German: Herr, wenn die stolzen Feinde schnauben (Lord, when our insolent enemies snort), BWV 248VI (also written as BWV 248 VI), is a church cantata for Epiphany, which Johann Sebastian Bach composed as the sixth part of his Christmas Oratorio, written for the Christmas season of 1734–35 in Leipzig.[1] The cantata was first performed on .
Bach had been presenting church cantatas for the Christmas season in the Thomaskirche (St. Thomas) and Nikolaikirche (St. Nicholas) since his appointment as director musices in Leipzig in 1723, including these cantatas for Epiphany:
, also indicated as BWV 248a, is a fragment of a cantata, transmitted without text, the opening chorus of which Bach likely borrowed from So kämpfet nur, ihr muntern Töne, BWV 1160, one of his secular cantatas. Picander wrote the libretto of the BWV 1160 cantata (also known as), which otherwise, that is, apart from the likely borrowed opening chorus, survived without music. It was first performed on, for the birthday of .[4]
The cantata transmitted in the BWV 248a fragment, consisting of four revised performance parts in the bundle of contemporary performance material for, is a sacred cantata for Michaelmas (29 September), likely first performed in 1734. While nothing more survives of the Michaelmas cantata as such, the four revised performance parts show that most of its music, including the music of its opening chorus and recitatives, was parodied in Part VI of the Christmas Oratorio.
is scored for 3 trumpets, timpani, 2 oboes, 2 oboes d'amore, 2 violin parts, 1 viola part and continuo.
| 54 | Chorus | D major | 3/8 | Herr, wenn die stolzen Feinde schnauben | Trumpet I, II, III, timpani, oboe I, II, strings, continuo | opening chorus of BWV 248a (1734?), which was likely based on the opening chorus of BWV 1160 (1731) | |
| 55 | Recitative (Evangelist, tenor; Herod, bass) | Da berief Herodes die Weisen heimlich Ziehet hin und forschet fleißig | Continuo | ||||
| 56 | Recitative (soprano) | Du Falscher, suche nur den Herrn zu fällen | Strings, continuo | BWV 248a (1734?) | |||
| 57 | Aria (soprano) | A maj/ | 3/4 | Nur ein Wink von seinen Händen | Oboe d'amore I, strings, continuo | BWV 248a (1734?) | |
| 58 | Recitative (Evangelist, tenor) | Als sie nun den König gehöret hatten | Continuo | ||||
| 59 | Chorale | G major | Common | Ich steh an deiner Krippen hier | Oboe I, II, strings, continuo | Words: Paul Gerhardt, 1656 | |
| 60 | Recitative (Evangelist, tenor) | Und Gott befahl ihnen im Traum | Continuo | ||||
| 61 | Recitative (tenor) | So geht! Genug, mein Schatz geht nicht von hier | Oboe d'amore I, II, continuo | BWV 248a (1734?) | |||
| 62 | Aria (tenor) | B minor | 2/4 | Nun mögt ihr stolzen Feinde schrecken | Oboe d'amore I, II, continuo | BWV 248a (1734?) | |
| 63 | Recitative (soprano, alto, tenor, bass) | Was will der Höllen Schrecken nun | Continuo | BWV 248a (1734?) | |||
| 64 | Chorale | D major | Common | Nun seid ihr wohl gerochen | Trumpet I, II, III, timpani, oboe I, II, strings, continuo | BWV 248a (1734?); Words: Georg Werner, 1648 | |
fr:Ignace Bossuyt
. Bull. Stratton. 2004. Johann Sebastian Bach, Christmas Oratorio (BWV 248). Philippe Herreweghe (contributor). Leuven. Leuven University Press. 9789058674210.