Nimm von uns, Herr, du treuer Gott belongs to Bach's chorale cantata cycle, the second cycle during his tenure as Thomaskantor that began in 1723. The text of the hymn is retained for the first and last stanzas unchanged, while the text of inner stanzas was paraphrased by an unknown librettist into a sequence of alternating arias and recitatives. The first movement is a chorale fantasia, and the work is closed by a four-partchorale setting.
The cantata is based on a hymn in ten stanzas by Johann Burchard Freystein (1695),[2] which expands a single theme related to the Gospel: be prepared by awareness and prayer for the arrival of the Lord.[3] An unknown poet retained the first and the last stanza as movements 1 and 6 of the cantata. He derived the inner movements as a sequence of alternating arias and recitatives from the inner stanzas, using stanza 2 for 2, stanzas 3 to 6 for 3, stanza 7 for 4, keeping the first two lines unchanged, and stanzas 8 to 9 for 5.[4] The chorale is sung to the anonymous melody of "Straf mich nicht in deinem Zorn" (1681), of secular origin.[4]
Bach led the Thomanerchor in the first performance of the cantata on 5 November 1724.[2][3][7]
Music
Structure and scoring
Bach structured the cantata in six movements. Both text and tune of the hymn are retained in the outer movements, a chorale fantasia and a four-part closing chorale.[3] Bach scored the work for four vocal soloists (soprano (S), alto (A), tenor (T) and bass (B)), a four-part choir, and a Baroque instrumental ensemble of horn (Co) to double the soprano in the chorale, flauto traverso (Ft), oboe d'amore (Oa), two violin parts (Vl), one viola part (Va), violoncell piccolo (Vp), and basso continuo.[2][3]
In the following table of the movements, the scoring, keys and time signatures are taken from Alfred Dürr's standard work Die Kantaten von Johann Sebastian Bach.[3] The continuo, which plays throughout, is not shown.
The opening chorus, "Mache dich, mein Geist, bereit, wache, fleh und bete" (Make yourself ready, my spirit, be vigilant, plead, and pray),[1] is a chorale fantasia in the form of a passacaglia. The instruments perform independent concertante chamber music, set for a quartet: the flute, the oboe d'amore, the strings in unison and basso continuo.[4] The soprano sings the melody as a cantus firmus, the lower voices are set partly in imitation, partly in homophony.[5]
2
The alto aria, "Ach schläfrige Seele, wie? ruhest du noch? Ermuntre dich doch!" (Oh, sleepy soul, how? Do you still rest? Arouse yourself now!),[1] begins, as Klaus Hofmann noted, "as a musical sleep scene of a kind that could have graced any opera of the time".[5] Marked Adagio, the oboe d'amore plays a solo in siciliano rhythm, leading to a "long, peaceful, quasi-'sleeping' note",[5] supported by "tranquil basslines.[4] The text's admonition to be vigilant (Judgment might abruptly awaken you")[1] appears in the contrasting middle section, marked Allegro.[5]
3
The bass recitative, "Gott, so vor deine Seele wacht, hat Abscheu an der Sünden Nacht" (God, who watches over your soul, has disgust for the night of sin),[1] is set as a secco recitative.[3]
4
The soprano aria, "Bete aber auch dabei mitten in dem Wachen!" (Pray nevertheless also during your vigil!),[1] uses these two lines from the original hymn. Flute and violoncello piccolo play chamber music, to which the solo adds what Hofmann describes as a "noble cantilena".[5] It is marked Molto adagio, and is built on mostly descending basslines.[4]
5
The secco recitative for tenor, "Er sehnet sich nach unserm Schreien, er neigt sein gnädig Ohr hierauf" (He yearns for our cries, he bends his gracious ear to them),[1] refers to Jesus coming to help.[1]
6
The closing chorale, "Drum so laßt uns immerdar wachen, flehen, beten" (Therefore, let us always watch, plead, and pray),[1] is a four-part setting of the final call to remain alert always.[5][8] The lower voices, especially the bass, move unusually lively.[4]
Recordings
A list of recordings is provided on the Bach Cantatas Website.[9] Ensembles playing period instruments in historically informed performances are shown with a green background.
