On the program:
Triple Concerto in A minor, BWV 1044 - Rachel Brown, flute; Pauline Nobes, violin; Richard Egarr, harpsichord; Academy of Ancient Music, Andrew Manze, director
Cantata BWV 42 Am Abend aber desselbigen Sabbats (translation) - Yukari Nonoshita, soprano; Robin Blaze, counter-tenor; James Gilchrist, tenor; Dominik Wörner, bass; Bach Collegium Japan, Masaaki Suzuki, conductor
TRANSCRIPT:
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J.S. Bach’s Cantata No. 42 opens with a gorgeously bright instrumental sinfonia …
It’s the opening of a story being told. But it also expresses a state of mind …
A state of mind that, for all that brightness, also has another, more troubling side to it …
You’ll hear all sides of the Cantata No. 42, coming up on The Bach Hour.
Hello, I'm Brian McCreath; welcome to The Bach Hour from 99.5 WCRB, a part of WGBH Boston. The Cantata No. 42 offers a vivid musical depiction of the inner life of a believer, and you can find a translation of the text for that piece at our web site, Classical WCRB dot org. That’s also where you can hear this program again on demand. Again, that’s at Classical WCRB dot org.
When you talk about the origin of Bach’s pieces, there’s plenty of historical mystery, but the Concerto in A minor, BWV 1044, gets especially complicated. It’s known as Bach’s Triple Concerto because it includes solo parts for flute, violin, and harpsichord, and a lot of it is definitely original music by Bach. But there’s also the possibility of contributions by his sons Carl Philipp Emmanuel and Wilhelm Friedemann. Along the way – and it’s impossible to tell who did it – someone wrote in just a fleeting instance of the notes that spell the name “Bach” in the third movement.
Here is the Triple Concerto, with flutist Rachel Brown, violinist Pauline Nobes, and harpsichordist Richard Egarr, along with the Academy of Ancient Music, directed by Andrew Manze.
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The so-called Triple Concerto by Bach, BWV 1044, in a performance by the Academy of Ancient Music and director Andrew Manze. The soloists included flutist Rachel Brown, violinist Pauline Nobes, and harpsichordist Richard Egarr.
In 1725, a week after an Easter Sunday first performance of the incredibly joyful Easter Oratorio, Bach explored the next part of the Easter story. The Cantata No. 42, Am Abend aber desselbigen Sabbats, or “On the evening of that same Sabbath,” depicts a joy and contentment you might expect. But it also expresses fear, and anxiety. It’s a reflection of the state of mind of Jesus’s followers in those first days after the apparent resurrection of Jesus. And for Bach, it’s also a way of exploring the experience of an individual believer.
The piece begins in warmth and light with an instrumental introduction. With an oboe duet and solo bassoon, some hear in this opening Bach’s depiction of the two Marys and the risen Jesus, walking together. And whether or not you hear that, there’s no question that the mood is relaxed and carefree.
But then we’re taken directly to the other side of the story. The cello plays an insidious repeated figure to heighten anxiety, and the tenor soloist sings about the disciples’ fear behind locked doors.
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A remarkable transition takes place, though, after the tenor sings of Jesus’s appearance before the disciples. That anxiety dissipates, melting into the warmth of the opening of the piece.
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It’s the introduction to an extended aria for the counter-tenor, who sings, “Where two or three are gathered together in Jesus' dear name, there Jesus will stand among them.”
As a duet for the soprano and tenor take us back into anxiety, though, it becomes clear that, while there’s a story about a group of believers being told, Bach’s music is also reflecting the inner experience of an individual believer, wavering between anxiety and comfort, and living into those two states of mind and soul simultaneously.
It’s worth mentioning, by the way, one especially troubling part of the language in this piece: A couple of times, the libretto mentions that what the disciples are fearful of is “Jüden” or Jews. Aside from the basic disconnect of that statement – after all, all of the disciples and Jesus himself were Jews – it’s also an unpleasant reminder that Bach’s sacred works, for all their eternal qualities, also come from a very specific time and place and culture. And that Bach himself, genius though he was, was still a product of that culture.
Remember, you can find a translation of that text at our web site, Classical WCRB dot org.
Here is a performance of Bach’s Cantata No. 42, Am Abend aber desselbigen Sabbats, with soprano Yukari Nonoshita, counter-tenor Robin Blaze, tenor James Gilchrist, and bass Dominik Wörner. They’re joined by Bach Collegium Japan, directed by Masaaki Suzuki.
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The Cantata No. 42 by Bach, Am Abend aber desselbigen Sabbats, or “On the evening of that same Sabbath,” in a performance featuring soprano Yukari Nonoshita, counter-tenor Robin Blaze, tenor James Gilchrist, and bass Dominik Wörner, along with Bach Collegium Japan, all directed by Masaaki Suzuki.
Remember, if you’d like to hear this program again on-demand, just visit us online at Classical WCRB dot org.
Thank you for joining me today, and thanks also to audio engineer Antonio Oliart Ros. I’m Brian McCreath, and I’ll hope to have your company again next week here on The Bach Hour.