Freedman

Music History I

21 Oct, 1997

accompanied by MCD 560 v.20

In Johann Sebastion Bach's duet in his Cantata no. 78, "Jesu, der du meine Seele", peculiarities abound. Elements of form, tonality, orchestration, voice leading, rhythm and harmonic progression are all used in abnormal ways. These oddities can be explained, in large part, by examining the text of the duet. Yet other aspects of the duet, although not unusual, are remarkable for their expressive qualities in relation to the text.

The duet is in strict da capo form. The A section, however, is odd in its duration and tonality. The A section is 50 measures long. It begins in B-flat Major and remains in that key for the remainder of the section. This is unusual in that most arias modulate at least once in their A section. This static tonality of the A section of the duet reflects the text's assertion that humans strive to achieve sinlessness and exert great effort in the process, but always fail to accomplish this. The static tonality displays the futility of humans efforts.

As a result of the lack of key change in the A section, the A section has only two truncated ritornelli at the beginning and at the end of the section. The lack of ritornelli, and especially the lack of well developed ritornelli contribute to the oddity of the A section.

On the other hand, the B section is disproportionately well developed. This is partly a result of the static, short A section. However, it is also a result of the relation of the music to text. In particular, the rhyme scheme and the progression of ideas in the text suggests the lengthy B section. The text contains six lines, with the rhyme scheme a x.b.a.a b., where x is a non-rhyming line and periods represents punctuations in the text. The rhyme scheme divides the text into lines 1-2 and lines 3-6. Although the first line does rhyme with lines 4 and 5 it is not felt strongly because of the distance between it and its rhyme and the nonrhyming line 2. Thus the strong rhyming pairs in lines 3-6 divide the text in two and suggest greater development for the B section. Also, lines 1-2 represent a different idea than lines 3-6. Lines 1-2 focus on the weak and persistent steps of humans. Lines 3-6, on the other hand focus on Jesus' goodness ("You faithfully seek the sick and the wandering") and directly asks for Jesus' help. This division of ideas strongly suggests the development of the B section.

The B section is tonally more developed as well. The B section moves several times: 1) it begins in g minor, 2) it moves to c minor, 3) it returns to g minor, 4)it moves to d minor, 5) and it ends in F major. These keys are actually closely related to the B-flat major tonality of the A section. The g minor is the relative minor of B-flat major. The c minor is the subdominant of the g minor. The d minor is the relative minor of the dominant, and F major is the dominant of B-flat major. So Bach begins the begins the B section in the relative minor and ends in the dominant, leading smoothly back to the A section. As a result of these key changes there are two ritornelli in the middle of the B section, the first at measure 61, the second at measure 81. This odd concentration of ritornelli in the B section and the absence of ritornelli during the A section except at the beginning and end, is remarkable.

Interestingly, each of the four sentences of the text corresponds to a new key. The first sentence is in B-flat major. The second sentence is in g minor and then c minor. The third sentence is in d minor. The fourth sentence is in F major. So Bach constructs tonal units out of each sentence by treating each sentence with a different tonality

Bach's reason for composing the duet as a da capo aria is not altogether clear from the text of the movement. According to Stephen Crist ("Aria Forms in the Cantatas from Bach's first Leipzig Jahrgang", Bach Studies. pp. 18-35), the syntactic structure is neutral; it does not suggest da capo form or any other particular form. Rather, the reason Bach composed this duet as a da capo aria is to fulfill his scheme of requiring the first aria of the cantata to match in form with the last aria in the preceding cantata. Indeed, this is the case: the last aria of the Cantata No. 77 was a contralto da capo aria. This scheme may have been the most deciding factor in constructing the duet in da capo aria form.

The accompaniment to this duet is strikingly odd. It is relatively sparse and is comprised of just a violone and an organ. It is not contrapuntal, rather it outlines the harmonies. The organ is restricted exclusively to eighth notes and the violone is restricted to quarter notes almost without exception. Also, the violone is instructed to play "staccato et pizzicato". Furthermore, the violone is required to play in an unusually high range for the instrument. This orchestration, along with the dynamic markings gives the violone a remarkably weak sound. The use of the violone is particularly notable in that Bach could have written the bass line for cello, which could have played the line comfortably. However, Bach intentionally chooses the violone to play out of its range. Richard Taruskin, in his article "Facing Up, Finally, to Bach's Dark Vision", describes how Bach often purposely wrote and arranged music to sound ugly for textual reasons. Indeed, this odd accompaniment is justified by textual content. The accompaniment echoes the theme of the "weak and persistent steps". The weak steps are represented by the simple organ line with its many pedal points, the staccato et pizzicato dynamic markings, and the purposeful misuse of the violone. The persistent steps are represented by the monotony of the static eighth note rhythms used in the bass throughout the duet. In this manner Bach creates a sonic world in which the action can be carried out.

Bach engages in a considerable amount of word painting in this aria, more so in the B section than in the A section. In the A section the word "eilen" figures prominently. On "Eilen" Bach has a long, rhythmically motivated scalar sequence. This sequence is repeated 4 times in the soprano and 3 times in the alto. This figure contrasts sharply with the monotonous and rhythmically dull accompaniment. The sentence reads "We hasten with weak but persistent steps...", where "eilen" means "hasten". Bach's musical portrayal accurately reflects this text, in that the music itself seems to be hurrying. In context of the entire movement and particularly the static A section, Bach is pointing out that humans are weak and that their efforts, their constant striving is futile. The weak humans require divine assistance to attain salvation and fulfillment. Similarly the parts, especially during the "eilen" phrase, exert a great effort, yet never succeed in progressing past the static rhythm, tonality, and texture of the A section.

In measure 55-60 Bach places the line "Du suchest die Kranken und Irrenden treulich" and the particularly the words "Kranken" and "Irrenden" on a series of extremely sharp dissonance. The line is translated as "You faithfully seek the sick and the wandering", with "Kranken" meaning sick or diseased people and "Irrenden" meaning the errant. The treatment of the dissonances is particularly odd. In measure 55 a major seventh between the bass and the soprano on beat two resolves to major ninth which resolves to another major ninth and a tritone and minor seventh spanned by the bass and alto and the bass and the soprano, respectively. In measure 56 on the word "Kranken" two tritones between the bass and the soprano and alto voices resolve to simultaneous minor ninth and minor seventh intervals which then leads to a major seventh. Two tritones then follow on the first two beats of measure 57, throughout which the word "Irrenden" is sung. In measure 58 a tritone between the bass and the soprano is followed by a major seventh and then a tritone between the alto and soprano voices on beat four. On beats one and two of measure 59 yet another tritone between the alto and soprano is heard. Through this odd treatment of dissonance, Bach reflects the textual references to the words "sick", "diseased", and "errant" by having the music itself sound in a sense sound sickly and errant.

In measures 64 through 69 Bach sets the words "Ach höre" to a unique rhythmic motive. The rhythm is slightly syncopated, emphasizing beat four of the measures. Also the rhythm is relatively sparse in comparison with the rhythms of the previous music in the A section and B section. The two voices are unified singing parallel and singing the same words. Furthermore, Bach heightens the effect by framing the phrase in silence. There is a cadence on c minor in measure 60, then a four measure pause preceding the "Ach höre" motif in measure 65. All this ends up bringing the words "Ach höre" out. Because of its contrast with the preceding music it stands out and sounds like an announcement. In particular, it is an announcement directed toward Jesus. It is calling Jesus to listen to the voices of the humans.

Directly following "Ach höre" are the words "...wie wir die Stimme erheben", translated as "how we raise our voices". On the word erheben, which means to raise, the individuals raise their voices to Jesus. To reflect this ascension Bach sets this word to a long scalar rise, very similar in contour and equal in rhythm to the figure associated with "eilen" in the A section. This connection makes sense because "eilen" and "erheben" refer to a similar idea, that of humans striving for union with Jesus, exerting great effort in the process. Also, Bach begins the scalar rise in the alto part with the imitation then occurring in the soprano a fifth higher. Here Bach uses contrapuntal imitation to evoke the rise that the text suggests. Furthermore, this is interesting in that the setting of "eilen" in the A section begins with the soprano and the alto entering afterwards in imitation. With this recycling of melodic materials, Bach inverts the voices to maintain contrapuntal and orchestral interest.

The words "Um Hilfe zu bitten" in measures 73-80 are set to essentially the same music as in measures 53-60, where the text read "Du suchest die Kranken und Irrenden treulich". However, the parts are inverted: the music the soprano line sung in mm. 55-60 is in the alto part in mm. 75-80. Similarly, the alto part in mm. 55-60 becomes the soprano part in mm. 75-80. This inversion of parts and the reuse of thematic material lends both contrapuntal interest and balance to the aria. Also, it illustrates the connection between lines of the text. Indeed Bach emphasizes that it is the sick and the errant (in Bach's eyes, all humans) that require the assistance from Jesus by setting these two lines to the same music.

The setting of "Um Hilfe zu bitten" in measures 75-80 is however more dissonant and striking than its antecedent in measures 55-60. This is a case where, as Richard Taruskin points out, Bach intentionally writes music that will sound ugly. In measures 75-80, Bach forces the alto through the syncopated, chromatic line down to the extreme of his register. In measure 77 the alto sings a low C# and then must leap upwards to an A. He leaps again to a low C# and finally the line takes the alto all the way down to the A, where he is barely audible anymore. Ultimately, Bach evokes a tortured performance. Bach creates a musical metaphor in which the music needs, as does the human, serious help.

Also, "erfreulich" in measures 90-98 is represented by a long melodic line with a unique rhythmic motif. The voices noodle quickly up and down, yet stay for the most part in a relatively narrow range. The voices repeat the word four or five times, which lasts six measures, from measures 89 to 94. Often, the voices move in parallel motion. This emphasizes the joy that Jesus' will bring.

Throughout this duet Bach uses deviations from the normal form to express ideas in the text. Form, tonality, orchestration, voice leading, rhythm and harmonic progression are all used in an unusual fashion to reflect the text's message that humans are weak and need divine assistance to attain salvation. Bach evokes these specific messages in the duet and aims with this piece, as with others, to express the "greater glory of God".