Gleichwie der Regen und Schnee vom Himmel fällt (Just
as the rain and snow fall from heaven), BWV 18,[a] is
an early church cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach. He
composed it in Weimar for the Sunday Sexagesimae, the
second Sunday before Lent, likely by 1713.
Bach worked for the court in Weimar from 1708. On 2
March 1714 Bach was appointed concertmaster of the
Weimar court capelle of the co-reigning dukes Wilhelm
Ernst and Ernst August of Saxe-Weimar. As
concertmaster, he assumed the pri...(+)
Gleichwie der Regen und Schnee vom Himmel fällt (Just
as the rain and snow fall from heaven), BWV 18,[a] is
an early church cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach. He
composed it in Weimar for the Sunday Sexagesimae, the
second Sunday before Lent, likely by 1713.
Bach worked for the court in Weimar from 1708. On 2
March 1714 Bach was appointed concertmaster of the
Weimar court capelle of the co-reigning dukes Wilhelm
Ernst and Ernst August of Saxe-Weimar. As
concertmaster, he assumed the principal responsibility
for composing new works, specifically cantatas for the
Schlosskirche (palace church), on a monthly schedule.
Bach composed this cantata for the second Sunday before
Ash Wednesday, called Sexagesima.
The cantata falls relatively early in Bach's chronology
of cantata compositions. It was possibly composed for
24 February 1715, but more likely a year or two
earlier. Christoph Wolff states: "The original
performing material has survived and allows us to date
the work to 1713". Bach performed the cantata again in
Leipzig in 1724, with an expanded scoring in a
different key. It was then probably performed in the
same service as the newly composed Leichtgesinnte
Flattergeister, BWV 181.
The keys in this section refer to the Weimar version,
although the recording by Masaaki Suzuki, with
commentary by Klaus Hofmann, uses the Leipzig keys.
Hofmann notes the work's "Lutheran character", quoting
Luther's litany inserted in the third movement, and
sees it as a "recitative study, exploring the secco
recitative of the Italian opera, introduced by Erdmann
Neumeister, and also the accompagnato with rich
instrumental accompaniment. Gardiner finds all three
cantatas for the occasion, dealing with God's word,
"characterised by his vivid pictorial imagination, an
arresting sense of drama, and by music of freshness and
power that lodges in the memory".
The cantata opens with a sinfonia in G minor, which
illustrates falling rain and snow in descending
phrases. In da capo form, is reminiscent both of a
chaconne and a concerto. The four violas and continuo,
with bassoon and cello parts specified, create an
unusual sound, termed "magically dark-hued sonority" by
Gardiner.
The quotation from Isaiah is sung by the bass, the vox
Christi (voice of Christ), in a secco recitative. This
is Bach's first adaptation of recitative in a church
cantata, not following operatic patterns, but "a lucid
presentation of the text in a dignified, highly
personal style".
The central movement is unique in Bach's cantatas, the
choir soprano interrupts the prayer of the male
soloists four times, followed by a conclusion of the
full choir "Erhör uns, lieber Herre Gott!" (Hear us,
dear Lord God!). The recitatives are marked adagio in
E-flat major, while the interspersed litany is
presented dramatically (allegro in C minor). Gardiner
compares the imagery of the recitatives: "all adds up
to a vivid, Brueghel-like portrayal of rural society at
work – the sower, the glutton, the lurking devil, as
well as those pantomime villains, the Turks and the
Papists.
Like other cantatas written in Weimar, the cantata is
scored for a small ensemble, composed of soprano,
tenor, and bass soloists, a four-part choir, four
violas, cello, bassoon and basso continuo. The setting
for four violas is unusual. In a similar orchestration,
the Brandenburg Concerto No. 6 also omits violins. The
second version of this cantata for a performance in
Leipzig adds two recorders, which double viola I and II
an octave higher. John Eliot Gardiner compares the
effect to a four-foot stop on a pipe organ. The cantata
begins in G minor in the Weimar version, in A minor in
the Leipzig version.
The only aria, for soprano in E-flat major, is
accompanied by the four violas in unison. The cantata
closes with a four-part setting of Spengler's hymn
stanza, Bach's first of many to come as the typical
conclusion of his cantatas.
Source: Wikipedia
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gleichwie_der_Regen_und_
Schnee_vom_Himmel_f%C3%A4llt,_BWV_18).
I created this arrangement of the closing Chorale: "Ich
bitt, o Herr, aus Herzens Grund" (I pray, o Lord, from
the bottom of my heart) for Flute & Strings (2 Violins,
Viola & Cello).