Brich dem Hungrigen dein Brot (Break your bread for the
hungry), BWV 39,[a] is a church cantata by Johann
Sebastian Bach. He composed it in Leipzig and first
performed it on 23 June 1726, the first Sunday after
Trinity. About three years earlier, on the first Sunday
after Trinity of 1723, Bach had taken office as
Thomaskantor and started his first cycle of cantatas
for the occasions of the liturgical year, and on the
first Sunday after Trinity 1724 he began his second
cycle, consisting of choral...(+)
Brich dem Hungrigen dein Brot (Break your bread for the
hungry), BWV 39,[a] is a church cantata by Johann
Sebastian Bach. He composed it in Leipzig and first
performed it on 23 June 1726, the first Sunday after
Trinity. About three years earlier, on the first Sunday
after Trinity of 1723, Bach had taken office as
Thomaskantor and started his first cycle of cantatas
for the occasions of the liturgical year, and on the
first Sunday after Trinity 1724 he began his second
cycle, consisting of chorale cantatas. As he composed
no new work for the first Sunday after Trinity 1725,
Brich dem Hungrigen dein Brot is regarded as part of
his third cantata cycle.
Bach set the opening movement as a complex choral
structure, but the central movement as a simple solo
for the bass voice, traditionally considered the voice
of Jesus. The instrumentation is for woodwinds and
strings, including recorders as a symbol of poverty,
need and humility. It is possibly the last time that
Bach scored recorders in his cantatas.
According to Christoph Wolff and Klaus Hofmann, the
cantata text is taken from a 1704 collection which is
attributed to Duke Ernst Ludwig von Sachsen-Meiningen.
Works from this collection had been set to music by the
court composer Johann Ludwig Bach, whose cantatas Bach
had frequently performed in 1725. They all start with
an Old Testament quotation, then focus on a New
Testament passage in a central movement. The librettist
organized the text in seven poetic movements, divided
into two distinct parts. Both parts begin with a
quotation from the Bible, but not, as in several other
Bach cantatas, taken from the prescribed readings. Part
I starts with a quotation from the Book of Isaiah
(Isaiah 58:7–8), Part II begins with a quotation from
the Epistle to the Hebrews (Hebrews 13:16), which forms
the text for the central fourth movement. The first
part derives from the words of the prophet a call to
love one's neighbour and to share God's gifts, the
second part similarly deals with thanks for God's gifts
and makes a promise to love one's neighbour and share.
The poet closed the cantata with stanza 6 from David
Denicke's hymn "Kommt, laßt euch den Herren lehren"
(1648), which summarizes the ideas. This hymn is sung
to the melody of "Freu dich sehr, o meine Seele", which
was codified by Louis Bourgeois when setting the Geneva
Psalm 42 in his collection of Psaumes octante trios de
David (Geneva, 1551). Bourgeois seems to have been
influenced by the secular song "Ne l'oseray je dire"
contained in the Manuscrit de Bayeux published around
1510.
Bach first performed the cantata on 23 June 1726. It is
considered to be part of Bach's third annual cantata
cycle in Leipzig. While the first and second cycle
lasted one year, according to Christoph Wolff, the
cantatas of the third cycle date from a period
beginning on the first Sunday after Trinity, 3 June
1725, and lasting for about three years. Musicologist
Julian Mincham notes that "Bach attached personal
significance to this particular day and consequently
sought to parade a work of considerable substance".
The cantata is scored for three vocal soloists
(soprano, alto and bass), a four-part choir, two alto
recorders, two oboes, two violins, viola, and basso
continuo. The recorders (flauti dolci) represent
poverty, need and a "mood of humility". It is possibly
the last time that Bach scored recorders in his
cantatas.
Source: Wikipedia
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brich_dem_Hungrigen_dein
_Brot,_BWV_39).
I created this arrangement of the closing Chorale:
"Selig sind, die aus Erbarmen" (Blessed are those who,
out of mercy) for String Quartet (2 Violins, Viola &
Cello).
SHEET MUSIC