Part 3 The Adoration of the Shepherds
24. Chorus
This chorus is taken directly from Cantata 214, where it appears with different words under the title Blühet, ihr Linden in Sachsen, wie Zedern – Blossom, you Linden Trees in Saxony, like Cedars. The music is now back in D major and again the section opens with a fast triple time chorus representing triune unity. Its brevity and straightforward homophonic texture illustrates the simple, earthly worship of the shepherds, while the trumpets and timpani restored to the orchestral texture, once again, are symbolic of distant heavenly glory. Bach treats the text in an unusual way in this chorus. He divides the six lines into two groups of three, giving the first line of each group to the tenors, the second to the sopranos and the third to the altos, polyphonically, bringing the basses in only at the end when SATB declaim the words homophonically.
| Herrscher des Himmels, erhöre das Lallen, laß dir die matten Gesänge gefallen, wenn dich dein Zion mit Psalmen erhöht! Höre der Herzen frohlockendes Preisen, wenn wir dir itzo die Ehrfurcht erweisen, weil unsre Wohlfahrt befestiget steht! |
Lord of heaven, hear our stuttering tones, let the feeble songs be pleasing to you, when your Zion exalts you with psalms! Hear the jubilant praise of our hearts when we show our reverence to you, because our prosperity is assured! |
25. Evangelist Text: St Luke 2: v 15
| Und da die Engel von ihnen gen Himmel fuhren, sprachen die Hirten untereinander: | And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into the heaven, the shepherds said to one another; |
26. Chorus Text: St Luke 2: v 15 (cont.)
This is an example of a “turba chorus” (crowd chorus) such as the ones found commonly in both the St Matthew and St John Passion settings, whereby the role of the chorus is to represent an agitated crowd of people with an urgent common purpose and intent. This is the second movement in which the chorus is assigned biblical text. The perpetual running semiquavers, scored in unison for flutes and violins, and racing up and down scalic passages represent the haste with which the shepherds are inspired to move. In the opening choral lines the basses repeat the opening tenor motif at a bar’s distance but in inversion, whilst the altos copy the same motif, now heard in the sopranos, also in inversion and at a bar’s distance. The entire movement is accompanied by a “walking bass” figuration in the continuo. The music runs straight into number 27, which is accompanied by two flutes, with no break.
| “Lasset uns nun gehen gen Bethlehem und die Geschichte sehen, die da geschehen ist, die uns der Herr, der Herr kundgetan hat.” |
“Let us now go even unto Bethlehem and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord has made known to us.” |
27. Recitative - Bass
| Er hat sein Volk getröst’, er hat sein Israel erlöst, die Hülf aus Zion hergesendet und unser Leid geendet. Seht, Hirten, dies hat er getan; geht, dieses trefft ihr an! |
He has comforted his people, he has redeemed his Israel, sent help from Zion and ended our suffering. See, shepherds, he has done this; go, salute this! |
28. Chorale Text: Martin Luther, 1524
This chorale melody is a different stanza from the hymn Gelobet seist du, Jesu Christ – Praised be Thou, Jesus Christ, the hymn used in no. 7. It is a bright and vibrant setting with affirming qualities and optimism in both the harmony and the words.
| Dies hat er alles uns getan, sein groß Lieb zu zeigen an; des freu sich alle Christenheit, und dank ihm des in Ewigkeit. Kyrieleis! |
He has done all this for us to show his great love: Let all Christendom be joyful and give eternal thanks for this. Lord have mercy! |
