29. Aria Duet - Soprano & Bass
This duet is taken directly from Cantata 213, where it appears with different words under the title Ich bin deine, du bist meine – I am yours, you are mine. It is a charming duet, almost light-hearted, where the soprano and bass imitate each other accompanied by two oboes d’amore. The music between the four parts is closely interwoven, and is, in style and sentiment, perhaps better suited to an operatic duet between two lovers than the text with which it appears here.
Herr, dein Mitleid, dein Erbarmen |
Lord, your compassion, your mercy |
30. Evangelist Text: St Luke 2: v 16 - 19
Und sie kamen eilend und funden beide, Mariam und Joseph, dazu das Kind in der Krippe liegen. |
And they came with haste and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger. |
31. Aria - Alto
Thought to have been composed specifically for the purpose, as opposed to parodied from earlier works, this aria, with its steady tread and tender violin obbligato, in which Mary is represented by the alto, is both heartfelt and reflective. It is through-composed and is Mary’s own private meditation on the events in which she has played a central role, and an expression of her resolve to lock the memory of the wondrous events eternally in her own heart, as foretold in the Evangelist’s words of number 30. The melodic line is often jagged, with wide leaps and outlines of diminished intervals, and the harmony full of suprising chromaticisms and a constantly shifting tonal centre. With its plaintive violin solo, this, above all arias in the Christmas Oratorio, has an air of reluctance, and feels like it would be more at home in one of the Passion settings.
| Schließe, mein Herze, dies selige Wunder fest in deinem Glauben ein! Lasse dies Wunder, die göttlichen Werke immer zur Stärke deines schwachen Glaubens sein! Schließe, mein Herze, dies selige Wunder fest in deinem Glauben ein! |
Hold, my heart, this blissful wonder firmly in your faith! Let this wonder, these divine works, constantly strengthen your feeble beliefs! Hold, my heart, this blissful wonder firmly in your faith! |
32. Recitative - Alto
The aria having been sung, the alto, still representing Mary, is much more positive in this short recitative. It is accompanied by the two flutes, and it is as if a certain acceptance of the situation has occurred.
| Ja, ja, mein Herz soll es bewahren, was es an dieser holden Zeit zu seiner Seligkeit für sicheren Beweis erfahren. | Yes, yes, my heart will keep what it has learned as a certain truth for its happiness at this blessed time. |
