Johann Sebastian Bach (1685 – 1750) was a German
composer, organist, harpsichordist, violist, and
violinist of the Baroque period. He enriched many
established German styles through his skill in
counterpoint, harmonic and motivic organisation, and
the adaptation of rhythms, forms, and textures from
abroad, particularly from Italy and France. Bach's
compositions include the Brandenburg Concertos, the
Mass in B minor, the The Well-Tempered Clavier, his
cantatas, chorales, partitas, Passions, and...(+)
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685 – 1750) was a German
composer, organist, harpsichordist, violist, and
violinist of the Baroque period. He enriched many
established German styles through his skill in
counterpoint, harmonic and motivic organisation, and
the adaptation of rhythms, forms, and textures from
abroad, particularly from Italy and France. Bach's
compositions include the Brandenburg Concertos, the
Mass in B minor, the The Well-Tempered Clavier, his
cantatas, chorales, partitas, Passions, and organ
works. His music is revered for its intellectual depth,
technical command, and artistic beauty.
Bach composed the cantata (BWV 7) for St. John's Day in
Leipzig as the third cantata of his second annual
cycle, which began about two weeks before with O
Ewigkeit, du Donnerwort, for the First Sunday after
Trinity. The prescribed readings for the Sunday were
from the Book of Isaiah, "the voice of a preacher in
the desert" (Isaiah 40:1–5), and from the Gospel of
Luke, the birth of John the Baptist and the Benedictus
of Zechariah (Luke 1:57–80). The cantata is based on
Martin Luther's chorale for baptism in seven stanzas
Christ unser Herr zum Jordan kam. The words are used
unchanged in movements 1 and 7. An unknown poet
transcribed the ideas of stanzas 2–6 to a sequence of
as many recitatives and arias. He did not refer to the
Gospel that relates to the birth of the baptist, or to
the baptism of Jesus.
The reference to the command to baptise is set as an
expressive arioso. Bach increased the number of
accompanying instruments for the arias, from only
continuo to two violins, in the last to two oboes
d'amore and the strings.
Although the forth (4) Aria "Des Vaters Stimme ließ
sich hören" ("The Father's voice can be heard") was
originally composed for tenor, two solo violins and
continuo, I created this arrangement for Clarinet
Quartet (3 Bb Clarinets & Bass Clarinet).
PARTITION