Leichtgesinnte Flattergeister (Light-minded frivolous
spirits), BWV 181, is a church cantata by Johann
Sebastian Bach. He composed it in Leipzig for
Sexagesima and first performed it on 13 February
1724.
Bach composed the cantata in his first year in Leipzig
for the second Sunday before Ash Wednesday, called
Sexagesima. He had already composed a cantata for the
occasion for the court in Eisenach, Gleichwie der Regen
und Schnee vom Himmel fällt, BWV 18. It seems possible
that in 1724 b...(+)
Leichtgesinnte Flattergeister (Light-minded frivolous
spirits), BWV 181, is a church cantata by Johann
Sebastian Bach. He composed it in Leipzig for
Sexagesima and first performed it on 13 February
1724.
Bach composed the cantata in his first year in Leipzig
for the second Sunday before Ash Wednesday, called
Sexagesima. He had already composed a cantata for the
occasion for the court in Eisenach, Gleichwie der Regen
und Schnee vom Himmel fällt, BWV 18. It seems possible
that in 1724 both works were performed in the service,
one before, one after the sermon. The prescribed
readings for the Sunday were taken from the Second
Epistle to the Corinthians, "God's power is mighty in
the week" (2 Corinthians 11:19--12:9), and from the
Gospel of Luke, the parable of the Sower (Luke
8:4--15).
The cantata text by an unknown poet stays close to the
Gospel. The obstacles to growth of the seeds, such as
rock and thorns, are related to other Biblical
quotations where they are mentioned. For example, rock
appears also when Moses gets water from a rock (Exodus
17:6) and a rock is removed from the grave of Jesus
(Matthew 28:2). The cantata is not closed by a chorale
but the only choral movement, a prayer that God's word
may fall on fertile ground in us. The original
anonymous libretto is extant.
Bach first performed the cantata on 13 February 1724.
He performed it at least one more time between 1743 and
1746, only then he added parts for two woodwinds.
The cantata consists of five movements, twice a
sequence of an aria and a recitative, concluded by a
choral movement. This resembles the typical format for
secular cantatas. Likely at least the final movement if
not others also are parodies of unknown secular music.
The parts for flute and oboe were added for a later
performance. A characteristic motif with staccato leaps
dominates the movement, introduced by the instruments,
then picked up by the voice. "Flattergeister" literally
means "fluttering spirits". Richard Stokes translates
the cantata title as "frivolous flibbertigibbets"; they
compare to the fowl feeding on the seeds in "nervous,
jerky movement". According to the musicologist Julian
Mincham, it depicts the "flippant and superficial" in
an irregular pattern, which fits an observation in
Bach's obituary about his melodies, considered "strange
and like no other's". Mincham continues: "One can never
quite predict the turns which this spiky, disjointed
melody is likely to take". A second part speaks of
Belial, whose evil intervention is mentioned frequently
in literature, including Milton's Paradise Lost. Both
parts of the aria are repeated; after only four
measures of what seems like a da capo, a modified
version of the middle section begins which depicts
Belial, the "demon of lies and guilt". The following
secco recitative stresses the text "Es werden
Felsenherzen ... ihr eigen Heil verscherzen" (One day
those hearts, so stony, ... will their salvation
forfeit) in an arioso. The images of the crumbling
rocks are illustrated by a rugged line in the continuo.
The tenor aria is probably lacking the part of an
obbligato violin. Robert Levin supplied three
"convincing reconstructions" for the Bach Cantata
Pilgrimage. The final movement, with trumpet sound, is
happy and uncomplicated. According to Christoph Wolff,
the movement is based on a lost secular piece composed
in Cöthen. Its middle section is a duet of soprano and
alto. John Eliot Gardiner notes the movement's
"madrigalian lightness and delicacy perfectly
appropriate to the joyous message of the parable".
Although originally written for four vocal soloists
(soprano, alto, tenor, bass), a four-part choir,
trumpet, flauto traverso, oboe, two violins, viola, and
basso continuo, I created this arrangement for Winds (A
Piccolo Trumpet, Flute, Oboe A Clarinet, French Horn &
Bassoon) & Strings (2 Violins, Viola & Cello).