PIANO

Cantata ‘Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott’

2022-11-26 No Comments

Lesson 1. Musical Context

Lesson Objectives:

Explore Luther’s and Protestant Reformation.
Investigate Luther Hymns` adaptations.
Familiarise yourself with the rise of Baroque Cantata and it`s structure

Activity 1. Answer the following questions:

1. Who was Martin Luther?
2. What kind of church music existed at that time? What kind of musicians were required?
3. How did the congregation changed into four-part chorales?
4. What text did Luther use?
5. Describe the melodies and rhythm of the first chorales.

6. What is a Chorale Prelude and Cantus Firmus?
7. Provide a definition for Choral Cantata.

8. What are the principles of counterpoint?

9. What is a Mass, and how is it different from a Cantata?

10. Usage of Chorale as dramatic unity. In which compositions did Bach and other composers use the same effect?

11. Which composers influenced Bach to write religious music?

Lesson 2

Lesson Objective: Analysing the Cantata by identifying its main musical elements and features.

Lesson 3

Lesson Objective:

Revise and memorize key concepts, themes, and structural elements of the Cantata using the provided revision guide.

Lesson Tasks:

1. Individual Revision (15 minutes):
– Your task is to thoroughly revise the Bach Cantata using the provided revision guide. Pay close attention to key themes, structural elements, and harmonic progressions.

2. Group Discussion (10 minutes):
– Engage in a group discussion to share your key takeaways from the Cantata revision. Clarify any doubts you may have and collectively deepen your understanding of the musical features.

3. Score Analysis Exercise (10 minutes):
– Refer to the score of the Bach Cantata either individually or in pairs. Identify and mark specific musical elements discussed during the revision. Annotate your score as needed.

4. Application of Knowledge (5 minutes):
– Share your insights from the score analysis with the class. Discuss and articulate your understanding of the Cantata’s musical intricacies.

5. Wider Listening Exploration (20 minutes):
– Explore three examples of wider listening pieces related to the Bach Cantata. Listen carefully and identify similarities and differences in style, form, or thematic material.

6. Presentation (2 minutes):
– Present your findings on the wider listening pieces to the class. Highlight connections between the Cantata and these pieces, fostering a deeper understanding of musical context.

Homework :
– Reflect on the connections made between the Cantata and wider listening pieces. Consider how these insights enhance your understanding of the musical context. For homework, write an essay ” Evaluate the use of melody, rhythm and structure in Mvt 1 of Bach`s Cantata ‘Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott’. Relate your discussion to other relevant works.

Activity 2. Watch the video ‘Lecture on The Vocal Music of Bach’:

Textbook Pearson: LINK

Baroque Music Overview:

What is a violone?

The ‘other music’ selected here includes the other movements of the cantata Ein feste Burg, the cantata Ich Elender Mensch, the oratorio Messiah by Handel, movements from Gloria by Vivaldi and Bach’s St Matthew Passion.

What is a Cantata?

Johann Sebastian Bach: Ein feste Burg BWV 80 analysis:

Annotated score pdf: LINK

Quizlet: LINK

LINK 2

Written tasks: LINK

Past paper: LINK

The skeleton score: LINK

Ein feste Burg secco recitative example Erwäge doch, Kind Gottes (bass recit.):

This extract from Handel’s Messiah contrasts passages of secco recit. with accomp. recit. culminating in a chorus:

Wider Listening

Melody

Bach Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme (cantata)

– Mvt 1 uses the famous chorale tune “Zion hort die Wachtersingen”. The string orchestra play the main melodic material while the basses sing the chorale melody as a cantus firmus as in mvt 1 of Ein Feste Burg (EFB).

– Mvt 6 is a soprano and bass duet, “Mein Freund ist Mein”. Melodies are florid and decorative with melismatic word setting.

– The duet writing allows the soloists to demonstrate vocal ability as well as explore a particular emotion.

Mendelssohn symphony no.5, “Reformation”, mvt 4

– Written to celebrate 300 years of the Augsburg Confession, the assembly which had defined the key doctrine of the Lutheran Church in Germany, hence the title “Reformation”.

– The fourth and final movement also uses the Ein Feste Burg chorale melody as a cantus firmus and treats the melody in a similar way.

Britten St Nicholas cantata

– This cantata tells the story of St Nicholas.

– The last movement is The Death of Nicholas. The tenor sings a final melody while the chorus chants the Nunc Dimittis using the Gregorian fourth tone. Similar to the cantus firmus in mvt 2 of Ein Feste Burg.

– The cantata closes with a congregational hymn praising God’s mystery and the courage of the saints. The hymn tune is the London New, “God moves in a Mysterious Way”. This is similar to the ending of EFB which finishes with a congregational chorale praising God. This final chorale is called a “Schlusschoral”.

Buxtehude Gelobet seist du, Jesu Christ

– A chorale fantasia written for organ.

– The melody is extended and elaborated in a polyphonic texture, and each phrase or the chorale is treated differently to reflect the meaning of the words.

Bach St Matthew Passion

– It’s a larger scale work than a cantata, but still includes choruses, arias, recitatives and chorales.

– Here, Bach uses the Passion chorale melody differently; rather than using the melody as a basis for elaboration or incorporating it into the rest of the melodic material, the chorale returns throughout the piece, set differently each time.

Structure/form

Bach Orgelbüchlein	– Many of the chorale preludes in the Orgelbüchlein are chorale fantasias for organ. Mvt 1 of EFB is a chorale fantasia, but Bach wrote them for other occasions than cantatas.
Britten St Nicholas cantata	– Ends with a congregational hymn as the last movement, as in EFB. (see melody section)
Stölzel 6 cantatas for Pentecost	– No. 1 Werdet voll Geistes, last movement is a chorale. – Most of these six cantatas begin with a four-part chorus. The first sections are homophonic, moving into a fugal section to close.
Bach cantatas	– First movements are often chorale fantasias, i.e. intricate music based on a chorale tune.

Harmony/tonality

Bach Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme (cantata)

– Harmony is functional and diatonic like most baroque music with a strong focus on primary chords but equally highly modulatory.

– Diminished chords are reserved for the most expressive moments:

– The bass recit. in this cantata, “So geh herein zu mir”, uses a diminished chord under the word “sorrowful” (“betrübtes”), moving to an augmented German 6^th chord. In EFB, diminished chords and minor keys are used to the same effect.

Texture

Buxtehude Gelobet seist du, Jesu Christ	– Polyphonic treatment of chorale melody (see melody)
Mendelssohn symphony no.5, mvt 4	– The chorale melody is first heard stated homophonically before being treated in variation. It then appears in different parts of the texture as well as cantus firmus style on top of other melodic material.
Stölzel 6 cantatas for Pentecost	– Polyphonic sections (see structure above)
Bach Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme (cantata)	– Baroque arias in cantatas are usually accompanied by orchestra and an obbligato instrument which would weave in and out of the soloist’s melodies. This creates a texture of heterophony, polyphony or polyphonically-animated homophony depending. In EFB there is heterophony between the sop and oboe in mvt 2. – Mvt 6, “Mein Freund ist Mein” (see melody): the obbligato oboe weaves around the soloist’s music. It is often in imitation with the soprano, or plays its introductory material on top of the singers’ lines.

Sonority/Dynamics

Bach Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme (cantata)

– Mvt 6: oboe was a common obbligato instrument because of its piercing sonority, allowing it to be heard over an entire orchestra. In EFB mvt 1, the oboes play the cantus firmus over the rest of the orchestra.

Stölzel 6 cantatas for Pentecost

– These cantatas are directed to be performed one to a part, even in the chorus – this creates a much less imposing sonority than the larger choir used in Bach’s cantata.

– It is accompanied by strings, two horns and obbligato oboe.

Tempo/metre/rhythm

Stölzel Werdet voll Geistes (cantata)	– The tenor aria “Was saust so sanft”: the blowing of the Holy Spirit is illustrated by a motif of one short and one long note – another example of text illustration.
Bach Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme (cantata)	– Mvt 6: semiquavers in virtuosic solo parts.
Bach St Matthew Passion	– Part 1: the choir of boys sing hymn tune “O Lamm Gottes, unschuldig”, sustained above the rest of the music. The note values are longer than the other musical material which allows it to be heard. In EFB mvt 1 the cantus firmus is played slowly on top of the busy continuous quavers underneath.