Herr Gott, dich loben alle wir, BWV 130


Herr Gott, dich loben alle wir, BWV130, is a chorale cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach for the Feast of archangel Michael. The oldest known version of the cantata was performed on that feast day in 1724 during Bach's second year in Leipzig. The cantata is scored for SATB soloists and choir, three trumpets, timpani, traverso, three oboes, strings and continuo.
The text of the cantata, which is in the chorale cantata format which Bach developed for his second cantata cycle, is based on Paul Eber's 1554 Lutheran hymn in twelve stanzas "Herr Gott, dich loben alle wir". This hymn is a German version of Philipp Melanchthon's 1539 "Dicimus grates tibi". The hymn tune of the Lutheran chorale, known in English as Old 100th, comes from the 1551 second edition of the Genevan Psalter.
An updated version of the cantata, BWV 130.2, was performed in Leipzig between 1732 and 1735. A manuscript which was likely written in the second half of the 18th century, contains two variant versions of the cantata. Whether Bach had anything to do with these versions is not known: a chorale setting which only occurs in these variants was adopted as No. 31 in second Anhang of the Bach-Werke-Verzeichnis, that is the Anhang of doubtful works.

History

Bach composed the cantata in his second year in Leipzig for St. Michael's Day. That year, Bach composed a cycle of chorale cantatas, begun on the first Sunday after Trinity of 1724. The feast celebrated the Archangel Michael and all the angels each year on 29 September. In Leipzig, the day coincided with a trade fair.
The prescribed readings for St Michael's Day were from the Book of Revelation, Michael fighting the dragon, and from the Gospel of Matthew, heaven belongs to the children, the angels see the face of God. The cantata is based on a song in twelve stanzas by Paul Eber, a paraphrase of Philipp Melanchthon's Latin "Dicimus grates tibi". Each stanza has four lines. The melody was first printed in the Geneva Psalter in 1551. It is attributed to Loys Bourgeois and is known as the famous tune of the Doxology "Praise God, from whom all blessings flow".
The hymn is only distantly related to the readings, concentrating on the thought that the Christians sin and deserve bad treatment, but may be raised to joy in a "seliger Tod". An unknown poet kept the first and the last two stanzas as movements 1, 5 and 6 of the cantata. He derived movement 2, a recitative, from stanzas 2 and 3, movement 3, an aria, from stanzas 4 to 6, movement 4, a recitative, from stanzas 7 to 9, and movement 5, an aria, from stanza 10. The theme of the song, praise and thanks for the creation of the angels, is only distantly related to the readings. In movement 3, a connection can be drawn from the mentioning of Satan as the "alter Drachen", to Michael's fight. Movement 4 shows examples of angelic protection in the Bible, of Daniel, and of the three men in the fiery furnace. Prayer for protection by angels, as Elijah taken to heaven, continues the text, concluded by general praise, thanks and the request for future protection.
Bach first performed the cantata on 29 September 1724.

Structure

The cantata in six movements is festively scored for four vocal soloists, a four-part choir, and a Baroque instrumental ensemble of three trumpets, timpani, flauto traverso, three oboes, two violins, viola, and basso continuo.
  1. Chorale: Herr Gott, dich loben alle wir
  2. Recitative : Ihr heller Glanz und hohe Weisheit zeigt
  3. Aria : Der alte Drache brennt vor Neid
  4. Recitative : Wohl aber uns, daß Tag und Nacht
  5. Aria : Laß, o Fürst der Cherubinen
  6. Chorale: Darum wir billig loben dich
In the opening chorus, Bach illustrates the singing of angels in different choirs by assigning different themes to the strings, the oboes and the trumpets, in a rich scoring typical only for the most festive occasions of the liturgical year such as Christmas. Mincham compares the movement to the 15 opening movements preceding it in the second annual cycle: "it is the most lavishly scored chorus so far and certainly the most extrovertly festive in character".
In movement 3, trumpets and timpani accompany the bass voice in a description of the battle against Satan. A soft duet of soprano and tenor recalls guardian angels saving Daniel in the lions' den and the three men in the furnace. John Eliot Gardiner compares the flute line in a gavotte for tenor to "perhaps the fleetness of angelic transport on Elijah's chariot". The closing choral again includes "the angelic trumpets".

Variant versions

BWV 130.2 is a modified version of the cantata which Bach developed in the 1730s for a new performance on Michaelis. The manuscript P 101 at the Berlin State Library, which was likely written in the second half of the 18th century, contains two variant versions of the cantata:
Var.#TextMovementBWV
I1Herr Gott, dich loben alle wirChorus=130/1
II1Herr Gott, dich loben alle wirChoraleAnh. 31
I2Ihr heller GlanzRecitative =130/2
II2Ihr heller GlanzRecitative deest
I & II3Lasst Teufel, Welt und SündeRecitative deest
I & II4Laß, o Fürst der CherubinenAria =130/5
I & II5Wir bitten dich, du wollst allzeitChoraleAnh. 31

Recordings