Ten years ago, in November, I went walking the trails in Miantonomi Park on the north end of Newport, RI and took a bunch of the best Fall foliage shots I've ever taken. I created a a photo essay on Gather.com with them, but never ported it over here on the blog. Since then Gather dried up and blew away, taking my photo essays there with it into oblivion, and I forgot all about it. But the photos themselves are still on my hard drive, and I ran across them again this morning while looking for a photo to decorate today's Sunday Bach post. I love these shots and figured I'd share them here on the blog. Enjoy!
Autumn Cathedral - Miantonomi Park, Newport RI, 11/21/2007
Today's Sunday Bach is a double feature, because this Sunday encompasses two separate events in the Lutheran calendar. On the liturgical calendar this is the 20th Sunday after Trinity, but on the Lutheran historical calendar this is Reformation Sunday - the anniversary of Luther's nailing his 95 theses to the door of the Wittenberg schlosskirche is October 31, and many Protestant churches celebrate the Sunday before this date as Reformation Sunday. Bach wrote cantatas for both occasions.
We'll tackle the 20th Sunday after Trinity first, and the cantata I've chosen for today is a real treat - BWV 180, Schmücke dich, o liebe Seele (Adorn yourself, o dear soul), Leipzig, 1724. It's lively, it's danceable, and it's full of wry little musical puns and allusions. It's pure delight from start to finish! Here's Simon Crouch on the subject:
If anyone doubts the influence of the dance on Bach's sacred
music, let them listen to this cantata. It is hard not to picture the
congregation of St. Thomas' skipping down the aisle during the opening
chorus! This cantata mixes the stories of the Epistle (avoid bad
company, bad habits, etc etc) and the Gospel (the parable of the
marriage of the King's son, in which invitations are sent out but
largely ignored). The opening chorus illustrates the Epistle, the first
aria the Gospel and from then on, things are mixed about.
A summary listen to the following tenor aria strongly supports
Robert Marshall's thesis that Bach must have had a formidably good
transverse flute player available whilst this cantata was written. It
mixes stunning virtuosity with great beauty. It's also interesting to
note an unusual feature in this cantata:
Both transverse flutes and recorders are used. The cantata continues
with a recitative that develops into a beautiful arioso, then a
recitative followed by an air. This latter always makes me giggle a bit,
since it bustles along in a very no nonsense way. I always imagine it
being sung by a very prim soprano wearing a hat. After the final
recitative, there is a very delicate, very beautiful chorale (Jesu, wahres Brot des Lebes).
The performance I've chosen is a 1997 recording by the Gabrieli Consort and Players under the direction of Paul McCreesh.
The official date of Reformation Day, more formally the Feast of the Reformation, is October 31, on which date in 1517 Martin Luther presented his Ninety-five Theses. In Bach's time this was celebrated on the date, but these days the celebration is usually moved to the preceding Sunday, known as Reformation Sunday. In Bach's time weekday services and masses were part of the culture, but in modern times, especially in the US, church services for any occasion (except for Christmas and Thanksgiving) are relegated to Sunday, hence Reformation Sunday.
I usually toss a coin on this Sunday every year to decide which group of cantatas I'll pick from, Reformation Day or Trinity 20, but this year is special - it's the 500th anniversary of Luther's break from the Catholic church and deserves special attention. So I decided to post for both. And of course you can't celebrate Reformation Sunday without Bach's grand chorale cantata for the occasion - BWV 80, Ein' feste Burg ist unser Gott, A mighty fortress is our God, based on Martin Luther's most famous hymn of the same name. This cantata has an interesting history; in effect, it evolved through the years of Bach's professional life. It was first composed as a cantata for a Lenten Sunday in Weimar in 1713, but when Bach moved Leipzig in 1724 to become the music director there, he had to find another use for the cantata because the court at Leipzig forbade musical services during Lent. Bach eventually made it a cantata for Reformation Day and revised it several times through the 1720s and 1730s. Here's Simon Crouch on the subject:
Straight down to business with an enormous chorale fantasia on Luther's hymn Ein' feste Burg.
This is one of Bach's pieces that I initially found very daunting:
Great, yes; To admire, of course; But to love? Well, these days I not
infrequently find myself humming one of the fugal voices, whistling
another and trying to hold the rest going in my head. Anyone observing
this act must think that I'm bonkers. But what the heck, it is a very
beautiful edifice.
Two wonderful arias follow, separated by a recitative. The first
motors along to a machine-gun accompaniment on the strings, the seconds
swings beautifully in triple time. The chorale that follows does both.
Next is a tenor/alto duet with accompanying oboe da caccia and finally
an excellent four part harmonisation of the chorale melody. Do try to
hear this cantata in both "modern" and "original" performances: The
former to get more of the grandeur of the piece, the latter to hear it
in the original instrumentation (especially the oboe da caccia. Why did
this wonderful beast die out? Well, OK, it was probably a pig to play
and keep in tune but it does make a lovely noise!)
There is a very interesting essay about the genesis and
publication history of BWV 80 in Christolph Wolff's excellent collection
Bach - Essays on His Life and Music. If you're used to hearing
this cantata with trumpets and drums, then you may be surprised to
learn that their inclusion (in the Bach-Gesellschaft edition) is
probably derived from a parody of this cantata that Wilhelm Friedemann
Bach devised for his own purposes. J.S.B probably had nothing to do with
them at all!
Today's performance is from a performance at the Schlosskirche in Wittenberg on October 31, 2000 by the Monteverdi Choir and the English Baroque Soloists under the direction of the great John Eliot Gardiner; this was part of Gardiner's groundbreaking Bach Pilgrimage series of performances of key cantatas in historic German churches. Enjoy!
Finally, the temperatures have fallen and the leaves have begun to change color; the real Autumn has appeared on the scene. For me, Autumn is the most Pagan of the seasons, the time of year that most colorfully celebrates Mama Gaia's beauty. As a dyed-in-the-wood, tree-hugging, unapologetic Pagan Humanist, my soul expands and my heart sings at this time every year. Here are some scenes from the Dykeman Spring Nature Park from this morning's walk.
During my Sunday walk through the Dykeman Spring Nature Park this morning I noticed that seasonal color is starting to be more noticeable. It's about time! We have much cooler weather arriving by mid week, so maybe the process will speed up a little at last.
The Staghorn Sumacs and some Maples by the creek have brightened up some
Up on the meadow the color change is a little more evident
Today's cantata for the 19th Sunday after Trinity is one of Bach's best - BWV 56, Ich will den Kreuzstab gerne tragen (I will gladly bear the cross, Leipzig, 1726), a solo cantata for bass. This is another of Bach's cantatas describing death as a release and relief, and one of his more beautiful ones in this vein. Here's Simon Crouch:
The opening aria of this great solo cantata is one of those
wonderful examples of Bach's music being perfectly at one with the text.
For example, in the opening phrase, the resolution of a dissonant C
sharp to D (in g minor) immediately gives the impression of the enormous
burden of the Cross being lifted with God's help. The cantata goes on,
with the familiar metaphor of life as a journey through troubled lands
until salvation is reached in the promised land. Meanwhile a recitative,
complete with "waves" (an allusion to Jesus' boat journey at the start
of the gospel reading) leads on to an aria complete with one of those
wonderful oboe accompaniments that so frequenty decorate the cantatas. I
often wonder whether Bach's oboe player(s) appreciated what he was
doing for them! To me these beautiful weaving, sometimes coy, oboe
accompaniments are among the greatest jewels that Bach has left to us.
As a flute player myself, I regret that the transverse flute wasn't as
widely used then as it soon became. If it had, we could have had a few
more of these wonderful tunes to ourselves! Another recitative leads to
the final chorale (Komm, oh tod, du schlafes bruder) beautifully harmonised by Bach.
I went wandering on the country roads to the northwest of Shippensburg, ostensibly to see a stretch of Conodoguinet Creek I hadn't visited yet and hopefully to find an interesting bridge over said creek. It was a long hike - 14 miles - and I saw lots of great scenes and heard lots of Red-bellied Woodpeckers and heard and saw two Ravens in the course of my wanderings. And came home with rubbery legs and aching hips (but surprisingly, my feet are fine, great boots!) and just out and out bushed. But it was all worth it; it was a beautiful day for hiking, and I discovered a gem - Burnt Mill Road. Great views of the north mountains, lots of great farm views, the very interesting Burnt Mill Veterinary Center, and a fantastic bridge - a steel framed trestle with a wooden plank deck over the Conodoguinet. For me, that's the next best thing to a covered bridge! Here are some scenes from that wonderful hike.
Looking north from West Creek Rd. approaching the north end of Burnt Mill Rd.
Walking south down Burnt Mill Rd. with South Mountain in the background
Part of the campus of the Burnt Mill Veterinary Center
The bridge over Conodoguinet Creek
The wooden-planked deck of the bridge
Conodoguinet Creek at Burnt Mill Rd.
An old spring house on Burnt Mill Rd., with the spring still running from it
I have a three-day weekend this week, starting today, and I decided to use it to catch up on Autumn in the countryside. I went up on the Cumberland Valley Rail Trail today with that in mind, but to my disappointment things aren't looking particularly autumnal. The weather hasn't been conducive to colorful foliage, what with some unusual September and October heat waves. Colder weather is coming next weekend, but things may already have been spoiled; on the Maple across the street from me, which usually turns a red so bright that I swear you can read by it at night, the leaves have gone brown and crinkly around the edges, and I fear there won't be any color there this year.
Still, it was a beautiful day and well worth the walk, and there were things to see and scenes to photograph. The light was just right to get some good shadows and shadow-and-light patterns, so not all was lost. Come take a look!
Rock is the defining reality of the Cumberland Valley; it pokes up through the earth everywhere!
Lines and shadows on the footbridge over Fogelsanger Road
Walking up the Rail Trail
A side trail with a touch of color
A feral cat calculating the odds of catching that squirrel in the tree
Walking through a tunnel of trees
A farm, a dirt road, and a touch of Fall color
A panoramic view of the Cumberland Valley from the Rail Trail
This week's cantata for the 18th Sunday after Trinity is BWV 96, Herr Christ, der einige Gottessohn (Lord Christ, the only son of God), composed and performed in Leipzig in 1724. What captures the attention is that beautiful piccolo accompaniment in the opening chorus, adding a note of cheer and light, which Bach continues through the rest of the cantata. This is indeed a bright, cheerful work from a usually pretty somber Bach. Here's what Simon Crouch had to say about it:
If you enjoy BWV 1
How brightly shines the morning star
then perhaps this is the next cantata that you should turn to. A
different hymn (by Elisabeth Kreutziger) but the same allusion: He is the Morning Star….far brightest star of all
and musically (in the first chorus) a similar treatment. The sparkling
opening chorus is one of my favourites and is unusual in having a flauto
piccolo (equivalent to our sopranino recorder) chattering beautifully
away at the top of the orchestra. Also unusual is that the alto line
holds the cantus firmus. After a recitative, the tenor da capo
aria is quite long but the level of inspiration is more than enough to
hold the attention; the flute has an especially enjoyable line. The bass
aria is, perhaps, a lot more straightforward but conveys the text well
and the cantata finishes with an especially fine chorale harmonisation.
This week's performance is from a 1978 recording by the Concentus Musicus Wien with the Tölzer Knabenchor under the direction of Nicholas Harnoncourt. Enjoy!
My weekly Sunday walk in the Dykeman Spring Nature Park revealed scenes of Nature in transition to Fall color. Mostly it's the shrubs and small trees changing now - the Virginia Creeper and Staghorn Sumac are glowing bright red, and yellows are popping up as well. We also have some wet weather moving in; it rained a little as a front moved through this morning, and now we're awaiting the arrival of the remnants of Nate, which is supposed to give us some long-awaited and much needed all-day soaking rain tonight and tomorrow. With cooler temperatures following, we should be seeing more color soon!
Of the three cantatas Bach wrote for this Sunday in the liturgical calendar, surely this one - BWV 148, Bringet dem Herrn Ehre seines Namens (Bring to the Lord the glory of his name, Leipzig, 1725) - is one of his most magnificent. The fugal opening chorus alone is worth the listen, but the rest of the cantata keeps the glory alive. Here's what the late Craig Smith of Emmanuel Music had to say about this cantata:
Our cantata today was written for the seventeenth Sunday after Trinity.
The beautiful exhortation of Paul to the Ephesians for generosity and
selflessness is combined with the parable of the man invited to the
rich man’s dinner. Both readings emphasize humility and modesty. The
resultant text is unusually sunny, without any of the dark shadows that
permeate most of Bach’s cantata texts.
The opening chorus, a quote from Psalm 29, is a brilliant and densely
fugal work for trumpet, oboe, and strings. It is something of a curiosity
that Bach, in a very unusual move, sets the whole text at the outset
and then divides it up into sections for the various fugues that make
up the rest of the piece. The texture, while joyous, is unremittingly
dense. Clearly Bach wants to give the effect of an enormous crowd singing
these ringing words. The tenor aria is a virtuoso affair both for the
solo violin as well as for the high-flying tenor part. The alto goes
much deeper. The recitative starts with a famous quote from Psalm 42
and then goes into the main message of the parable, that good works
can be done on the Sabbath as well as the rest of the week. The beautiful
aria with three oboes has a calm and warmth that brings to a wonderful
close the ringing affirmation of the opening chorus. This cantata is
a wonderful example of Bach’s ability to take ideas that don’t seem
to have much contrast and build a convincing and moving structure of
faith. The work ends with a rich and warm harmonization of the chorale
“Auf meinem lieben Gott.”
Today's performance is a live recording from 2000 by the Monteverdi Choir and the English Baroque Soloists under the direction of John Eliot Gardiner, to my mind one of the best interpreters and conductors of Bach's music. Enjoy!
All four of the cantatas Bach composed for this particular Sunday in the liturgical calendar focus on death as a welcome release from the burdens of this life on earth, a common belief in Bach's time. Of the four cantatas written for this Sunday, BWV 8, Liebster Gott, wenn werd ich sterben? (Dearest God, when shall I die?, Leipzig, 1724) has always been a favorite of mine. Despite the subject matter of the text of the cantata, the music itself is warm, friendly, and leisurely. Musicologist Philipp Spitta described
it as having the sound of a “church-yard full
of flowers in the springtime.” The flute figure in the opening chorus is always described as the sound of bells, but to me it sounds like birdsong, adding to that feeling of a church-yard in Spring, hence my choice of the photo of a Song Sparrow in full voice above. Here's what musicologist Simon Crouch has to say about this cantata:
A word from Philipp Spitta about the opening movement of this
chorale cantata: "..the sound of tolling bells, the fragrance of
blossoms pervades it - the sentiment of a churchyard in springtime". The
continuo tolls the bell low in the harmony, the upper strings repeat a
pizzicato bell-like figure and the flute alternates between arpeggios
and repeated staccato high notes. All the while the oboes d'amore
intertwine their sinuously attractive melody with the choir's chorale.
This is a very lovely movement!
The theme is a common one in the cantatas: When shall we take
leave of the sufferings of mortal life and achieve eternal life in
Heaven? The bells continue tolling in the tenor aria and the (solo) oboe
d'amore has another beautiful line. After a recitative, Heaven is
achieved in the tour-de-force that is the bass aria. It is really
difficult to avoid the feeling that here we have a movement, a gigue,
from a lost flute concerto. It is a wonderful, optimistic, virtuoso
piece and if you have any love for the flute as a solo instrument, do
try to hear this. The cantata closes, after a recitative, with a lovely
chorale setting with orchestral accompaniment. Especially effective is
the low bass note that precedes the voices. The chorale melody itself,
by Daniel Vetter, is especially attractive.
There was something formless and perfect before the universe was born. It is serene. Empty. Solitary. Unchanging. Infinite. Eternally present. It is the mother of the universe. For lack of a better name, I call it the Tao.
It flows through all things, inside and outside, and returns to the origin of all things.
The Tao is great. The universe is great. Earth is great. Man is great. These are the four great powers.
Man follows the earth. Earth follows the universe. The universe follows the Tao. The Tao follows only itself.
Tao Te Ching, Chapter 25 Translation by Stephen Mitchell
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