Tue Rechnung! Donnerwort (Settle account! Word of
thunder), BWV 168, is a church cantata by Johann
Sebastian Bach. He composed it in Leipzig for the ninth
Sunday after Trinity and first performed it on 29 July
1725.
Bach composed the cantata in Leipzig for the Ninth
Sunday after Trinity as the first cantata of his third
cantata cycle. The libretto is by Salomon Franck. Bach
had often set Franck's texts while working in Weimar.
Franck published the text of Tue Rechnung! Donnerwort
in We...(+)
Tue Rechnung! Donnerwort (Settle account! Word of
thunder), BWV 168, is a church cantata by Johann
Sebastian Bach. He composed it in Leipzig for the ninth
Sunday after Trinity and first performed it on 29 July
1725.
Bach composed the cantata in Leipzig for the Ninth
Sunday after Trinity as the first cantata of his third
cantata cycle. The libretto is by Salomon Franck. Bach
had often set Franck's texts while working in Weimar.
Franck published the text of Tue Rechnung! Donnerwort
in Weimar in 1715 in Evangelisches Andachts-Opffer, and
Bach would probably have used at the time had it not
been for a period of mourning for Prince Johann Ernst
of Saxe-Weimar.
The prescribed readings for the Sunday were from the
Epistle to the Romans, a warning of false gods and
consolation in temptation (1 Corinthians 10:6--13), and
from the Gospel of Luke, the parable of the Unjust
Steward (Luke 16:1--9). Franck's text is closely
related to the Gospel, beginning with a paraphrase of
verse 2 in the opening aria. The situation of the
unjust servant is generalized; he is seen wanting
mountains and hills to fall on his back, as mentioned
in Luke 23:30. Franck uses explicit monetary terms to
speak about the debt, such as "Kapital und Interessen"
(capital and interest). A turning point is reached in
movement 4, referring to the death of Jesus which
"crossed out the debt". The cantata is concluded by the
eighth stanza of Bartholomäus Ringwaldt's hymn "Herr
Jesu Christ, du höchstes Gut" (1588). Bach had treated
the complete chorale a year before in his chorale
cantata Herr Jesu Christ, du höchstes Gut, BWV 113,
for the eleventh Sunday after Trinity.
Bach scored the cantata intimately, as he did for many
of Franck's works. The singers consist of four vocal
soloists (soprano, alto, tenor, and bass) plus a
four-part choir only in the chorale and although
originally scored for two oboes d'amore, two violins,
viola and continuo, I created this arrangement for
String Quartet (2 Violins, Viola & Cello).
PARTITION