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Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme BWV 140 / BC A 166
Twenty-Seventh Sunday after Trinity, November 25, 1731
Johann Sebastian Bach composed his cantata Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme BWV 140 (Awaken, calls to us the voice) for the twenty-seventh Sunday after Trinity, an occasion that makes its appearance quite rarely in the church calendar. Heard for the first time on November 25, 1731, it was a belated addition to the cycle of chorale cantatas from 1724 and 1725. It is based on Philipp Nicolai’s Wächterlied (Watchmen’s song), which was published in 1599 as an addendum to his Freuden Spiegel des ewigen Lebens (Joyful reflection of the eternal life) but must have been written somewhat earlier. In the original it appears beneath the heading “Ein anders—geistlich Braut- Lied—von der Stimm zu Mitternacht und von den klugen Jungfrauwen die ihrem himmlischen Bräutigam begegnen Matthäus 25” (Another—spiritual bride song—from the voice at midnight and by the clever virgins who meet their heavenly bridegroom Matthew 25). What is meant here is the parable of the wise and foolish virgins, the Gospel reading for the twenty-seventh Sunday after Trinity, Matthew 25:1–13:Then the Kingdom of Heaven shall be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. But five among them were foolish, and five were clever. The foolish ones took their lamps, but they did not take oil with them. The wise ones, however, took oil in their vessels together with their lamps. Because now the bridegroom delayed, they all became drowsy and slept. But at midnight there came a cry: See, the bridegroom comes; go out to meet him! Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps. But the foolish ones said to the wise: Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out. Then the wise ones answered and spoke: But no, lest there not be enough for us and you; but go to the shopkeepers and buy for yourselves. And while they went out to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast, and the door was closed. At last the other virgins came and said: Lord, Lord, open to us! He, however, answered and said: Truly, I say to you: I do not know you. Therefore, watch, for you know neither day nor hour in which the Son of Man will come.
The three stanzas of Philipp Nicolai’s poetic paraphrase of this Gospel text provide the cornerstones for our cantata. With its reference to slumbering Jerusalem at midnight, the waiting virgins, and the calling watchmen, the opening strophe focuses on the kingdom of blessed sleepers who await the Last Judgment and the return of Jesus Christ:
Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme
Der Wächter sehr hoch auf der Zinne,
Wach auf, du Stadt Jerusalem!
Mitternacht heißt diese Stunde;
Sie rufen uns mit hellem Munde:
Wo seid ihr klugen Jungfrauen?
Wohlauf, der Bräutgam kommt;
Steht auf, die Lampen nehmt!
Alleluja!
Macht euch bereit
Zu der Hochzeit,
Ihr müsset ihm entgegen gehn!
Awaken, calls to us the voice
Of the watchmen very high on the battlement,
Awaken, you city of Jerusalem!
The hour is midnight;
They call to us with a clear voice:
Where are you wise virgins?
Get up, the bridegroom comes;
Stand up, take your lamps!
Halleluja!
Make yourselves ready
For the wedding.
You must go to meet him!
The second strophe describes the meeting of the “Auserwählten Seelen” (chosen souls) as royal bride and Jesus Christ as royal bridegroom; accompanied by the host of the faithful, they enter the hall of eternal joys to have the evening meal (Communion, or the Lord’s Supper):
Zion hört die Wächter singen,
Das Herz tut ihr vor Freuden springen,
Sie wachet und steht eilend auf.
Ihr Freund kommt vom Himmel prächtig,
Von Gnaden stark, von Wahrheit mächtig,
Ihr Licht wird hell, ihr Stern geht auf.
Nun komm, du werte Kron,
Herr Jesu, Gottes Sohn!
Hosianna!
Wir folgen all
Zum Freudenhaus
Und halten mit das Abendmahl.
Zion hears the watchmen singing,
Her heart leaps for joy,
She wakes and stands quickly up.
Her friend comes from heaven in splendor,
Strong in grace, mighty in truth,
Her light brightens, her star ascends.
Now come, you worthy crown,
Lord Jesus, Son of God!
Hosanna!
We all follow
To the hall of joy
And join in the Lord’s Supper.
The third strophe of the chorale functions as a concluding Gloria, sounded before the throne of the Most High, the redeemed of the Lord, and the choir of angels.
This chorale text is expanded with free poetry: two recitative-aria movement pairs. These freely versified movements take up the ideas of the chorale text in continuation of the tradition inherited from the Middle Ages of the unio mystica and draw upon the bridal mysticism of the Song of Songs to formulate dialogues between Jesus and the soul. The only exception is the first recitative, which, from a narrator’s perspective, depicts the arrival of the bridegroom with flowery language such as the following:
Der Bräutigam kommt, der einem Rehe
Und jungen Hirsche gleich
Auf denen Hügeln springt
Und euch das Mahl der Hochzeit bringt.
The bridegroom comes, who, like a deer
And young buck,
Springs upon the hills
And brings to you the wedding feast.
The associated duet indeed allows bride and bridegroom to meet one another—but it remains in a state of suspense and impatient waiting:
Wenn kömmst du, mein Heil?
Ich komme, dein Teil.
Ich warte mit brennenden Öle.
Eröffne den Saal
Zum himmlischen Mahl!
Komm, Jesu—komm, liebliche Seele.
When will you come, my salvation?
I am coming, your portion.
I wait with burning oil.
Open the hall
For the heavenly meal!
Come, Jesus—come, lovely soul.
In the second recitative, Jesus speaks with language from the Song of Songs:
So geh herein zu mir,
Du mir erwählte Braut!
Ich habe mich mit dir
Von Ewigkeit vertraut.
Dich will ich auf mein Herz,
Auf meinem Arm gleich wie ein Siegel setzen
Und dein betrübtes Aug ergötzen.
Vergiß, o Seele, nun
Die Angst, den Schmerz,
Den du erdulden müssen;
Auf meiner Linken sollst du ruhn,
Und meine Rechte soll dich küssen.
So come in here to me,
You, my chosen bride!
I have myself with you
Eternally betrothed.
I will place you just like a seal upon my heart,
Just like a seal upon my arm,
And delight your saddened eye.
Forget now, O soul,
The fear, the pain
That you have had to endure;
Upon my left hand you shall rest,
And my right hand shall cushion you.
The duet that follows depicts the lovers united:
Mein Freund ist mein,
Und ich bin sein.
Die Liebe soll nichts scheiden.
Ich will mit dir in Himmels Rosen weiden,
Da Freude die Fülle, da Wonne wird sein.
My beloved is mine,
And I am his.
Nothing shall separate the love [of God from us].
I will revel with you in heaven’s roses.
There shall be complete pleasure and delight.
Bach begins his composition with an extended vocal-instrumental chorale arrangement as found so often in his chorale cantatas. In view of the movement’s unusual length, Nicolai’s chorale melody proves to be a true touchstone for this plan. With its multipartite structure, the tune points back to examples from Strasbourg; in remarkable ways it recalls the “Silberweise” by Hans Sachs.1 Bach approaches his task by means of exemplary concentration on the instrumental component. A solemn march rhythm and a leaping, urgently syncopated figure, both led by the triadic beginning of the chorale melody, pervade the entire extraordinarily extensive movement of over two hundred measures. The cantata’s center is similar, though reduced to three parts. Above a neutral foundation bass, the chorale is engaged in counterpoint by a sweeping melody whose naturally flowing appeal scarcely allows one to sense the intensity and rigor of the setting.
Embedded between these two chorale settings, as well as the closing chorale as a third cornerstone, are the two recitative-aria pairs, which bear no relation to the chorale tune. The two arias, both duets for soprano and bass, are very different in design and stand in a relationship of hope and fulfillment. The first duet, whose vocal component operates as a dialogue, approaches the character of the slow movement of a sonata or concerto, with its theme’s wistful upward leap of the sixth and the virtuoso arabesques by the obbligato instrument. The distinctive timbre of the violino piccolo, pitched a minor third above the standard instrument, can be heard to symbolize the increasing impatience, although an inference can also be drawn from its appearance in serenades: that the C-minor duet can be understood as a true Nachtstück (evening piece). In contrast, the second duet, with its parallel leading of the voices and the joyous oboe ritornello, is entirely concerned with the joy of the united couple.
Footnotes
- “Silberweise” (1512) is the best-known composition by Hans Sachs (1494–1576), member and later head of the master singers guild in Nuremberg and the main character in Richard Wagner’s Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg.—Trans.↵