Alles nur nach Gottes Willen, BWV 72
Church cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach
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Alles nur nach Gottes Willen ('Everything according to God's will alone'),[1] BWV 72, is a church cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach. He composed it in Leipzig in 1726 for the third Sunday after Epiphany and first performed it on 27 January 1726. It is part of his third cantata cycle and concluded the Christmas season. Bach later used the opening chorus for the Gloria of his Missa in G minor, BWV 235.
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| Alles nur nach Gottes Willen | |
|---|---|
BWV 72 | |
| Church cantata by J. S. Bach | |
First page of Bach's autograph score | |
| Related | basis for Missa, BWV 235 |
| Occasion | Third Sunday after Epiphany |
| Cantata text | Salomon Franck |
| Bible text | Matthew 8:2 |
| Chorale | "Was mein Gott will, das g'scheh allzeit" |
| Performed | 26 January 1726: Leipzig |
| Movements | 6 |
| Vocal |
|
| Instrumental |
|
Bach composed the cantata in his third year as Thomaskantor, setting a libretto which Salomon Franck, his librettist at the ducal court in Weimar, had published in 1715. It is structured in six movements, an opening chorus, two pairs of recitative and aria, and a closing chorale, taken from "Was mein Gott will, das g'scheh allzeit", published by Albert, Duke of Prussia in 1547. The cantata is scored for three soloists, a four-part choir (SATB), and a Baroque instrumental ensemble of two oboes, strings and basso continuo.
History and text
Bach composed Alles nur nach Gottes Willen in his third year as Thomaskantor (director of church music) in Leipzig for the Third Sunday after Epiphany.[2][3][4] The prescribed readings for the Sunday were taken from the Epistle to the Romans, rules for life (Romans 12:17–21), and from the Gospel of Matthew, the healing of a leper (Matthew 8:1–13).
The cantata text was written by Salomon Franck, who was Bach's librettist when they both worked for the ducal court in Weimar. Franck published it in Evangelisches Andachts-Opffer in 1715,[2][4] whereas Bach composed the music much later. Ulrich Leisinger, who edited the work for Carus, argues that if Bach had already composed it in Weimar, he might have used it in his first year in Leipzig, but he wrote a new cantata for the occasion then, Herr, wie du willt, so schicks mit mir, BWV 73.[4] Bach had turned to older texts for the complete Christmas and Epiphany season of 1725/26, beginning with Unser Mund sei voll Lachens, BWV 110, for Christmas Day to a text published by Georg Christian Lehms in 1711, and several more from the same collection.[5] Ihr, die ihr euch von Christo nennet, BWV 164, is a comparable example of Bach turning to a text by Franck late.[5]
The closing chorale "Was mein Gott will, das g'scheh allzeit" was written by Albert, Duke of Prussia in 1547.[2] The chorale theme (Zahn 7568) by Claudin de Sermisy first appeared in print in the collection of secular songs Trente et quatre chansons in 1528. Bach had used the chorale before as the base for his chorale cantata Was mein Gott will, das g'scheh allzeit, BWV 111, composed for the same occasion in 1725.[6]
Bach led the Thomanerchor in the cantata's first performance on 27 January 1726.[2][7] He later used the opening chorus for the Gloria of his Missa in G minor, BWV 235.[2][8]
Music
Scoring and structure
Bach structured the cantata in six movements. Bach scored the work for three vocal soloists (soprano (S), alto (A) and bass (B)), a four-part choir, and a Baroque instrumental ensemble of two oboes (Ob), two violins (Vl), two obbligato violins (Vs), viola (Va) and basso continuo.[2][9] The duration of the cantata is given as 20 minutes.[9]
In the following table of the movements, the scoring follows the Neue Bach-Ausgabe. The keys and time signatures are taken from Alfred Dürr, using the symbol for common time (4/4).[2][10] The continuo, playing throughout, is not shown.
| No. | Title | Text | Type | Vocal | Winds | Strings | Key | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alles nur nach Gottes Willen | Franck | Chorus | SATB | 2Ob | 2Vl Va | A minor | 3/4 |
| 2 | O selger Christ, der allzeit seinen Willen | Franck | Recitative | A |  | |||
| 3 | Mit allem, was ich hab und bin | Franck | Aria | A | 2Vl | D minor | | |
| 4 | So glaube nun | Franck | Recitative | B | | |||
| 5 | Mein Jesus will es tun, er will dein Kreuz versüßen | Franck | Aria | S | Ob | 2Vl Va | C major | 3/4 |
| 6 | Was mein Gott will, das g'scheh allzeit | Albert, Duke of Prussia | Chorale | SATB | 2Ob | 2Vl Va | A minor | |
Movements
Although Franck had marked the first movement as an aria, Bach composed it as a chorus, opened by a ritornello dominated by runs of two measures in the violins, finally also in the continuo. The voices pick up the runs on the word "alles" (all), soprano first, and imitate each other one measure after the other, resulting in a complex image of "all". A rather quiet middle section on the words "Gottes Wille soll mich stillen" (God's will shall calm me)[1] in canonic imitation is accompanied by the orchestra, the following words "bei Gewölk und Sonnenschein" (among clouds or sunshine)[1] are illustrated by runs as in the beginning, but starting in a low range by the bass. The first and last section end with the choir embedded in the ritornello.[11]
In his arrangement for the Gloria of the Missa, Bach dropped the first ritornello, adapted the words "Gloria in excelsis Deo" to the first section, "Et in terra pax" to the middle section, and "Laudamus te" to the last section.[11]
The first recitative begins as a secco, but develops to an arioso on the words "Herr, so du willt" (Lord, as you will),[1] which are repeated nine times with a different continuo line, culminating in "so sterb ich nicht" (I will not die)[1] the following line is again secco.[11]
The following aria begins immediately with the voice, to ensure a connection between recitative and aria, then follows an unusual ritornello, a fugue with the two violins and the continuo.[12] In the second aria, more like a song and dance, the instruments play a ritornello and repeat it after a short sung passage: "Mein Jesus will es tun, er will dein Kreuz versüßen" (My Jesus will do it, He will sweeten Your cross).[1] In the following main section the voice is embedded in the ritornello. The words of the middle section "Obgleich dein Herze liegt in viel Bekümmernissen" (Although your heart lies in many troubles)[1] are sung in the minor mode. After the following ritornello the soloist repeats once more as a final statement, "mein Jesus will es tun!" (my Jesus will do it!).[1][13]
Manuscripts and publication
The manuscripts of the score are extant, held by the Berlin State Library, but its original title page is lost as well as a replacement that C. P. E. Bach made in 1750. Most original parts survived, also at the Berlin State Library, but a figured bass part is lost. Duplicate violin parts are held by the Berlin University of the Arts, and a figured bass part is kept by the Bach House Eisenach.[4]
The first critical edition of the cantata, edited by Wilhelm Rust, was published by the Bach Gesellschaft in 1870 as part of its complete edition of Bach's works. In the Neue Bach-Ausgabe, the second edition of Bach's works, the cantata was published in 1997, edited by Peter Wollny.[4][2] Carus published a critical edition in German and English as part of its Stuttgarter Bach-Ausgaben in 1997, edited by Ulrich Leisinger.[4] In the 21st century, Bach Digital published high-resolution facsimile images of the manuscript parts from the first quarter of the 18th century.[2]
Recordings
The entries are taken from the listing on the Bach Cantatas website.[15] Instrumental groups playing period instruments in historically informed performances are marked green under the header Instr..
| Title | Conductor / Choir / Orchestra | Soloists | Label | Year | Instr. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bach Made in Germany Vol. 1 – Cantatas III | Günther RaminThomanerchorGewandhausorchester |
|
Leipzig Classics | 1956 | |
| Die Bach Kantate Vol. 24 | Helmuth RillingFiguralchor der Gedächtniskirche StuttgartBach-Collegium Stuttgart | Hänssler | 1972 | ||
| Les Grandes Cantates de J. S. Bach Vol. 29 | Fritz WernerHeinrich-Schütz-Chor HeilbronnWürttembergisches Kammerorchester Heilbronn | Erato | 1973 | ||
| J. S. Bach: Das Kantatenwerk • Complete Cantatas • Les Cantates, Folge / Vol. 4 | Nikolaus HarnoncourtTölzer KnabenchorConcentus Musicus Wien |
|
Teldec | 1977 | Period |
| Bach Edition Vol. 4 – Cantatas Vol. 1 | Pieter Jan LeusinkHolland Boys ChoirNetherlands Bach Collegium | Brilliant Classics | 1999 | Period | |
| J. S. Bach: Cantatas for the 3rd Sunday of Epiphany | John Eliot GardinerMonteverdi ChoirEnglish Baroque Soloists | Archiv Produktion | 2000 | Period | |
| J. S. Bach: Complete Cantatas Vol. 19 | Ton KoopmanAmsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir | Antoine Marchand | 2002 | Period | |
| J. S. Bach: Cantatas Vol. 42 – BWV 13, 16, 32, 72 | Masaaki SuzukiBach Collegium Japan | BIS | 2008 | Period |