57 f, cp. 68 f.
74 The most scholarly edition of the Wohltemperirte Clavier was prepared by Franz Kroll for the Bach-Gesellschaft, and appears in the fourteenth volume. Kroll has also brought out a reprint of the text in Peters’ cheap series, by far the most convenient for students, since it is unencumbered by the additions of later pianoforte-music makers, marks of tempo, emphasis, &c.
75 Not, however, by his sons’ hands, as is commonly stated. The Kunst der Fuge is edited by Dr. Rust in the twenty-fifth volume of the Bach-Gesellschaft (first division): its study should be accompanied by Moritz Hauptmann’s musician-like Erläuterungen, published by Peters.
76 It was published in 1752. The only works that appeared in Bach’s lifetime were the five parts of the Clavier-Uebung containing clavichord and organ compositions, the Musikalische Opfer, and a Canon written for Mizler’s Musical Society.
77 The chorale was added in the first edition of the Kunst der Fuge, and its place there, though musically irrelevant, is surely justified by a fine sentiment. Forkel touchingly says, “The expression of pious resignation, and devotion in it, have always affected me whenever I have played it; so that I can hardly say which I would rather miss—this chorale, or the end of the last fugue,” p. 91. The rigour of criticism has of course relegated the piece to the category of organ-works (vii. 58).
78 Forkel, p. 78.
79 Forkel, p. 28.
80 See Spitta, vol. i. 713; ii. 124f.: and compare W. S. Rockstro’s article, Orchestration, in Mr. Grove’s Dictionary of Music and Musicians.
81 A second edition appeared in London in 1878. There are few more amusing examples of ardent hero-worship than this collection contains. Bach is first “our Demi-God,” “our grand Hero,” “our Sacred Musician,” “our Apollo,” “this marvellous Man.” At length Wesley’s rhetoric fails, and his idol becomes “The Man (which expression I prefer to any epithet of great, or wonderful, &c., which are not only common, but weak, as is every other epithet applied to one whom none can sufficiently praise),” p. 36.
82 Curiously enough, Johann Adam Hiller, a respectable musician and a successor of Bach at the Thomasschule, admired Bach’s counterpoint and part-writing, but found his melodies “odd” (sonderbar).
83 The detailed arguments in favour of this arrangement will be found in Spitta, vol. i. pp. 225-230; 339-350; 369-372; 438-461; 480-507; 525-565; 790 f.; 797-801; 803-814; vol. ii. 181-306; 545-569; 774-790; 791-810; 830-838: with which compare the various prefaces in the edition of the Bach-Gesellschaft, vols. i.-xxviii.
84 An incomplete work discovered by Dr. Spitta in the chantry at Langula near Muehlhausen: vol. i. pp. 339 f.
85 Printed by the Bach-Gesellschaft, xiii. (1), p. 73.
86 Printed in J. P. Schmidt’s Kirchengesänge.
87 Printed in the same.
88 Rewritten as No. 80 of the B.-G.
89 Originally intended as the Probe-Stück for his post at Leipzig, but discarded in favour of the preceding number. Perhaps it was produced on the same Sunday in the following year.
90 The dates of Nos. LVI.-LXXIII. do not admit of an exact determination.
91 Fragment afterwards mainly absorbed into a marriage cantata (No. XCIII.) printed by the Bach-Gesellschaft, xiii. (1), p. 3.
92 Rewritten from a Coethen serenade: see above, p. 79, n. 3.
93 Rewritten from a secular cantata: see above, p. 79, n. 1.
94 Printed by the Bach-Gesellschaft, xiii. (1), p. 97.
95 This and the eight following numbers are of uncertain date.
The End