Ich elender Mensch, wer wird mich erlösen
BWV 048 // For the Nineteenth Sunday after Trinity
(Alone to thee, Lord Jesus Christ) for alto and tenor, vocal ensemble, oboe I+II, bassoon, strings and continuo.
In the introductory chorus to cantata BWV 48, Bach lends the wretched words of Paul, “A poor man am I; who will set me free from the body of this dying?” a musical interpretation that reveals much about the composer’s associative reading of the Bible. The movement opens with a bittersweet ritornello by the strings, which, underpinned by a sparse double bass line, is more a subdued confession of sorrow than a heated expression of despair. Indeed, it is precisely the lack of terrifying rhetoric that heightens the impact of the movement: although the text speaks of personal apprehension, it is not the acute sin of the individual that is at issue but the fundamental depravity of humankind under the law of God, a message that is expressed in its full rigour by the setting’s archaic motet style and the masterful double canon for the vocalists and obbligato instruments.
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Workshop
Reflective lecture
Choir
Soprano
Guro Hjemli, Susanne Frei, Jennifer Rudin
Alto
Antonia Frey, Jan Börner, Lea Scherer
Tenor
Nicolas Savoy, Manuel Gerber, Marcel Fässler
Bass
Chasper Mani, Matthias Ebner, Othmar Sturm
Orchestra
Conductor
Rudolf Lutz
Violin
Renate Steinmann, Livia Wiersich
Viola
Joanna Bilger
Violoncello
Martin Zeller
Violone
Iris Finkbeiner
Oboe
Kerstin Kramp, Meike Gueldenhaupt
Bassoon
Susann Landert
Organ
Ives Bilger
Musical director & conductor
Rudolf Lutz
Workshop
Participants
Karl Graf, Rudolf Lutz
Reflective lecture
Speaker
Ursula Pia Jauch
Recording & editing
Recording date
10/20/2006
Recording location
Trogen
Sound engineer
Stefan Ritzenthaler
Director
Meinrad Keel
Production manager
Johannes Widmer
Production
GALLUS MEDIA AG, Switzerland
Producer
J.S. Bach Foundation of St. Gallen, Switzerland
Librettist
Text
Poet unknown
First performance
Ninteenth Sunday after Trinity,
3 October 1723, Leipzig
In-depth analysis
In the introductory chorus to cantata BWV 48, Bach lends the wretched words of Paul, “A poor man am I; who will set me free from the body of this dying?” a musical interpretation that reveals much about the composer’s associative reading of the Bible. The movement opens with a bittersweet ritornello by the strings, which, underpinned by a sparse double bass line, is more a subdued confession of sorrow than a heated expression of despair. Indeed, it is precisely the lack of terrifying rhetoric that heightens the impact of the movement: although the text speaks of personal apprehension, it is not the acute sin of the individual that is at issue but the fundamental depravity of humankind under the law of God, a message that is expressed in its full rigour by the setting’s archaic motet style and the masterful double canon for the vocalists and obbligato instruments. Respite from this repressive music is offered solely by the chorale melody – intoned in canon by the winds – “Lord Jesus Christ, I cry to thee”, whose wordless presence, coupled with the helplessly questioning conclusion of the movement, throws into relief the seemingly insurmountable distance between mortals and their Saviour.
This is followed by an impassioned alto recitative replete with despair: the depravity of human nature and its poisoning by the burden of sin renders the whole world a “house of death and sickness”. In this passage, Bach presents a series of painful interpretations in which harmonic severity, falling dissonances and effective pauses converge to pronounce a truly devastating verdict. It is difficult to imagine that the composer, ever open to new ideas, did not draw upon his exposure to the death scenes so popular in early baroque opera.
The following chorale represents a return to a familiar form of solace and congregational unity; its inclusion allows for a moment of distanced reflection, an effect also achieved by the hymn verses inserted in the Passion compositions. Nevertheless, its bold, otherworldly setting – especially the line “Continue on, Refine me there” – ensures that the chorale remains embedded in the emotional drama of the cantata. Indeed, Bach lent the chorale such an exquisite harmonic language that it goes beyond all collective tradition to express an individual acceptance of penance and suffering in this world.
With a distinctive oboe obbligato, the alto aria echoes the sad and gentle character of the introductory chorus, while the Old-Testament metaphor of Sodom couples personal sin and weakness, thus underscoring this familiar trope of baroque Bible interpretation. The individual effort required to transform the soul of the believer into the holy Zion is, however, made abundantly clear in the childlike simplicity of Bach’s musical gesture. As the ensuing tenor recitative succinctly reveals, this transformation is achieved with the helping hand of the Saviour, who can not only raise the dead, but also revive and strengthen those who are dead of soul.
With such solace in sight, the tenor is buoyed in the following aria to a spirit of generous character and defiant determination that could hardly have been predicted at the beginning of the cantata. In this sacred minuet with its echoes of a pithy Schemelli hymn, gratitude and humility are suspended in miraculous balance over a subdued orchestral fundament.
The closing chorale “Lord Jesus Christ, my only help” resolutely upholds this aura of cautious yet pious hope. After overcoming their crisis of faith, the “weak in spirit” can now (unlike in the opening chorus) join in the singing, but the chorale is an audible reminder that such participation requires unceasing insight into the unfathomable workings of the Almighty.
Libretto
1. Chor
«Ich elender Mensch, wer wird mich erlösen vom Leibe
dieses Todes?»
2. Rezitativ (Alt)
O Schmerz, o Elend, so mich trifft,
indem der Sünden Gift
bei mir in Brust und Adern wütet:
Die Welt wird mir ein Siech- und Sterbehaus,
der Leib muß seine Plagen
bis zu dem Grabe mit sich tragen.
Allein die Seele fühlet
den stärksten Gift,
damit sie angestecket;
drum, wenn der Schmerz den Leib des Todes trifft,
wenn ihr der Kreuzkelch bitter schmecket,
so treibt er ihr ein brünstig Seufzen aus
3. Choral
Solls ja so sein,
daß Straf und Pein
auf Sünde folgen müssen,
so fahr hie fort
und schone dort
und laß mich hie wohl büßen.
4. Arie (Alt)
Ach lege das Sodom der sündlichen Glieder,
wofern es dein Wille, zerstöret darnieder!
Nur schone der Seelen und mache sie rein,
um vor dich ein heiliges Zion zu sein.
5. Rezitativ (Tenor)
Der zeitlichen Ehrn will ich gern entbehrn,
du wollst mir nur das Ewge gewährn,
das du erworben hast
durch deinen herben, bittern Tod.
Das bitt ich dich, mein Herr und Gott.
6. Arie (Tenor)
Hier aber tut des Heilands Hand
auch unter denen Toten Wunder.
Scheint deine Seele gleich erstorben,
der Leib geschwächt
und ganz verdorben,
doch wird uns Jesu Kraft bekannt.
Er weiß im geistlich Schwachen
den Leib gesund, die Seele stark zu machen.
7. Choral
Herr Jesu Christ, einiger Trost,
zu dir will ich mich wenden;
mein Herzleid ist dir wohl bewußt,
du kannst und wirst es enden.
In deinen Willen seis gestellt,
machs, lieber Gott, wie dirs gefällt:
Dein bin und will ich bleiben.