Du wahrer Gott und Davids Sohn, BWV 23

Du wahrer Gott und Davids Sohn (You true God and son of David), BWV 23, is a sacred cantata composed by Johann Sebastian Bach.

It was likely composed in Köthen between 1717 and 1723 for Quinquagesima Sunday (also known as Estomihi), but was revised to be included as Bach's other test piece (with Jesus nahm zu sich die Zwölfe, BWV 22) for the position of Thomaskantor in Leipzig. The work was premiered on 7 February 1723 (after the sermon), and performed again on 20 February 1724. It is unclear whether a "test" performance of the 1723 revised version took place in Köthen before Bach's audition at the Thomaskirche.

The prescribed readings for the day are 1 Corinthians 13: 1-13; and Luke 18: 31-43.

Authorship of the poetry is unknown.

The chorale theme Christe, du Lamm Gottes first appeared in printing in Johannes Bugenhagen's Braunschweig church order, published in Wittenberg in 1525^[1]. The theme is an adaptation of Luther's setting of the Kyrie eleison in his 1525 Deutsche Messe^[2][3].

Scoring and structure

The piece is scored for cornetto, tromboni (or trombe) I/II/III, oboes I/II, violins I/II, viola, and basso continuo, along with three vocal soloists (soprano, altus, and tenor) and four-part choir. It is in four movements:

1. Aria (Duetto): "Du wahrer Gott und Davids Sohn" for soprano & altus, oboes, and continuo.
2. Recitativo: "Ach! gehe nicht vorüber" for tenor, oboes, violins, and continuo.
3. (Coro): "Aller Augen warten, Herr" for choir, oboes, strings and continuo.
4. Chorale: "Christe, du Lamm Gottes" for choir, cornetto col Soprano, trombone I coll'Alto, trombone II col Tenore, trombone III col Basso, oboes, strings, and continuo.

Recordings

• J.S. Bach: Cantatas BWV 23 & BWV 159, Kurt Thomas, Frankfurter Kantorei, Deutsche Bachsolisten, Ursula Buckel, Eva Bornemann, Johannes Hoefflin, Cantate 1962
• Bach Cantatas Vol. 2 - Easter, Karl Richter, Münchener Bach-Chor, Münchener Bach-Orchester, Edith Mathis, Anna Reynolds, Peter Schreier Archiv 1974
• Les Grandes Cantates de J.S. Bach Vol. 29, Fritz Werner, Heinrich-Schütz-Chor Heilbronn, Württembergisches Kammerorchester Heilbronn, Ingeborg Reichelt, Barbara Scherler, Friedrich Melzer, Erato 1973
• J.S. Bach: Das Kantatenwerk - Sacred Cantatas Vol. 2, Gustav Leonhardt, Tölzer Knabenchor, King's College Choir, Leonhardt Consort, boy soloist, Paul Esswood, Marius van Altena, Teldec 1973
• Die Bach Kantate Vol. 28, Helmuth Rilling, Gächinger Kantorei, Bach-Collegium Stuttgart, Arleen Augér, Helen Watts, Aldo Baldin, Niklaus Tüller, Hänssler 1977
• J.S. Bach: Complete Cantatas Vol. 3, Ton Koopman, Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir, Barbara Schlick, Elisabeth von Magnus, Paul Agnew, Antoine Marchand 1995
• J.S. Bach: Cantatas Vol. 8 - Leipzig Cantatas, Masaaki Suzuki, Bach Collegium Japan, Midori Suzuki, Yoshikazu Mera, Gerd Türk, BIS 1998
• Bach Edition Vol. 5 - Cantatas Vol. 2, Pieter Jan Leusink, Holland Boys Choir, Netherlands Bach Collegium, Ruth Holton, Sytse Buwalda, Nico van der Meel, Brilliant Classics
• Bach Cantatas Vol. 21: Cambridge/Walpole St Peter, John Eliot Gardiner, Monteverdi Choir, the Choirs of Clare and Trinity Colleges, English Baroque Soloists, Ruth Holton, Claudia Schubert, James Oxley, Soli Deo Gloria 2000
• J.S. Bach: Cantatas for the Complete Liturgical Year Vol. 6 (Sexagesima and Estomihi Sundays), Sigiswald Kuijken, La Petite Bande, Siri Thornhill, Petra Noskaiová, Marcus Ullmann, Jan van der Crabben, Accent 2007
• J.S. Bach: Jesus, deine Passion, Philippe Herreweghe, Collegium Vocale Gent, Dorothee Mields, Petra Noskaiova, Matthew White, Jan Kobow, Harmonia Mundi France 2007

References

1. ^ Robin A. Leaver. Luther's Liturgical Music: Principles and Implications, Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2007, ISBN 0-80-283221-0, ISBN 978-0-802-83221-4
2. ^ Charles Sanford Terry. Bach's Chorals, The University Press, 1921
3. ^ Eric Chafe. Analyzing Bach Cantatas, Oxford University Press US, 2003, ISBN 0-19-516182-3, ISBN 978-0-195-16182-3

Sources

• Craig Smith, Programme notes - BWV 23, Emmanuel Music.
• Walter F. Bischof, Text and orchestration for BWV 23, Bach Cantatas, University of Alberta.
• Alfred Dürr: Johann Sebastian Bach: Die Kantaten. Bärenreiter, Kassel 1999, ISBN 3-7618-1476-3
• Alfred Dürr: The Cantatas of J.S. Bach, Oxford University Press, 2006. ISBN 0-19-929776-2
• Werner Neumann: Handbuch der Kantaten J.S.Bachs, 1947, 5th Ed. 1984, ISBN 3-7651-0054-4
• Hans-Joachim Schulze: Die Bach-Kantaten: Einführungen zu sämtlichen Kantaten Johann Sebastian Bachs. Leipzig: Evangelische Verlags-Anstalt; Stuttgart: Carus-Verlag 2006 (Edition Bach-Archiv Leipzig) ISBN 3-374-02390-8 (Evang. Verl.-Anst.), ISBN 3-89948-073-2 (Carus-Verl.)
• Christoph Wolff/Ton Koopman: Die Welt der Bach-Kantaten Verlag J.B. Metzler, Stuttgart, Weimar 2006 ISBN 978-3-476-02127-4

External links

• Cantatas, BWV 21–30: Free scores at the International Music Score Library Project.
• Cantata BWV 23 Du wahrer Gott und Davids Sohn on bach-cantatas.com
• German text and English translation, Emmanuel Music
• Du wahrer Gott und Davids Sohn on the Bach website (in German)
• BWV 23 Du wahrer Gott und Davids Sohn on uvm.edu