Bach: Cantata No. 20 “O Ewigkeit, du Donnerwort” / Nikolaus Harnoncourt

The piece opens with the choral fantasy “O Ewigkeit, du Donnerwort”. The chorale melody is sung by a soprano throughout, but the entire piece is composed in the slow-fast-slow French overture form. The soprano part is overlapped by a tromba da tirarsi (slide trumpet). After the tenor recitative, the tenor aria “Ewigkeit, du machst mir bange” is sung with string accompaniment. The bass recitative is followed by the bass aria “Gott ist gerecht in seinen Werken” joyously sung by three oboes and a staccato basso continuo. The harmony of the three oboes sound somewhat humorous. The alto aria “O Mensch, errette deine Seele” is sung next, accompanied by a string ensemble. The rhythm is a sarabande inclide hemiolas. The chorale “Solang ein Gott im Himmel lebt” ends the first part of the cantata.

The second part opens with the bass aria “Wacht auf, wacht auf, verlornen Schafe”. It is accompanied by a trumpet, three oboes, and a string ensemble. The interplay by the trumpet in fanfare and the bass literally “wake up” the audience. Following the alto recitative, the alto and tenor duet aria “O Menschenkind, hör auf geschwind” is sung with only a basso continuo accompaniment. The basso continuo is with staccato. The cantata ends with the chorale “O Ewigkeit, du Donnerwort” #baroque #bach #cantata #片山俊幸 https://excelkobo.net/bachwerke/archive/BWV0020.pdf