Bach: Cantata No. 31 “Der Himmel lacht! Die Erde jubilieret” / Nikolaus Harnoncourt
This cantata from the Weimar period was composed for Easter Sunday. The lyrics are based on a text by Salomon Frank. The first piece, “Sonata” is a festive music. It is written in an irregular arrangement with three trumpets, timpani, three oboes, taille (tenor oboe), bassoon, string orchestra and basso continuo, and viola and cello parts in two parts, and it ends with unison of all instruments except timpani. The second movement chorus “Der Himmel lacht! Die Erde jubilieret” has the same orchestration, and the soprano voice is also divided into two parts. The song develops in a fugal style, with trumpet and timpani adding flowers in places. Following the bass recitative, the bass aria “Fürst des Lebens, starker Streiter” is accompanied only by the basso continuo. Following the tenor recitative, the tenor aria “Adam muss in uns verwesen” is accompanied by 2 violins, 2 violas, 2 cellos, and a bass continuo. Following the soprano recitative, the soprano aria “Letzte Stunde, brich herein” is accompanied by an oboe obbligato and string orchestra, with only the cello playing pizzicato. The inner voices in this piece anticipate the melody of final chorale, a typical example of Bach’s music style. The piece ends with the chorale “So fahr ich hin zu Jesu Christ”. #baroque #bach #cantata #片山俊幸
