Bach: Cantata No. 121 “Christum wir sollen loben schon” / Nikolaus Harnoncourt
This cantata was written for the second day of Christmas. In the first chorus, “Christum wir sollen loben schon”, the melody of Martin Luther’s chorale is developed in a fugal style. The soprano sings a cantus firmus with doubled note value. The soprano is overlaid with oboe d’amore, cornet, and strings, and the other voices are overlaid with trombone and strings, respectively, in a piece that sounds more like a motet from a previous era than Bach. The second piece is the tenor aria “O du von Gott erhöhte Kreatur” with a beautiful oboe d’amore obbligato. The alto recitative was followed by the bass aria “Johannis freudenvolles Springen. The string ensemble begins with a very joyful ritornello, but what I felt when listening to it was its muffled sound. All the voices are written in very low tones. There are only a few places where the first violin is above the staff. In any case, it is a fascinating aria and certainly the highlight of this cantata. After the soprano recitative, the piece closes with Luther’s chorale “Lob, Ehr und Dank sei dir gesagt” again. #baroque #bach #cantata #片山俊幸
