Chapter 10 Baroque Vocal Music

1
Chapter 10Baroque Vocal Music

• The Church
• Cantata

2
Key Terms

• Church cantata
• Chorales
• Gapped chorale

3
The Church Cantata

• Second in importance to oratorio
• Cantata work in several movements for voices
  instruments
• Could use sacred or secular texts
• Featured solo voice(s) sometimes chorus
• Church cantata
• Always based on sacred text
• Used solo voices usually used chorus
• Texts for Lutheran church cantatas had to fit
  with fixed Bible readings for each Sunday of the
  church year

4
The Lutheran Chorale

• Most Lutheran cantatas use chorales
• Chorale German congregational hymn
• Martin Luther favored hymn singinghe wanted
  audience participation
• From that time on, the body of German hymns grew
  steadily
• Hymns well-known well-loved by Lutheran
  congregations
• When used in cantatas, chorales provided rich
  source of associations

5
Cantatas Chorales

• Cantatas used chorales in several ways
• Final movement of typical Bach cantata used
  single verse of a chorale sung straight through
  with simple harmonization
• Longer choruses could present chorale phrases one
  by one, with a point of imitation on each one
• Gapped chorales presented chorale melody in
  spurts, with a continuously recurring
  ritornello-like idea in between phrases

6
Bach Cantatas

• Bach wrote over 200 cantatas, most of them for
  church
• In Leipzig Bach had to produce cantatas for the
  entire church year
• Cantatas were used for every Sunday service at
  the Thomaskirche
• Performed between the Gospel reading the sermon
• Provided reflection on the reading in preparation
  for the all-important sermon

7
Typical Bach Cantata

• Began with substantial chorus
• Usually based on a chorale tune (same as the one
  used at the end)
• Continued with recitatives arias for solo
  voices
• Concluded with straightforward harmonized chorale
• Carefully selected to fit with Bible readings for
  that Sunday

8
Bach, Cantata No. 4, Christ lag in Todesbanden
(1)

• Written in 1707 while Bach was still a small-town
  organist
• Cantata for Easter Sunday
• Surprisingly serious stern for Easter
• Reflects on battle between Life Death
• Each stanza does end with a Hallelujah
• For voices, string orchestra, continuo

9
Bach, Cantata No. 4, Christ lag in Todesbanden
(2)

• Based on a chorale by Luther
• Christ Lay in Deaths Dark Prison

10
Bach, Cantata No. 4, Christ lag in Todesbanden
(3)

• Uses all seven stanzasunusual!
• One stanza per movementseven movements
  altogether
• Bach arranged the seven movements in symmetrical
  fashion

11
Bach, Cantata No. 4, Stanza 3 (1)

• For tenor, solo violin, continuo
• Gapped chorale setting
• Tenor sings chorale melody with gaps in between
  phrases
• Violin plays ritornello melody at beginning, end,
  in gaps between phrases
• Celebrates Christs victory over death
• Engaging, vivacious, dance-like rhythms
• Rather serious in mood

12
Bach, Cantata No. 4, Stanza 3 (2)

• Dramatic contrast at Da bleibet nichts
• Violin abandons ritornello for fast chords
• Short pause after nichts (nothing) interrupts
  motor rhythms
• Pause followed by short, slower cadenza on denn
  Tods Gestalt
• Unusual passages in Bach sacred works usually
  point us to the words
• Pause illuminates heart of stanzas message
• Nothing is left of Deaths power because Christ
  has done away with our sins

13
Stanza 3

• Jesus Christus, Gottes Sohn,
• An unser Statt ist kommen
• Und hat die Sünde weggetan,
• Damit den Tod genommen
• All sein Recht und sein Gewalt
• Da bleibet nichtsdenn Tods Gestalt
• Den Stachl hat er verloren,
• Hallelujah!

• Jesus Christ, the Son of God,
• Has come on our behalf,
• And has done away with our sins,
• Thereby robbing Death
• Of all his power and his might
• There remains nothing but Deaths image
• He has lost his sting.
• Hallelujah!

14
Bach, Cantata No. 4, Stanza 4 (1)

• For alto solo, soprano, tenor, bass voices,
  continuo
• Alto voice sings gapped chorale melody
• Double by the pipe organ
• Long, slow note values
• The other voices introduce each phrase
• Soprano, tenor, bass

15
Bach, Cantata No. 4, Stanza 4 (2)

• The other voices introduce each phrase
• They sing fragments from each chorale phrase in
  imitation
• Faster note values
• Continuous feel

16
Bach, Cantata No. 4, Stanza 4 (3)

• Expressive devices
• Busy imitative polyphony suggests warfare against
  Death
• Jaunty rhythm close imitation at Ein Spott
  seems to mock Death

17
Stanza 4

• Es war ein wunderlicher Krieg,
• Da Tod und Leben rungen
• Das Leben da behielt das Sieg,
• Es hat den Tod verschlungen.
• Die Schrift hat verkündiget das
• Wie ein Tod den andern frass
• Ein Spott aus dem Tod ist worden.
• Hallelujah!

• It was a marvelous war
• Where Death and Life battled.
• Life there gained the victory
• It completely swallowed up Death.
• Holy Scripture has proclaimed
• How one Death gobbled up the other
• Death thus became a mockery.
• Hallelujah!

18
Bach, Cantata No. 4, Stanza 7

• For voices, orchestra, continuo
• Straightforward presentation of the hymn
• Simple homophonic texture
• Soprano takes the melody
• Four-part vocal harmony
• Vocal parts doubled by instruments
• Text turns from battles to confidence of faith
• Musical setting offers restful, serene conclusion

19
Stanza 7

• Wir essen und leben wohl
• Im rechten Osterfladen.
• Der alter Sauerteig nicht soll
• Sein bei dem Wort der Gnaden.
• Christus will die Koste sein
• Und speisen die Seel allein,
• Der Glaub will keins andern Leben.
• Hallelujah!

• We eat and live fitly
• On the true unleavened bread of the Passover
• The old yeast shall not
• Contaminate the word of grace.
• Christ will be the cost
• And alone will feed the soul
• Faith will live on nothing else.
• Hallelujah!