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Wär Gott nicht mit uns diese Zeit, BWV 14

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Wär Gott nicht mit uns diese Zeit (Were God not with us this time), BWV 14, is a church cantata composed by Johann Sebastian Bach.

It was composed in Leipzig in 1735 for the fourth Sunday after Epiphany, which fell that year on 30 January, date of the work's premiere.

The prescribed readings for the day are Romans 13: 8-10 and Matthew 8: 23-27.

The texts draw on the homonymous hymn by Martin Luther, published in Walter’s Gesangbuch of 1525, which is, itself, a paraphrase of Psalm 124. Movements 1 and 5 are, respectively, the first and last stanza of Luther's hymn, while the authorship of the poetry for verses 2-4 is unknown.

The homonymous chorale theme is of unknown origin, but it was used by Luther to set his hymn to music in 1525 and has appeared in hymnals ever since.

Scoring and structure

The piece is scored for corno da caccia, oboes I/II, violins I/II, viola, and basso continuo, along with three vocal soloists (soprano, tenor, bass) and four-part choir. It is in five movements:

  1. (Coro): "Wär Gott nicht mit uns diese Zeit" for choral and instrumental tutti.
  2. Aria: "Unsre Stärke heißt zu schwach" for soprano, corno da caccia, strings, and continuo.
  3. Recitativo: "Ja, hätt es Gott nur zugegeben" for tenor and continuo.
  4. Aria: "Gott, bei deinem starken Schützen" for bass, oboes, and continuo.
  5. Chorale: "Gott Lob und Dank, der nicht zugab" for choral and instrumental tutti colle parti.

Recordings

References

Sources

  • Craig Smith, Programme notes - BWV 14, Emmanuel Music.
  • Walter F. Bischof, Text and orchestration for BWV 14, Bach Cantatas, University of Alberta.
  • Alfred Dürr: Johann Sebastian Bach: Die Kantaten. Bärenreiter, Kassel 1999, ISBN 3-7618-1476-3
  • Alfred Dürr: The Cantatas of J.S. Bach, Oxford University Press, 2006. ISBN 0-19-929776-2
  • Werner Neumann: Handbuch der Kantaten J.S.Bachs, 1947, 5th Ed. 1984, ISBN 3-7651-0054-4
  • Hans-Joachim Schulze: Die Bach-Kantaten: Einführungen zu sämtlichen Kantaten Johann Sebastian Bachs. Leipzig: Evangelische Verlags-Anstalt; Stuttgart: Carus-Verlag 2006 (Edition Bach-Archiv Leipzig) ISBN 3-374-02390-8 (Evang. Verl.-Anst.), ISBN 3-89948-073-2 (Carus-Verl.)
  • Christoph Wolff/Ton Koopman: Die Welt der Bach-Kantaten Verlag J.B. Metzler, Stuttgart, Weimar 2006 ISBN 978-3-476-02127-4

External links

Cantatas by Johann Sebastian Bach by BWV number
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