| A | B |
|---|
| Erdmann Neumeister | (1671-1756) Lutheran theologian who introduced new kind of sacred work for musical setting which he called by the Italian term CANTATA |
| Lutheran= 17th c. | Throughout 17th c., Lutheran composers had set biblical, liturgical, and choral texts= Neumeister added POETIC TEXTS, intended to be set as recitatives, arias, and ariosos, that brought home the meaning of the day's Gospel reading |
| The new church cantata | Widely accepted among Lutherans= Its poetry brought together their faith's Orthodox and Pietistic tendencies, blending objective and subjective as well as formal and emotional elements= Its musical scheme incorporated all the great traditions of the past (chorale, the solo song, the concertato medium) and added to these the dramatically powerful elements of operatic recitative and aria |
| The Church Cantata: Role in church services | The church cantata was important in the Lutheran liturgy of Leipzig= At the 2 main churches (St. Nicholas's and St. Thomas's) the principal Sunday service included a motet, a Kyrie, chorals, and a cantata on alternate Sundays= Bach directed the first choir (with best singers) and the church whose turn it was to hear the cantata, while a deputy conducted the second chori at the other important church= The third and fourth choirs (made up of the less experienced singers) took care of the modst musical requirements in the 2 remaining churches |
| Bach's requirements | (in relation to Leipzig) Set the ideal minimum requirements as 12 singers for each of the first 3 choirs (which sang polyphonic music) and 8 for the 4th choir (which sang only monophonic chants) |
| Bach's requirements: Cantatas | (in relation to Leipzig) He specified a soloist and 2 or 3 RIPIENISTS (from the Italian "ripieno," "full") for each voice part (s, a, t, b); the soloists sang the solo movements and were joined by the ripienists on the choral movements |
| Cantata cycles | Altogether, the Leipzig churches required 58 cantatas each year |
| Cantata cycles= ? pg. 449 | Cantata cycles= ? pg. 449 |
| Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland | (1724, by Bach) Composed for the first Sunday in Advent= Illustrates some of his typical procedures= This work was part of his 2nd cycle for Leipzig (which consisted of cantatas whose words and music were based on chorales) |
| Second Cycle for Leipzig | Consisted of cantatas whose words and music were based on chorales= The unknown poet who wrote the texts for these cantatas used the first and last stanzas of a chorale for the opening and closing choruses and paraphrased the middle stanzas in poetry suitable for recitatives and arias= Bach then based the opening chorus on teh chorale melody, ended the work with a simple 4-part harmonization of the chorale for its closing stanza, and set the middle movements as recitatives and arias in operatic style for the soloists (with few references to the chorale melody) |
| Bach: General style | The mixture of secular and sacred models, and of old-style counterpoint and cantus firmus with modern Italianate style, is characteristic of Bach, creating a depth of meanings through references to many familiar types of music |
| pg. 450-452 | pg. 450-452 |
| NOTE: did not include remainder of pg. 452!!! Look over.... | NOTE: did not include remainder of pg. 452!!! Look over.... |
