Ehre sei Gott in der Höhe | |
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BWV 197.1 · 197a | |
Christmas cantata by J. S. Bach | |
Performed | 25 December 1728/1729 Leipzig : |
Ehre sei Gott in der Höhe (Glory be to God in the Highest), BWV 197a (197.1), is a Christmas cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach. He composed it in Leipzig for the First Day of Christmas in 1728 or 1729. [1]
Bach composed the work in Leipzig for Christmas Day in 1728 or 1729. [1] The prescribed readings for the feast day were from the Epistle of Titus, "God's mercy appeared" ( Titus 2:11–14) or from Isaiah, "Unto us a child is born" ( Isaiah 9:2–7), and from the Gospel of Luke, the Nativity, Annunciation to the shepherds and the angels' song ( Luke 2:1–14). The text of the cantata is by Picander. [2] The chorale is from the 1697 hymn "Ich freue mich in dir" by Caspar Ziegler. [3] Bach later revised the piece into Gott ist unsre Zuversicht, BWV 197.2. [4]
The cantata is scored for solo alto and bass voices, a four-part choir, two flutes, oboe d'amore, two violins, viola, bassoon, cello, and continuo. [2]
The piece has seven movements (although there may also have been an opening sinfonia): [2] [5]
Only the last four movements of the piece are extant. [5]
The nineteen surviving bars of the fourth movement, an alto aria, demonstrate a rare bassoon obbligati and assume a combined ritornello- ternary form. [5]
The fifth movement is a bass recitative with only continuo accompaniment. It is a "harmonically adventurous", "forceful little movement marked by a robust melodic line". [5]
The following bass aria is accompanied by oboe d'amore and continuo, and is a "jaunty, pastoral dance" in 6/8 time and ritornello-ternary form. The movement is notable for a long rising melisma omitted from the reworked version in BWV 197.2. [5]
Musicologist Julian Mincham suggests that the chorale is "one of the sturdiest in the repertoire". [5]
The recordings are taken from the listing on Bach-Cantatas: [6]