J.S. Bach’s Cantata, BWV 140, Wachet auf (“Sleepers Awake”) has been called “a cantata without weakness, without a dull bar, technically, emotionally and spiritually of the highest order, its sheer perfection and boundless imagination rouse one’s wonder time and time again.” (William G. Whittaker) German musicologist Alfred Dürr described it as an expression of Christian mysticism in art, with the uniting of “earthly happiness in love and heavenly bliss.”
Bach composed this music, cast in seven movements, in Leipzig for the 27th Sunday following Easter, the last of the church year. It was first performed on November 25, 1731.
The chorale on which the Cantata is based was written by Philipp Nicolai (1556-1608) amid a plague outbreak in 1599. The melody and text, relating to the parable of the Ten Virgins from the Book of Matthew, appear in the first, fourth, and seventh movements. The inner movements are based on the love poetry of the Song of Songs.
The opening movement begins with the stately dotted rhythms of a French overture. Unfolding as a vibrant chorale fantasia, it is a setting of the chorale’s first stanza: Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme (“Awake”, we are called by the voice [of the watchmen]). English conductor John Eliot Gardiner writes,
From this a rising syncopated figure emerges, taken up later on by the altos as they lead off with their funky ‘alleluia’ figure and adopted by all the other singers. If anyone in the posh world of classical music ever doubted that JS Bach could also be considered the father of jazz, here is the proof.
Following the tenor’s recitative, Er kommt (“He comes”), we hear the first of two duets: Wann kommst du, mein Heil? (“When are You coming, my Salvation?”). It is a dialogue between the Soul (soprano) and Christ (bass). The solo violin (originally performed by the smaller violino piccolo) weaves an elaborate obligato. Its darting lines evoke “the flickering of lamps ‘lit with burning oil.”
The fourth movement, Zion hört die Wächter singen (“Zion hears the watchmen singing”), is based on the chorale’s second stanza. Bach later transcribed this famous chorale prelude for the organ (BWV 645).
A harmonically wandering bass recitative, So geh herein zu mir (“Then come in to me”), leads into the sixth movement: Mein Freund ist mein! (“My Friend is mine!”). Accompanied by the bright, pastoral voice of the oboe, this is the joyful second soprano-bass love duet between Soul and Christ.
The Cantata concludes with a homophonic setting of the chorale, intended to be sung by the congregation: Gloria sei dir gesungen (“Let Gloria be sung to You”).
Here is a performance from the Netherlands Bach Society:
Featured Image: Autograph manuscript of the obbligato piccolo violino part of the first soprano-bass aria, one of the few surviving instrumental parts written by Bach, from the archives of the Thomaskirche
I enjoyed the recording tremendously. It’s a real treat to listen to singing at that level. The falsetto solo…the duet. That they did this in front of a small audience is really neat.