Johann Sebastian Bach (21 March 1685 ? 28 July 1750) was a German composer and organist whose sacred and secular works for choir, orchestra, and solo instruments drew together the strands of the Baroque period and brought it to its ultimate maturity.[1] Although he introduced no new forms, he enriched the prevailing German style with a robust contrapuntal technique, an unrivalled control of harmonic and motivic organisation in composition for diverse instrumentation, and the adaptation of rhythms and textures from abroad, particularly Italy and France.
Revered for their intellectual depth, technical command and artistic beauty, Bach's works include the Brandenburg concertos, the Goldberg Variations, the Partitas, the Well-Tempered Clavier, the Mass in B Minor, the St. Matthew Passion, the St. John Passion, the Magnificat, The Musical Offering, The Art of Fugue, the English Suites, the French Suites, the Sonatas and Partitas for violin solo, the Cello Suites, more than 200 surviving cantatas, and a similar number of organ works, including the celebrated Toccata and Fugue in D Minor.
While Bach's abilities as an organist were recognized and highly respected throughout Europe during his lifetime, he was not particularly well-known as a composer. His adherence to Baroque forms and contrapuntal style was considered "old-fashioned" by his contemporaries, especially late in his career when the musical fashion tended towards Rococo and later Classical styles. A revival of interest and performances of his music began early in the 19th century, and he is now widely considered to be one of the greatest composers in the Western tradition. (Collapse)...(Read more)
Der Herr ist mein getreuer Hirt (The Lord is my faithful shepherd), BWV 112, is a cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach, a church cantata for the second Su...
Der Herr ist mein getreuer Hirt (The Lord is my faithful shepherd), BWV 112, is a cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach, a church cantata for the second Sunday after Easter. Bach composed the chorale cantata in Leipzig and first performed it on 8 April 1731. It is based on the hymn by Wolfgang Meuslin, a paraphrase of Psalm 23 (1530), sung to a melody by Nikolaus Decius (1522).
Bach composed the cantata in Leipzig for the second Sunday after Easter, called Misericordias Domini. The prescribed readings for that Sunday were from the First Epistle of Peter (Christ as a model – 1 Peter 2:21–25), and from the Gospel of John, (the Good Shepherd – John 10:11–16).
In his second year in Leipzig, Bach composed chorale cantatas between the first Sunday after Trinity of 1724 and Palm Sunday, but for Easter he returned to cantatas on more varied texts. He later composed further chorale cantatas to complete his second annual cycle, and this cantata is one of them. The text consists of the unchanged words of a 1530 hymn by Wolfgang Meuslin, a paraphrase of Psalm 23, sung to the melody of "Allein Gott in der Höh sei Ehr" by Nikolaus Decius (1522). This hymn is different from the one with the same opening line by Cornelius Becker, sung to the same melody, which Bach had used in his other two cantatas for the same occasion, Du Hirte Israel, höre, BWV 104 and Ich bin ein guter Hirt, BWV 85. Its topic, the Lord as the good shepherd, has traditionally been used for Jesus and is thus related to the Gospel.
In the opening chorus, a chorale fantasia, the melody of the German Gloria "Allein Gott in der Höh sei Ehr" is embedded in an orchestral concerto. The movement opens with calls derived from the chorale tune played on the two horns, leading to a free concerto with the strings and oboes. The cantus firmus is sung by the soprano in long notes, while the lower voices engage in imitation. John Eliot Gardiner compares the movement to the openings of the two former cantatas for the same occasion: "The presence of two horns ... reveals a much more regal portrait of the good shepherd than we have previously met." Both Alfred Dürr and Klaus Hofmann assume that the music was not originally composed for this pastoral text, but previously, for the Gloria. Bach had composed a different chorale fantasia on the same melody in Auf Christi Himmelfahrt allein, BWV 128, with similar instrumentation.
The inner three movements quote the text of the hymn without change, but their music is not related to the hymn tune. The alto aria is accompanied by an obbligato oboe. It is structured in two similar parts, and is in pastoral 6/8 time. The steady flow of the oboe can be seen as depicting the "pure water" mentioned in the text, the steps in the continuo as "the steps made on this significant journey" "on the pathway of the righteousness of His commandments".
The central movement begins as an arioso, accompanied by the continuo, illustrating the walk through the "valley of darkness". The second part is a dramatic recitative with strings, first expressing "Verfolgung, Leiden, Trübsal" (persecution, sorrow, trouble) in a broken melodic line against sustained string chords, then "Thy rod and Thy staff comfort me", where the "first violins weave a comforting little melody".
The following duet expresses enjoyment at God's table in a dance, a bourrée.
The cantata closes with a four-part chorale, most instruments playing colla parte, while the horns play different parts because of their limited range.
Although originally scored for four vocal soloists (soprano, alto, tenor and bass), a four-part choir, two horns, two oboes d'amore, two violins, viola and basso continuo, I created this arrangement for Oboe & Concert (Pedal) Harp.
GUITAR
KEYBOARD
STUDIO
PA
LIGHT
DEEJAY
MIC
Browse without ads
: Aria: Zum reinen Wasser er mich weist for Oboe & Harp 
