''Die Zeit, die Tag und Jahre macht'', BWV 134a

Die Zeit, die Tag und Jahre macht
Serenata
Secular cantata by J. S. Bach
Photograph of a Baroque interior of a hall in Palace, with stucco ceiling and a large chandelier hanging from it, all in light colours
Bachsaal at Schloss Köthen
Catalogue
  • BWV 134.1
  • BWV 134a
Related basis for an Easter cantata, Ein Herz, das seinen Jesum lebend weiß
Occasion New Year's Day
Text by Christian Friedrich Hunold
Performed 1 January 1719 (1719-01-01): Köthen
Movements 8
Vocal
  • solo: alto and tenor
  • SATB choir
Instrumental

Die Zeit, die Tag und Jahre macht (Time, which day and year doth make),[1] BWV 134.1, BWV 134a,[2] is a secular cantata, or serenata, composed by Johann Sebastian Bach. He wrote the work in Köthen for his employer Prince Leopold, and it was performed on New Year's Day 1719.

The libretto by Christian Friedrich Hunold, an academic at the University of Halle, is congratulatory in nature. It takes the form of a dialogue of two allegorical figures, Time and Divine Providence, representing the past and future, respectively. Bach set the words in eight movements consisting of alternating recitatives and arias, culminating in a choral finale. Most movements are duets of solo voices, an alto as Divine Providence and a tenor as Time. Even the closing movement features long duet passages, leading to parts for four voices. The singers are supported by a Baroque instrumental ensemble of two oboes, two violins, viola and continuo. The character of the music is close to Baroque opera, including French dances.

Later in Leipzig, Bach used the cantata as the basis for a church cantata for the Third Day of Easter 1724, Ein Herz, das seinen Jesum lebend weiß. In the initial version of the Easter cantata, he made no changes to the 1719 music other than to omit two movements and replace the text by words for the occasion, written by an unknown author. In an adaptation for performances in 1730, he composed new recitatives for the Easter texts and made further changes to the music.

The cantata, written for a specific occasion, has been performed and recorded rarely, compared with other Bach cantatas. It has been used for congratulatory events such as the 80th birthday of Bach scholar Alfred Dürr, when the cantata title was chosen as the motto of an international conference about chronology in Bach's music, on which Dürr had focused.

History and words

Bach composed Die Zeit, die Tag und Jahre macht in Köthen, where he worked for the court of Leopold, Prince of Anhalt-Köthen, from 1717 to 1723.[3][4] While he had served as concert master in Weimar before, he became Kapellmeister in Köthen, directing a qualified musical ensemble.[5]

Black-and-white bust portrait of a man whose name and function are at the bottom: "Leopold / Regierender Fürst / von Anhalt-Cöthen" (Leopold / Reigning Prince / of A.-C.). His right hand is on the right, but his face is turned towards the viewer, both hand and face are light, his outfit is black, and the clouds of the background are grey.
Leopold von Anhalt-Köthen

The prince was enthusiastic about music and was a good bass singer and player of violin, viola da gamba and harpsichord.[5] The court adhered to the Reformed Church, and therefore Bach had no obligation to compose church music, as in his earlier posts and later as Thomaskantor in Leipzig. In Köthen, he had to write cantatas only for secular feast days: the Prince's birthday and New Year's Day.[6] He wrote Die Zeit, die Tag und Jahre macht as a congratulatory cantata for New Year's Day of 1719.[6]

Of the twelve cantatas which Bach may have composed for the two occasions during his six years in Köthen, Die Zeit, die Tag und Jahre macht is one of two which survived, the other one being Durchlauchtster Leopold, composed for the prince's birthday, probably in 1722.[6] The homage cantatas were performed as serenatas or evening serenades. Their style is similar to opera of the period and includes dance-like music.[7]

The cantata is based on words by Christian Friedrich Hunold, whose pen name was Menantes.[2][8] A novelist as well as a librettist, Hunold taught at the University of Halle, about 30 kilometres (19 mi) from Köthen. Bach collaborated with him on several cantatas between 1718 and 1720. Hunold published the text in the collection Auserlesene und theils noch nie gedruckte Gedichte unterschiedener Berühmten und geschickten Männer (Selected and partly never printed poems of different notable and skillful men) in Halle in 1719. Other texts published by Hunold include that of Bach's cantata Der Himmel dacht auf Anhalts Ruhm und Glück, BWV 66a, written for the Prince's birthday on 10 December 1718.[9]

The text of the serenata Die Zeit, die Tag und Jahre macht is, for most of the movements, a dialogue of two allegorical figures, Time, representing the past, and Divine Providence, representing the future.[10] The music remained in manuscript form and like nearly all of Bach´s cantatas was not printed in his lifetime. Bach led the first performance of the cantata on 1 January 1719.[6][2][11]

Bach used the cantata later in Leipzig as a basis for the Easter cantata Ein Herz, das seinen Jesum lebend weiß, BWV 134, which was first performed in the Nikolaikirche on 11 April 1724.[12] In the first version of this Easter cantata, he made no changes to the music other than omitting the fifth and sixth movements.[13] However, the music of the original Köthen work was separated from its text because Bach used the sheets for his Leipzig performance. The new text, by an unknown poet, did not require musical adaptation. For another performance of the Easter cantata on 27 March 1731, Bach revised it, probably also using that version for a repeat on 12 April.[14]

With the revival of interest in Bach's music in the nineteenth century, Philipp Spitta, who wrote a three-volume biography of Bach, found the printed text, making reconstruction of the entire work possible. The editors of the Bach-Gesellschaft-Ausgabe, the first complete edition of the composer's works, were thus aware of the cantata and noted its relationship to BWV 134. However, the Bach-Gesellschaft-Ausgabe did not make Die Zeit, die Tag und Jahre macht available as a complete work. What was published in 1881 was a fragment edited by Paul Waldersee under the title Mit Gnade bekröne der Himmel die Zeiten (a line from the first tenor aria).[2][15] The cantata was published in the Neue Bach-Ausgabe (NBA), the second complete edition of Bach's works, in 1963, edited by Alfred Dürr, with a critical report the following year.[2]

Music

Structure and scoring

The cantata is structured in eight movements, with alternating recitatives and arias including mostly duets, culminating in a final choral movement.[16] Bach scored the work for two soloists, alto as Divine Providence and tenor as Time, a four-part choir (SATB), and a Baroque instrumental ensemble of two oboes (Ob), two violins (Vl), viola (Va) and basso continuo.[2] The duration is given as 41 minutes.[10]

In the following table, the scoring follows the Neue Bach-Ausgabe (New Bach Edition). The keys and time signatures are from Alfred Dürr and use the symbol for common time.[10] The continuo, played throughout, is not shown.

Movements of Die Zeit, die Tag und Jahre macht
No. TitleText TypeVocalWindsStrings Key Time
1 "Die Zeit, die Tag und Jahre macht" Hunold Recitative tenor alto B-flat major
2 "Auf, Sterbliche, lasset ein Jauchzen ertönen" Hunold Aria tenor 2Ob 2Vl Va B-flat major 3/8
3 "So bald, als dir die Sternen hold" Hunold Recitative tenor alto
4 "Es streiten, es siegen, die künftigen Zeiten" Hunold Aria alto tenor 2Vl Va E-flat major
5 "Bedenke nur, beglücktes Land" Hunold Recitative alto tenor
6 "Der Zeiten Herr hat viel vergnügte Stunden" Hunold Aria alto
7 "Hilf, Höchster, hilf, daß mich die Menschen preisen" Hunold Recitative tenor alto
8 "Ergetzet auf Erden, erfreuet von oben" Hunold Chorus tenor alto SATB 2Ob 2Vl Va B-flat major 3/8

Movements

black-and-white engraving of the bust of a man with a large wig of curly hair, a long nose and a prominent chin, looking half-left, with his name and his pen name below
Christian Friedrich Hunold, the librettist

The cantata develops from a sequence of alternating recitatives and arias to a final chorus. This structure is similar to other cantatas Bach composed in Köthen, but it is different from most of his church cantatas, which begin with a weighty choral movement and end with a four-part chorale. All recitatives and one aria are dialogues. The recitatives are secco recitatives, accompanied only by the continuo.[17] Richard D. P. Jones notes that the music of the Köthen secular cantatas is abundant in duets in the spirit of opera, with dances in Italian and French style.[7]

1

The cantata begins with a recitative for both solo voices, "Die Zeit, die Tag und Jahre macht" (Time, which day and year doth make). It reflects that Anhalt was given many hours of blessing in the past.[1]

2

The second movement is an aria for tenor, "Auf, Sterbliche, lasset ein Jauchzen ertönen" (Arise, mortals, let your jubilation resound),[1] calling the people to give thanks for the blessings. An obbligato oboe dominates the movement.[18]

3

The next recitative for both voices, "So bald, als dir die Sternen hold, o höchstgepriesnes Fürstentum" (As soon as the stars were favorable to you, o highly-praised princedom),[1] addresses Leopold, the ruler.[1]

4

The fourth movement is a duet aria, in which the soloists sing slightly different text. The alto as Divine Providence considers the future: "Es streiten, es siegen die künftigen Zeiten im Segen für dieses durchlauchtigste Haus." (The future times struggle, they triumph in blessings for this illustrious house.)[1] The tenor as Time looks at the past: "Es streiten, es prangen die vorigen Zeiten im Segen für dieses durchlauchtigste Haus." (The past times struggle, they glory in blessings for this illustrious house.)[1] The competition of the times is illustrated by figurations in the first violins.[18] Bach's instrumentation complements the text well, accompanying the movement by the strings alone, matching the text "strings of the heart". The competition is expressed in virtuoso singing.[19]

5

The next recitative, again for both voices, "Bedenke nur, beglücktes Land, wieviel ich dir in dieser Zeit gegeben" (Yet consider, fortunate land, how much I have given you at this time),[1] gives some details about Leopold's qualities and calls to pray for further happiness.[1]

6

The second solo aria is for the alto, "Der Zeiten Herr hat viel vergnügte Stunden, du Götterhaus, dir annoch beigelegt" (The Lord of Ages has many happy hours, o godly house, bestowed upon you).[1] Accompanied only by the continuo in ostinato motives, it freely expresses the "Harmonie der Seelen" (harmony of the souls).[20]

7

The last recitative is again for both voices, "Hilf, Höchster, hilf, daß mich die Menschen preisen" (Help, o Highest, help, so that all people praise me),[1] and calls for divine help to praise God and pray for further protection.[1]

8

The cantata culminates in a choral movement opened by the tenor's "Ergetzet auf Erden" (Delight upon earth),[1] followed by the alto's "erfreuet von oben" (rejoice on high),[1] then all voices sing together in homophony "Glückselige Zeiten, vergnüget dies Haus!" (blessed ages, bring joy to this house).[1] The pattern is repeated two more times, increasing in richness. The middle section of the movement is again started by alto and tenor, but this time together. With the following words, "sie blühen, sie leben" (May they flourish, may they live),[1] a fugal development of all voices begins, quite similar to the opening chorus of Herz und Mund und Tat und Leben, BWV 147, a fast succession of the voices and a long melisma on the word leben, creating lively music. Alto and tenor start a fugue twice more, singing increasingly embellished lines on "durchlauchtigsten Seelen" (most illustrious souls). Close to the end of the middle section all voices shout together the word ruft (shout) twice, accented by a following rest. Then, the complete first part is repeated da capo.[21]

The lively finale in 3/8 time and with regular phrases, like the French gigue or passepied, is typical for Bach's secular cantatas in Köthen. He had written music like this before in Weimar cantatas, for example the opening of the cantata for Pentecost Erschallet, ihr Lieder, and he would use it again in compositions in Leipzig, both secular and sacred.[7]

Recordings and performances

The following table is based on the list at the Bach Cantatas website.[22] While the derived Easter cantata was included in the complete recordings of Bach's church cantatas by Nikolaus Harnoncourt and Gustav Leonhardt, Helmuth Rilling, Ton Koopman, Pieter Jan Leusink, John Eliot Gardiner and Masaaki Suzuki, the festive secular cantata dedicated to the specific occasion was recorded only a few times.[23] In the table, ensembles playing period instruments in historically informed performances are indicated by a green background.

Recordings of Die Zeit, die Tag und Jahre macht
Title Conductor / Choir / Orchestra Soloists Label YearInstr.
J. S. Bach: Cantata BWV 134a[24] Wolfgang Unger
Leipziger Universitätschor
Pauliner Barockensemble
  • Mathias Koch
  • Nils Giesecke
 Thorofon 1996 (1996)
J. S. Bach: Complete Cantatas Vol. 10[25] Ton Koopman
Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir
Antoine Marchand 1998 (1998) Period
Edition Bachakademie Vol. 139 – Congratulatory and Hommage Cantatas[23] Helmuth Rilling
Gächinger Kantorei
Bach-Collegium Stuttgart
Hänssler 2000 (2000)
Secular Cantatas Vol. 2[19] Masaaki Suzuki
Bach Collegium Japan
BIS 2011 (2011) Period

The first recording was made in 1996, conducted by Wolfgang Unger, who had founded in 1992 the Leipziger Universitätsmusik, ensembles formed by students of the University of Leipzig.[26] He paired the cantata with Die Freude reget sich, BWV 36b.[24]

Koopman recorded the cantata in 1988 as part of volume 10 of his complete recordings of Bach's church cantatas, combined with the Easter cantata based on it and with other church cantatas.[25]

In 2000, Rilling recorded, as volume 139 of Bach's cantatas, five Congratulatory and Hommage Cantatas, two of them for the first time: Angenehmes Wiederau and Schwingt freudig euch empor.[23]

In his 2011 recording, Suzuki paired the cantata with the Hunting Cantata and the Sinfonia in F major, BWV 1046a/1, from an early version of the Brandenburg Concerto No. 1, with the same scoring as the Hunting Cantata. Reviewer Parry-Ridout notes the "purity of tone" of the alto, the "richness and expression" of the tenor, and the virtuosity of both when competing in a duet.[19]

The cantata was performed in 2011 to conclude the festival Köthener Herbst in the Johann-Sebastian-Bach-Saal of Schloss Köthen, for which it was written. The program was Carl Friedrich Abel's Symphony No. 1, Bach's cantata Durchlauchtster Leopold, BWV 173a, his Brandenburg Concerto No. 4, and finally Die Zeit, die Tag und Jahre macht, with soloists Veronika Winter, Franz Vitzthum, Immo Schröder and Matthias Vieweg, and the ensemble Das Kleine Konzert, conducted by Hermann Max.[27]

Legacy

In 1998, an international musicological conference was held in Göttingen, Germany, on the occasion of the 80th birthday of Bach scholar Alfred Dürr, who had devoted his life to studies of Bach's works and their chronology. It was titled: "'Die Zeit, die Tag und Jahre macht': zur Chronologie des Schaffens von Johann Sebastian Bach", with published results.[28][29] The cantata was performed in a public celebration of Dürr's birthday.[28] A reviewer of the publication noted that the topics covered by international musicologists such as Hans-Joachim Schulze, Andreas Glöckner and Jean-Claude Zehnder mostly focused specifically on the person's field of expertise in relation to Dürr's achievements.[29]

References

Cited sources

Bach Digital

  • "Die Zeit, die Tag und Jahre macht (serenata) BWV 134.1; BWV 134a; BC G 5 / Secular cantata (unknown purpose)". Bach Digital. 2018. Retrieved 24 June 2018.
  • "Ein Herz, das seinen Jesum lebend weiß (early version) BWV 134.2; BC A 59a / Sacred cantata (3rd Easter Day)". Bach Digital. 2018. Retrieved 2 October 2018.
  • "Ein Herz, das seinen Jesum lebend weiß (later version) BWV 134.3; BC A 59b / Sacred cantata (3rd Easter Day)". Bach Digital. 2018. Retrieved 2 October 2018.

Books

  • Dürr, Alfred; Jones, Richard D. P. (2006). "Die Zeit, die Tag und Jahre macht, BWV 134a". The Cantatas of J. S. Bach: With Their Librettos in German-English Parallel Text. Oxford University Press. pp. 809–813. ISBN 978-0-19-929776-4.
  • Jones, Richard D. P. (2013). "1.4 Sacred and secular: the vocal works". The Creative Development of Johann Sebastian Bach, Volume II: 1717–1750: Music to Delight the Spirit. Oxford University Press. pp. 106–108. ISBN 978-0-19-150384-9.
  • Marshall, Robert L.; Marshall, Traute M. (2016). "Köthen 1717 to 1723". Exploring the World of J. S. Bach: A Traveler's Guide. University of Illinois Press. pp. 63–66. ISBN 978-0-25-209857-4.
  • Wolff, Christoph (2001). Johann Sebastian Bach: The Learned Musician. W. W. Norton & Company. p. 187. ISBN 978-0-39-307595-3.
  • "Die Zeit, die Tag und Jahre macht" : zur Chronologie des Schaffens von Johann Sebastian Bach. Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht. 2001.

Online sources

  • Bischof, Walter F. (2018). "BWV 134a Die Zeit, die Tag und Jahre macht". University of Alberta. Retrieved 2 October 2015.
  • Dellal, Pamela (2018). "BWV 134a – "Die Zeit, die Tag und Jahre macht"". Emmanuel Music. Retrieved 26 September 2018.
  • Lewis, Uncle Dave (2018). "Helmuth Rilling / Bach: Congratulatory & Hommage Cantatas". AllMusic. Retrieved 26 September 2016.
  • Oron, Aryeh. "Cantata BWV 134a Die Zeit, die Tag und Jahre macht". Bach Cantatas website. Retrieved 26 September 2018.
  • Parry-Ridout, Hannah (2012). "Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1759) / Secular Cantatas Vol. 2". www.musicweb-international.com.
  • Rimek, Tobias (2014). "Ein Herz, das seinen Jesum lebend weiß / The soul that truly knows his risen Lord / BWV 134" (PDF). Carus. p. 2.
  • Tomita, Yo (2002). ""Die Zeit, die Tag und Jahre macht". Zur Chronologie des Schaffens von Johann Sebastian Bach. Bericht über das Internationale wissenschaftliche Collequium aus Anlaß das 80. Geburtstages von Alfred Dürr. Hrsg. von Martin Staehelin. (book review)". music.qub.ac.uk.
  • Wessel, Jens (2015). "Köthen (1717–1723)". J. S. Bach und die italienische Oper / Drammi per musica für das kurfürstlich-sächsische und polnische Königshaus zwischen 1733 und 1736. Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hamburg. pp. 22–24.
  • "Bach: Cantatas Vol 10 / Koopman, Amsterdam Baroque". arkivmusic.com. 2018. Retrieved 26 September 2018.
  • "9. Köthener Herbst". Mitteilungsblatt des Landkreises Anhalt-Bitterfeld (in German). 17 June 2011. p. 22. Retrieved 26 September 2018.
  • "Leipziger Universitätschor / Diskographie" (in German). Leipziger Universitätschor. 2018. Retrieved 26 September 2018.
  • "Abschied von Universitätsmusikdirektor Professor Wolfgang Unger" (in German). University of Leipzig. 26 April 2004. Retrieved 26 September 2018.
  • Literature by and about Die Zeit, die Tag und Jahre macht, BWV 134a in the German National Library catalogue
  • Die Zeit, die Tag und Jahre macht (manuscrit autographe) / Johann Sebastian Bach (handwritten manuscript) French National Library
  • BWV 134a Die Zeit, die Tag und Jahre macht English translation, University of Vermont
  • Alfred Dürr, Martin Staehelin: "Die Zeit, die Tag und Jahre macht" 2001, ISBN 978-3-52-582512-9
  • BWV 134a / BC G 5 / Textdichter Christian Friedrich Hunold (= Menantes) s-line.de
  • James Leonard: Johann Sebastian Bach / Die Zeit, die Tag und Jahre macht, serenata (secular cantata) for 4 voices, chorus & orchestra, BWV 134a (BC G5) AllMusic
  • Mincham, Julian (2010–2012). "Chapter 90 BWV 134a Die Zeit, die Tag und Jahre macht / Time, which creates the days and years". Retrieved 2 March 2014.
  • Günther Zedler: Die erhaltenen Kantaten Johann Sebastian Bachs (Spätere Sakrale- und Weltliche Werke): Besprechungen in Form von Analysen - Erklärungen - Deutungen ISBN 978-3-83-913773-4, 2009
  • J.S. Bach - Secular Cantatas, Vol. 2 (BWV 208, 134a) BIS Records
  • Bach, Johann Sebastian / Festmusiken für die Fürstenhäuser von Weimar, Weißenfels und Köthen Bärenreiter 3rd edition, 2013
  • Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) Köthen, Saxony-Anhalt
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