The Art of the Cantata

By comparison, the majesty, the serenity and the ingenuity expressed by the Bach cantatas is found no where else in music to date. It is this unique aspect that is appealing to some, while to others, it is a fervent belief in the divine hand of Bach. I, myself, would consider all of these genuine remarks on the Bach cantatas. It is through these 209 surviving cantatas that the listener is transported into the world of baroque Germany. One may catch a glimpse of the musical precision, contrapuntal aptitude and a general melodic perfection. Before one can take all of this in, it’s important to understand the world that Bach knew: what was his impetus and what was he trying to prove with these tremendous works?

It is widely known that in his day, Johann Sebastian Bach was not a famed composer, nor did he enjoy the glamorous life that is portrayed by Mozart, for instance. Rather, Bach was known as a virtuoso organist. From his humble beginnings in Eisenach on March 21, 1685, the 8th child of Johann Ambrosius and Elisabeth Lämmerhirt-Bach, the young Johann Sebastian (named after his two grandfathers) found himself an orphan by age 9. From this disparing start to life, he went to live with his older brother, Johann Christoph, a famous organist, in Ohrdruf.

By 1703, he had studied as an organist, choir boy and ultimately was chosen to be the organist at Weimar, though this was eventually overturned by the Duke of Weimar.After moving to Arnstadt, he got his first real occupation at the age of 18. Although this was more pay than the young Johann was used to, it would prove to be a tumultuous time in his life. It is in 1705 that he even got into a street fight with a bassoon player (presumably after Bach called him names). It is also during this time that the famous story of him walking 200 miles to see Buxtehude play took place. After returning much later than he promised from his Buxtehude trip, he furthered the anger of the authorities by utilizing his new organ techniques. Furthermore, he was accused of sneaking into the church’s wine cellar during the sermon and making “…music with a ‘stranger maid’..presumably his second-cousin/future wife, Maria Barbara.”

After moving to Mülhausen in 1707, the first of his cantatas began to appear. The very first one (consequently his only printed cantata), BWV 71: Gott ist mein König, which premiered on February 4, 1708 had to have been a rousing success for the 22-year-old. However, becoming dissatisfied with the structure of church music, moved back to Weimar in 1708. Modern thinking suggests that his reason for leaving had less to do with church regulation and more to do with the great fire that destroyed 1/4 of Mülhausen in 1707, making it financially detrimental to stay there. Bach would flourish this second time around, producing many works. Yet, due to his allegiance to Wilhelm Ernst, he forbade the young Bach to seek any interest in the other co-regent, Duke Ernst August. Having sought a job with Ernst August, Bach was imprisoned from Novemeber to December 1717

Köthen would prove to be one of the hardest times in his life, while also the most productive in his chamber music career. Bach’s first wife, Maria Barbara, had died in 1720 after bearing him 7 children (4 died in infancy): Catherina Dorothea, Wilhelm Friedemann, Carl Philipp Emanuel and Johann Gottfried Bernhard. These children would soon find resentment and a blind eye in the shadow of their father’s death in 1750. However, Bach found himself a new wife – Anna Magdalena Wilcken, a soprano and daughter of a famous trumpeter. She would bear him the remainder of his children and even earn up to half of her husband (who was consequently 16 years older than she). Inspired by Bach’s wedding, the Prince of Köthen married a woman who would put an end to music in the court and sadly, the end to this point in Bach’s life.

Having moved to Leipzig in 1723, Bach auditioned for a position at the famous St. Thomas Church (Thomaskirche) on February 7, 1723 and won them over with BWV 22: Jesus nahm zu sich die Zwölfe and BWV 23: Du wahrer Gott und Davids Sohn. This was a busy time for Bach, with rehearsals on Monday, Tuesday, Wednsday, Friday and joined by the boys choir on Saturday. During this time, he wrote 5 cycles of 59 cantatas each, the first performance of the St. John Passion (1724) and produced the Magnificat(1723) and the St. Matthew Passion. Through all of this writing, Bach was also to teach Latin in the boys school and earn extra money (well, since his salary was less than ever before, enough money) through funerals and weddings. It is said that Bach once wrote a letter complaining about the lack of funerals due to the warm weather. After 1735, his church production came to a halt, as the environment was less than conducive for his composition. He turned his attention therefore to contrapuntal studies. He would begin to further gather the parts for the Mass in B minor, finishing it in 1749. Partially blind due to cataracts, he sought surgery from a British oculist, but the surgery proved to be unsuccessful. Bach would suffer a stroke sometime in the middle of 1750. Johann Sebastian Bach died on July 28, 1750. His sons from the first marriage did little to aid their stepmother, who died on February 27, 1760.