This page was created by James A. Brokaw II. The last update was by Angela Watters.
Selig ist der Mann BWV 57 / BC A 14
Second Day of Christmas
In many respects, Bach’s cantata Selig ist der Mann, der Anfechtung erduldet BWV 57 (Blessed is the man who endures temptation) is a special case among Bach’s vocal works. With its score inscribed “Concerto in Dialogo,” it belongs, on the one hand, to the relatively small group of dialogue cantatas, which traditionally place a bass voice as vox Christi opposite a soprano as the embodiment of the soul. On the other hand, the text is related not to the Gospel reading of the day but rather to the Epistle from the Acts of the Apostles, which describe the martyrdom of St. Stephen:But Stephen, full of faith and power, did wonders and great miracles among the people. Then there arose certain of the synagogue, which is called the synagogue of the Libertines, and Cyrenians, and Alexandrians, and of them of Cilicia and of Asia, disputing with Stephen. . . .
When they heard these things, they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed on him with their teeth. But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up steadfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God, and said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing on the right hand of God. Then they cried out with a loud voice, and stopped their ears, and ran upon him as one, and cast him out of the city, and stoned him. And the witnesses laid down their clothes at a young man's feet, whose name was Saul, and stoned Stephen, who called out and spoke, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. And he knelt down, and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. And when he had said this, he fell asleep. (6:8–9, 7:54–60)
The cantata text drawn from this account appears in the collection Gottgefälliges Kirchen-Opffer by Georg Christian Lehms, originally meant for Christoph Graupner in Darmstadt. In Lehms’s collection it appears beneath the heading “Nachmittags-Andacht Auf den andern Weynacht-Feyrtag. JEsus/Seele” (Afternoon devotion for the second Christmas holiday. Jesus/soul). The passage from New Testament scripture found at the beginning comes from the first chapter of the Epistle of James, which deals with the “blessing of grief” (Segen der Trübsal): “Selig ist der Mann, der die Anfechtung erduldet; denn, nachdem er bewähret ist, wird er die Krone des Lebens empfahen” (12; Blessed is the man who endures temptation, for after he has been tested, he will receive the Crown of Life). Anima, the Soul, answers this word of God thusly:
Ach, dieser süße Trost
Erquickt auch mir mein Herz,
Das sonst in Ach und Schmerz
Sein ewigs Leiden findet.
Ah, this sweet comfort
Refreshes even my heart
That otherwise in lament and pain
Finds its eternal suffering.
The Soul then compares itself to a sheep among a thousand vicious wolves. The close of the recitative effects the transition to the associated aria in a manner typical of Lehms:
[Recitative]
. . . . . . . . . .
Ach! Jesu, wüßt ich hier
Nicht Trost von dir,
So müßte Mut und Herze brechen,
Und voller Trauren sprechen:
[Aria]
Ich wünschte mir den Tod, den Tod,
Wenn du, mein Jesu, mich nicht liebtest.
Ja wenn du mich annoch betrübtest,
So hätt ich mehr als Höllennot.
[Recitative]
. . . . . . . . . .
O! Jesus, if I knew
No comfort from you here,
Then my courage and heart must break
And, full of sorrow, say:
[Aria]
I would wish for death, for death,
If you, my Jesus, did not love me.
Yes, if you still grieved me,
I would have more than hell’s anguish.
It is only after this aria characterizing the condition of the Soul and, in particular, its longing for death that an initial brief dialogue occurs, beginning with Jesus:
Ich reiche dir die Hand
Und auch damit das Herze.
I offer to you my hand
And also with it my heart.
The Soul responds:
Ach! Süßes Liebespfand,
Du kannst die Feinde stürzen
Und ihren Grimm verkürzen.
O! Sweet pledge of love,
You can vanquish my enemies
And curtail their fury.
The only aria assigned to Jesus announces that this hope need not be in vain:
Ja, ja, ich kann die Feinde schlagen,
Die dich nur stets bei mir verklagen,
Drum fasse dich, bedrängter Geist.
Bedrängter Geist, hör auf zu weinen,
Die Sonne wird noch helle scheinen,
Die dir itzt Kummerwolken weist.
Yes, yes, I can strike the foes
Who constantly accuse you before me,
So compose yourself, troubled spirit.
Troubled spirit, stop weeping.
The sun will brightly shine again
That now shows you clouds of trouble.
The ensuing second dialogue begins, like the first, with a short utterance from Jesus:
In meinem Schoss liegt Ruh und Leben,
Dies will ich dir einst ewig geben.
In my bosom lies rest and life,
This I will give you one day forever.
Once again the Soul indicates its longing for death, this time with a reference to the Epistle of the Second Day of Christmas and the remembrance of the martyred St. Stephen:
Wohl denen die im Sarge liegen
Und auf den Schall der Engel hoffen!
Ach Jesu, mache mir doch nur,
Wie Stephano, den Himmel offen!
Blessed are those who lie in the coffin
And hope for the sound of the angels!
O Jesus, but only make for me,
Like Stephen, the doors of heaven open!
The Soul’s second aria also circles around the idea of longing for death:
Ich ende behende mein irdisches Leben
Mit Freuden zu scheiden verlang ich itzt eben.
Mein Heiland, ich sterbe mit höchster Begier,
Hier hast du die Seele, was schenkest du mir?
I end swiftly my earthly life,
Joyfully to depart I just long now.
My savior, I die with highest eagerness.
Here you have my soul, what do you grant me?
According to Lehms’s text, the chorale strophe “Kurz ist dein irdisch Leben” was meant to follow.
In Bach’s composition, the opening movement is designated as an aria, but with its dense five-part texture and its many long sustained tones related to the text it can better be understood as an arioso. In fact, its treatment of text and its style of setting, beyond the province of the modern da capo aria, are similar to the way biblical passages and words of the Lord are handled in not a few cantatas by Bach.
Filled with doubt, the Soul’s first aria achieves the quality of expression of Bach’s passions with its density of texture, abundance of sigh motives, and harmonic and melodic definition. One hears a similar tone of lament in the middle section of the bass aria, but this movement is characterized above all by its triadic and triumphant outer sections, which could easily be classified as “aria with heroic affect.” The last aria, once again for Anima the Soul, is buoyant and dance-like. The soprano voice and solo violin allow themselves to be completely carried away by keywords such as “behende” (swiftly) and “mit Freuden” (joyously). The animated play is abruptly brought to an end only with the crucial question, “Hier hast du die Seele, was schenkest du mir?” (Here you have my soul; what will you grant me?). Bach strayed from Lehms’s Darmstadt text as he closed the cantata with the sixth strophe from the chorale Hast du denn, Jesus, dein Angesicht gänzlich verborgen (Have you, Jesus, entirely hidden your countenance), from the 1668 collection Seelengespräch mit Christo (Conversation of the soul with Christ), written by Ahasverus Fritsch:
Richte dich, Liebste, nach meinem Gefallen und gläube,
Daß ich dein Seelenfreund immer und ewig verbleibe,
Der dich ergötzt
Und in den Himmel versetzt
Aus dem gemartterten Leibe.
Conduct yourself, beloved, according to my pleasure and believe
That I remain your soul’s friend ever and forever,
Who delights you
And transports you into heaven
Out of your tortured body.