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BACH MUSIC DATABASE

SECULAR CANTATAS
NOTES ON FIELDS

The Secular Cantatas:



BWV Number BWV = Bach-Werke-Verzeichnis, Catalogue of Bach’s works compiled by Schmieder (publ. 1950 Leipzig, and Wiesbaden 1990)



Title The secular cantatas differ slightly from the church cantatas in that they sometimes have a title derived from the first line of the opening chorus and a collective title. See BWV 201 and 205 for example. Ideally, when programming the works both should be given.



Occasion Whereas the church cantatas were written for the appropriate Sunday in the church year or for a specific church festival, the secular ones were composed for a special occasion like a Royal Birthday or in honour of either a Royal or Academic personage. This adds greatly to their programming potential for Festivals and seasonal concerts.



Type of Cantata Dramma per musica. Although unstaged, a dramma per musica has been applied by Bach to his cantatas that feature characters of a usually mythological nature or that represent, for example, the city of Leipzig or its river, Pleisse - an opportunity for the people of Leipzig to taste a little of opera, perhaps.
Serenata is applied to those works written for performances during the evening or even outdoors.



Origins & Reworkings Many of the secular cantatas are parodied later in the church cantatas. These are mostly identified.



BG Volume Details BG = Bachgesellschaft (Bach Society) originally founded in 1850 to publish the complete works of Bach and wound up on completion of task in 1899, refounded in 1900.



NBA Volume Details NBA = Neue Bach-Ausgabe (New Bach Edition) published by Bärenreiter.



Bach Compendium Details BC = Bach Compendium edited by Hans-Joachim Schulze and Christoph Wolff



Librettist
For most of the cantatas it is not possible to give the name of the known librettist used by Bach. The composer may well have written some of the texts himself and certainly adapted many already in existence. There are five principal librettists known to have provided Bach with texts for some of his secular cantatas.

Christian Friedrich Henrici, (Picander) who also provided the text for the St.Matthew Passion as well as some of the secular works.
(1700-1764)
Christian Friedrich Hunold, (Menantes) was the leading German poet of his time who produced the libretto for some special congratulatory cantatas at the Cöthen Court during the first few years of Bach tenure there (1717-1720).
(1680-1721)
Johann Christoph Gottsched Was Professor of Poetry and Philosophy at Leipzig University, and later Rector there. Gottsched provided the libretto for BWV 198. Among his literary works is Erste Gründe der gesamten Weltweisheit (1733)
(1700-1766)
Salomo Franck First Secretary of the Council in Weimar and author of “Evangelisches Andacts-Opfer”(Weimar, 1715). Bach used about 20 texts by Franck.
(1659-1725)
Johann Christoph Clauder Was a teacher and he provided the libretto for BWV 215.
(1701-1779)



Solo Vocal Forces See Choral Vocal Forces



Choral Vocal Forces Modern scholarship has revealed that Bach’s vocal forces were small-scale with the choral singers also taking the solo parts. The database provides separate entries for the soloists (SATB etc) and for choir (SATB etc) as in modern times the works can be performed perfectly well using larger choral forces plus the required number of soloists e.g. BWV 201. However, the choral parts in some may well have been sung by the soloists e.g. BWV 205 and 206.



Instrumental Forces
In identifying the different instruments required in each cantata, the names used are a mixture of the modern and the period version e.g. horn or trumpet instead of corno da caccia or tromba, and oboe da caccia (taille) as opposed to the modern equivalent of cor anglais.

1.OBOES including ‘doublings’
Most cantatas include substantial woodwind obbligatos and Bach often provides for say two oboes, two oboes d’amore, and one oboe da caccia to be played at some point, but not always all together. It is possible for oboists to ‘double’ on the other instruments required. There are some cantatas where the writing for oboe is particularly demanding and also includes movements using the oboe d’amore and/or the oboe da caccia in pairs, or separately, or a combination. To spread the load consider using extra players and avoid oboists ‘doubling’ on more than one instrument. The modern equivalent of oboe da caccia/taille is cor anglais. N.B. The pre-Leipzig cantatas requiring oboes may need transposition when using period instruments.

2.BRASS INSTRUMENTS
Some of the most difficult solos for horn and trumpet anywhere in music are to be found in the cantatas. Bach has marked the trumpet parts tromba (natural trumpet), tromba da tirarsi (slide trumpet) or cornett. Using modern instruments, the trumpet played will usually be in D or C, and the horn in F, but if period instruments are used the player will need to know which instrument the score indicates and the range of the music written. For the horn it is often a much more difficult decision. The score will often state corno da caccia, or *corno da tirarsi (slide horn) or corne du chasse. However the instrument itself underwent numerous changes in the 18th century and no clear example of the type of horn Bach used is available. Whether using modern or period instruments consultation with the players concerned is advisable to decide which instrument should be used particularly if there is a high horn part. For cantatas with trombones the period instrument equivalent is added in brackets (Sackbuts) on the database.

3.STRINGS inc *solo violin
Some of the secular cantatas include solos for violin e.g. BWV 208, and the orchestra leader will expect to play these.

4.CONTINUO
This section has been entitled ‘basso continuo’ and refers to the instruments ‘cello, bass and harpsichord’. As in the church cantatas, there is also, on occassion, a specific provision for a bassoon and this is included e.g. in BWV 173a. Purists may be economical in the use of a bassoon as a continuo instrument, but sometimes in particular venues e.g. a large modern concert hall, the tone colour is welcome and enhances the performance accordingly. The keyboard continuo instrument for secular cantatas is the harpsichord and for additional background reading on the whole subject, ‘Bach’s Continuo Group’ by Laurence Dreyfus is warmly recommended.

5.MODERN OR PERIOD INSTRUMENTS?
Bach’s cantatas can be performed using modern or period instruments. If modern instruments are to be used the pitch will be A=440. If period ones then the pitch will be at least one semi-tone lower at A=415, or perhaps even A=392 for the early works. The number of strings required will be determined by the dimensions of the concert venue or, preferably, the church, and chosen to balance with the vocal forces to be engaged.

© Margaret Steinitz