Sunday Bach - 13th Sunday After Trinity

South Mountain, September

Of the three cantatas Bach composed for the 13th Sunday after Trinity, I've always found his earliest one the most compelling - BWV 77, Du sollt Gott, deinen Herren, Lieben (Thou shalt love the Lord thy God), Leipzig, 1723. This is Bach's commentary on the parable of the Good Samaritan, and especially Jesus' statement that above all commandments is this one, that we love our neighbor as ourselves. The opening chorus is one of Bach's greatest, exploring the complexities of the Law and the one law upon which it all rests. Here's Simon Crouch's commentary on this most magnificent yey most intimate of cantatas:

The text for the day concerns the parable of the Good Samaritan and the theme of this early Leipzig cantata is a meditation upon the ten commandments. Immediately, Bach plunges us into symbolism, the opening chorus is absolutely stuffed full of it! For example, there's immediately a canon, canon=law (a pun, but a common one of the day). The trumpet intones Luther's chorale These are the holy Ten Commandments above the chorus and orchestra. The bass performs the melody in enlarged note values (Thou shalt love the Lord your God is the fundamental commandment) and the trumpet has ten entries, corresponding to the ten commandments. Despite (or perhaps because of, knowing Bach's skill in these matters) all this extra-musical baggage, the chorus is quite superb. After this, the rest of the cantata might have become an anticlimax but it's not so. Following a recitative, there's a superb, optimistic, soprano aria introduced and accompanied by the most meltingly gorgeous oboe duet. The alto aria, that follows the final recitative, is more reflective (Lord, my love is unworthy, Ever prone to fault and guilt) and is accompanied by a haunting trumpet line. The cantata ends with a simple chorale setting. There is some ambiguity here since the movement has come down to us without a text and authorities differ as to which hymn verse should fit.

This short cantata is a most beautiful and profound and yet, at the same time, intimate work.

Copyright © 1996 & 1998, Simon Crouch.

Today's performance is from 1997 by the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra and Choir under the direction of Ton Koopman. Enjoy!

       

Photo © 2012 by A. Roy Hilbinger