SKU: CA.3118212

ISBN 9790007050290. Key: A major. Language: German/English. Text: Franck, Salomo. Text: Salomo Franck.

Version in A major (version in G major: Carus 31.182/50) The cantata Himmelskonig, sei willkommen BWV 182 holds a special place in Johann Sebastian Bach's biography. He had been employed as organist and chamber musician at the court of Weimar since 1708; on 2 March 1714, he was appointed concert master of the court, and his inauguration music for this occasion was Himmelskonig, sei willkommen. The cantata was first performed on Palm Sunday of that year, 25 March 1714. Bach performed this cantata several times - always revising and amending it - both in Weimar and in Leipzig. Of the altogether four versions, the first Leipzig version has been selected for the present new edition. Unlike the Weimar versions, it can be realized effectively using modern performance means. In his debut composition of 1714, the newly appointed concert master demonstrated his abilities: the eight movements contain a multitude of beautiful and rewarding challenges for choir and vocal soloists alike, and in addition there is the unusual attraction of a virtuoso solo part for the recorder. Score and part available separately - see item CA.3118200.

SKU: CA.3116412

ISBN 9790007209032. Text language: German/English.

This six-movement cantata was performed for the first time on 26 August 1725 in Leipzig. The text was written by Bach's Weimar cantata poet Salomon Franck and had been published earlier in 1715 in his collection Evangelisches Andachts-Opffer. Here, Bach bases his work around the form of the Weimar cantatas which take their texts from Franck's printed collection (BWV 132, 152, 161-163, 165): movements 1-5 are performed by vocal soloists, whilst only the final chorus is given to the chorus. The key concepts of the text are Barmherzigkeit [compassion], Erbarmen [mercy] and wahre Christenliebe [true Christian love]; the chamber music arrangement of the cantata corresponds with this. The two arias for tenor and alto, and the duet for soprano and bass do not contain da capo sections, but repeat the entire text in a condensed form. The instruments do not contrast as a rule, but are treated as a string group (movements 1, 4), duetting (movement 3), and as full unison (movement 5). What is remarkable in all three movements is the thematic linking of the instrumental ritornello parts with the vocal parts through which Bach achieves a kind of unity of form. Score and part available separately - see item CA.3116400.

SKU: CA.3116411

ISBN 9790007209025. Text language: German/English.

This six-movement cantata was performed for the first time on 26 August 1725 in Leipzig. The text was written by Bach's Weimar cantata poet Salomon Franck and had been published earlier in 1715 in his collection Evangelisches Andachts-Opffer. Here, Bach bases his work around the form of the Weimar cantatas which take their texts from Franck's printed collection (BWV 132, 152, 161-163, 165): movements 1-5 are performed by vocal soloists, whilst only the final chorus is given to the chorus. The key concepts of the text are Barmherzigkeit [compassion], Erbarmen [mercy] and wahre Christenliebe [true Christian love]; the chamber music arrangement of the cantata corresponds with this. The two arias for tenor and alto, and the duet for soprano and bass do not contain da capo sections, but repeat the entire text in a condensed form. The instruments do not contrast as a rule, but are treated as a string group (movements 1, 4), duetting (movement 3), and as full unison (movement 5). What is remarkable in all three movements is the thematic linking of the instrumental ritornello parts with the vocal parts through which Bach achieves a kind of unity of form. Score and part available separately - see item CA.3116400.

SKU: CA.3119763

ISBN 9790007210540. Text language: German/English.

Gott ist unsre Zuversicht BWV 197 was probably written in the second half of the 1730s for a wedding, no further details of which are known. In the opening chorus in particular, it features quite a sizeable orchestra. The text of the cantata has one major theme - trust in God! In a magnificent lullaby (movement 3) all cares are sung to sleep. The other arias, with their exceptionally exquisite combinations of scorings, make the cantata into a quite special work, albeit one which is associated with a particular occasion. The wedding cantata BWV 197 draws on older material for some of its movements. Two movements are parodies on arias from the incomplete surviving Christmas cantata Ehre sei Gott in der Hohe, BWV 197a, including the lullaby O du angenehmes Paar, of which only the last quarter survives from the Christmas cantata - it is O du angenehmer Schatz there. By using the later version, Diethard Hellmann has been able to reconstruct the original version of this dreamlike beautiful movement; however, the complete Christmas cantata cannot be reconstructed from the sources. Score and part available separately - see item CA.3119700.