Herr Christ, der einge Gottessohn, BWV 96

Herr Christ, der einge Gottessohn
BWV 96
Chorale cantata by J. S. Bach
Thomaskirche, Leipzig
Occasion	18th Sunday after Trinity
Performed	8 October 1724 (1724-10-08): Leipzig
Movements	6
Cantata text	anonymous
Chorale	"Herr Christ, der einig Gotts Sohn" by Elisabeth Cruciger
Vocal	SATB choir and solo
Instrumental	horn flauto traverso flauto piccolo 2 oboes 2 violins viola continuo

Herr Christ, der einge Gottessohn (Lord Christ, the only Son of God),^[1] BWV 96,^{[lower-alpha 1]} is a church cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach. He composed the chorale cantata in Leipzig for the 18th Sunday after Trinity and first performed it on 8 October 1724. Part of Bach's second annual cycle, of mostly chorale cantatas, it is based on the hymn in five stanzas "Herr Christ, der einig Gotts Sohn" by Elisabeth Cruciger, published in Eyn geystlich Gesangk Buchleyn in 1524.

The hymn, related to mysticism and comparing Jesus to the Morning star, matches two aspects of the prescribed gospel for the Sunday, the Great Commandment and a theological dispute about the term "Son of David". An unknown poet kept the first and last stanza for the first and last movement of the cantata, and paraphrased the inner stanzas as four movements, alternating recitative and aria. Bach set the first stanza as a chorale fantasia with the cantus firmus in the alto, adding sparkle by a "dancing" soprano and the illumination of a sopranino, which he used for the first time in his cantatas. In the four inner movements, all four vocal parts have their solo. A tenor aria is accompanied by an obbligato transverse flute, a part written for a virtuoso player. A bass aria is accompanied by a oboes on one side, strings on the other, acting as in a Venetian concerto. The cantata is closed with a simple four-part setting of the hymn tune. Bach performed the cantata again in later years, with minor changes to the scoring.

History and text

Bach wrote the cantata in 1724 for the 18th Sunday after Trinity as part of his second annual cycle of mostly chorale cantatas. The prescribed readings for the Sunday were from the First Epistle to the Corinthians, Paul's thanks for grace of God in Ephesus (1 Corinthians 1:4–8), and from the Gospel of Matthew, the Great Commandment (Matthew 22:34–46), also mentioning that the byname "Son of David" was discussed in a "theological dispute" of Jesus and the pharisees.^[2]^[3]

The cantata text of an unknown author is based exclusively on the hymn "Herr Christ, der einig Gotts Sohn" in five stanzas by Elisabeth Cruciger (1524).^[2]^[4] The hymn is based on a Latin Christmas hymn, "Corde natus ex parentis", by Aurelius Prudentius. It is the first hymn by a Lutheran reformer which continues late medieval mysticism.^[4] Martin Luther appreciated the hymn so much that he placed it at the beginning of an early hymnal,^[2] Eyn geystlich Gesangk Buchleyn.^[4] The chorale was originally associated with Epiphany, but also with the 18th Sunday after Trinity.^[5]

The hymn's first and last stanza in their original wording became movements 1 and 6, first and last of the cantata, as usual in Bach's chorale cantatas.^[3] The unknown librettist paraphrased stanzas 2 and 3 to the cantata's respective movements, and stanza 4 to movements 4 and 5. The Gospel asks how Jesus, of David's descent as said in 2 Samuel 7, can also be David's Lord, as claimed in Psalms 110:1. The hymn tries to answer this question, comparing Jesus to the Morning star, an image also used in the hymn "Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern", the base for Bach's cantata Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern, BWV 1.^[5]

Bach performed the cantata at least three times, first on 8 October 1724, a second time probably on 24 October 1734 when the sopranino was replaced by a violino piccolo,^[3] and a third time probably on 1 October 1740. The Bach scholar Christoph Wolff suggested performances in 1744/47,^[6] Klaus Hofmann in 1747, when the corno part was given to a trombone.^[3]

Scoring and structure

Bach structured the cantata in six movements, framing alternating recitatives and arias by an opening chorale fantasia and a closing four-part chorale.^[6] He scored it for soprano, alto, tenor and bass soloists, a four-part choir, and an ensemble of Baroque instruments: horn (Co) or (later) trombone to enforce the hymn tune, flauto traverso (Ft), flauto piccolo (Fp) or (later) violino piccolo, two oboes (Ob), two violins (Vl), viola (Va), cello (Vc), and basso continuo.^[7] The title page of the autograph score reads: "Concerto. / Dominica 18. post. Trinit: / Herr Christ der einge Gottes Sohn etc. / a / Traversiere / 2 Hautbois / 2 Violini / Viola / Canto / Alto / Tenore / Basso / e / Continuo. / d. J.S. Bach".^[8]

In the following table of the movements, the scoring follows the Neue Bach-Ausgabe. The keys and time signatures are taken from Alfred Dürr, using the symbol for common time (4/4).^[5] The continuo, playing throughout, is not shown.

Movements of *Herr Christ, der einge Gottessohn*, BWV 96
No.	Title	Text	Type	Vocal	Winds	Strings	Key	Time
1	Herr Christ, der einge Gottessohn	Cruciger	Chorale fantasia	SATB	Co Fp 2Ob	2Vl Va	F major	9/8
2	O Wunderkraft der Liebe	anon.	Recitative	A
3	Ach, ziehe die Seele mit Seilen der Liebe	anon	Aria	T	Ft		C major
4	Ach, führe mich, o Gott, zum rechten Wege	anon.	Recitative	S
5	Bald zur Rechten, bald zur Linken	anon.	Aria	B	2Ob	2Vl Va	D minor	3/4
6	Ertöt uns durch dein Güte	Cruciger	Chorale	SATB	Co 2Ob	2Vl Va	F major

Music

1

As in most cantatas of the second cycle, Bach set the opening chorus on the first stanza of the hymn in its original wording, "Herr Christ, der einge Gottessohn" (Lord Christ, only Son of God),^[1] as chorale fantasia. He asssigned the cantus firmus to the alto, enforced by a horn (in later performance replaced by trombone). Bach had a used a cantus firmus in the alto already in his chorale cantata Ach Gott, vom Himmel sieh darein, BWV 2, for the second Sunday after Trinity.^[3] In Herr Christ, der einge Gottessohn, this leaves the sopranos free, as the musicologist Julian Mincham notes, "to dance their own hymn of joy in the upper register above the chorale tune, thus lightening the texture and mood of the entire chorus". An unusual flauto piccolo or sopranino recorder is used to illustrate the sparkling of the morning star.^[9] Hofmann notes that it was the Bach's first use of a sopranino in a cantata, and the first introduction of his Leipzig audience to the instrument which had not been used as a concert instrument. In a later performance (probably 1734) it was replaced by a violino piccolo.^[3] The choral setting is polyphonic in the three other voices and embedded in instrumental music based on similar motifs.^[10]

2

The first recitative for alto, "O Wunderkraft der Liebe" (O wondrous power of love),^[1] is secco, only accompanied by the continuo. It refers to Jesus as descendant of David and son of Mary, reflecting the Virgin birth. John Eliot Gardiner, who conducted in 2000 the Bach Cantata Pilgrimage and performed this cantata in Leipzig's Thomaskirche, notes that the cantata's two recitatives are "exemplary even by Bach's standards in their economy of means and richness of expression.^[2]^[10] Mincham notes that a "flowing bass line" is heard when one line is quoted from the hymn, referring to "the end of earthly time".^[10]

3

The tenor aria, "Ach, ziehe die Seele mit Seilen der Liebe" (Ah, draw my soul with skeins of love),^[1] is accompanied by the transverse flute, probably played by the flauto piccolo player of the first movement.^[2] As for Was frag ich nach der Welt, BWV 94, written some weeks before, Bach seems to have had an excellent flute playerat hand,^[5] whom he used in twelve cantatas in the fall of 1724. Some musicologists think that he was Friedrich Gottlieb Wild, a law student.^[2]

4

The recitative for soprano, "Ach, führe mich, o Gott, zum rechten Wege" (Ah, lead me, o God, to the right path),^[1] is a prayer for God's guidance.^[2]

5

The bass aria illustrates the words "Bald zur Rechten, bald zur Linken lenkte sich mein verirrter Schritt" (Soon to the right, soon to the left my erring steps lean)^[1] in jagged motifs and a frequent switch between winds and strings. In the middle section steady steps picture "Gehe doch, mein Heiland, mit" (Yet go with me, my Savior).^[1]^[10] The final part combines both elements.^[5] Gardiner notes that Bach uses the winds and strings in concerting choirs (cori spezzati), enforced by positioning them on galleries, one of them right, the other left of the singers.^[2]^[6] The technique had been practised in Venice in the late sixteenth century and introduced in Germany by composers such as Heinrich Schütz who studied in Venice. Gardiner observes also a hint at the style of French opera which Bach may have heard, traveling as a boy in northern Germany, at the Hamburg opera, in Celle or Lüneburg.^[2]

6

The closing chorale,"Ertöt uns durch dein Güte" (Kill us through your goodness),^[1] is a four-part setting for the choir, horn, oboes and strings playing colla parte with the voices.^[5]

Selected recordings

The sortable table is taken from the selection on the Bach-Cantatas website.^[11] Choirs are roughly marked as large (by red background), instrumental groups playing period instruments in historically informed performances are highlighted green under the header Instr..

Recordings of *Herr Christ, der einge Gottessohn*, BWV 96
Title	Conductor / Choir / Orchestra	Soloists	Label	Year	Choir type	Instr.
Die Bach Kantate Vol. 52	Rilling, HelmuthHelmuth Rilling Gächinger Kantorei Bach-Collegium Stuttgart	Helen Donath Marga Höffgen Adalbert Kraus Siegmund Nimsgern	Hänssler	1973 (1973)		Chamber
Bach Cantatas Vol. 5 – Sundays after Trinity II	Richter, KarlKarl Richter Münchener Bach-Chor Münchener Bach-Orchester	Edith Mathis Trudeliese Schmidt Peter Schreier Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau	Archiv Produktion	1978 (1978)		Period
J. S. Bach: Das Kantatenwerk – Sacred Cantatas Vol. 5	Leonhardt, GustavGustav Leonhardt Tölzer Knabenchor Leonhardt-Consort	Soloist of the Tölzer Knabenchor Paul Esswood Kurt Equiluz Philippe Huttenlocher	Teldec	1979 (1979)	Boys	Period
Bach Cantatas Vol. 9: Lund / Leipzig / For the 17th Sunday after Trinity / For the 18th Sunday after Trinity	Gardiner, John EliotJohn Eliot Gardiner Monteverdi Choir English Baroque Soloists	Katharine Fuge Nathalie Stutzmann Christoph Genz Gotthold Schwarz	Soli Deo Gloria	2000 (2000)		Period
J.S. Bach: Solokantaten Kreuzstabkantate BWV 56; "Der Friede sei mit dir" BWV 158; "Ich habe genug" BWV 82	Beringer, Karl-Friedrich Karl-Friedrich Beringer Windsbacher Knabenchor Consortium Musicum	Siegmund Nimsgern	Baier Records	1991 (1991)	Boys
J. S. Bach: Complete Cantatas Vol. 13	Koopman, TonTon Koopman Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir	Deborah York Franziska Gottwald Paul Agnew Klaus Mertens	Antoine Marchand	2000 (2000)		Period
J. S. Bach: Cantatas Vol. 26	Suzuki, MasaakiMasaaki Suzuki Bach Collegium Japan	Yukari Nonoshita Timothy Kenworthy-Brown Makoto Sakurada Peter Kooy	BIS	2003 (2003)		Period

Notes

↑ "BWV" is Bach-Werke-Verzeichnis, a thematic catalogue of Bach's works.

References

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Dellal, Pamela. "BWV 96 – Herr Christ, der einge Gottessohn". Emmanuel Music. Retrieved 13 October 2014.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Gardiner, John Eliot (2009). "Cantatas for the Nineteenth Sunday after Trinity / Erlöserkirche, Potsdam" (PDF). Bach-Cantatas. pp. 10–11. Retrieved 4 October 2015.
1 2 3 4 5 6 Hofmann, Klaus (2004). "Herr Christ, der einge Gottessohn BWV 96 / LordChrist,the only Son of God" (PDF). Bach-Cantatas. pp. 7–8. Retrieved 4 October 2015.
1 2 3 "Chorale Melodies used in Bach's Vocal Works / Herr Christ, der einge Gottessohn". bach-cantatas.com. 2008. Retrieved 5 October 2012.
1 2 3 4 5 6 Dürr, Alfred (1981). Die Kantaten von Johann Sebastian Bach (in German). 1 (4 ed.). Deutscher Taschenbuchverlag. pp. 467–469. ISBN 3-423-04080-7.
1 2 3 Wolff, Christoph (2000). "Chorale Cantatas from the cycle of the Leipzig church cantatas, 1724-25 (III)" (PDF). Bach-Cantatas. pp. 8–9. Retrieved 4 October 2015.
↑ Bischof, Walter F. "BWV 96 Herr Christ, der einge Gottessohn". University of Alberta. Retrieved 4 October 2015.
↑ Grob, Jochen (2014). "BWV 96 / BC 142" (in German). s-line.de. Retrieved 4 October 2015.
↑ "Herr Christ, der ein'ge Gottessohn (Lord Christ, the only Son of God)". arkivmusic.com. 2010. Retrieved 27 September 2010.
1 2 3 4 Mincham, Julian (2010). "Chapter 19 BWV 96 Herr Christ, der einge Gottessohn / Lord Christ, the one Son of God.". jsbachcantatas.com. Retrieved 4 October 2015.
↑ Oron, Aryeh. "Cantata BWV 96 Herr Christ, der einge Gottessohn". bach-cantatas.com. Retrieved 3 October 2015.

Sources

Church cantatas by Johann Sebastian Bach

Before Leipzig	Early: BWV 4 131 71 106 196 150 143 Weimar: BWV 61 70a 186a 132 174a 63 152 155 18 54 80a 182 31 12 172 165 21 185 199 161 162 163 Köthen: BWV Anh. 5

First cycle (1723–24)	Between Trinity and Advent: BWV 75 76 24 167 147 186 136 105 46 179 69a 77 25 138 95 148 48 109 89 60 90 70 From Advent to Trinity: BWV 40 64 190 153 65 154 73 81 83 144 181 22 23 66 134 67 104 166 86 37 44 59 184

Second cycle (& chorale cantatas)	Chorale cantatas between Trinity and Easter: BWV 20 2 7 135 10 93 107 178 94 101 113 33 78 99 8 130 114 96 5 180 38 115 139 26 116 62 91 121 133 122 41 123 124 3 111 92 125 126 127 1 Continuation of the second cycle: BWV 6 42 85 103 108 87 128 183 74 68 175 176 Later additions to the chorale cantata cycle: BWV 80 137 129 58 112 140 177 9 14 Other late chorale cantatas: BWV 117 192 100 97

Third cycle	After Trinity 1725: BWV 168 164 79 Liturgical year 1725–26: BWV 110 57 151 28 16 32 13 72 146 43 39 88 170 187 45 102 35 17 19 27 47 169 56 49 98 55 52 1727: BWV 82 84 34 173

Later and other	Picander cycle: BWV 149 188 197a 171 156 159 145 174 Late parodies: BWV 36 30 191 200 1083 Council election: BWV 119 193 Anh. 3 29 120 69 Wedding: BWV 34a 195 120a 197 Funeral: 157 244a Other: 194 190a 120b 51 158 50 248/VIa Doubtful: 53 142 189 217 220 221 223 224

Bach cantata List of Bach cantatas Discography: Monteverdi Choir/Koopman/Teldec

Cantatas by Johann Sebastian Bach by BWV number

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 (oratorio) 12 13 14 15^** 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 30a 31 32 33 34 34a 35 36 36a 36b 36c 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 (53)^* 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 66a 67 68 69 69a 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 80a 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 (motet) 119 120 120a 120b 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 (131a)^* 132 133 134 134a 135 136 137 138 139 140 ~~141~~^** (142)^* 143 144 145 146 147 147a 148 149 150 151 152 153 154 155 156 157 158 159 ~~160~~^** 161 162 163 164 165 166 167 168 169 170 171 172 173 173a 174 175 176 177 178 179 180 181 182 183 184 185 186 187 188 (189)^* 190 190a 191 192 193 193a 194 195 196 197 197a 198 199 200 201 202 203 204 205 205a 206 207 207a 208 208a 209 210 210a 211 212 213 214 215 216 216a (217)^* ~~218~~^ ~~219~~^ (220)^* (221)^* ~~222~~^** 223 224 244a 248a 249a 249b 1040 1045 1083 1127 Anh. 3 Anh. 5 Anh. 9 Anh. 11 Anh. 18 — ^(Doubtful) ^*~~Spurious~~

Lists: Compositions Cantatas ; Church cantatas: Chorale cantatas Early Weimar 1st cycle 2nd cycle 3rd cycle Picander cycle Late ; Secular cantatas

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