Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports 2010 Four Trinity Sunday Cantatas by J. S. Bach: An Examination and Comparison Jeffry Blake Johnson West Virginia University Follow this and additional works at: https://researchrepository.wvu.edu/etd Recommended Citation Johnson, Jeffry Blake, "Four Trinity Sunday Cantatas by J. S. Bach: An Examination and Comparison" (2010). Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports. 3534. https://researchrepository.wvu.edu/etd/3534 This Dissertation is protected by copyright and/or related rights. It has been brought to you by the The Research Repository @ WVU with permission from the rights-holder(s). You are free to use this Dissertation in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you must obtain permission from the rights-holder(s) directly, unless additional rights are indicated by a Creative Commons license in the record and/ or on the work itself. This Dissertation has been accepted for inclusion in WVU Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports collection by an authorized administrator of The Research Repository @ WVU. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Four Trinity Sunday Cantatas by J. S. Bach: An Examination and Comparison Jeffry Blake Johnson Research Project submitted to the College of Creative Arts at West Virginia University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Musical Arts in Performance: Conducting Kathleen Shannon, DMA, Chair and Research Advisor Mary Ferer, PhD, Research Advisor Cynthia Anderson, MM John Hendricks III, MM Lawrence T. Nichols, PhD Division of Music Morgantown, West Virginia 2010 Keywords: Johann Sebastian Bach, Bach cantatas, Leipzig cantatas, Trinity Sunday music, Philosophical/Theological ideas of Bach Copyright 2010 Jeffry Blake Johnson ABSTRACT Four Trinity Sunday Cantatas by J. S. Bach: An Examination and Comparison Jeffry Blake Johnson While the four cantatas presented on Trinity Sunday during Bach’s Leipzig years ‒ BWV 194, 176, 165, and 129 ‒ were all intended for the same liturgical day, a significant diversity exists among the four compositions. This diversity results from the variety of source material on which the cantatas were based, including material composed during the Leipzig years as well as material re-worked from previous Bach cantatas. The diversity also results from the different librettos and librettists that were utilized for the cantatas. Other factors include the variety of the cantatas’ movement structures, performing forces, and the theological/philosophical themes that are central to each composition. This document is a study of the four cantatas, first examining the compositions in detail, then examining the compositions by their commonalities and their dissimilarities, with specific attention to the methods by which Bach presented the theological/philosophical messages in each cantata. An appendix of translations and scriptural allusions for each cantata movement is also included at the close of the document. The variety of perspectives employed in this document forms a unique examination of the four Trinity Sunday cantatas that has not previously been seen in Bach scholarship. ii Table of Contents List of Figures ................................................................................................................................. v List of Tables ................................................................................................................................ vii Dedication .................................................................................................................................... viii Chapter 1: Introduction and Selected Historical Background ........................................................ 1 Cantatas and Bach ................................................................................................................... 1 Trinity Sunday and Scripture .................................................................................................. 2 Statement of Topic and Procedure .......................................................................................... 6 Limitations .............................................................................................................................. 8 Translations ............................................................................................................................. 8 Bibliography ........................................................................................................................... 9 Chapter 2: Höchsterwünschtes Freudenfest, BWV 194 ............................................................... 10 Scoring .................................................................................................................................. 10 Performance/Compositional History .................................................................................... 11 Libretto .................................................................................................................................. 14 Detail of Each Movement ..................................................................................................... 17 Chapter 3: O heilges Geist- und Wasserbad, BWV 165 ............................................................... 43 Scoring .................................................................................................................................. 43 Performance/Compositional History .................................................................................... 44 Libretto .................................................................................................................................. 45 Detail of Each Movement ..................................................................................................... 46 Chapter 4: Es ist ein trotzig un verzagt Ding, BWV 176.............................................................. 58 Scoring .................................................................................................................................. 58 Performance/Compositional History .................................................................................... 59 Libretto .................................................................................................................................. 60 Detail of Each Movement ..................................................................................................... 62 Chapter 5: Gelobet sei der Herr, BWV 129 ................................................................................. 74 Scoring .................................................................................................................................. 74 Performance/Compositional History .................................................................................... 75 Libretto .................................................................................................................................. 76 Detail of Each Movement ..................................................................................................... 77 Chapter 6: Overall Comparison .................................................................................................... 98 Scoring .................................................................................................................................. 98 iii Performance/Compositional History .................................................................................. 101 Libretto ................................................................................................................................ 103 Detail of Each Movement ................................................................................................... 106 Chapter 7: Summary and Conclusions ........................................................................................ 116 Question 1: From what musical and textual material did Bach compose his Trinity Sunday cantatas? .............................................................................................................................. 116 Question 2: How do the components and messages of the Trinity Sunday cantatas compare with one another? ................................................................................................................ 117 Question 3: How did Bach use the musical and textual components of the cantatas to communicate his intended theological/philosophical messages? ....................................... 118 Additional Conclusions ....................................................................................................... 119 Bach created only four Trinity Sunday cantatas for practical, creative, and theologically/spiritually expressive reasons. .................................................................. 119 Bach made choices about instrumentation based on availability of musicians and his intention of musical/theological expression. Instruments of the oboe family were the most prominently featured wind instruments of Bach’s cantatas due to the excellent skills of Bach’s Leipzig oboists. ................................................................................................... 121 Bach was an innovator. ................................................................................................... 123 The Trinity