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Mache dich, mein Geist, bereit, BWV 115

Johann Sebastian Bach composed the church cantata Mache dich, mein Geist, bereit (Make yourself ready, my spirit),[1] BWV 115, in Leipzig for the 22nd Sunday after Trinity and first performed it on 5 November 1724. It is based on the hymn of the same name by Johann Burchard Freystein (1695).

Mache dich, mein Geist, bereit
BWV 115
Chorale cantata by J. S. Bach
Portrait of Johann Burchard Freystein,
the author of the hymn
Occasion22nd Sunday after Trinity
Chorale"Mache dich, mein Geist, bereit"
by Johann Burchard Freystein
Performed5 November 1724 (1724-11-05): Leipzig
Movements6
VocalSATB choir and solo
Instrumental
  • horn
  • flauto traverso
  • oboe d'amore
  • 2 violins
  • viola
  • violoncello piccolo
  • continuo

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-part chorale setting.

The cantata is scored for four vocal soloists, a four-part choir, and a Baroque instrumental ensemble of horn to double the soprano in the chorale, flauto traverso, oboe d'amore, strings including violoncello piccolo and basso continuo.

History and words

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Bach composed the cantata in his second year in Leipzig for the 22nd Sunday after Trinity.[2][3][4] That year, Bach composed a cycle of chorale cantatas, begun on the first Sunday after Trinity of 1724.[2][5][6] The prescribed readings for the Sunday were from the Epistle to the Philippians, thanks and prayer for the congregation in Philippi (Philippians 1:3–11), and from the Gospel of Matthew, the parable of the unforgiving servant (Matthew 18:23–35).[2]

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

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Structure and scoring

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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.

Movements of Mache dich, mein Geist, bereit
No. Title Text Type Vocal Winds Strings Key Time
1 Mache dich, mein Geist, bereit Freystein Chorale fantasia SATB Co Ft Oa 2Vl Va D minor 6
4
2 Ach schläfrige Seele, wie? ruhest du noch? anon. Aria A Oa Vl Va E minor 3
8
3 Gott, so vor deine Seele wacht anon. Recitative B  
4 Bete aber auch dabei anon. Aria S Ft Vp B minor  
5 Er sehnet sich nach unserm Schreien anon. Recitative T  
6 Drum so laßt uns immerdar Freystein Chorale SATB Co Ft Oa 2Vl Va G major  

Movements

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1

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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.

Recordings of Nimm von uns, Herr, du treuer Gott
Title Conductor / Choir / Orchestra Soloists Label Year Orch. type
Bach Cantatas Vol. 5 Karl Richter
Münchener Bach-Chor
Münchener Bach-Orchester
Archiv Produktion 1978 (1978)
J. S. Bach: Das Kantatenwerk • Complete Cantatas • Les Cantates, Folge / Vol. 29 Nikolaus Harnoncourt
Tölzer Knabenchor
Concentus Musicus Wien
Teldec 1979 (1979) Period
Die Bach Kantate Vol. 57 Helmuth Rilling
Gächinger Kantorei
Bach-Collegium Stuttgart
Hänssler 1980 (1980)
J. S. Bach: Cantatas with Violoncelle Piccolo Christophe Coin
Das Leipziger Concerto Vocale
Ensemble Baroque de Limoges
{Auvidis Astrée 1399 (1399) Period
J. S. Bach: Complete Cantatas Vol. 11 Ton Koopman
Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir
Antoine Marchand 1999 (1999) Period
Bach Edition Vol. 11 – Cantatas Vol. 5 Pieter Jan Leusink
Holland Boys Choir
Netherlands Bach Collegium
Brilliant Classics 1999 (1999) Period
Bach Cantatas Vol. 12: Tooting/Winchester[7] John Eliot Gardiner
Monteverdi Choir
English Baroque Soloists
Soli Deo Gloria 2000 (2000) Period
J. S. Bach: Cantatas Vol. 27 Cantatas from Leipzig 1724 – BWV 5, 80, 115 Masaaki Suzuki
Bach Collegium Japan
BIS 2003 (2003) Period

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Dellal 2024.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Bach Digital 2024.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Dürr 1981.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g Schulze 2006.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g Hofmann 2005.
  6. ^ Wolff 2000.
  7. ^ a b Gardiner 2010.
  8. ^ Dahn 2024.
  9. ^ Oron 2024.

Cited sources

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