Sie werden aus Saba alle kommen (They will all come
forth out of Sheba), BWV 65, is a church cantata by
Johann Sebastian Bach. He wrote the cantata to conclude
his first set of cantatas for the Christmas season in
Leipzig on the Feast of Epiphany. He had performed five
cantatas, Christen, ätzet diesen Tag, BWV 63 (composed
possibly in 1713) and the new works Darzu ist
erschienen der Sohn Gottes, BWV 40, Sehet, welch eine
Liebe hat uns der Vater erzeiget, BWV 64, Singet dem
Herrn ein neues Lied,...(+)
Sie werden aus Saba alle kommen (They will all come
forth out of Sheba), BWV 65, is a church cantata by
Johann Sebastian Bach. He wrote the cantata to conclude
his first set of cantatas for the Christmas season in
Leipzig on the Feast of Epiphany. He had performed five
cantatas, Christen, ätzet diesen Tag, BWV 63 (composed
possibly in 1713) and the new works Darzu ist
erschienen der Sohn Gottes, BWV 40, Sehet, welch eine
Liebe hat uns der Vater erzeiget, BWV 64, Singet dem
Herrn ein neues Lied, BWV 190, and Mein liebster Jesus
ist verloren, BWV 154. He begins with the final verse
of the reading, Isaiah's prophecy "all they from Sheba
shall come: they shall bring gold and incense". The
poet juxtaposes the prediction by a chorale, stanza 4
of the old anonymous "Ein Kind geborn zu Bethlehem"
(Puer natus in Bethlehem", "A babe is born in
Bethlehem", 1543), which describes the arrival of the
"Kön'ge aus Saba" (Kings from Sheba), related to the
Gospel. The first recitative proclaims that the Gospel
is the fulfillment of the prophecy and concludes that
it is the Christian's duty to bring his heart as a gift
to Jesus. This idea is the theme of the following aria.
The second recitative equals the gifts Faith to the
gold, Prayer to the incense, and Patience to the myrrh,
which is again expanded in the aria. The cantata ends
with stanza 10 of Paul Gerhardt's hymn "Ich hab in
Gottes Herz und Sinn".
Bach first performed the cantata for Epiphany on 6
January 1724. In his Christmas Oratorio of 1734, Bach
dedicated Part VI, Herr, wenn die stolzen Feinde
schnauben, to the topic and the occasion and first
performed it on 6 January 1735.
This, the first aria "Gold aus Ophir ist zu schlecht"
(Gold from Ophir is too meager), is accompanied by the
oboes da caccia, whose low register together with the
bass voice conveys the humility expressed in the words.
The cantata is structured in seven movements and is
festively scored for tenor and bass soloists, a
four-part choir, two horns, two recorders, two oboes da
caccia, two violins, viola, and basso continuo. Bach
employed a pair of horns before in his Christmas
cantata Darzu ist erschienen der Sohn Gottes, BWV 40,
and later in his cantata for Christmas 1724, Gelobet
seist du, Jesu Christ, BWV 91, and in Part IV of his
Christmas Oratorio.
Source: Wikipedia
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sie_werden_aus_Saba_alle
_kommen,_BWV_65).
I created this arrangement for Saxophone Quartet (2
Alto Sax, Tenor Sax and Bari Sax).
