Bach: Cantata No. 204 “Ich bin in mir vergnügt” / Masaaki Suzuki, Bach Collegium Japan

A cantata for solo soprano. It’s composed on philosophical lyrics and consists of four recitatives and arias each. It is an introspective and deep piece, reminiscent of the soprano solo cantata No. 199 “Mein Herze schwimmt im Blut” from the Weimar period. The first recitative leads to the aria “Ruhig und in sich zufrieden”, in which two oboes and a basso continuo play a ritornello. The two oboes move in parallel in thirds and sixths throughout, and the soprano continues by imitating the melody. The piece da capo returns to the beginning after the middle section. After the next recitative accompagnato, the aria “Die Schätzbarkeit der weiten Erden” is sung with a solo violin obbligato. It is a bright piece with the slurred sixteenths of violin that resonates lightly. A sermonlike recitative follows, followed by the beautiful aria “Meine Seele sei vergnügt” with a gorgeous solo flute obbligato, which is the highlight of this cantata. I’m going to go on a tangent, but at the beginning of this piece, Bach wrote a sequence that is repeated four times, which is unusual. Normally, Bach’s style is to cut it off at most three times, so what’s the point? After the final recitative and arioso, the final aria “Himmlische Vergnügsamkeit” is sung with the accompaniment of flute, two oboes and string ensemble. It is a fun piece with a bright ritornello. Although this cantata contains some religious content, it is classified as a secular cantata rather than a church cantata, unlike No. 199, because it does not have a choral movement. On what occasion was it performed? #baroque #bach #cantata #片山俊幸 https://excelkobo.net/bachwerke/archive/BWV0204.pdf