Wär Gott nicht mit uns diese Zeit (Were God not with
us at this time), BWV 14,[a] is a church cantata by
Johann Sebastian Bach. He composed the chorale cantata
in Leipzig in 1735 for the fourth Sunday after Epiphany
and first performed it on 30 January 1735. The text is
based on the hymn by Martin Luther, published in
1524.
Bach composed the cantata in Leipzig for the fourth
Sunday after Epiphany. A fourth Sunday after Epiphany
is rare and occurs only in years with a late date of
Easte...(+)
Wär Gott nicht mit uns diese Zeit (Were God not with
us at this time), BWV 14,[a] is a church cantata by
Johann Sebastian Bach. He composed the chorale cantata
in Leipzig in 1735 for the fourth Sunday after Epiphany
and first performed it on 30 January 1735. The text is
based on the hymn by Martin Luther, published in
1524.
Bach composed the cantata in Leipzig for the fourth
Sunday after Epiphany. A fourth Sunday after Epiphany
is rare and occurs only in years with a late date of
Easter, and Bach had composed only one other cantata
for this occasion, Jesus schläft, was soll ich hoffen?
BWV 81. In 1725, when Bach had composed his annual
cycle of chorale cantatas, there was no fourth Sunday
after Epiphany. In 1735, shortly after the first
performance of his Christmas Oratorio, he seems to have
desired to fill this void and complete his cycle of
chorale cantatas. For Christoph Wolff it is evident
that Bach performed the second cycle in 1735,
performing the new cantata between Was mein Gott will,
das g'scheh allzeit, BWV 111, for the third Sunday
after Epiphany and Ich hab in Gottes Herz und Sinn, BWV
92, for Septuagesima.
The chorale is sung to the tune of "Wo Gott der Herr
nicht bei uns hält", which Bach had treated to a
chorale cantata, Wo Gott der Herr nicht bei uns hält,
BWV 178. The opening chorus is an unusual composition
that does not follow the scheme of instrumental
ritornellos with a cantus firmus line by line sung by
the soprano in long notes. In a setting resembling a
motet, the strings play colla parte with the voices,
and each line of the chorale is prepared by a complex
four-part counter-fugue, in which the first entrance of
a theme is answered in its inversion. After preparing
entrances, the chorale melody is not sung but played by
the horn and the oboes in long notes, creating a
five-part composition, which is unique in Bach's
cantata movements. The only other piece of similar
complexity, also giving the cantus firmus to the
instruments, is the opening chorus of Ein feste Burg
ist unser Gott, BWV 80, but it is not conceived as a
counter-fugue.
In the first aria, the soprano is accompanied by the
strings and the horn, which contrasts the text's
"stark" (strong) and "schwach" (weak) in combination
with the voice. The horn supports the voice "in its
highest register (referred to in the autograph part as
Corne. par force and tromba)". In the central
recitative, the dangers of the flooding waters are
illustrated in fast passages of the continuo on words
such us "Wut" ("fury"), "Flut" ("flood") and
"überschwemmet" ("inundate"), making it almost an
arioso. Similar word painting occurs in the middle
section of the bass aria, picturing "Wellen" (waves) in
octave leaps and fast downward scales. The closing
chorale is a four-part setting with "contrapuntally
animated bass and middle voices", similar to the
chorales of the Christmas Oratorio, first performed a
few weeks before. Wolff summarizes the maturity of
Bach's late church cantatas caused by "the experience
accumulated by the composer between 1723 and 1729,
which lends the later cantatas an especial ripe
character".
The cantata in five movements is intimately scored for
three vocal soloists (soprano, tenor, and bass), a
four-part choir, corno da caccia, two oboes, two
violins, viola, and basso continuo.
Source: Wikipedia
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/W%C3%A4r_Gott_nicht_mit_
uns_diese_Zeit,_BWV_14).
I created this arrangement of the second Aria: "Gott,
bei deinem starken Schützen" (God, under Your strong
protection) for String Quartet (2 Violins, Viola &
Cello).
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