Bach Choir of Bethlehem

Cantata 75, Die Elenden sollen essen

Cantata BWV 75, "Die Elenden sollen essen," was written for the first Sunday after Trinity and was heard for the first time in Leipzig's Nikolaikirche on 30 May 1723. This performance marked Bach's début in his new post as Kantor at Thomaskirche and, at the same time, launched his first cycle of Leipzig cantatas. As with BWV 76, which followed the next Sunday (2nd Sunday after Trinity), the text is the work of an unknown librettist, although the opening movement is based on Psalm 22:27, and the seventh and fourteenth movements are settings of the fifth and sixth strophes from Samuel Rodigast's hymn, "Was Gott tut, das ist wohlgetan," of 1674. Schulze suggests it was the mayor of Leipzig, Gottfried Lange, which would have been a politically savvy move for the new Kantor at Thomaskirche. However, a note in the autograph score indicates that the cantata was written in Cöthen, before Bach's move to Leipzig (Christoph Wolff, from the Ton Koopman recording), and this would seem to negate the possibility of the Leipzig mayor as author.

Like Cantata BWV 76, Cantata BWV 75 is set in two parts totally fourteen movements. (Interestingly enough, Bach wrote three cantatas for the 1st Sunday after Trinity; all three-BWV 75, 20, and 39) all are composed in two parts.) In All likelihood, the second part of the cantata was performed after the sermon for the day. In Cantata BWV 75, the first part deals with God's omnipotence; second with the question of Christians' spiritual impoverishment (Andreas Bomba, program notes accompanying the Rilling recording, Hänssler Classics, CD 92.024). The text of the first half is clearly related to the gospel reading of the day (Luke 16: 19-31), which tells the parable of poor Lazarus and the rich man. If you recall, Lazarus is poor in terms of worldly goods, but finds great solace and comfort in God; when he dies, he finds himself surrounded by the luxury of heaven while the rich man-his foil on earth-is doomed to the fires of hell. There is, throughout this gospel reading, a juxtaposition of polar opposites: rich vs. poor; heaven vs. hell; exaltation vs. utter despair; love of God vs. disregard for Him and what he has to offer. Or, as Eric Chafe so eloquently describes it, Cantata BWV 75 deals with "the antithesis between worldly tribulation and the spiritual riches, centered on love of God that leads to eternal life" (Chafe, p. 27)

Stephen A. Crist has studied at length the first two cantatas from Bach's Leipzig stint. His article "Bach's début at Leipzig: Observations on the genesis of Cantatas 75 and 76" (Early Music, May 1985) offers many insights into the origin of these two pieces and the connections between them. I will not reproduce the entire article here, but will point out some of the highlights.

Bach probably did not wait until his arrival in Leipzig to begin work on Cantata 75, though it is not entirely clear when he did start work. In all likelihood, it was after he signed a contract on May 5, but before the family arrived in Leipzig on May 22, 1723.
The manuscript for Cantata 75 is one of the "cleanest, most carefully penned manuscripts among the composing scores for the first cycle cantatas." This is the exact opposite of the manuscript for Cantata 76, which contains heavy corrections. What does that mean for both cantatas? Well, in the case of the former cantata, it may indicate that Bach took extra care to prepare his first Leipzig performance.
"Bach provides more detailed information about instrumentation and movement types than is usual in his composing scores" in Cantata BWV 75. For example, the first recitative is marked "Recit. I col accomp," indicating that it is an accompanied recitative. In most cases, Bach would simply label this "recit." if he included any written indication at all. (Crist, 213.)
The two cantatas, BWV 75 and 76, have four arias each, and they are written in the same keys (a minor, e minor, C major and G major -notice that these keys are closely related to each other [see circle of fifths in the glossary]), though they appear in different orders in BSV 75 and 76.
One might assume that one reason for the lack of corrections is that Bach based at least part of this cantata-perhaps individual movements, particularly the recitatives-on pre-existing material, a common approach in Bach's cantatas. However, there is no evidence to support this. It could be that whatever revisions Bach did, he wrote on other papers, which have now been lost.

Cantata BWV 75 is scored for four-part chorus with SATB vocal soloists, strings and two oboes, with an added trumpet in the second half. According to contemporary newspaper reports, "the new Cantor and Director of the Collegium Musicum, Herr Johann Sebastian Bach, who has come hither from the Prince's court of Cöthen, produced his first music here with great success." The seventh and fourteenth are musically identical, "an identity that underscores the unity of the two parts of the work" (Wolff, from the Ton Koopman recording), and helps to delineate the ends of the two parts to the cantata. The first part is notable not only for its opening chorus but, more especially, for its two arias, the first for tenor, oboe and strings, the second for soprano and oboe d'amore. The second part likewise boasts two arias, in this case for alto and violins and for bass, trumpet and strings. (Christoph Wolff, from Ton Koopman recording)

As the first cantata performed in Bach's Leipzig years, Cantata BWV 75 also marks the start of Bach's first cantata cycle. Given the number of movements, I will not cover everything here, but rather summarize the entire cantata in the chart below, and then point the reader/listener towards some highlights.

Movt.	Form/genre	Scoring	Meter, tempo	key
1	Chorus, in style of French overture	SATB solos, SATB choir, 2 oboes, strings, continue	¾, slow; to 4/4, more animated	E minor
2	Recitative	Bass solo, strings, continuo	4/4, free	B minor to E minor
3	Dal segno aria	Tenor solo, oboe, strings, continuo	¾, moderate	G major
4	Recitative	Tenor solo, continuo	4/4, free	Closes in C major
5	Da capo aria	Soprano solo, oboe d’amore, continuo	3/8, moderately fast	C major
6	Recitative	Soprano solo, continuo	4/4, free	G major
7	Chorale	SATB choir, oboes, strings, continuo	4/4, moderate	G major
8	Sinfonia	Trumpet, strings, continuo	4/4, moderately fast	G major
9	Recitative	Alto solo, strings, continuo	4/4, free	Closes in G major
10	Aria	Alto solo, violin solo, continuo	3/8, relatively slow	E minor
11	Recitative	Bass solo, continuo	4/4, free	Closes in C major
12	Aria	Bass solo, trumpet, strings, continuo	4/4, moderate	C major
13	Recitative	Tenor solo, continuo	4/4, free	Closes in G major
14	Chorale	SATB choir, oboes, strings, continuo	4/4, moderate	G major

Now the highlights.

The first movement follows a French overture style, with stately dotted rhythms in the strings. The solo oboe fills in between the string chords, in almost cadenza-like fashion. The texture is then significantly reduced when the voices (soprano and alto) enter in imitation, leaving the dotted rhythms behind. A brief orchestral interlude reintroduces the dotted rhythm idea, reminding us of the French overture, and continues underneath the voices as a full choral texture emerges (m. 21ff), as seen in the excerpt below. Even in this vocal score, with piano reduction of the orchestral parts, you can see the various components of this complicated texture. The orange indicates the dotted rhythms in the strings. The green highlights the oboe “cadenza.” The red shows the imitative passages in the choir.

Click here to see the score.

Even as this first half of the movement continues with more and more intricate choral writing, the orchestra continues periodically to remind us of the dotted rhythms which link this movement to the French overture tradition.

If you can believe it, the writing becomes even more intricate and ornamented as the text changes for the second portion of the movement, following the text “Euer Herz soll ewiglich leben” (Your heart shall evermore flourish). True to French overture style, this second section of the movement begins with strict imitation in the voices.

The second movement, the first of several recitatives, is very dramatic. Full of large leaps and rather pronounced dissonances, we get a sense of the instability of the worldly riches and splendors which the rich man in the gospel reading has – and cannot bring with him to the eternal life after death.

Third movement is either a sarabande (Little and Jenne) or a polonaise (Andreas Bomba). The performance tempo will guide the listener to his or her own decision on what to call this movement. (In my opinion, most performances are done too quickly to fall into the sarabande category.) In either case, it clearly draws on dance traditions of the time. Crist writes that this movement “has an innovative design which gives the impression of a full da capo, although it is in fact considerably shortened; the second half of the B section (bars 100 ff.) is elided with the da capo. First the head-motif returns, sung to the final words of the B portion of the text (bars 111-12); next the opening sentence comes back (bars 113 ff.); the remainder of this vocal section quotes from the end of A in an increasingly literal manner, beginning in the tenor part (bars 115 ff>0, then the continuo (bars 118 ff>0, and finally the strings and oboe (bars 121 ff.), before the movement concludes with a complete restatement of the opening ritornello.” (Crist, in The Oxford Composer Companions, J.S. Bach).

The fifth movement is another aria, this time for soprano solo. Like the previous one, it is in a triple meter, and gives the feeling of being related to some dance tradition. It also uses a traditional da capo aria form. Scored for solo oboe d’amore, solo soprano, and continuo, the texture resembles that of a trio sonata, with two melodic parts intertwined above the continuo support. Note the long melisma on the word “Freuden” (joy), in this otherwise somewhat somber movement – the soprano clearly releases all of her suppressed joy on this single four-measure melisma.

The seventh and fourteenth movements are musically identical, though using different verses of the same chorale tune. Both movements would be considered chorale fantasias, setting the chorale tune in the choir while the orchestra weaves a more complicated texture around it.

Click here to see the score.

The second part of the cantatas begins with the eighth movement, which combines the idea of a sinfonia (a purely orchestral movement, often serving as a prelude or introduction) and a chorale fantasia. Here, the purely orchestral movement introduces a solo trumpet on the chorale tune.

The ninth movement, another recitative, begins with the text “Nur eines kränkt ein christliches Gemüte” (just one thing grieves a Christian in the spirit). The darker alto voice and minor key immediately reflect the grief to which the text refers, though by the end of the recitative, Bach turns the music and mood more cheerful, cadencing in G major, relative major of the key (e minor) of the subsequent aria.

The next aria, for alto solo (movement ten) is a simple, joyful piece, despite being set in e minor. The full joy of Christian redemption is reserved for the bass aria (movement 12), but here we get a glimpse of the joy we can obtain if we can receive the Holy Spirit. The text is quite clear on the “if” of this statement.

Joy returns in the bass aria (movement twelve), with the return of C major and the trumpet. Writing the bass solo in a relatively high register also contributes to the lighter, brighter sound of the movement, where the joy expressed is a reflection of Christians’ love of Jesus, and His love of all in return. (see text)