List of motets by Johann Sebastian Bach explained

It is uncertain how many motets Johann Sebastian Bach composed, because some have been lost, and there are some doubtful attributions among the surviving ones associated with him. There is a case for regarding the six motets catalogued BWV 225–230 as being authenticated, although there is some doubt about one of them, Lobet den Herrn, alle Heiden. A seventh motet, Ich lasse dich nicht, BWV Anh. 159, which was formerly attributed to Bach's older cousin Johann Christoph Bach, appears to be at least partly by J.S. Bach, and if so was probably composed during his Weimar period.

BWV 228 is another motet which appears to have been written at Weimar, between 1708 and 1717, the others having been composed in Leipzig. Several of the motets were written for funerals. There is some uncertainty as to the extent that motets would have been called for in normal church services—there is evidence that the form was considered archaic. The text of Jauchzet dem Herrn, alle Welt, BWV Anh. 160 (whether or not the piece is attributable to Bach) suggests a performance at Christmas. Another possible use is a pedagogical one. Bach's biographer Johann Nikolaus Forkel suggested that the choral writing would have been useful for training Bach's young singers, and Christoph Wolff has argued that this could apply in particular to Singet dem Herrn ein neues Lied.[1]

Bach's motets are his only vocal works that stayed in the canon without interruption between his death in 1750 and the 19th-century Bach Revival.[2] In the early 19th century, six motets (BWV 225, 228, Anh. 159, 229, 227, 226)[3] were among Bach's first printed music, after the second half of the 18th century when the only vocal music by Bach that was printed were collections of his four-part chorales.[4]

BWV 225–230

BWV 28/2a (231) and 118

Parodies

BWV Anh. 159–165

Motets listed in the second chapter of the Bach-Werke-Verzeichnis (1998)

|- style="background: #E3F6CE;"| data-sort-value="0225.000" | 225| data-sort-value="228.002" | 2.| data-sort-value="1727-01-01" | 1726–1727
New Year?| Motet Singet dem Herrn ein neues Lied| B♭ maj.| data-sort-value="SATBx2 +colla parte instruments?" | 2SATB (+colla parte instr.?)| data-sort-value="000.39: 003" | 39: 3| data-sort-value="III/01: 001" | III/1: 1| after Z 8244 (/2); text after Ps. 149: 1–3 (/1), by Gramann after Ps. 103 (/2), after Ps. 150: 2, 6 (/3)| |- style="background: #E3F6CE;"| data-sort-value="0226.000" | 226| data-sort-value="229.001" rowspan="2" | 2.| rowspan="2" | 1729-10-20| Motet Der Geist hilft unser Schwachheit auf (funeral of Ernesti, J. H.)| B♭ maj.| data-sort-value="SATBx2 Str Vc Obx2 Tai Bas" | 2SATB Str Vc 2Ob Tai Bas | data-sort-value="000.39: 039" | 39: 39, 143| data-sort-value="III/01: 037" | III/1: 37| after Z 7445a (/2); text after Rom. 8: 26–27 (/1), by Luther (/2)| |- style="background: #E3F6CE;"| data-sort-value="0226.002" | 226/2| chorale setting "Komm, Heiliger Geist, Herre Gott" (s. 3)| B♭ maj.
G maj.| SATB| data-sort-value="000.39: 057" | 39: 57| data-sort-value="III/02 1: 016" | III/2.1: 18
III/2.2: 38| after Z 7445a; text by Luther| |- style="background: #F5F6CE;"| data-sort-value="0227.000" | 227| data-sort-value="229.002" rowspan="4" | 2.| data-sort-value="1728-07-18" rowspan="4" | | Motet Jesu, meine Freude| rowspan="4" | E min.| data-sort-value="SSATB +colla parte instruments?" | SSATB (+colla parte instr.?) | data-sort-value="000.39: 059" | 39: 59| data-sort-value="III/01: 075" | III/1: 75| after Z 8032 (odd mvts); text by Franck, J. (odd mvts), after Rom. 8: 1–2, 9–11 (even mvts)| |- style="background: #F5F6CE;"| data-sort-value="0227.001" | 227/1
227/11| chorale setting "Jesu, meine Freude" (ss. 1, 6)| SATB| data-sort-value="000.39: 061" | 39: 61| data-sort-value="III/02 1: 031" | III/2.1: 27
III/2.2: 156| after Z 8032; text by Franck, J.| |- style="background: #F5F6CE;"| data-sort-value="0227.003" | 227/3| chorale setting "Jesu, meine Freude" (s. 2)| SATB| data-sort-value="000.39: 066" | 39: 66| data-sort-value="III/02 1: 032" | III/2.1: 28| after Z 8032; text by Franck, J.| |- style="background: #F5F6CE;"| data-sort-value="0227.007" | 227/7| chorale setting "Jesu, meine Freude" (s. 4)| SATB| data-sort-value="000.39: 075" | 39: 75| data-sort-value="III/02 1: 021" | III/2.1: 22
III/2.2: 168| after Z 8032; text by Franck, J.| |- | data-sort-value="0228.000" | 228| data-sort-value="231.001" | 2.| data-sort-value="1715-07-01" | | Motet Fürchte dich nicht| A maj.| data-sort-value="SATBx2 +colla parte instruments?" | 2SATB (+colla parte instr.?) | data-sort-value="000.39: 087" | 39: 85| data-sort-value="III/01: 107" | III/1: 105| after Z 6461 (/2); text after Is. 41: 10 (/1), 43: 1 (/2), by Gerhardt (/2)| |- style="background: #F6E3CE;"| data-sort-value="0229.000" | 229| data-sort-value="231.002" | 2.| data-sort-value="1730-07-01" | before 1731–1732| Motet Komm, Jesu, komm| G min.| data-sort-value="SATBx2 +colla parte instruments" | 2SATB (+colla parte instr.) | data-sort-value="000.39: 109" | 39: 107| data-sort-value="III/01: 127" | III/1: 125| text by Thymich| |- style="background: #F5F6CE;" | data-sort-value="0230.000" | 230| data-sort-value="232.002" | 2.| data-sort-value="1730-07-01" | 1723–1739?| Motet Lobet den Herrn, alle Heiden| C maj.| data-sort-value="SATB Bc +colla parte instruments?" | SATB Bc (+colla parte instr.?) | data-sort-value="000.39: 129" | 39: 127| data-sort-value="III/01: 149" | III/1: 147| text after Ps. 117| |-| data-sort-value="0231.000" | 231| data-sort-value="233.001" | ----|----| data-sort-value="Motet Sei Lob und Preis mit Ehren" | ----| ----| ----| ----| ----| see BWV 28/2a| |- style="background: #E3F6CE;"| data-sort-value="0118.100" | 118.1| data-sort-value="233.003" | 2.| data-sort-value="1736-12-31" | 1736–1737| Motet O Jesu Christ, meins Lebens Licht (funeral)| B♭ maj.| data-sort-value="SATB Hnx2 Cnt Tbnx3" | SATB 2Hn Cnt 3Tbn | data-sort-value="000.24: 185" | 24: 185| data-sort-value="III/01: 163" | III/1: 163| text by Behm; → BWV 118.2| |- style="background: #E3F6CE;"| data-sort-value="0118.200" | 118.2| data-sort-value="233.004" | 2.| data-sort-value="1746-12-31" | 1746–1747| Motet O Jesu Christ, meins Lebens Licht (funeral)| B♭ maj.| data-sort-value="SATB Obx2 Tai Bas Hnx2 Str Bc" | SATB 2Ob Tai Bas 2Hn Str Bc| data-sort-value="000.67 1: 000" | NBG 171| data-sort-value="III/01: 171" | III/1: 171| text by Behm; after BWV 118.1|
|}

Publication and recording

Publications

St. Thomas School, Leipzig, appears to have kept the motets in the repertory of its Thomanerchor after Bach's death. It is documented that the choir performed Singet dem Herrn for Mozart in 1789.The director on this occasion was the Thomaskantor Johann Friedrich Doles, a pupil of Bach.The interest in Bach motets was sufficient for six of them to be printed for the first time in 1802/1803. They appeared in two volumes from the Leipzig publisher Breitkopf & Härtel. The editor is not credited on the title page;[22] however, it has been suggested that the person responsible was Johann Gottfried Schicht, who was active in the city as a choral and orchestral conductor.

Book I consisted of

Book II consisted of

In 1892 the motets were published as part of the Bach-Gesellschaft-Ausgabe, the first edition of the composer's complete works. The editor was Franz Wüllner, who did not accept Bach's authorship of Ich lasse dich nicht.[23] The motet volume of the New Bach Edition (the second edition of the composer's complete works) came out in 1965. It includes O Jesu Christ, mein Lebens Licht (which had been included among the cantatas in the Bach-Gesellschaft-Ausgabe) and Lobet den Herrn.The motets were published by Carus-Verlag in 1975, edited by Günter Graulich, and again in 2003, seven compositions edited by Uwe Wolf.

Recordings

Most recordings of the Bach motets have been made since the Second World War. The Thomanerchor, for example, recorded a set in the 1950s.[24] However, there were several pre-War recordings of the motets. The first recording of a Bach motet was a 1927 version of Jesu, meine Freude.[25]

A single CD can contain the set of six motets (BWV 225–230) plus other works. One of the decisions which needs to be made is which motets to include. Another decision is how many voices to use per part. The motets have been recorded with one voice per part by Konrad Junghänel. Most recordings deploy more than one singer per part; for example, Masaaki Suzuki and his Bach Collegium Japan use a chorus of eighteen singers.[26]

Sources

External links

Notes and References

  1. Wolff, Christoph. Johann Sebastian Bach: The Learned Musician, p. 249 (W. W. Norton & Company 2001).
  2. Book: Spitta, Philipp . Philipp Spitta . Johann Sebastian Bach: His Work and Influence on the Music of Germany, 1685–1750 (Volume 2) . London . . 1899 ., p. 611
  3. at
  4. [Johann Nikolaus Forkel|Forkel, Johann Nikolaus]
  5. Web site: Bach Motets . 9 September 2015 . Gardiner, John Eliot . https://web.archive.org/web/20160304203735/http://www.monteverdi.org.uk/downloads/booklets/sdg716.pdf . 4 March 2016 . dead .
  6. Bach Digital Work at
  7. Book: Boyd, Malcolm. Oxford Composer Companions: J.S. Bach. 1999. Oxford University Press. Oxford, England. 0-19-866208-4. 245.
  8. Bach Digital Work at
  9. Bach Digital Work at
  10. https://www.bach333.com/en/assets/downloads/bach333_instrumental-and-supplement.pdf Instrumental and Supplement
  11. Bach Digital Work at
  12. Bach Digital Work at
  13. Bach Digital Work at
  14. http://www.bach-cantatas.com/Vocal/BWVAnh162.htm Georg Gottfried Wagner: Motet Lob und Ehre und Weisheit, BWV Anh 162
  15. Bach Digital Work at
  16. http://www.bachdigital.de/receive/BachDigitalSource_source_00000248 BR Bruxelles Ms. II 3902 Mus.
  17. Bach Digital Work at
  18. http://www.bachdigital.de/receive/BachDigitalSource_source_00002751 HLB Darmstadt, Mus. ms. 521/1
  19. Bach Digital Work at
  20. http://www.bachdigital.de/receive/BachDigitalSource_source_00002798 HLB Darmstadt, Mus. ms. 528
  21. Bach Digital Work at
  22. Johann Gottfried Schicht, editor. Joh. Seb. Bach's Motetten in Partitur. Leipzig: Breitkopf und Härtel. 1802 (Vol. 1: BWV 225, 228, Anh. 159); 1803 (Vol.2: BWV 229, 227, 226).
  23. Melamed, Daniel R. “The Authorship of the Motet ‘Ich Lasse Dich Nicht’ (BWV Anh. 159).” Journal of the American Musicological Society, vol. 41, no. 3, 1988, pp. 491–526. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/831462. Accessed 30 Mar. 2020 (subscription required).
  24. Web site: Motets / Recordings – Part 2 . Bach Cantatas Website.
  25. Web site: Motets / Recordings – Part 1 . Bach Cantatas Website.
  26. Web site: Bach - Motets . Bis . 6 April 2020.