Darzu ist erschienen der Sohn Gottes (For this the Son
of God appeared), BWV 40,[a] is a church cantata by
Johann Sebastian Bach. He composed it in 1723, his
first year in Leipzig, for the Second Day of Christmas,
and first performed it on 26 December that year in both
main churches, Thomaskirche and Nikolaikirche. It was
the first Christmas cantata Bach composed for Leipzig.
The title of the cantata also appears in more modern
German as Dazu ist erschienen der Sohn Gottes.
The theme of...(+)
Darzu ist erschienen der Sohn Gottes (For this the Son
of God appeared), BWV 40,[a] is a church cantata by
Johann Sebastian Bach. He composed it in 1723, his
first year in Leipzig, for the Second Day of Christmas,
and first performed it on 26 December that year in both
main churches, Thomaskirche and Nikolaikirche. It was
the first Christmas cantata Bach composed for Leipzig.
The title of the cantata also appears in more modern
German as Dazu ist erschienen der Sohn Gottes.
The theme of the work is Jesus as the conqueror of the
works of the devil, who is frequently mentioned as the
serpent. The music is festively scored, using two
horns, similar to Part IV of Bach's later Christmas
Oratorio. The text by an unknown poet is organised in
eight movements, beginning with a choral movement on
the biblical text, followed by a sequence of
recitatives and arias which is structured as three
stanzas from three different hymns. Only two of these
hymns are Christmas carols.
The frightfully successful collection of balances in
this 40th cantata, Darzu ist erschienen der Sohn Gottes
("For this purpose the Son of God was made visible')
was premiered 26 December, 1723 in Leipzig. It features
a unique distribution of movements that strike a
compelling balance: chorus, recitative, chorale
(chorus), aria, recitative, chorale (chorus), aria, and
chorale. This sort of inverted palindrome breaks from a
more conventional style of two recitative and aria
pairs, each begun with a chorus, with the work
concluded by a final chorale. Part of the reason Bach's
legacy is so enduring is his ability to make music
simple more interesting, the form more compelling, such
as is heard here. The instrumentation continually
varies, as does the range of the singer taking on the
next solo section. Everything keeps changing, yet
affirming the basic material of this single, cohesive
work. The opening chorus draws text from I John 3: 8,
but it is not known who wrote the poetry. In tone and
in musical treatment, this cantata is an aggressive
denunciation of the devil. In the first chorus horn,
oboes, strings and continuo perform a ritornello that
accompanies the chorus' announcement that the
destruction of Satan and his works is at hand. This is
a martial statement, and there is an implicit challenge
in the general atmosphere of the cantata. Later in the
bass' aria, the downfall of Satan is further elaborated
on with text drawn from Genesis 3: 15, wherein the dark
angel is portrayed as a snake. Other references to the
bible then go on to compare Jesus to hen protecting her
chicks (Matt. 23: 34-9) and other, comparatively
pleasant metaphors. Some work painting exists as well,
as is heard in the tenor aria with the word erschrecken
(‘terrible'), which is heard as an extended melisma
to suggest the breathlessness of fear. In all, there is
an incredible wealth of musical beauty to comment on in
the 40th cantata. Readers would do well to make a first
hand investigation.
For the festive occasion, the cantata is scored for
three vocal soloists—alto, tenor and bass—a
four-part choir, two horns (corno da caccia), two
oboes, two violins, viola and basso continuo. Bach
later used a similar scoring in Part IV of his
Christmas Oratorio, to be performed on New Year's
Day.
Source: Wikipedia
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darzu_ist_erschienen_der
_Sohn_Gottes,_BWV_40).
I created this arrangement of the first Aria:
"DHöllische Schlange, Wird dir nicht bange?" (Hellish
serpent, are you not afraid?) for Oboe & Strings (2
Violins, Viola, Cello & Bass).
PARTITION