Bach’s Cantata, BWV 106, “Actus Tragicus”: Death and Redemption

Bach’s Cantata, BWV 106 is a gentle and intimate reflection on death and redemption. It is titled, Gottes Zeit ist die allerbeste Zeit (“God’s time is the best time”), with the subtitle Actus Tragicus.

The Cantata is scored for an unusual combination of instruments which the Netherlands Bach Society calls

famous, idiosyncratic, exceptionally beautiful and meaningful…The violins are conspicuous by their absence, but there are two recorders and two viola da gambas, which provide a soft, comforting and sometimes almost heavenly sound. The recorders seem to symbolize earthly suffering with their sharp seconds and unisons.

Conceived for a funeral service, the Cantata dates from 1707-1708 during the 22-year-old Bach’s brief tenure in Mühlhausen. The original manuscript was lost. The work is structured symmetrically, with the first section representing the earthly death of the Old Testament, and the second section delivering the New Testament’s promise of salvation. According to the Netherlands Bach Society,

The chorus ‘Es ist der alte Bund’ functions as a dramatic climax and axis of symmetry, in which Bach spectacularly combines the familiar memento mori warning (remember that you have to die) with the soprano’s proclamation of the coming of Jesus. This discussion grows into a musical and theological tour de force when at the end of the movement Bach no longer juxtaposes the two ideas, but sets them above and below one another.

The Cantata begins with a serenely flowing Sonatina (Molto adagio), in which the two records weave sensuous lines filled with quiet longing. Their bright angelic colors meet the veiled tones of the violas da gamba.

The opening chorus (“God’s time is the best of all times”), a setting of Acts 17:28, is followed by a melancholy aria in two sections. The lamenting first section features the tenor “Ah, Lord, teach us to consider that we must die,” (Psalms 90:12). A response by the bass comes with a quickening of tempo: “Put your house in order; for you will die” (Isaiah 38:1). With a sense of divine urging, the recorders propel the music forward.

The central chorus, Es ist der alte Bund (“It is the ancient law: human, you must die!”) begins with a fugue punctuated with occasional wrenching dissonances. It is the soprano that brings the sunlight of redemption (“Yes, come, Lord Jesus!”). In the final moments, the other lines dissolve suddenly, and the lone soprano remains. It drifts off as a solitary voice crying out in the wilderness.

The alto solo which follows, In deine Hände befehl ich meinen Geist (“Into Your hands I commit my spirit”) is taken from the Gospel of Luke and Psalm 31. The second quotation, Heute wirst du mit mir im Paradies sein (“Today you will be with Me in Paradise”) blends with Martin Luther’s hymn Mit Fried und Freud ich fahr dahin (“With peace and joy I depart”).

The final movement, In dich hab ich gehoffet, Herr, Glorie, Lob, Ehr und Herrlichkeit (“Glory, praise, honor, and majesty”) is a setting of words by Adam Reusner. Its chorale melody is accompanied by a joyful recorder obligato. The work concludes with a jubilant double fugue on the word, Amen.

Bach scholar Alfred Dürr called the Cantata “a work of genius such as even great masters seldom achieve… The Actus tragicus belongs to the great musical literature of the world.”

Featured Image: the organ of the church Divi Blasii, Mühlhausen, photograph by Hans-Jörg Gemeinholzer