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Fallt mit Danken, fallt mit Loben BWV 248 IV / BC D 7 IV
Christmas Oratorio IV, January 1, 1735
The fourth cantata of the Christmas Oratorio, Fallt mit Danken, fallt mit Loben BWV 248 IV (Bow with thanks, bow with praise), is for New Year’s Day; according to an original print of the text, it was first performed on January 1, 1735, in the main churches of Leipzig: “in the morning at St. Thomas, in the afternoon at St. Nicholas.” The New Year holiday is the feast of the circumcision and naming of Jesus. The Gospel reading for the day comprises only a single verse from Luke 2: “And when eight days had passed, the child was circumcised, he was named Jesus, named by the angel before he was conceived in his mother’s body” (21). In Bach’s day, texts of cantatas for New Year’s Day generally revolved around the symbolic power of the naming of Jesus, as well as hopes and wishes for the coming year. In Bach’s fourth cantata, the unknown librettist of the Christmas Oratorio took this twofold reference into account by including two appropriate chorale strophes, both by Johann Rist and first published in 1642. Bach took the opening strophe from the chorale Jesu, du mein liebstes Leben (Jesus, you, my dearest life), which appears in hymnals of the era under the heading “Jesus-Lieder” (Jesus hymns):Jesu, du mein liebstes Leben,
Meiner Seelen Bräutigam,
Der du dich vor mich gegeben
An des bittern Kreuzes Stamm,
Jesu, meine Freud und Wonne,
Meine Hoffnung, Schatz und Teil,
Mein Erlösung, Schmuck und Heil,
Hirt und König, Licht und Sonne,
Ach! Wie soll ich würdiglich,
Mein Herr Jesu, preisen dich?
Jesus, you, my dearest life,
My soul’s bridegroom,
You who gave yourself for me
On the cross’s bitter stem,
Jesus, my joy and gladness,
My hope, treasure, and portion,
My redemption, jewel, and salvation,
Shepherd and king, light and sun,
Ah! How shall I worthily,
My Lord Jesus, praise you?
For the closing chorale Bach chose the fifteenth strophe from Hilf, Herr Jesu, laß gelingen (Help, Lord Jesus, let prosper), from Neujahrs-Liedern (New Year’s hymns):
Jesus richte mein Beginnen,
Jesus bleibe stets bei mir,
Jesus zäume mir die Sinnen,
Jesus sei nur mein Begier,
Jesus sei mir in Gedanken,
Jesu, lasse mich nicht wanken!
Jesus, direct my beginning,
Jesus, remain always with me,
Jesus, bridle my urgings,
Jesus, be my sole desire,
Jesus, be with me in my thoughts,
Jesu, do not let me waver!
The librettist had very limited scope in fashioning freely versified recitatives and arias. Probably according to the composer’s wish, recitatives were to be limited to interpolations within Johann Rist’s Jesus hymn and the aria forms (which include the opening chorus) were all to be drawn from works already on hand, supplied with new texts—in other words, products of parody procedure. This was employed first and foremost in the opening movement, for which Bach drew upon the first movement of the homage cantata of 1733 for Elector-Prince Friedrich Christian, Laßt uns sorgen, laßt uns wachen BWV 213 (Let us nurture, let us watch). From the original “Decree of the Gods,” whose text begins “Laßt uns sorgen, laßt uns wachen / Über unsern Göttersohn” (Let us nurture, let us watch / Over our son of the gods), the librettist fashioned these rather more neutral lines:
Fallt mit Danken, fallt mit Loben
Vor des Höchsten Gnadenthron!
Gottes Sohn
Will der Erden
Heiland und Erlöser werden,
Gottes Sohn
Dämpft der Feinde Wut und Toben.
Bow with thanks, bow with praise
Before the Almighty’s throne of grace!
God’s son
Would become the earth’s
Savior and redeemer,
God’s son
Deadens the rage and fury of the foe.
The ensuing literal quotation from the Gospel of Luke is interpreted and commented upon by the recitative that follows, which in turn is combined with the first part of the Johann Rist chorale strophe just mentioned. The recitative begins with observations on Jesus and his name:
Immanuel, o süßes Wort!
Mein Jesus heißt mein Hort,
Mein Jesus heißt mein Leben.
Mein Jesus hat sich mir ergeben,
Mein Jesus soll mir immerfort
Vor meinen Augen schweben.
Immanuel, O sweet word!
My Jesus is my refuge,
My Jesus is my life.
My Jesus has surrendered himself to me,
My Jesus shall evermore
Hover before my eyes.
The phrase “des bittern Kreuzes Stamm” (the stem of the bitter cross), a memory expressed in the chorale text, brings about a sudden change of mood: death and the fear of death are now the main concerns, but they also rescue through the miraculous power of Jesus’s name:
Ach! so nimm mich zu dir!
Auch in dem Sterben sollst du mir
Das Allerliebster sein;
In Not, Gefahr und Ungemach
Seh ich dir sehnlichst nach.
Was jagte mir zuletzt der Tod für Grauen ein?
Mein Jesus, wenn ich sterbe,
So weiß ich, daß ich nicht verderbe.
Dein Name steht in mir geschrieben,
Der hat des Todes Furcht vertrieben.
Ah! Then take me to you!
Even in death you shall be
The most beloved to me;
In need, danger, and hardship,
I gaze after you fervently.
Why, finally, did death instill such horror in me?
My Jesus, when I die,
I know that I shall not go to ruin.
Your name stands written in me.
It has driven away the fear of death.
The associated aria also goes back to a movement from the homage cantata of 1733, an aria for the young Hercules, who asks Echo for advice regarding his future path:
Treues Echo dieser Orten,
Sollt ich bei den Schmeichelworten
Süßer Leitung irrig sein?
Gib mir deine Antwort: Nein!
[Echo:] Nein!
Oder sollte das Ermahnen,
Das so mancher Arbeit nah,
Mir die Wege besser bahnen?
Ach! So sage lieber:
Ja!
[Echo:] Ja!
Faithful echo of these places,
Should I be led astray by the sweet
Guidance of words of flattery?
Give me your answer: No!
[Echo:] No!
Or should the warning
That so much work is at hand
Better lead the way for me?
Ah! Then say rather:
Yes!
[Echo:] Yes!
The new text fashioned for the Christmas Oratorio is not without problems of content and language:
Flößt mein Heiland, flößt dein Namen
Auch den allerkleinsten Samen
Jenes strengen Schreckens ein?
Nein, du sagst ja selber nein.
Sollt ich nun das Sterben scheuen?
Nein, dein süßes Wort ist da!
Oder sollt ich mich erfreuen?
Ja, du Heiland sprichsts selbst ja.
Does, my savior, does your name instill
Even the tiniest seed
Of that stark horror?
No, you yourself indeed say no.
Should I now be afraid of dying?
No, your sweet word is there!
Or should I rejoice?
Yes, you, the savior, yourself say yes.
The so-called Echo aria was long regarded as a foreign presence in the Christmas Oratorio, inserted to accommodate the secular archetype in all its aspects. More recent research from the theological side has drawn attention to the fact that the echo dialogue, in particular the colloquy with the voice of the infant Jesus, has a well-established tradition that reaches far back into the seventeenth century and is described and praised in relevant treatises.1 Therefore, the Echo aria should be accepted as a legitimate and intentional component of the New Year’s cantata in the Christmas Oratorio.
The ensuing recitative mirrors what has preceded it. The continuation and conclusion of the Johann Rist chorale are combined with further reflections upon the name of Jesus:
Wohlan, dein Name soll allein
In meinem Herzen sein!
So will ich dich entzücket nennen,
Wenn Brust und Herz zu dir vor Liebe brennen.
Doch Liebster, sage mir:
Wie rühm ich dich, wie dank ich dir?
Well, your name alone shall
Be in my heart!
Thus I will, entranced, name you
When breast and heart burn with love for you.
But, dearest, tell me:
How can I praise you, how do I thank you?
Like its predecessor, the ensuing aria is a newly texted adoption from the Hercules Cantata of 1733. There, the text for the allegorical figure of Virtue is clear and precise:
Auf meinen Flügeln sollst du schweben,
Auf meinem Fittich steigest du
Den Sternen wie ein Adler zu.
Upon my wings you shall hover,
Upon my pinion you will climb
To the stars like an eagle.
The parody text, on the other hand, is somewhat problematic:
Ich will nur dir zu Ehren leben,
Mein Heiland, gib mir Kraft und Mut,
Daß es mein Herz recht eifrig tut!
Stärke mich,
Deine Gnade würdiglich
Und mit Danken zu erheben!
I want to live only to honor you,
My savior; give me strength and courage
That my heart does it with true fervor!
Strengthen me,
Your grace, worthily
And with thanksgiving to extol!
The reason for this choice of words was evidently the musical material: its rigorous counterpoint functions as an analogue to ethical norms and moral qualities. Hence the poet avoids the familiar “Ich will nur dir zu Liebe leben” (I only want to live for you) in favor of the unusual “Ich will nur dir zu Ehre leben” (I want only to live to honor you). As mentioned earlier, the libretto closes with a strophe from Johann Rist’s hymn for New Year’s Day.
What is particularly distinctive about Bach’s composition of this libretto is the expansive opening movement, which, conditioned by the structure of its model, the majestic “Decree of the Gods,” moves serenely and harmoniously to the dance step of the minuet, taking delight in the festive timbres of horns, oboes, and strings while avoiding any potential conflict. The two recitative movements for bass, soprano, and strings that surround the Echo aria, on the other hand, are laden with emotion. Strictly speaking, it is a single movement separated into two parts without too much attention paid to its structure; the two halves are placed on either side of the aria. While it does not cause much trouble for the bass voice, entrusted with the recitative passages, to pick up the thread again after the aria intermezzo, the chorale-like melody given to the soprano suffers noticeably under the rather heavy-handed partitioning.
With its lovely interplay of soprano, solo oboe, and soprano echo, the Echo aria radiates the character of the pastoral. Despite what seem to be superficial dynamic effects, one must not lose sight of the deeper theological meaning described above. The composer and the librettist have done their best to provide this movement with a new and well-founded function in the oratorio’s overall flow.
The situation is similar with the last aria, which is laid out as a fugue movement for voice, two obbligato instruments, and basso continuo. The striving for technical perfection in the Hercules Cantata serves as a musical image of striving for ethical objectives in the text. The keyword “Ehre” (honor) in the new text for the Christmas Oratorio points equally to the original intention in the Hercules Cantata, as well as to its continuation in its new context.2The concluding chorale movement, expanded with instrumental interludes for horns, oboes, and strings, merely follows a traditional path regarding its text. On the other hand, the arioso chorale melody appears to be a new creation by Bach—just as is its counterpart, between the two strangely separated accompanied recitatives.