Misplaced Pages

#447552

33-448: The title "Sonatina" was used occasionally by J. S. Bach for short orchestral introductions to large vocal works, as in his cantata Gottes Zeit ist die allerbeste Zeit , BWV 106 , a practice with precedent in the work of the earlier German composer Nicolaus Bruhns . This is the only sense in which Bach used the term sonatina, although he composed many chamber and solo sonatas for various instruments. As with many musical terms, sonatina

66-457: A minuet or scherzo , a slow theme-and-variations , or a rondo . Gottes Zeit ist die allerbeste Zeit, BWV 106 Gottes Zeit ist die allerbeste Zeit (God's time is the very best time), BWV 106 , also known as Actus tragicus , is an early sacred cantata composed by Johann Sebastian Bach in Mühlhausen , intended for a funeral. The earliest source for

99-426: A chamber ensemble of Baroque instruments : two alto recorders (Fl), two violas da gamba (Vg), basso continuo . The duration is given as 23 minutes. The sections comprising the cantata are traditionally grouped into four movements . The musicologist Carol Traupman-Carr notes: "Although movements are marked by tempo changes, occasionally key changes, meter changes, and double bar lines, Cantata 106 appears to be

132-501: A choral movement, but not a simple four-part setting. Introduced by an instrumental passage recalling motifs from the Sonatina, the first lines of the hymn are set for four parts. The movement ends in a double fugue on Amen marked Allegro . The musicologist Julian Mincham notes that the fugal section became the "major focus of the piece". The cantata ranks among Bach's most important works. The Bach scholar Alfred Dürr called

165-557: A continuous work. Bach helps create a more seamless effect by occasionally resolving the cadence of one section at the downbeat of another, thus blurring the beginnings and endings of traditional movements." The keys and tempo markings are taken from the first publication. The keys in the Neue Bach-Ausgabe and other more recent publications start in F major . In the opening sonatina , marked Molto adagio , two obbligato alto recorders mournfully echo each other over

198-512: A former mayor of Mühlhausen, whose funeral was 16 September 1708. The earliest surviving manuscript, in the hand of Christian Friedrich Penzel , was copied in 1768 after Bach's death. It introduced the title Actus tragicus . The cantata was published in 1876 as part of the first complete edition of Bach's works: the Bach-Gesellschaft-Ausgabe , edited by Wilhelm Rust . The text consists of different Bible passages from

231-521: A fugal section marked Allegro , and the end is Adagio assai . The thought from Psalm 90 (2b), " Ach, Herr, lehre uns bedenken, daß wir sterben müssen " (Ah, Lord, teach us to consider that we must die) is rendered as an arioso of the tenor, marked Lento . The melodic line is broken by rests of reflection. The warning to be prepared for death (2c) from Isaiah, " Bestelle dein Haus; denn du wirst sterben " (Put your house in order; for you will die),

264-553: A part of the covenant. The Israelites followed the form of the suzerainty treaty, a particular type of covenant common in the Near East and were bound to obey stipulations that were set by God, not Moses. In addition to Mendenhall's input and perspective, M. Weinfeld argues that there are two forms of covenants to have occurred throughout the Hebrew Bible : 1.) the obligatory type and 2.) the promissory type. These translate to

297-494: A sonorous background of viola da gambas and continuo . The first vocal movement combines several aspects of getting ready to die, based mostly on texts from the Old Testament. Bach expresses their ideas in a variety of musical form and scoring. The movement opens (2a) on a text in free poetry, " Gottes Zeit ist die allerbeste Zeit " (God's time is the best of all times). The chorus has no initial tempo marking, but has

330-502: A “political treaty” as evidenced by the Hittite Empire , and a "royal grant" as shown through the covenants tied to Abraham and David. A treaty entails a promise to the master by the vassal and ultimately protects the rights of the master. This consequently works in a manner that promotes future loyalty of the vassal since the suzerain had previously done favors for them. A grant on the other hand pertains to an obligation from

363-513: Is a bass arioso, supported by Martin Luther's hymn " Mit Fried und Freud ich fahr dahin " (With peace and joy I depart), after the Nunc dimittis (also following Luke), sung by the alto as a cantus firmus. The work concludes with the closing seventh stanza of Adam Reusner 's hymn " In dich hab ich gehoffet, Herr ", " Glorie, Lob, Ehr und Herrlichkeit " (Glory, praise, honor, and majesty), as

SECTION 10

#1732775982448

396-620: Is lost, the work is agreed to be one of the earliest Bach cantatas, probably composed during the year he spent in Mühlhausen 1707/1708 as organist of the Divi Blasii church , at the age of 22. Various funerals known to have taken place at this time have been proposed as the occasion for the composition, for example that of his uncle Tobias Lämmerhirt from his mother's family, who died in Erfurt on 10 August 1707, and that of Adolph Strecker,

429-465: Is performed as an aria by the bass, marked Vivace . Arpeggios of the recorder accompany the voice which has been described as "evocative of the command of God". Marked Andante , the movement concludes (2d) with the central piece in the symmetrical composition. It presents a contrast: while the lower choral voices recall the Old Covenant , " Es ist der alte Bund: Mensch, du mußt sterben! " (It

462-486: Is the ancient law: human, you must die!), based on Jesus Sirach, the solo soprano turns to accepting death as a union with Jesus, singing three times " Ja, komm, Herr Jesu, komm! " (Yes, come, Lord Jesus!). The personal decision is supported by the instrumental quotation in the recorders of Johann Leon's hymn " Ich hab mein Sach Gott heimgestellt " (I have brought my affairs home to God). The final call to Jesus closes

495-519: Is used inconsistently. The most common meaning is a short, easy sonata suitable for students, such as the piano sonatinas of Clementi . However, by no means are all sonatinas technically undemanding, for example the virtuoso sonatinas of Busoni and Alkan , and the Sonatine of Ravel , whose title reflects its neo-classical quality. On the other hand, some sonatas could equally have been called sonatinas: for example Beethoven 's Op. 49 , titled by

528-589: The Mosaic covenant (named after Moses ), also known as the Sinaitic covenant (after the biblical Mount Sinai ), which refers to a covenant between the Israelite tribes and God , including their proselytes , not limited to the ten commandments , nor the event when they were given, but including the entirety of laws that their patriarch Moses delivered from God in the five books of Torah . According to

561-622: The Mosaic covenant was presented to the Jewish people and converts to Judaism and does not apply to Gentiles , with the notable exception of the Seven Laws of Noah which apply to all people. The Mosaic covenant or Law of Moses, which Christians generally call the "Old Covenant" in contrast to the New Covenant , has played an important role in the shaping of Christianity . It has been

594-659: The New Testament. It quotes twice what Jesus said on the cross according to the Gospel of Luke . The first quotation (3a), " In deine Hände befehl ich meinen Geist " (Into Your hands I commit my spirit), with an added explanation " du hast mich erlöset, Herr, du getreuer Gott " (You have redeemed me, Lord, faithful God), from Psalm 31, is rendered as an alto aria. The second quotation (3b), " Heute wirst du mit mir im Paradies sein " (Today you will be with Me in Paradise),

627-666: The Old and New Testament appeared before in the Christliche Betschule (Christian school of prayer) by Johann Olearius . Markus Rathey, professor at the Yale Institute of Sacred Music, has argued that the sermon given at the funeral of Strecker is similar in ideas to the themes of the cantatas. This may be an indication that Bach composed the work for this occasion. Bach scored the cantata for four vocal parts ( soprano (S), alto (A), tenor (T), and bass (B)) and

660-418: The Old and New Testament, as well as individual verses of hymns by Martin Luther and Adam Reusner , which all together refer to finitude, preparation for death and dying. There are two distinct parts to the cantata: the view of the Old Testament on death shown in the first part is confronted by that of the New Testament in the second part, leading to a symmetrical structure. The juxtaposition of texts from

693-606: The biblical narrative, the Book of the Covenant, recording all the commands of the L ORD , was written by Moses in the desert and read to the people, and to seal the covenant, the blood of sacrificial oxen was then sprinkled, half on an altar and half on the people. The concept of a covenant began long before the biblical era, specifically the beginnings of Israel. According to George E. Mendenhall , covenants were originally established as legal customs and then later were replicated in

SECTION 20

#1732775982448

726-694: The cantata "a work of genius such as even great masters seldom achieve... The Actus tragicus belongs to the great musical literature of the world". The cantata can be performed with only four singers, as in the recording by Joshua Rifkin , while other recordings feature a choir with multiple voices to a part. The following entries are taken from the listing on the Bach Cantatas Website. Choirs with one voice per part (OVPP) and instrumental groups playing period instruments in historically informed performances are marked by green background. Old Covenant Abrahamic religions believe in

759-515: The circumstances. The covenant of the pieces between God and Abraham is not conditional. Future covenants between Israel and God would be conditional. This is clearly expressed in Deuteronomy 11:13–21 , recited twice-daily as part of the foundational prayer, the Shema . According to Mendenhall, the covenant was not just an idea, but actually a historical event. This event was the formation of

792-479: The composer " Zwei Leichte Sonaten für das Pianoforte " ("Two Easy Sonatas for Piano") comprise only two short movements each, a sonata-allegro and a short rondo (No. 1) or minuet (No. 2), all well within the grasp of the intermediate student. However, other works titled "Sonatina", such as the Sonatinas in G and in F major , have been attributed to Beethoven. In general, a sonatina will have one or more of

825-595: The composition is a copied manuscript dated 1768, therefore the date of the composition is not certain. Research leads to a funeral of a former mayor of Mühlhausen on 16 September 1708. The text is a carefully compiled juxtaposition of biblical texts, three quotations from the Old Testament and four from the New Testament , combined with funeral hymns , of which two are sung and one is quoted instrumentally, and some additions by an anonymous author. Bach scored

858-457: The covenant community. Wandering the desert, the clans left Egypt following Moses. These people were all of different backgrounds, containing no status in any social community. With all these circumstances they formed their own community by a covenant whose texts turned into the Decalogue (Ten Commandments). The Israelites did not bind themselves to Moses as their leader though and Moses was not

891-419: The field of religion. These covenants were created on the basis of an oath , a promise between two parties followed by performance. Engaging in an oath implied that the more powerful party would ensure that the other received proper punishment if it were to default. In the case of religion, the god(s) would be carrying out punishment. Such covenants assured that either blessings or curses be enacted in response to

924-423: The following characteristics: brevity; fewer movements than the four of the late classical sonata ; technical simplicity; a lighter, less serious character; and (in post-romantic music) a neo-classical style or a reference to earlier music. Muzio Clementi 's sonatinas op. 36 are very popular among students. The first (or only) movement is generally in an abbreviated sonata form , with little or no development of

957-661: The master to his servant thus ensuring protection of the servant's rights. In the Hebrew Bible , God established the Mosaic covenant with the Israelites after he saved them from slavery in Egypt in the book of Exodus . Moses led the Israelites to the promised land known as Canaan after which Joshua led them to its possession. The Mosaic covenant played a role in defining the Kingdom of Israel . Rabbinic Judaism asserts that

990-407: The movement, leading to a long rest. The musicologist Wendy Heller writes: Bach allows the confident soprano the final word, one that even silences the continuo; the passage concludes with an ornamented cadential passage in semiquaver triplets that arrives with tentative optimism and a distinct lack of completion ... The second vocal movement is a similar combination of ideas, now mostly from

1023-620: The source of serious dispute and contention seen in Jesus ' expounding of the Law during his Sermon on the Mount , the circumcision controversy in early Christianity , and the Incident at Antioch which has led scholars to dispute the relationship between Paul of Tarsus and Judaism . The Book of Acts says that after the ascension of Jesus , Stephen , the first Christian martyr , was killed when he

Sonatina - Misplaced Pages Continue

1056-467: The themes. For this reason, a sonatina is sometimes defined, especially in British usage, as a short piece in sonata form in which the development section is quite perfunctory or entirely absent: the exposition is followed immediately by a brief bridge passage to modulate back to the home key for the recapitulation . Subsequent movements (at most two) may be in any of the common forms, such as

1089-445: The work for four vocal parts and a small ensemble of Baroque instruments : two recorders, two violas da gamba and continuo. The work is opened by an instrumental Sonatina, followed by through-composed sections which have been assigned to four movements . The structure is symmetrical around a turning point, when the lower voices, who contemplate the Old Covenant , are overcome by a soprano calling for Jesus . Although Bach's manuscript

#447552