1724 composition by J. S. Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach composed the church cantata (Now come, Savior of the heathens), BWV62, in Leipzig for the first Sunday in Advent and first performed it on 3 December 1724. It is based on Martin Luther's Advent hymn "Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland", a paraphrase of the Latin hymn "Veni redemptor gentium". The cantata is part of Bach's chorale cantata cycle, the second cycle during his tenure as Thomaskantor that began in 1723. In the format of this cycle, the text of the first and last stanzas of the hymn is retained unchanged while the text of the inner stanzas was paraphrased by an unknown librettist into a sequence of alternating arias and recitatives. The cantata is opened by a chorale fantasia and closed by a four-part chorale setting.
The cantata is scored for four vocal soloists, a four-part choir, and a Baroque instrumental ensemble of horn only to support the chorale melody, two oboes, strings and basso continuo.
History and words.
Bach wrote the cantata in 1724, his second year as in Leipzig, for the First Sunday of Advent. The prescribed readings for the Sunday were from the Epistle to the Romans, night is advanced, day will come (), and from the Gospel of Matthew, the Entry into Jerusalem (). The cantata is based on Martin Luther's Advent hymn in eight stanzas "", the number one hymn to begin the Liturgical year in all Lutheran hymnals at the time. Luther had paraphrased the Latin hymn "Veni redemptor gentium". The unknown poet retained the first and last stanza, paraphrased stanzas 2 and 3 to an aria, stanzas 4 and 5 to a recitative, the remaining stanzas to an aria and a duet recitative. While Luther, influenced by the Latin model, phrased succinctly and sometimes in allusions, Bach's collaborator in Leipzig texted often freely and with poetic ambition.
Bach led the Thomanerchor in the first performance of the cantata on 3 December 1724, and he performed it again in 1736, adding a part for violone in all movements, after the had bought an instrument at an auction in 1735. Bach's successor Johann Friedrich Doles performed the cantata after Bach's death.
Music.
Structure and scoring.
Bach structured the cantata in six movements, beginning with a chorale fantasia, followed by a series of alternating arias and recitatives, and concluded by a chorale. He scored it for four vocal soloists (soprano (S), alto (A), tenor (T) and bass (B)), and a Baroque instrumental ensemble of horn (Co), only to support the chorale melody, two oboes (Ob), two violin parts (Vl), a viola part (Va), and basso continuo (Bc). The duration is given as 22 minutes.
In the following table of the movements, the scoring, keys and time signatures are taken from Alfred Dürr's standard work , using the symbol for common time (4/4). The continuo, playing throughout, is not shown.
! scope="col" | No.
! scope="col" | Title!! scope="col" | Text
! scope="col" | Type!! scope="col" | Vocal!! scope="col" | Winds!! scope="col" | Strings
! scope="col" | Key
! scope="col" | Time
Movements.
The hymn tune is based on the Medieval chant of the paraphrased hymn; John Eliot Gardiner, who conducted the Bach Cantata Pilgrimage in 2000, described it as of "dark, imposing character". The melody is in four lines, the last one equal to the first.
Church music was allowed in Leipzig only on the first Sunday of Advent. Gardiner observed about all three extant cantatas for this occasion, also , and , which all deal with Luther's hymn, that they "display a sense of excitement at the onset of the Advent season. This can be traced back both to qualities inherent in the chorale tune itself, and to the central place Bach gives to Luther's words."
1.
The first movement, the chorale fantasia "" (Now come, Savior of the heathens, known as the Virgin's child) opens with an instrumental ritornello. It begins with a quote of the first (and last) line of the tune in the continuo, and ends with a slightly different quote in the oboes. Other than these quotes, the orchestra plays a free concerto, with the oboes introducing a theme, the first violin playing figuration. The ritornello appears shortened three times to separate the lines of the text and in full at the end. The soprano sings the in long notes, while the lower voices prepare each entry in imitation, using a motif from the tune for the first line, an inverted motif from the tune for the second line, motifs from the ritornello in the third line and an expanded reprise of the first line for the last. Dürr suggested that Bach was inspired to this festive setting in 6/4 time by the Gospel reading about the entry into Jerusalem. Christoph Wolff pointed out that the instrumentation is simple because Advent was a "season of abstinence".
2.
The first aria, for tenor, deals with the mystery of the birth of Jesus: "" (Marvel, O humanity, at this great mystery: the Supreme Ruler appears to the world ). Set in a major key in Siciliano rhythm, with string accompaniment doubled in tutti-sections by the oboes, it was described by Dürr as "joyfully soaring".
3.
A secco recitative for bass expresses: " (Thus from God's glory and throne goes forth his only-begotten Son).
4.
In great contrast to the first aria, the second one, for bass, is focused on fight: " (Struggle, conquer, powerful hero!) The voice delivers "rolling passages", and the continuo adds motifs described as militant and tumultous. In a later version it is doubled by the upper strings. Gardiner regards the aria's "pompous, combative character" as a sketch for the bass aria " from Part I of Bach's Christmas Oratorio.
5.
The duet recitative of the high voices, " (We honor this glory and approach your manger now), expresses thanks, intimately accompanied by the strings. Modulation into distant keys illustrate the miracle of the birth and the way to the manger.
6.
The closing chorale of the cantata is a doxology, "" (Praise be to God the Father), in a four-part setting.
 ;score sound raw ;
soprano = \relative c" { \global \set Staff.midiPanPosition = -0.5 \set midiInstrument = "violin"
 b4 b a d | cis8 (b) cis4 b2\fermata |
 b8 (cis) d4 e d | e fis d2\fermata |
 d4 e fis8 (e) d4 | e8 (d) cis4 b2\fermata |
 b4 b a d | cis8 (b) cis4 b2\fermata \bar "|."
alto = \relative c' { \global \set Staff.midiPanPosition = 0.5 \set midiInstrument = "violin"
 fis4 e fis fis | fis8 gis ais4 fis2 |
 fis8 ais b4 e, a | g! fis8 g16 a g2 |
 g4 g fis fis | e8 b' ais4 fis2 |
 eis8 fis gis4 fis fis | g!8 d e4 dis2 \bar "|."
tenor = \relative c' { \global \set Staff.midiPanPosition = -1 \set midiInstrument = "cello"
 d4 cis8 [b] cis [b] a b | cis d e4 d2 |
 d8 [e] fis g cis, [b] a b | cis4 d8 a b2 |
 b4 cis8 d cis4 b | b fis'8 e d2 |
 gis,4 cis cis b | b4. ais8 fis2 \bar "|."
bass = \relative c { \global \set Staff.midiPanPosition = 1 \set midiInstrument = "contrabass"
 b'8 a g4 fis fis8 gis | ais b fis4 b2 |
 b,4 b' a!8 g! fis4 | e d g2 |
 g8 fis e4 ais b8 a | g e fis4 b,2 |
 cis8 [dis] eis cis fis [e] d b | e fis16 g fis4 b,2 \bar "|."
verse = \lyricmode {
 Lob sei Gott, dem Va -- ter, g'ton,
 Lob sei Gott, sein'm ein -- gen Sohn,
 Lob sei Gott, dem Heil -- gen Geist,
 im -- mer und in E -- wig -- keit!
\score {
 \new ChoirStaff «
 \new Staff
 \lyricsto "soprano" \verse
 \new Staff
 \clef bass
 »
\score { \midi { \tempo 4=96
 ;/score ;
Manuscripts and publication.
Bach's autograph score of the cantata and set of parts missing are extant. It was first published in 1868 in the first complete edition of Bach's work, the Bach-Gesellschaft Ausgabe. The volume in question was edited by Wilhelm Rust. In the Neue Bach-Ausgabe it was published in 1954, edited by Dürr and Werner Neumann, with a critical report in 1955.
Recordings.
A list of recordings is provided on the Bach Cantatas Website. Vocal ensembles with one voice per part (OVPP) and instrumental groups playing period instruments in historically informed performances are marked by green background.
! scope="col"
! scope="col" | Conductor / Choir / Orchestra
! scope="col" | Soloists
! scope="col" | Label
! scope="col" | Year
! scope="col"!! scope="col" | Instr.
! scope="row" class="fn" | "Cantatas"
! scope="row" class="fn" | "J. S. Bach: Das Kantatenwerk – Sacred Cantatas Vol. 4"
! scope="row" class="fn" |
! scope="row" class="fn" | "J. S. Bach: Advent Cantatas"
! scope="row" class="fn" | "Bach Edition Vol. 12 – Cantatas Vol. 6"
! scope="row" class="fn" | "Bach Cantatas Vol. 13: Köln/Lüneburg / For the 1st Sunday in Advent / For the 4th Sunday in Advent"
! scope="row" class="fn" | "J. S. Bach: Complete Cantatas Vol. 13"
! scope="row" class="fn" | "J. S. Bach: Cantatas Vol. 28 – Cantatas from Leipzig 1724"
! scope="row" class="fn" | "J. S. Bach: Cantatas for the Complete Liturgical Year Vol. 9"
References.
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