Schauet doch und sehet, ob irgend ein Schmerz sei
(Behold and see, if there be any sorrow), BWV 46, is a
church cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach. He composed it
in Leipzig for the tenth Sunday after Trinity and first
performed it on 1 August 1723.
The cantata is part of Bach's first annual cycle of
cantatas, which he began when he took up office as
Thomaskantor in May 1723. The topic is based on the
prescribed reading from the gospel of Luke, Jesus
announcing the destruction of Jerusale...(+)
Schauet doch und sehet, ob irgend ein Schmerz sei
(Behold and see, if there be any sorrow), BWV 46, is a
church cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach. He composed it
in Leipzig for the tenth Sunday after Trinity and first
performed it on 1 August 1723.
The cantata is part of Bach's first annual cycle of
cantatas, which he began when he took up office as
Thomaskantor in May 1723. The topic is based on the
prescribed reading from the gospel of Luke, Jesus
announcing the destruction of Jerusalem and cleansing
of the Temple. The librettist is unknown. The cantata
is structured in six movements: two choral movements
frame a sequence of alternating recitatives and arias.
The opening movement is based on a verse from the Book
of Lamentations, a lament of the destructed Jerusalem,
related to the announcement from the gospel. The text
moves from reflecting God's wrath in the past to the
situation of the contemporary Christian. The closing
chorale, a stanza from Johann Matthäus Meyfart's hymn
"O großer Gott von Macht", is a prayer culminating in
the thought "do not repay us according to our
sins".
The cantata is scored for three vocal soloists (alto,
tenor and bass), a four-part choir, a slide trumpet,
two recorders, two oboes da caccia, strings and basso
continuo.[2] This is an unusually rich instrumentation
for an ordinary Sunday. Bach created in the opening
chorus an unusual "uncompromising" fugue for up to nine
parts. The bass aria with an obbligato trumpet,
depicting God's wrath compared to a thunderstorm, has
been regarded as "more frightening" than any
contemporary operatic 'rage' arias. The closing chorale
is not the usual simple four-part setting, but includes
instrumental interludes reminiscent of motifs used
before.
Bach used music of the first section of the opening
chorus for Qui tollis peccata mundi of his Mass in B
minor. He made considerable changes when he adapted the
lamenting music to depict the Lamb of God carrying the
sins of the world.
As with other cantatas Bach composed in his first years
in Leipzig, we do not know the identity of the
librettist. It is the third in a group of ten cantatas
following the same structure of biblical text (in this
case from the Old Testament) – recitative – aria
– recitative – aria – chorale. The ten cantatas
were dedicated to the 8th to 14th and 21st to 22nd
Sunday after Trinity and the second Sunday after
Easter.
The words for the first movement are taken from the
Book of Lamentations (Lamentations 1:12), a lament
about the historic destruction of Jerusalem. The text,
suitable in connection with the announcement by Jesus,
is among the prescribed readings for Good Friday and
has been set to music often. The text for the inner
movements 2 to 5 were written by the unknown poet, who
dedicated a pair of recitative and aria to the memory
of the historic event, another pair to the warning that
the contemporary Christian is threatened in a similar
way. The final chorale is the ninth stanza of "O
großer Gott von Macht" by Johann Matthäus
Meyfart.
The cantata is structured in six movements and scored
for three vocal soloists (alto (A), tenor (T) and bass
(B)), a four-part choir (SATB), a slide trumpet
(Zugtrompete, Tr), mostly doubling the choir soprano,
two recorders (Fl), two oboes da caccia (Oc), two
violins (Vl), viola (Va) and basso continuo (Bc). This
is an unusually rich instrumentation for an ordinary
Sunday.[6] The title on the original parts reads: "10
post Trinit: / Schauet doch und sehet, ob irgend ein
etc. / a / 4 Voci / 1 Tromba / 2 Flauti / 2 Hautb: da
Caccia / 2 Violini / Viola / con / Continuo / di Sign:
/ J.S.Bach".
Source: Wikipedia
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schauet_doch_und_sehet,_
ob_irgend_ein_Schmerz_sei,_BWV_46).
I created this arrangement of the closing Chorale: "O
großer Gott von Treu" (O great God of faithfulness)
for 2 Flutes & Strings (2 Violins, Viola & Cello).
PARTITION