The opening chorus, “Celebrate, rejoice, rise up and… glorify what the Highest has done today,” was completely original. The first line sung in the opening chorus of Part 6 reminds us that the character of Christmas is far from that of a Hallmark greeting card. Bach divides the text of the heavenly chorus into three sections: the praise of God on high, the peace on earth, and the great pleasure to humankind. Program Notes J.S. [5] Symbolically speaking, the angels serve as a model for the music of the shepherds. The basis for this publication are Bach’s autograph score and the … Join this translation ———— Update this information (instructions). The laws for the school (Schulordnung), recently revised in 1733, described the musical duties of the pupils by comparing them to a choir of angels: “When they are singing, they shall diligently remember the nature and the duties of the holy angels; this shall teach them that the singing of sacred songs is a glorious duty and how they should behave honorably while singing these songs.”[9], For Bach and his contemporaries, Christmas music was not only a way to set a sentimental mood, not only the celebration of a “Silent Night” or the sonic memory of jingling bells. 5); Martin Luther (Mvts. This material is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License. His listeners would have been familiar with paintings that associated the sound of the strings with the divine messengers. Add to cart. that you, O long-desired guest, have now presented yourself” (no. Jauchzet, frohlocket, auf, preiset die Tage, BWV 248. In the last two measures, the strings even drop out and the oboes of the shepherds play the angelic motive all by themselves. Jauchzet, Frohlocket - Christians, Be Joyful (J. S. Bach: Christmas Oratorio, Part I) Words: Original German text is attributed by some to Christian Friedrich Henrici Music: Jauchzet, Frohlocket (J. S. Bach: Christmas Oratorio, Part I) | Johann Sebastian Bach Frohe Hirten, eilt, ach eilet, If this request was not resolved and is still valid, please re-request it by following the instructions at, This translation system has been deprecated in favour of, This page was last edited on 30 September 2009, at 21:47. His other recent book, Bach’s Major Vocal Works, published by Yale University Press, includes a chapter on the Christmas Oratorio that explores the theological and liturgical contexts of the oratorio. This section is for all those who have requested this translation, are translating or proofreading this article, or just want to give some advice about the translation in progress. The focus is no longer only on the shepherds; it is wider. Paintings of the Nativity in the Renaissance and the Baroque frequently feature angels with instruments (often string instruments such as viola da gambas or violins), and the shepherds are often depicted bringing their flutes and reed instruments to the manger to play their simple tunes for the newborn Christ.[1]. [4] At the beginning of his sinfonia, Bach juxtaposes these two sonic groups: the strings begin, then they are interrupted by the oboes, then the strings take the lead again, and so forth. Corelli’s Christmas Concerto, Bach’s Christmas Oratorio, and the Christmas sections from Handel’s Messiah are an integral part of the public and private soundscapes between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Eve. We will join with you in song.” The text for the recitative finally spells out what the music had already represented several times, the combination of heavenly and human forces in the musical praise of God. Year of release: 2001 J.S. [1] For an excellent overview of music and angels see Meredith J. Gill, Angels and the Order of Heaven in Medieval and Renaissance Italy (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2014), especially pages 112–134. The students of the St. Thomas School who sang the work in 1734/35 would have been familiar with this idea. Corelli’s Christmas Concerto, Bach’s Christmas Oratorio, and the Christmas sections from Handel’s Messiah are an integral part of the public and private soundscapes between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Eve. Christmas and music seem to belong together. Already in the opening movement for Part II, however, Bach celebrates the encounter between the angels and the shepherds, albeit without words, only with the use of music. Choral Sheet Music. When the singers finally enter in measure 33, their “Shout, exult, arise” almost feels redundant, because that is exactly what the instruments have already done for quite a while. Bach envisions the angels and the shepherds as two “choirs,” two musical ensembles, which engage in a dialogue. . Bach was then Thomaskantor, responsible for church music at four churches in Leipzig, a position he had assumed in 1723. CHRISTMAS ORATORIO Weihnachts-Oratorium, BWV 248 It consists of six cantatas that between them tell the story of the Nativity, and the events of the following week or so. von Johann Friedrich Henrici [Picander]) With the edition of the Christmas Oratorio within the framework of the Stuttgart Bach Editions, Carus presents a scholarly edition for practical performance. They belong to the feast like roasted chestnuts and peppermint sticks. After the alto lullaby, the Evangelist announces the arrival of the heavenly hosts, and the angels sing their “May honor be to God on high,” the angelic Gloria. 2, as well as free poetry and hymns. Bach - Christmas Oratorio The Netherlands Bach Society Bach. The liturgy in his Leipzig churches did not provide a place to perform a piece of more than two hours in length. . . Arise then! The theological synthesis is also musical synthesis. However, the opening sinfonia is more than just a musical genre painting, it describes an encounter. I. [9] Gesetze der Schule zu S. Thomae (Leipzig:Breitkopf, 1733), 5. 14). The scriptural basis for the second part is the encounter of the shepherds with the angels on the fields before Bethlehem (Lk. . However, his many other responsibilities, such as raising 20 … [8] For the function of the lullaby and the emotional understanding of Christmas in Bach’s time see the chapter “From Love Song to Lullaby” in Markus Rathey, Bach’s Major Vocal Works: Music, Drama, Liturgy (New Haven and London: Yale University Press), 2016. Bach essentially follows the same pattern he had already used in the opening sinfonia, now applied to a setting of the central biblical text. 7, 9) Chorale Text: Earthly music was a reflection of heavenly music; the voices of the human choir emulated the angelic voices. The book analyzes Bach’s masterwork from a musical, cultural, and theological perspective and sheds new light on Bach’s own compositional process. After the announcement of Jesus’s birth, the text of the following recitative even calls the shepherds a “choir”: “What God has pledged to Abraham, he now lets be shown to the chorus of shepherds as fulfilled” (no. An instrumental sinfonia depicts the bucolic scene in the fields close to Bethlehem. . All of J.S.Bach's major choral works, including the Christmas Oratorio (1874), the Magnificat (1874), and the St Matthew and St John Passions (1894 and 1896 respectively), were translated by him for the music publisher Novello. It is the call to all mankind to join the choir of angels: “Quite right, you angels: shout and sing. Feel the delight.”. SKU: 30809. Part I: The First Day of Christmas. . Perhaps the greatest offering of all is Johann Sebastian Bach’s Christmas Oratorio. [5] For a more detailed discussion of this movement see Rathey, Bach’s Christmas Oratorio, 197–207. (2016) “Music and Divine Encounter in Bach’s Christmas Oratorio,” The Yale ISM Review: Vol. As he had already done in the opening sinfonia, Bach establishes a juxtaposition between the divine sphere in the first section and the human sphere in the second section; in the third section, he leads these two spheres to a synthesis by combining musical ideas from the first two sections. The lullaby that follows is a beautiful alto aria, which meditates on the intimate relationship between the believer and Jesus: “Sleep, my most beloved, enjoy your rest . Bach. [7] Christoph Starke, Synopsis Bibliothecae Exegeticae in Novum Testamentum: Kurzgefaster Auszug Der gründlichsten und nutzbarsten Auslegungen über alle Bücher Neues Testaments, vol. 1). In the hymn setting the singers join the angels and praise the newborn Son of God: “We sing to you, amid your host, with all our power . The Christmas Oratorio, written for the turn-of-year feast days in 1734/35, was composed during a period in which Bach produced comparatively few new works for his Leipzig churches. Bach’s skillful juxtaposition and assimilation of musical ideas and musical topoi correlates with Martin Luther’s interpretation of the angelic choir in Lk. Available at http://ismreview.yale.edu, PDF: music-and-divine-encounter-in-bachs-christmas-oratorio_rathey, Music and Divine Encounter in Bach’s Christmas OratorioMarkus Rathey, The Magi and the Manger: Imaging Christmas in Ancient Art and RitualFelicity Harley-McGowan and Andrew McGowan, Sant’Apollinare Nuovo, RavennaArthur P. Urbano, Born in Us Today: The Gospel of IncarnationWendy Farley, A Meeting of Domestic and Liturgical Rites: Joy and Light in Orthodox ChristmasNicholas E. Denysenko, Christmas in Fear, or Looking over One’s Shoulder at the CrècheSusan K. Roll, The Grinch that Didn’t Steal Christmas: A Reformation StoryBruce Gordon, Can We Still See Calvary from Bethlehem?R. What is more, Christmas is probably the only Christian feast that has developed its own unmistakable musical idiom: triple meter, simple texture, slow harmonic rhythm, organ points—these are not only the ingredients for a musical pastoral but they likewise characterize a wide array of popular Christmas songs, from “In dulci jubilo” to “Silent Night.”, Even in a society like ours, where communal singing has lost most of its former significance, Christmas carols still count among the best-known songs with religious texts. Bach composed his Christmas Oratorio for the Christmas season from Christmas Day on 25 December 1734 to Epiphany on 6 January 1735. But again, even before the voices of the singers enter, Bach has already displayed the different voices of the orchestra in fanfares of praise: first the drums, then the flutes, followed by the oboes and the trumpets. Its first cantata, Jauchzet, frohlocket! It comprises six cantatas, suitable for performing separately during the so-called twelve days of Christmas. The hymn setting is accompanied by the instruments, and we hear again the musical motives from the opening sinfonia, as well as the intricate juxtaposition of strings (now playing together with the voices) and the nasal sound of the oboes. This idea also shapes the following movements of Part II of the oratorio. [4] Cf. 18).[8]. English Translation Cantata BWV 248/3 - Ruler of heaven, hear our inarticulate speech Christmas Oratorio III: Event: Cantata for the 3 rd Day of Christmas [St John's Day] Readings: Epistle: Hebrews 1: 1-14 / Ecclesiastical Letters 15: 1-8; Gospel: John 1: 1-14 When Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750) composed his Christmas Oratorio for the Christmas season 1734/35, he tackled a very ambitious project. Translation by Francis Browne (www.bach-cantatas.com) Bach—Christmas Oratorio: Frohe Hirten Frohe Hirten, eilt, ach eilet, Eh ihr euch zu lang verweilet, Eilt, das holde Kind zu sehn! Each part is a cantata for 1 of 6 feast days within the 12 days of the Christmas season: The story begins with the birth of Jesus (for Christmas Day). refresh your breast, feel the delight” (no. }} or {{Doubt | original sentence | Emmanuel Music continues to perform cycles of large-scale and chamber works by Bach, Handel, Mozart, Schubert, Brahms, Debussy, Haydn, Schoenberg, Weill, Wolf, Medelssohn, and Schumann under Artistic Director Ryan Turner. Music as a theme features prominently in the second part of the oratorio, performed on December 26, 1734 in the St. Thomas Church. Bach's Christmas oratorio // On St. Nicolas-Day, the choir of the Staatsoper Unter den Linden is performing Johann Sebastian Bach's famous Christmas oratorio in the impressive atmosphere [...] of the Church of Gethsemane. To revive discussion, seek broader input via a forum such as the, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:Translation/Christmas_Oratorio&oldid=317165385, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, Wikipedia has migrated to a new template system. 2:8–14), culminating in the angelic song “Ehre sei Gott in der Höhe” (May honor be to God on high). Bach: Christmas Oratorio WEIHNACHTS-ORATORIUM, BWV 248. Christmas Oratorio III 1 (24). He also translated nine of Bach's cantatas, with the same publisher. Emmanuel Music is a Boston-based ensemble of singers and instrumentalists founded in 1970 by Craig Smith to perform the complete sacred cantatas of J.S. .”[6] A theological treatise from 1746 formulates this synthesis thus: “In Christo und durch Christum stimmen himmel und erde, Gott, Engel und menschen wieder zusammen.”[7] (In Christ and through Christ heaven and earth, God, angel, and men sound together). The second part of the oratorio (like the other parts as well), ends with a setting of a common congregational hymn. Und es waren Hirten in derselben Gegend, BWV 248 II, for the Second Day of Christmas in 1734, is the second of six cantatas (or parts) constituting this oratorio. to watch this page]. 1, Article 1. < For much of his life, Bach was in charge of music at St. Thomas Lutheran Church in Leipzig, Germany. 2. . The angels play an elegantly flowing siciliano motive, while the shepherds interject with a simpler, more rustic theme. Facebook Twitter. Do not forget The angel then urges the shepherds to go to the manger and to see “the miracle” that has taken place. In the Christmas Oratorio, Bach took virtually every solo from sacred music he had composed earlier and combined them with other choruses and instrumentals that were both new and old. The angelic Gloria is followed by a small recitative, sung by the bass voice, which connects the praise of the angels with the human response. Gradually, however, the oboes adopt musical ideas from the strings, and in the final moments of the sinfonia, the strings and oboes play the same motive. The shepherds, on the other hand, are represented by the nasal sound of the oboes—again a typical feature in Baroque iconography. They are now our best friends. Eilt, ach eilet, eilt das holde Kind zu sehn! Weihnachts-Oratorium, BWV 248 Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750) Dana Marsh, Artistic Director. Each group also has its unique musical ideas. encounter during the translation process. . . Traces of a similar view of music can also be found in other movements of the oratorio, albeit not as concentrated as in Part II. The same is true for the opening movement of the third part of the oratorio: “Ruler of heaven, give heed to our babble, let our feeble songs praise you” (no. 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