Johann Sebastian Bach and His

Cantata

“Ich Habe Genug” (BWV82)

Evgeny Blyumin

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German Cultural History (CES 640 A)

Dr. Nicholas G Rudnytzky

Fall 2012

Music should express the

inexpressible, the very root of the poetic

idea, the expression of which is beyond the

power of verbal speech, that is too

intellectual for the purpose.

Richard Wagner

Bach, Johann Sebastian (21 Mar. 1685, Eisenach1 - 28 July

1750, Leipzig) was a German composer, organist, harpsichordist,

violist, and violinist of the Baroque Period. He enriched many of

established German musical styles through his extensional skills in

polyphony, harmonization, motivic organization and development, and

the adaptation of rhythms, forms, and textures of compositions from

abroad, particularly from Italy and France. Many of Bach's works

are still well-known today, such as the Brandenburg Concertos, the

1 Eisenach, city, Thuringia Land (state), central Germany. Founded by thelandgraves of Thuringia about 1150, Eisenach fell to the Saxon house of Wettinin 1264 and was chartered in 1283. It was intermittently the seat of a separateSaxon duchy between 1596 and 1741, when it fell to Saxe-Weimar. Notablelandmarks include the Lutherhaus, where Martin Luther stayed as a schoolboy;museums in memory of the composers Johann S. Bach (born at Eisenach in 1685). Ona hill above the city is the Wartburg, an ancient castle of the landgraves,where Luther began his translation of the Bible. ("Eisenach." EncyclopædiaBritannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online Academic Edition. EncyclopædiaBritannica Inc., 2012.)

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Mass in B minor, The Well-Tempered Clavier, and his cantatas,

chorales, partitas, passions, and organ works. His music is revered

for its intellectual depth, inventive techniques, and artistic

beauty.

Bach's abilities as an organist were highly respected

throughout Europe during his lifetime. However, he was not widely

recognized as a composer until the first half of the 19th century,

when an interest to his music has significantly grown. He is now

generally regarded as one of the best composers of the Baroque Era,

and as one of the greatest composers of all time.2

During his life, Bach composed more than 1,000 works and,

thus, created the foundations of contemporary and modern music. The

history of music is reasonably divided into two periods: before and

after Bach.3

A cantata (literally "sung", derived from the Italian word

"cantare" (to sing)) is a vocal composition with an instrumental

accompaniment, typically in several movements, often involving a

choir. The meaning of the term changed over the time, from the

single voice song of the early 17th century, to the multi-voice

"cantata da camera"4 and the "cantata da chiesa"5, and to the more

substantial dramatic forms of the 18th century. In the form of the

church cantata it reached an incredibly high point of development

2 Anthony Tommasini, the chief music critic of The New York Times, wrote thatafter he collected over 1,500 comments of countless musicians and music lovers,and drawing on his lifetime in music study and criticism, he concluded that –beyond a doubt! - J. S. Bach was the greatest composer of all time (The New YorkTimes, January 21, 2011).

3 See: "Bach, Johann Sebastian." The Harvard Biographical Dictionary of Music.Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2003

4 “chamber cantata” (it.)5 “church cantata” (it.)

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in Protestant Germany. And this culmination is inextricably linked

with the name of Johann Sebastian Bach. We can say that Bach spent

a bulk of his creative energy to compose cantatas (which he called

“Stücke” (pieces)). He wrote nearly 300 church cantatas, as well as

secular cantatas, which resemble a short opera.6

Typically, the Bach's cantata consists of the choir, several

solo arias, alternating with recitatives and final chorale. The

church cantatas obviously prevail in the creativity of Bach. They

accompanied Sunday services in the churches, and also were

performed on Holidays. Bach wrote five annual cycles, which are

about 300 cantatas. Unfortunately, they are the least known part of

the Bach’s heritage. Yet, they are of most interest, as they

manifest the essence of the music of Bach. Albert Schweitzer, for

example, believed that "in comparison with the cantatas, everything else that Bach

has done appears as hardly more than a supplement."7

Thus, cantatas are the compound of music and words, and,

probably, the Bach’s cantatas are the better example of this

compound. Poetry and music are balanced in them. Albert Schweitzer

has characterized J. S. Bach as a musician and a poet at the same

time.8 The feature of the Bach’s music: that it always was linked

with the text. Therefore, to understand this music, we must know

the lyrics, to which it’s written. For example, we are unable to

perceive "St. Matthew Passion" adequately, without knowing the

arias; or the "St. Matthew Passion" becomes for us just the three

6 See: Kennedy, Michael. "Cantata", The Oxford Dictionary of Music. Oxford: Oxford

University Press, 2006.7 Schweitzer, Albert. J.S. Bach, Vol. 1. Boston: B. Humphries, 1962, p.264.8 Schweitzer, Albert. J.S. Bach, the Musician-poet. Deo Gloria Press, 2000.

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hours of beautiful music. Likewise in cantatas: we cannot

understand, without knowledge of librettos, why Bach used a

particular rhythm or melody there. Sure, we might be able to

recognize e.g. sarabands, minuets, pastorals, and hunting motifs in

cantatas music. But the choice of the theme and rhythm would appear

for us as a quite whim of the author. However, it is not true. Bach

does not spontaneously select music to his cantatas. We can say

that Bach cantatas are the musical interpretations of the text.

Perhaps, there is no country where the spiritual poetry has

received such a magnitude as in Germany. The flowering of a German

spiritual poetry was at the end of 16th - early 17th centuries.

Then, as a result of the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648), there was a

general decline of statesmanship and a whole culture of the German

lands. But a religious interest still remained on high. Therefore,

the emerging German literary traditions have been closely connected

with religion. This is the reason that in the German lands and on

the German language the unique heritage of religious poetry was

created, which has no analogues in the poetry of other countries.

This is partly due to the fact, that the Church in the German

states has been loyal to the religious arts. Back in the late

Middle Ages, during the community singing in the church, there were

verses in German among the Latin hymns. Sometimes, Latin phrases

presented in the song along with German, forming a bizarre

synthesis. As an example of such synthesis, we can lead the verse

from a Christmas song “In dulci jubilo” ("In sweet rejoicing"),

preserved in the Catholic tradition so far:

German/Latin text English literal translation

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c.1328

In dulci jubilo, (L.)

Nun singet und seid froh!

(G.)

Unsers Herzens Wonne (G.)

Leit in praesepio; (L.)

Und leuchtet wie die Sonne

(G.)

Matris in gremio.(L.)

Alpha es et O! (L.)

In sweet rejoicing,

now sing and be glad!

Our hearts' joy

lies in the manger;

And it shines like the sun

in the mother's lap.

You are the alpha and

omega!

But the radical transformation of religious arts, as in music,

so in poetry, occurred during the Reformation. Martin Luther

himself had an extraordinary poetic and musical gift. After all, he

translated not only the Bible into German, but also many Latin

hymns, adapting them for singing by a whole ecclesial community.

Luther combined a high art and a folk music. He tried to connect

all classes, clergy, laity, men, women and children through the

singing of German hymns.9

As Alfred Dürr truly noticed:

“Artistic peaks generally owe their origins to a happy concurrence of various

contributory factors. Hence a variety of causes may be adduced for the cultivation of the

Protestant church cantata. Perhaps the most important of these is the theology of Martin

Luther. The conviction that God’s Word, as laid down in the Bible, is dead and ineffectual

unless it is proclaimed, that everything depends on making it current, increasingly resulted

in a new orientation for church music.”10

9 Brown, Christopher Boyd. Singing the Gospel: Lutheran Hymns and the Success of the

Reformation. Harvard University Press, 2005, p.74.

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Indeed, Bach inevitably focused on text, when he wrote his

cantatas. Thus, the musical form, deriving from the sacred texts,

motivated him to produce an intensely personal music, which has

elicited an emotional response from his audience.

Cantata BWV11 82 “Ich habe genug” (original: Ich habe

genung/English: I have enough) is a church cantata, written in 1727

for the Feast of the Purification of Mary (2 February, also called

“the Presentation of Jesus at the Temple”, “the Meeting of the

Lord” or “Candlemas”). It is one of the five cantatas written for

this feast day. The prescribed reading for the feast day was taken

from the Gospel of Luke, including Simeon's canticle12 Nunc

Dimittis13 (Luke 2:29–32), on which the libretto is based.14

10 Dürr, Alfred. The Cantatas of J.S. Bach: With Their Librettos in German-English Parallel Text.

Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006, p.3.11 The Bach-Werke-Verzeichnis (Bach Works Catalogue) is the numbering

system, identifying compositions by Johann Sebastian Bach. The prefix BWV,

followed by the work's number, is the shorthand identification for Bach's

compositions. The works are grouped thematically, not chronologically. (See:

Kennedy, Michael. "BWV", The Oxford Dictionary of Music. Oxford: Oxford University

Press, 2006).12 A canticle (from the Latin canticulum, a diminutive of canticum, song)

is a hymn, psalm or other song of praise. This is a liturgical biblical text,

structurally and semantically similar to the Psalms, but not always taken from

the Psalms. (See: "Canticle". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton

Company. 1913).13 The Nunc Dimittis /nʊŋk dɪˈmɪtɪs/ (also Song of Simeon or Canticle of Simeon)

is a canticle from a text in the second chapter of Luke (Luke 2:29–32), named

after its first words in Latin, meaning “Now dismiss”. (See: "Nunc dimittis".

Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. 1913).14 See: Dürr, Alfred. Ibid, p. 663.

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29 Nunc dimittis servum tuum Domine secundum verbum tuum in pace15

29 HERR, nun läßt du deinen Diener in Frieden fahren, wie du gesagt

hast;16

29 “Now Lord, You are releasing Your bond-servant to depart in peace, according to Your

word;17

30 quia viderunt oculi mei salutare tuum

30 denn meine Augen haben deinen Heiland gesehen,

30 For my eyes have seen Your salvation,

31 quod parasti ante faciem omnium populorum

31 welchen du bereitest hast vor allen Völkern,

31 Which You have prepared in the presence of all peoples,

32 lumen ad revelationem gentium et gloriam plebis tuae Israhel

32 ein Licht, zu erleuchten die Heiden, und zum Preis deines Volkes

Israel.

32 A Light of revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of Your people Israel.”

Simeon was a devout Jew who, according to the Book of Luke,

had been promised by the Holy Ghost that he would not die until he

had seen the Saviour. After the time of Mary's purification (at

least 40 days after the birth, by religious law) Mary and Joseph

brought the baby Jesus to the temple in Jerusalem for the ceremony

of consecration to God the firstborn son.18 Simeon was there, and he

15 Biblia Sacra Vulgata (VULGATE)16 Luther Bibel 1545 (LUTH1545)17 New American Standard Bible (NASB)18 "Holy Simeon". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.

1913.

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took Jesus in his arms and said the above mentioned prophetic

words, which became the prayer "Nunc Dimittis".19

Originally, this cantata was scored for bass, oboe, two

violins, viola, and basso continuo. Another version (BWV82a) exists

for soprano, transposed from C minor to E minor with the oboe part

replaced by a flute and slightly altered. Unfortunately, the author

of the cantata text remains anonymous.20

Ich habe genung , BWV 82 1. Aria

Ich habe genung,

I have enough21,

Ich habe den Heiland, das Hoffen der Frommen,

I have taken the Saviour, the hope of the righteous,

Auf meine begierigen Arme genommen;

in my eager arms;

Ich habe genung!

I have enough!

Ich hab ihn erblickt,

I have caught sight of him,

Mein Glaube hat Jesum ans Herze gedrückt;

my faith has pressed Jesus to my heart;

Nun wünsch ich, noch heute mit Freuden

now I wish this very day joyfully

Von hinnen zu scheiden.

to depart from here.19 See: Luke 2:29-32, NASB20 See: Dürr, Alfred. Ibid, p. 663.21 All translations of Bach's cantatas are taken from the Dürr, Alfred. Ibid.

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Ich habe genung!

I have enough!

The first aria of the particular cantata closely relates to

the Song of Simeon. From the whole Gospel narrative about this

feast the poet retained only this aspect. As the result, cantata

becomes a contemplation of death, which considered as liberation

from afflictions of this world and the uniting of a soul with her

Saviour.

According to Schweitzer:

“The bass cantata for the Purification of Mary, Ich habe genug

(No. 82)… has death for its theme. It depicts the heavenly home-

sickness of the old man who is already detached from all the things

of this world.”22

The Eastern Orthodox Church tradition says that by the command

of the Egyptian king Ptolemy23 the translation of the Old Testament

books was undertaken from Hebrew to Greek. Especially for this,

seventy scholars have been chosen out of the entire Jewish people24,

and Simeon was among them. During the translation of the Book of

Isaiah, Simeon came to the words "Behold a virgin shall conceive,

and bear a son" (Is. 7:14). Reading them, he fell in doubt,

thinking that it is impossible for a virgin to give a birth. Simeon

22 Schweitzer, Albert. J.S. Bach, Vol. 2. Boston: B. Humphries, 1962, p.256.23 Ptolemy II Philadelphus (309 BCE – 246 BCE) was the king of Ptolemaic

Egypt from 283 BCE to 246 BCE (see Bunson, Margaret. Encyclopedia of Ancient Egypt.

Infobase Publishing, 2009, p.315).24 Therefore, this version of the Old Testament is called “The Septuagint”,

which derives its name from the Latin versio septuaginta interpretum, "translation of the

seventy interpreters" (see: Jobes, Karen H. and Silva, Moises. Invitation to the Septuagint.

Paternoster Press, 2001, p.6).

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thought to change the word "virgin" to the word "woman" in the

scroll of the scripture. But at this time Angel of the Lord

appeared to him, kept his hand and said, "Have faith to a written

word, and you'll see its performance, because you will not die,

until you will not see with your own eyes how Christ the Lord will

born from the pure Virgin."25 Thus, at the time of the described

event in the Jerusalem temple, Simeon was at least 300 years old.

But could we explain so stoic and joyful attitude to death of Saint

Simeon just by his great age and life fatigue? To answer this

question, let us return to the analysis of the text of the cantata

BWV82.

2 Recitativo 2 Recitative

Ich habe genug.

Mein Trost ist nur allein,

Dass Jesus mein und ich sein eigen

möchte sein.

Im Glauben halt ich ihn,

Da seh ich auch mit Simeon

Die Freude jenes Lebens schon.

Laßt uns mit diesem Manne ziehn!

Ach! möchte mich von meines Leibes

Ketten

Der Herr erretten;

I have enough.

This alone is my consolation,

that Jesus might be mine and I his own.

In faith I hold him

as I see also with Simeon

the joy of the life to come already.

Let us go along with this man!

Ah! how I wish that I might from the

chains of the body

be delivered by the Lord;

Ah! how I wish my departure were here,

25 See: «Симеон». Библейская энциклопедия архимандрита Никифора. Moskva, 1891,

p.632.

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Ach! wäre doch mein Abschied hier,

Mit Freuden sagt ich, Welt, zu dir:

Ich habe genug.

joyfully I would say to you, World:

I have enough.

The first part of the cantata tells, obviously, about Simeon,

and it is a paraphrase of “Nunc Dimittis”. But the following part

starts talking about him in the third person and so it’s

generalizing his experience of life and death for all of us. “The

recitative makes it clear that the aria expresses the meditation of the individual soul in the

canticle”26. Maybe this generalization is the secret of popularity of

Bach’s cantatas.

The first aria, however, has another apparent paradox. The

sufferings of living in this world are not mentioned at all in its

text; in opposite, the text is full of radiance and hope. Bach’s

music, in spite of this, is full of pain and sorrow. This tension

between text and music has led to highly varied readings of the

music: Schweitzer insists that the music represents “inexpressible

joy”27; Alberto Basso called it “a page filled with sadness”28;

Robert King spoke of “noble resignation”29. It seems the music of

Bach really trying to express the inexpressible: a quiet joy and a

bright sadness.

To understand this contradiction, we should further consider

the two major components of German culture of Bach’s time: the

Lutheran worldview and aesthetics of the Baroque.26 Robertson, Alec. The church cantatas of J. S. Bach. NY: Praeger Publishers, 1972.

p. 76.27 Schweitzer, Albert. Ibid.28 Basso, Alberto. The age of Bach and Handel. Rome, 1991. p. 117. 29 Morin, Alexander. Classical Music: The Listen's Companion. Hal Leonard

Corporation, 2002. p. 44.

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The attitude to death is the most important topic for Lutheran

philosophy and, maybe, one of the most popular topics in the world

culture. This attitude can range from an animal fear to "longing

for death" (Schweitzer). The latter condition is well expressed in

the last parts of the cantata BWV82:

3 Aria 3 Aria

Schlummert ein, ihr matten Augen,

Fallet sanft und selig zu!

Welt, ich bleibe nicht mehr hier,

Hab ich doch kein Teil an dir,

Das der Seele könnte taugen.

Hier muss ich das Elend bauen,

Aber dort, dort werd ich schauen

Süßen Friede, stille Ruh.

Rest in sleep, you weary eyes,

close with peace and blessing!

World, I am staying here no longer,

I have indeed no part in you

that could benefit my soul.

Here I have to cause misery to myself

but there, there I shall behold

sweet peace, calm rest.

4 Recitativo 4 Recitative

Mein Gott! wann kömmt das schöne:

Nun!

Da ich im Friede fahren werde

Und in dem Sande kühler Erde

Und dort bei dir im Schoße ruhn?

Der Abschied ist gemacht,

Welt, gute Nacht!

My God! When will come that beautiful:

Now!

when I shall go in peace

and in the sand of the cool earth

And there in your bosom rest?

I have said my farewells,

World, goodnight!

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5 Aria 5 Aria

Ich freue mich auf meinen Tod,

Ach, hätt er sich schon eingefunden.

Da entkomm ich aller Not,

Die mich noch auf der Welt gebunden.

I rejoice in my death,

Ah! how I wish it had taken place already.

Then I shall escape from all the distress

that still binds me in the world.

According to Robertson:

“Now begins the sublime melody of heavenly homesickness which combines the

emotion of Simeon, detached from the things of this world and having had God's promise

so gloriously fulfilled, with those of the aspiring believer who in his turn can share that

bliss in the partaking of the holy Eucharist. Never were words more perfectly fitted to music

than in this aria in which every bar is precious but none more beautiful than the quietly

falling phrase to the words, "close softly and blissfully”30...

Despite the all scientific attempts to research the processes

of death and dying31, the after-death destiny of the human

personality remains rather the matter of religious beliefs and

faith than the subject of empirical science. Death remains and,

apparently, will remain forever an unsolved mystery for those, who

did not survive it. Therefore, art much freer than science talks

about death, but even here the human mind often freezes in

disbelief. Let us recall, for instance, the soliloquy of Hamlet:

«…Who would fardels bear,

To grunt and sweat under a weary life,

30 Robertson, Alec. Ibid.31 See: Moody, Raymond A. Life after life: the investigation of a phenomenon - survival of

bodily death. NY: Bantam Books, 1988. Kübler-Ross, Elisabeth. On death and dying. NY: Macmillan, 1969.

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But that the dread of something after death,

The undiscovered country, from whose bourn

No traveller returns, puzzles the will,

And makes us rather bear those ills we have

Than fly to others that we know not of?»32

In Bach's cantatas there is this dual attitude to death: as to

the greatest hope and, at the same time, as to the most terrible

final test. Death - that's what people are feeling the extreme

horror for, but, simultaneously, it represents the ultimate

expectations of men. Death, in Protestantism, and in Christianity

in general, is the fulfillment of a lifetime; therefore it is given

a lot of attention in the Protestant spiritual poetry.

The duet from the cantata BWV60 «O Ewigkeit, du Donnerwort»

(«O eternity, you word of thunder»), presented in the typical for

Baroque allegory, is an excellent illustration of this bipolar

attitude toward death. The shape of this duo is a dialogue between

the allegorical figures of "Fear" and "Hope" about death:

Original German Text English Translation

Alto:O Ewigkeit, du Donnerwort,

O Schwert, das durch die Seelebohrt,

O Anfang sonder Ende!O Ewigkeit, Zeit ohne Zeit,

Ich weiß vor großerTraurigkeit

Nicht, wo ich mich hinwendeMein ganz erschrocknes Herze

bebt

Fear (Alto): O eternity, you word of thunder,

o sword, that pierces through my soul, o beginning that has no end!O eternity, time without time,

out of great sorrow I do not knowwhere I should turn.

My heart completely terrified shuddersso that my tongue sticks to my gums.

32 Shakespeare, William. Hamlet. London: 1818. p.37.

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Dass mir die Zung am Gaumenklebt.

Hoffnung:Herr, ich warte auf dein Heil.

Hope: Lord, I wait for your salvation.(Genesis 49:18 = Psalm

119:166)

Alto:O schwerer Gang zum letzten

Kampf und Streite!

Fear (Alto):O how hard is the way to the last battle

and conflict!

Tenor:Mein Beistand ist schon da,Mein Heiland steht mir ja

Mit Trost zur Seite.

Hope (Tenor):My help is already here,

my Saviour stands by mewith consolation at my side.

Alto:Die TodesAlto, der letzte

SchmerzEreilt und überfällt mein Herz

Und martert diese Glieder.

Fear (Alto):The agony of death, the last sorrow

overtakes and attacks my heartand tortures these limbs.

Tenor:Ich lege diesen Leib vor Gott

zum Opfer nieder.Ist gleich der Trübsal Feuer

heiß,Genung, es reinigt mich zu

Gottes Preis.

Hope (Tenor):I lay this body down before God as an

offering.Even though the fire of affliction is hot,

I am content, it purifies me for God’spraise.

Alto:Doch nun wird sich der Sündengroße Schuld vor mein Gesichte

stellen.

Fear (Alto):But now the great burden of my sins’

guilt stands before my face.

Tenor:Gott wird deswegen doch kein

Todesurteil fällen.Er gibt ein Ende denVersuchungsplagen,

Dass man sie kann ertragen.

Hope (Tenor):But God will not pass a judgement ofdeath upon you because of your sins.

He sets an end to the torments oftemptation

so that they can be endured.

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Alto:Mein letztes Lager will mich

schrecken,

Fear (Alto):My death bed will terrify me.

Tenor:Mich wird des Heilands Hand

bedecken,

Hope (Tenor):I shall be covered by my Saviour’s hand.

Alto:Des Glaubens Schwachheit

sinket fast,

Fear (Alto):My weak faith is rapidly failing.

Tenor:Mein Jesus trägt mit mir die

Last.

Hope (Tenor):My Jesus bears my burden with me.

Alto:Das offne Grab sieht greulich

aus,

Fear (Alto):The prospect of the open grave is

terrifying.

Tenor:Es wird mir doch ein

Friedenshaus.

Hope (Tenor):For me it will be a house of peace.

Alto:Der Tod bleibt doch der

menschlichen Natur verhasstUnd reißet fast

Die Hoffnung ganz zu Boden.

Fear (Alto):But death remains hateful to human

natureand almost tears

hope right down to the ground.

Bass:Selig sind die Toten;

Christ (Bass):Blessed are those who have died;

(Revelation 14:13)

Alto:Ach! aber ach, wieviel GefahrStellt sich der Seele dar,Den Sterbeweg zu gehen!Vielleicht wird ihr der

HöllenrachenDen Tod erschrecklich machen,Wenn er sie zu verschlingen

Fear (Alto):Oh! but Oh! What great danger

confronts the soulas it goes along the path to death!

Perhaps the vengeance of hellwill make death terrifying

as he seeks to devour your soul;perhaps my soul is already damned

17 | P a g e

sucht;Vielleicht ist sie bereits

verfluchtZum ewigen Verderben.

to everlasting destruction.

Bass:Selig sind die Toten, die in

dem Herren sterben;

Christ (Bass):Blessed are the dead who have died in

the Lord.

Alto:Wenn ich im Herren sterbe,Ist denn die Seligkeit mein

Teil und Erbe?Der Leib wird ja der Würmer

Speise!Ja, werden meine GliederZu Staub und Erde wieder,Da ich ein Kind des Todes

heiße,So schein ich ja im Grabe an

verderben.

Fear (Alto):If I die in the Lord,

is blessedness really my share andinheritance?

My body will be food for worms!Yes, my limbs will becomedust and earth once more.

Since I am called a child of death,it seems that I shall rot in the grave.

Bass:Selig sind die Toten, die indem Herren sterben, von nun

an.

Christ (Bass):Blessed are the dead who die in the

Lord, from now on.

Alto:Wohlan!

Soll ich von nun an seligsein:

So stelle dich, o Hoffnung,wieder ein!

Mein Leib mag ohne Furcht imSchlafe ruhn,

Der Geist kann einen Blick injene Freude tun.

Fear (Alto):Very well!

Since from now on I shall be blessed,come back, o Hope, once more!

My body without fear may rest in sleep,my spirit can already glimpse that joy.

Es ist genug;Herr, wenn es dir gefällt,So spanne mich doch aus!

Mein Jesu kömmt;Nun gute Nacht, o Welt!

It is enough;Lord, when it pleases you,

then grant me release!May my Jesus come

Now good night, o World!

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Ich fahr ins Himmelshaus,Ich fahre sicher hin mit

Frieden,Mein großer Jammer bleibt

danieden.Es ist genug.

I am going to Heaven’s houseI go confidently there with joy,

my great sorrow remains down below.It is enough.

It is interesting that the cantata BWV60 ends practically with

the same words, which the cantata BWV82 begins with. "O Ewigkeit,

du Donnerwort" was written in 1723, 4 years before the "Ich habe

genug", so that the latter can be considered as the conclusion of

the dialogue between Fear and Hope, as it expressed in the bright

words, but the tragic music of work.

According to the common Christian philosophy, especially

proved itself in Protestantism, all human life should be the

preparation for death. For example, in the cantata BWV27 «Wer weiß,

wie nahe mir mein Ende? » („Who knows how near my end is to me? “):

Mein Leben hat kein ander Ziel,

Als dass ich möge selig sterben

Und meines Glaubens Anteil

erben;

Drum leb ich allezeit

Zum Grabe fertig und bereit,

Und was das Werk der Hände tut,

Ist gleichsam, ob ich sicher

wüsste,

Dass ich noch heute sterben

müßte:

My life has no other goal

than that I may die a blessed death

and inherit the portion of my faith;

therefore I live at all times

ready and prepared for the grave

and the work that my hand does

is just as if I knew for certain

that I must die this very day:

for a good end makes everything turn out

well!

19 | P a g e

Denn Ende gut, macht alles gut!

Death here appears as an absolute goodness. It takes all the

passing, all the sins and leaves only the eternal. In death a

person reaches the calm assurance that he seeks in a lifetime.

Namely in death we overcome our exclusion and distancing from God.

All of this is well expressed in the cantata «Ich habe genug»: “«As

we listen to arias like “Schlummert ein ihr müden Augen” we feel that we are in the

presence of a musician who is not merely bent on rendering into tone the thoughts of his

text, but has seized upon the words and made them his own, breathing into them

something of himself that was yearning for expression.

This is Bach’s religion as it appears in the cantatas. It transfigured his life. The

existence that, considered from the outside, seems all conflict and struggle and bitterness,

was in truth tranquil and serene.”33

"The world" (die Welt) in Protestant spiritual poetry is

presented as an absolute evil, which man must oppose, which person

should deny. The word «Welt» is commonly used alongside with such

words as «Satan» (Satan), «Suende» (sin), etc., because all of the

temptations and seductions come from it. There are often used

imperatives: "Welt, geh aus!" (World, come forth!); "Welt, ade!"

(Farewell, world!); "Welt, gute Nacht!" (World, good night!) (see

BWV82). An active appeal to "Welt" and to all associated with it,

can be described as a challenge. As in the cantata BWV26 "Ach wie

flüchtig, ach wie nichtig" ("Ah how fleeting, ah how

insubstantial"):

Ach, wie fluechtig, ach wie Ah how fleeting, ah how

33 Schweitzer, Albert. J.S. Bach, Vol. 1. Boston: B. Humphries, 1962, p.170.

20 | P a g e

nichtig

Sind der Menschen Sachen!

Alles, alles, was wir sehen,

Das muss fallen und vergehen.

Wer Gott fürcht', bleibt ewig

stehen.

insubstantial,

are mankind's affairs.

All, all that we see

must fall and vanish.

The person who fears God

stands firm forever.

The real imperishable treasure is acquired not in this world.

True Christians should not allow themselves any compromise with the

world. Christian attitude to the world can be called "an active

patience." This is not a passive temporizing, but the willingness

and desire to pass adversities, keeping faith to Christ and to his

ideals (BWV56):

Ich will den Kreuzschtab gerne

tragen

Er kommt von Gottes lieber Hand,

Der fuehret mich nach meinen

Plagen

Zu Gott in das gelobte Land.

I would gladly bear the cross-

beam,

it comes from God's dear hand,

it leads me after my troubles

to God, in the promised land.

Actually, the approach to the world and to place of the man in

this world, to the relation of the human and divine will in Bach's

works comes down to the excellent Protestant maxim: "Without God,

man cannot.34 Without man, God will not." Unfortunately, for

example, the modern Russian Orthodox tradition refers to the first

part of the phrase, ignoring the second one. 34 See: John. 15:5, NASB

21 | P a g e

"The World" is contrasted to "the Kingdom of Heaven» (das

Himmelreich). The good illustration to compare the characteristics

of "Weld" and "Himmelreich" gives the text of the chorale of Johann

Georg Albinus35 (1649), used in the already mentioned cantata BWV27:

Welt, ade! Ich bin dein muede

Ich will nach dem Himmel zu.

Da wird sein der rechte Friede

Und das ewige, stolze Ruh.

Welt, bei dir ist Krieg und

Streit,

Nichts denn lauter Eitelkeit,

In dem Himmel allezeit

Friede, Freud und Seligkeit.

World, farewell! I am weary of

you,

I want to go to heaven,

in that place there will be true

peace

and everlasting noble rest

World, with you there is war and

strife,

nothing but pure vanity,

in heaven there are forever

peace, joy and bliss.

Thus, the terrestrial life is nothing more than a travel

through the rough sea in the safe harbor of Kingdom of Heaven.

Older Simeon, committed this journey with patience, presents to us

as an example of a Christian man. He reconciled to God even in this

world; he overcame the curse of alienation between man and God

through the faith in the redemptive sacrifice of Christ, and with

dignity quietly passing into another world, "where sorrow and pain

are no more, neither sighing, but life everlasting."36

35 Johann George Albini the Elder, also Albinus (1624 – 1679) was a German Protestant theologian and writer of the Baroque period. (See: Julian, John. Dictionary of Hymnology. London: J. Murray, 1907. p. 36)

36 “Prayer For The Departed”. Book of Common Prayer. Church Publishing, Inc., 2001, p. 499

22 | P a g e

So, we have considered, in general, the component of the

German spiritual poetry which we called "Protestant". Now we need

to say a few words about the influence of the Baroque.

Baroque features manifested themselves primarily in a variety

of metaphors. In the spiritual poetry it’s further reinforced by

the typical Christian symbolism. The content here incarnates in the

emblems and in the word-images. We could even call them the

hieroglyphs. As a typical example of such an embodiment we can cite

the image of the ship. The ship sails the stormy sea of life

(emblem) and seeks a safe harbor (emblem). This is well shown for

us in the text of cantata BWV56 recitative, belonging to unknown

author:

Mein Wandel auf der Welt

Ist einer Schiffahrt gleich.

Betruebnis, Kreuz und Not

Sind Wellen, welche mich

bedecken…

…Mein Anker aber, der mich haelt

Ist die Barmherzigkeit,

Womit mein Gott mich oft erfreut…

…Und wenn die wuetenvolle

Schaeumen sein Ende hat,

So trett ich aus dem Schiff in

meine Stadt,

Die ist das Himmelreich.

My wandering in the world

is like a journey by ship :

grief, suffering and distress

are waves which cover me…

…but the anchor which holds me

is the compassion

With which my God often gladdens

me…

and when the sea's raging and

foaming

comes to an end,

then I shall step from the ship

into my city

which is the Kingdom of Heaven.

23 | P a g e

And further, in the final chorale of the same cantata,

belonging to Johann Franck37 (1653):

Komm, o Tod, du Schlafes Bruder,

Komm und fuehre mich nur fort,

Loese meines Schiffleins Ruder,

Bringe mich an sichern Port!

Come, o death, you brother of

sleep,

come and lead me away from here;

release my little ship's rudder,

bring me to a safe harbour!

Thus, maybe the main characteristics of Baroque Era are the

preassigned forms, clichés – that is A.N. Veselovsky38 called

"ready-words". "Baroque – everything what is called by this word – is, perhaps,

nothing more than a state of a "ready-word" of the traditional culture – the gathering of it

in its entirety, collecting and universalization of it in the most tense historical moment, that

precedes the more and more distrustful and critical reflection about it, progressively

destroying its linguistic automatism, but, at the same time, depriving it of its clarity,

conceptuality, notionality, and termhood. Baroque, put it another way, is a ready-word in

its historically toughest moment, marked with a presentiment of its fatality and pre-

mortality. In other words, it is a pre-finale of all traditional culture."39

37 Johann Fran(c)k (1618 – 1677) was a German lyric poet and hymnist. (See:"Johann Franck". In Jackson, Samuel Macauley. New Schaff–Herzog Encyclopedia ofReligious Knowledge. London and New York: Funk and Wagnalls, 1914).

38 Alexander Nikolayevich Veselovsky (Russian: Алекса́ндр Никола́евичВесело́вский) (1838 - 1906) was a leading literary theorist of Imperial Russiawho laid the groundwork for comparative literature studies. (See: «Веселовский,Александр Николаевич» in Большая советская энциклопедия. Leningrad, 1960).

39 Михайлов, А.В. Поэтика барокко. В сборнике: «Историческая поэтика:литературные эпохи и типы художественного сознания», Moskva: Институт мировойлитературы имени А.М. Горького, 1994, p.326. (Originally: «Барокко – все то, чтоназывают этим словом, – есть, пожалуй, не что иное, как состояние готового словатрадиционной культуры – собирание его во всей полноте, коллекционирование иуниверсализация в самый напряженный исторический момент, предваряющий рефлексию– все более настороженную и критичную – по поводу его, постепенно разрушающуюего языковой автоматизм и вместе с тем отнимающий у него и его наглядность, иего понятийность-терминологичность. Барокко – это, говоря иначе, готовое слово в

24 | P a g e

Thus, within the culture of the Baroque "the author has no direct

access to the reality, because there is always a word on the way to the reality ... and every

time, when the author intends to speak about something ... a word directs his

pronouncements to its own paths. Such a word is prepared in advance in the culture, it

exists in a language, and it's reasonably called "ready-word", according to Veselovsky,

bearing in mind that this word is, generally, all that catches an author on the path to the

reality, all that leads him to their paths or maybe to common paths; everything, designed,

established and authoritative beforehand for anybody, who wish to open his mouth or

take a pen in the hand to write something... It is possible to talk about the culture of the

ready-word. The rhetorical culture is the culture of the ready-word. The Baroque belongs to

the rhetorical culture and deals with a ready-word.”40

Bach's cantatas, as the holistic musical-poetic works, are

also included in this rhetorical system of the time. As we saw, the

cantatas contain almost a literal repetition of the ready-words.

So, for a few exceptions, the author of text remained anonymous.

Approximately 2/3 of the librettos in cantatas by Bach belong to

unknown writers. For the Rhetorical Era it was completely

irrelevant, who is specifically suggested this or that idea. The

его исторически напряженнеший момент, отмеченный предощущением его гибели,отмеченный пред-смертностью. Или, еще иначе, это пред-финал всей традиционнойкультуры». – The translation is mine – E.B.)

40 Ibid, p.324. (Originally: «у автора нет прямого доступа кдействительности, потому что на его пути к действительности всегда стоит слово…и всякий раз, когда автор намерен о чем-либо высказаться,… слово уже направляетего высказывание своими путями. Такое слово заготовлено наперед — самойкультурой, оно существует в ее языке, и такое слово оправданно именоватьготовым, вслед за А. Н. Веселовским, имея при этом в виду, что такое готовоеслово есть вообще все то, что ловит автора на его пути к действительности, всето, что ведет его своими путями или, может быть, путями общими, заранее ужепродуманными, установившимися и авторитетными для всякого, кто пожелает открытьрот или взять в руки перо, чтобы что бы то ни было высказать… Можно говорить окультуре готового слова. Риторическая культура — это культура готового слова…Эпоха барокко лежит в пределах риторической культуры и имеет дело с готовымсловом»... – The translation is mine – E.B.)

25 | P a g e

spiritual poetry, as well as any other works of the Baroque Period,

is trying to cover the whole world, to systematize and streamline

it. In fact, the Protestant baroque poetry, taken as a whole, is a

collection, a corpus, a kind of “Loci Communes” 41, concerning God,

a man, the world, the Kingdom of Heaven, etc.

And here we come to yet another explanation of the apparent

contradiction between the music and the lyrics in the cantata BWV82

"Ich have genug".

Actually, the Lutheran Reformation exactly tried to overcome

an increasing divergence between a verbal map of the real and the

reality as it is. The mere possibility to read the Scripture and

pray on the native German language served for this purpose. But the

inertia of the ready-words and forms was still too high. It was not

so much about the shortcomings of the traditional understanding, as

about that behind the veil of "ready-made words" something at all

could be perceived and felt deeply. It seems that specifically this

issue Bach tries to overcome through his music.

It's easy to say, rather just to repeat, the right ready-

phrase that Christians should be happy to meet their death. But in

the real life it is not so easy, as on the paper. A person cannot

just memorize and repeat the right words, but he must come to know

them. A wise man eventually departs from the externally imposed

ideas and through his own life experience comes to a deep inner

conviction in every simple truth. Very often this experience is

41 Loci Communes or Loci communes rerum theologicarum seu hypotyposestheologicae (Common Places in Theology or Fundamental Doctrinal Themes) was awork by the Lutheran theologian Philipp Melancthon published in 1521. MartinLuther said of it that "Next to Holy Scripture, there is no better book."(MacCulloch, Diarmaid. The Reformation. Penguin Books, 2005, p. 140.)

26 | P a g e

conjugated with a deep emotional distress and physical suffering.

Obviously, this dilemma is reflected in the tragic music of the

cantata "Ich habe genug".

Thus, Bach's music is not just based on the text, but it

converts one. Here we encounter the hermeneutical process. The

music of Bach is an interpretation of the words; in addition, it

restores their meanings. Precisely in this Albert Schweitzer sees

the principle of connection the music and lyrics in Bach's works:

“Bach converts into tone not only the body but the soul of the verbal passage”42 And

further: “Bach is thus bent on making the music characteristically expressive at any

cost. Before he decides simply to write beautiful music to a text, he searches the words

through and through to find an emotion which, after it has been intensified, is suitable for

musical representation. He remodels his text to suit the way he means to express it in

music. The words are finally no more than a shadow-picture of the music. Bach’s relation

to his text is active, not passive; it does not inspire him so much as he inspires it. His music

lifts the words to a higher power, bringing out in transfigured form what seems struggling

for expression in the mediocrity or, — as often enough happens — the banality of the

poem. For this reason there are hardly any tasteless Bach texts for anyone who reads

through his works. He even becomes a little impatient at the constant complaints about

42 Schweitzer, Albert. J.S. Bach, Vol. 2. Boston: B. Humphries, 1962, p.30.

27 | P a g e

the cantata poems, for he hears them with all the poetry Bach has added to them, – a

poetry beside which that of the original poet is only a clumsy reflection.”43

“We get the impression that the composer is even indifferent to the actual words of

his text and their banalities, not merely because they have the same savour for him as for

his contemporaries, but because he is conscious how little really remains of the words

when he has poured his own poetic power upon them.

There is a great difference between the respective attitudes of Bach and Mozart

towards a poor text. Both of them make us forget it by their music, but for quite different

reasons. Mozart’s object is to distract our minds from the text by means of music that is

beautiful in itself. Bach gives it a new profundity and a new form in his music.”44

It is possible that exactly these attempts to break out of the

Procrustean bed of the language conditioning were attracting the

attention of OBERIU45-poets in the Soviet Russia toward the

creativity of Bach. After all, they are like no one before tried to

overcome the language conditioning. In 1937, Daniil Kharms46

translated the cantata BWV33, keeping in verse the entire musical

phrasing of Bach, the whole rhythm and all repetitions. In fact,

Harms did not translate the text from German into Russian, but

rather from the musical language into the verbal one.

43 Ibid, p.36-37.44 Schweitzer, Albert. J.S. Bach, Vol. 2., p.37-38.45 OBERIU (Russian: ОБэРИу – Объединение реального искусства; English: the

Union of Real Art or the Association for Real Art) was a short-lived avant-gardecollective of Russian Futurist writers, musicians, philosophers and artists inthe 1920s and 1930s. The group consisted of Daniil Kharms, Alexander Vvedensky,Nikolay Zabolotsky and others; Nikolay Oleynikov, Evgeny Schwartz, philosopherYakov Druskin and Kazimir Malevich were close to the OBERIU. Oberiu-participants declared a rejection of traditional art forms, the need toupdate the representation techniques of reality; they cultivated the grotesque,alogism, poetics of the absurd. Many of them were persecuted and killed incustody (See: Kharms, Daniil. Today I Wrote Nothing. Overlook Press, 2009, p.21-23).

46 In 1937, Harms has been already repressed (in 1931) and was either in prison or in exile.

28 | P a g e

To feel the difference let’s compare the straight text

translation (1) with the Kharms’ variant (2):

1. Wie furchtsam wankten meine Schritte,

How fearfully were faltering my footsteps,

Как боязливо спотыкаются мои шаги,

Doch Jesus hört auf meine Bitte

but Jesus listens to my entreaties

Но Иисус прислушивается к моей мольбе

Und zeigt mich seinem Vater an.

and bears witness for me to his Father.

И указывает на меня своему отцу.

2. Как страшно тают наши силыКак страшно тают наши силыНо Боже слышит наши просьбыНо Боже слышит наши просьбы

И вдруг нисходит БожеИ вдруг нисходит Боже к нам,Как страшно тают наши силы

Как страшно!Как страшно!

Как страшно тают наши силы.Но Боже слышит наши просьбыНо Боже слышит наши просьбы,

И вдруг нисходит БожеИ вдруг нисходит Боже к нам.47

2. Wie furchtsam wanken meineSchritte

Wie furchtsam wanken meineSchritte,

Doch Jesus hoert auf meine Bitte,Doch Jesus hoert auf meine Bitte

Und ziegt mich seinem VaterUnd ziegt mich seinem Vater an.

Wie furchtsam wanken meineSchritte

Wie furchtsam!Wie furchtsam!

Wie furchtsam wanken meineSchritte,

Doch Jesus hoert auf meine Bitte,Doch Jesus hoert auf meine Bitte

Und zeigt mich seinem VaterUnd zeigt mich seinem Vater an.

47 Даниил Хармс. Собрание сочинений. Vol. 1. Мoskva: Азбука, 2000. p. 362.

29 | P a g e

The above quoted book by Albert Schweitzer was translated by

another OBERIU participant and philosopher Yakov Druskin, and it

also cannot be a coincidence.

It should also be mentioned, that the plot of the cantata

BWV82, that is the story of the meeting of Jesus Christ by Elder

Simeon in the Temple of Jerusalem, is universal for many Christian

cultures, including the Slavic. This is the rare case of a

“multicultural bridge”. In the practice of all Slavic churches

there is the prayer of Simeon «Ныне отпущаеши» (Nunc Dimittis) in

the Church Slavonic language:

Нhнэ tпущaеши рабA твоего2, вLко, по глаг0лутвоемY, съ ми1ромъ: ћкw ви1дэста џчи мои2 сп7сeніетвоE, є4же є3си2 ўгот0валъ пред8 лицeмъ всёхъ людeй,свётъ во tкровeніе kзhкwвъ, и3 слaву людeй твои1хъї}лz.

48

Also, in nowadays, Russian-speaking poet Joseph Brodsky well

succeeds in overcoming the limitations of the formal language in

poetry. We can see this in the poem, which is called "Candlemas" or

«Nunc Dimittis», and dedicated to the all related with our topic

antinomies of life and death:

Он шел умирать. И не в уличный

гул

он, дверь отворивши руками,

шагнул,

He went forth to die. It was not

the

loud din

of streets that he faced when he

flung the door wide,

48 Часословъ. Chernovtsy: Облтипография. 2001. p. 161.

30 | P a g e

но в глухонемые владения

смерти.

Он шел по пространству,

лишенному тверди,

он слышал, что время утратило

звук.

И образ Младенца с сияньем

вокруг

пушистого темени смертной

тропою

душа Симеона несла пред собою

как некий светильник, в ту

черную тьму,

в которой дотоле еще никому

дорогу себе озарять не

случалось.

Светильник светил, и тропа

расширялась.

but rather the deaf-and-dumb

fields of death's kingdom.

He strode through a space that was

no longer solid.

The rustle of time ebbed away in

his ears.

And Simeon's soul held the form of

the Child —

its feathery crown now enveloped

in glory

aloft, like a torch, pressing back

the black shadows,

to light up the path that leads

into death's realm,

where never before until this

present hour

had any man managed to lighten his

pathway.

The old man's torch glowed and the

pathway grew wider.49

49 Brodsky, Joseph. A Part of Speech. Translated by George L. Kline. NY: Macmillan, 1981. p. 57.

31 | P a g e

Thus Brodsky (and the “oberiuts” also) tried to transfer into

words what Bach had conveyed through music in his cantata BWV82.

They both tried to “express the inexpressible”.

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