Schmücke dich, o liebe Seele (Adorn yourself, o dear
soul), BWV 180, is a church cantata by Johann Sebastian
Bach. He composed the chorale cantata in Leipzig for
the 20th Sunday after Trinity and first performed it on
22 October 1724. The cantata text is based on the
chorale "Schmücke dich, o liebe Seele" by Johann
Franck.
Bach wrote the cantata in his second year in Leipzig as
part of his second annual cycle of chorale cantatas for
the 20th Sunday after Trinity and first performed it...(+)
Schmücke dich, o liebe Seele (Adorn yourself, o dear
soul), BWV 180, is a church cantata by Johann Sebastian
Bach. He composed the chorale cantata in Leipzig for
the 20th Sunday after Trinity and first performed it on
22 October 1724. The cantata text is based on the
chorale "Schmücke dich, o liebe Seele" by Johann
Franck.
Bach wrote the cantata in his second year in Leipzig as
part of his second annual cycle of chorale cantatas for
the 20th Sunday after Trinity and first performed it on
22 October 1724. The prescribed readings for the Sunday
were from the Epistle to the Ephesians, "walk
circumspectly, ... filled with the Spirit" (Ephesians
5:15--21), and from the Gospel of Matthew, the parable
of the great banquet (Matthew 22:1--14). The German
term used in Luther's Bible translation is
Hochzeitsmahl, literally "wedding meal". The cantata
text is based on the Eucharistic chorale in nine
stanzas Schmücke dich, o liebe Seele, BWV 180 (1649)
by Johann Franck,[3] thus connecting the "great
banquet" from the gospel to the Abendmahl (Eucharist).
The hymn is sung during a service in preparation for
the holy communion, and imagines a bride getting ready
for her wedding. An unknown author kept the text of the
first, central and last stanza (1, 4, 9), and
paraphrased the other stanzas to arias and recitatives,
stanzas 2 and 7 to arias, stanzas 3, 5--6 and 8 to
recitatives. He stayed close to the original and did
not seek closer relation to the readings than given by
the general context.
Compared to the early cantata for the same occasion,
Ach! ich sehe, itzt, da ich zur Hochzeit gehe, BWV 162,
Bach stresses the invitation of God and the joy of the
banquet, rather than the possibility of man's failing
to respond to the invitation. Alfred Dürr compares the
opening chorus and both arias to dances, movement 1 to
a gigue, movement 2 to a bourrée, movement 5 to a
polonaise. The opening chorus is an orchestral concerto
with the vocal parts embedded, the soprano singing the
cantus firmus of the tune by Johann Crüger. John Eliot
Gardiner sees the "relaxed 12/8 processional movement"
as "perfectly tailored to the idea of the soul dressing
itself up in all its wedding finery".
The following three movements are distinguished by
their obbligato instruments. A flute accompanies the
tenor voice in movement 2, "Ermuntre dich: dein Heiland
klopft" (Be lively now, your Savior knocks). The
knocking is expressed in repeated notes. The demanding
flute part was probably composed for the excellent
flute player for whom Bach first wrote a few weeks
earlier in Was frag ich nach der Welt, BWV 94, and then
in other cantatas during the fall of 1724. A
violoncello piccolo complements the soprano in movement
3, which begins as a secco recitative "Wie teuer sind
des heilgen Mahles Gaben" (How dear are the gifts of
the holy meal) and leads to the fourth stanza of the
chorale, "Ach, wie hungert mein Gemüte" (Ah, how my
spirit hungers), sung in a moderately adorned version
of the tune. In movement 4, two recorders reflect the
text of the alto recitative which develops to an
arioso, with the recorders first playing just long
chords, then gradually adding movement. The full
orchestra supports the soprano in the second aria
"Lebens Sonne, Licht der Sinnen" (Sun of life, light of
the senses). The last recitative, "Mein Herz fühlt in
sich Furcht und Freude" (My heart feels its own fear
and joy) is secco, but closes as an arioso on the words
"und deiner Liebe stets gedenken" (and considers your
love constantly). The closing chorale, "Jesu, wahres
Brot des Lebens" (Jesus, true bread of life), is set
for four parts.
Although originally scored for four soloists, soprano,
alto, tenor and bass, four-part choir, and an orchestra
of two recorders, flauto traverso, two oboes, oboe da
caccia, two violins, viola, violoncello piccolo and
basso continuo, I created this arrangement for Winds (2
Flutes, Oboe, English Horn, Bb Trumpet, Bb Clarinet,
French Horn & Bassoon) & Strings (2 Violins, Viola,
Cello & Bass).
