Bach: Cantata No. 30a “Angenehmes Wiederau” / Masaaki Suzuki, Bach Collegium Japan

A secular cantata composed by Bach in 1737. It was composed to Picander’s text for commemorating the acquirement of an estate by Johann Christian von Hennicke, the privy councillor of the Elector of Saxony and vice-president of the Chamber of Deputies. It is written in the style of a dialogue between four personified soloists, including the Elster River that flows through Hennicke’s land “Wiederau” in Pegau near Leipzig. A similar cantata, BWV134a “Die Zeit, die Tag und Jahre macht,” comes to mind. The lyrics are full of “flattery” and “adulation” of Hennicke. Isn’t Picander the best cast when it comes to writing lyrics like this?

Zeit (Time) – Soprano

Glück (Good Fortune) – Alto

Elster (Elster River) – Tenor

Schicksal (Fate) – Bass

The opening chorus “Angenehmes Wiederau” is a homophonic piece with a celebratory arrangement of three trumpets, timpani, two flutes, two oboes, string ensemble and basso continuo. The bass (Fate) recitative leads to the bass aria “Willkommen im Heil, willkommen in Freuden” with an arioso by four people in between. The words of welcome to the lord Hennicke are sung in a ritornello for the string ensemble with a dance rhythm. Following the alto (Good Fortune) recitative, the alto aria “Was die Seele kann ergötzen” sings “words of loyalty” with a joyous melody. The flute is used in unison with the violin I throughout, making this one of the most memorable arias of Bach’s. After the bass (Fate) recitative, the bass aria “Ich will dich halten” is sung to the accompaniment of the oboe and strings. It is a humorous piece with Lombard rhythms. After the soprano (Time) recitative, the soprano aria “Eilt, ihr Stunden, wie ihr wollt” is sung in unison obbligato with the violins. After the tenor (Elster River) recitative, the tenor aria “So, wie ich die Tropfen zolle” is sung to the accompaniment of the flute, oboe d’amore and strings. The ritornello, which begins with the unison of the three upper voices, is accompanied by the movement of the oboe d’amore, which represents the flow of the river, and the flute overlaps the tenor melody in octaves, creating an exquisite orchestration of tones. The cantata closes with a four-person recitative followed by the chorus “Angenehmes Wiederau”. #baroque #bach #cantata #片山俊幸 https://excelkobo.net/bachwerke/archive/BWV0030a.pdf