Bach: Cantata No. 105 “Herr, gehe nicht ins Gericht mit deinem Knecht” / Nikolaus Harnoncourt

In the first half of the first chorus, “Herr, gehe nicht ins Gericht mit deinem Knecht” the instruments first present sigh motif with suspended chords, chromatic scale, and over a heavily pulsating basso continuo. Next, the chorus begins with an imitative movement. After that, the instruments and chorus join together and finally prepare for the fugue in the second half with an organ point. In the fugue, the tenor, bass, soprano, and alto present the theme in that order, and then the instruments gradually join in, and after a moment of excitement, the piano turns to pianissimo and then back to forte. There are various theories about the “corno” over the first violin, but Harnoncourt uses a zink (cornet). Following the alto recitative, the soprano aria “Wie zittern und wanken der Sünder Gedanken” is an arioso-like aria without basso continuo, with the violin tremolo and oboe melody played by the viola basset. In the middle of the aria, the oboe and soprano move in canon. Following the bass recitative with string accompaniment, the tenor aria “Kann ich nur Jesum mir zum Freunde machen” is accompanied by a string ensemble with cornet. In the final chorale, “Nun, ich weiß, du wirst mir stillen, mein Gewissen, das mich plagt,” the cornetto and strings begin the rhythm with sixteenth notes, which gradually decrease in note value. #baroque #bach #cantata #片山俊幸