Part 2
Handel in his younger days wrote many cantatas for the church, though they are now but little known. The entire list numbers one hundred and fifty. On his return from England to his post of chapel-master at Hanover in 1711 he composed twelve, known as the Hanover cantatas, for the Princess Caroline, the words written by the Abbé Hortentio Mauro, to which no objection was offered by Handel's master and patron, notwithstanding he was a Lutheran prince. Several written in England are still preserved in the royal collections. On Holy Week of the year 1704, the same week in which Reinhardt Kaiser brought out his famous Passion oratorio, "The Bleeding and Dying Jesus," Handel's Passion cantata was first produced. Kaiser's work had been denounced as secular by the pastors, because it did not contain the words of Holy Scripture. Handel's was founded on the nineteenth chapter of St. John, and thus escaped the pulpit denunciation. This cantata is sometimes called the First Passion Oratorio, the second having been written at Hamburg in 1716.[6] In 1707 Handel was in Florence, where he wrote several cantatas, and thence went to Rome, where he produced some church music in the same form, notably the "Dixit Dominus," for five voices and orchestra; "Nisi Dominus," also for five voices; and "Laudate pueri," for solos and full orchestral accompaniment. The famous anthems written for the private chapel of James Brydges, Duke of Chandos, familiarly known as the Chandos Anthems, are in reality cantatas, as each one is preceded by an overture and in its structural form comprises solos, choruses, and instrumentation for full band and choir. It is also noteworthy that it was during Handel's residence at the Duke's palace at Cannons that he wrote his first English oratorio, the legitimate successor of the Chandos Anthems, and the precursor of the great works destined to immortalize his name.
The cantatas left by Haydn are mainly secular in character; but it may well be imagined that during the days of his early married life, when his fanatical and termagant spouse was forcing him to write so much music for the priests and monks whom she entertained so sumptuously below-stairs while he was laboring above, more than one cantata must have come from his pen, which would have been preserved had he not reluctantly parted company with them to pacify his wife.
The term "cantata," as it is now used, is very elastic, and covers a range of compositions which are too large to be considered as dramatic arias or ballads,--though ballads are sometimes written for various voices and orchestra,--and too small to be called operas or oratorios. It can best be defined, perhaps, as a lyric narrative, sacred, didactic, or dramatic in character, set to music for the concert stage only, being without _dramatis personæ_ in the theatrical acceptation of those words. Its general form is that of the oratorio, being for solo voices, usually the quartet, full chorus, and orchestra, though its shortness as compared with the oratorio adapts it to performance by a small chorus, and sometimes with only piano accompaniment. Among the most perfect forms of the modern cantatas are such works as Mendelssohn's "Walpurgis Night," Sterndale Bennett's "May Queen," Max Bruch's "Odysseus" and "Frithjof's Saga," Cowen's "Sleeping Beauty," Gade's "Comala," Hiller's "Song of Victory," Romberg's somewhat antiquated "Song of the Bell," Sullivan's "Golden Legend," Randegger's "Fridolin," and Dudley Buck's "Don Munio" and "Light of Asia." But besides such as these there are numerous other works, not usually classed as cantatas, which clearly belong to the same musical family; such as Berlioz's "Damnation of Faust," Brahms's "Triumphlied," Mendelssohn's settings of various Psalms, Handel's "Acis and Galatea" and "Alexander's Feast," Hofmann's "Melusina," Liszt's "Prometheus," Rheinberger's "Toggenberg," Schubert's "Song of Miriam," Schumann's ballads and "Advent Hymn," and Weber's "Kampf und Sieg." These and others of the same kin are drawn upon as illustrations and for analysis in the pages which follow.
Considering the possibilities of the cantata, its adaptability to every form of narrative, and the musical inducements it holds out, particularly in these days, when a new opera or oratorio must be of extraordinary merit to suit the public, it is somewhat remarkable that no more of them are written. Mr. Charles Barnard has made this point very aptly and forcibly in a short article printed in the "Century" for January, 1886, in which he urges the cantata form of composition upon our writers, and makes many excellent suggestions.[7] It is certainly an inviting field, especially to American composers, among whom but three or four have as yet produced works of this kind possessing real merit.
[1] Its first use is to be found in the opera of "Enea," performed at Genoa in 1676. Before 1680 it was universally adopted.
[2] It is noteworthy that in this volume occur for the first time the musical terms "adagio," "piu adagio," "affetuoso," "presto," and "allegro." In the "Cantate da Camera a voce sola," published at Bologna (1677) by Gio. Bat. Mazzaferrata, the terms "vivace," "largo," and "ardito" are also found for the first time.
[3] Geminiani used to relate that Franceschelli, a celebrated performer on the violoncello at the beginning of this century, accompanied one of these cantatas at Rome so admirably, while Scarlatti was at the harpsichord, that the company, being good Catholics, and living in a country where miraculous powers have not yet ceased, were firmly persuaded it was not Franceschelli who had played the violoncello, but an angel that had descended and assumed his shape.--_Burney's History_, vol. iv. p. 169 (1789).
[4] Doctor Arbuthnot, in a humorous pamphlet called out by the operatic war, entitled "Harmony in an Uproar," calls Handel the Nightingale, and Porpora the Cuckoo.
[5] It is curious to remember that the sacred cantatas were not composed for universal fame or for a musical public, but for the use of congregations who probably looked on them as a necessary part of the service, and thought little about the merits of their composition. In those days art-criticism was in its infancy, and they were scarcely noticed beyond the walls of Leipsic till after the composer's death.--_Bitter's Life of Bach_.
[6] Handel's Second German Passion, as it is now generally called, differs entirely from the earlier Passion according to St. John, and bears no analogy at all to the Passion Music of Sebastian Bach. The choruses are expressive or vigorous in accordance with the nature of the words; but none exhibit any very striking form of contrapuntal development; nor do they ever rise to the grandeur of the Utrecht Te Deum or Jubilate.--_Rockstro's Life of Handel_.
[7] The following list of cantatas by Americans hardly sustains Mr. Barnard in his assertion that there are but a few of them: Baker, B. F., "Burning Ship;" "Storm King."--Bechel, J. C., "Pilgrim's Progress;" "The Nativity;" "Ruth."--Bradbury, W. B., "Esther."--Brandeis, F., "The Ring."--Bristow, G. F., "The Pioneers;" "No More."--Buck, Dudley, "Don Munio;" "Centennial;" "Easter Cantatas;" "The Golden Legend;" "Light of Asia;" "Voyage of Columbus."--Butterfield, J. A., "Belshazzar;" "Ruth."--Chadwick, G. W., "The Viking's Last Voyage."--Damrosch, Leopold, "Ruth and Naomi;" "Sulamith."--Foote, A., "Hiawatha."--Gilchrist, W. W., "Forty-sixth Psalm;" "The Rose."--Gleason, F. G., "God our Deliverer;" "Culprit Fay;" "Praise of Harmony."--Hamerik, A., "Christmas Cantata."--Leavitt, W. J. D., "The Lord of the Sea;" "Cambyses; or, the Pearl of Persia."--Marsh, S. B., "The Saviour;" "King of the Forest."--Paine, J. K., "Oedipus Tyrannus;" "The Nativity;" "Phoebus, Arise;" "Realm of Fancy."--Parker, J. G., "Redemption Hymn."--Parker, H. W., "King Trojan."--Pratt, S. G., "Inca's Downfall."--Root, G. F., "Flower Queen;" "Daniel;" "Pilgrim Fathers;" "Belshazzar's Feast;" "Haymakers;" "Song Tournament;" "David."--Singer, Otto, "Landing of the Pilgrim Fathers;" "Festival Ode."--Trajetta, Philip, "The Christian's Joy;" "Prophecy;" "The Nativity;" "Day of Rest."--Whiting, G. E., "Dream Pictures;" "Tale of the Viking;" "Lenora;" and many others.
BACH.
Johann Sebastian Bach, the most eminent of the world's organ-players and contrapuntists, was born at Eisenach, March 21, 1685, and was the most illustrious member of a long line of musicians, the Bach family having been famous almost from time immemorial for its skill in music. He first studied the piano with his brother, Johann Christoph, and the organ with Reinecke in Hamburg, and Buxtehude in Lübeck. In 1703 he was court musician in Weimar, and afterwards was engaged as organist in Arnstadt and Mühlhausen. In 1708 he was court organist, and in 1714 concert-master in Weimar. In 1718 he was chapel-master to the Prince von Köthen, and in 1723 was appointed music-director and cantor at the St. Thomas School in Leipsic,--a position which he held during the remainder of his life. He has left for the admiration of posterity an almost endless list of vocal and instrumental works, including cantatas, chorales, motets, magnificats, masses, fugues, sonatas, and fantasies, the "Christmas Oratorio," and several settings of the Passion, of which the most famous are the "St. John" and "St. Matthew," the latter of which Mendelssohn re-introduced to the world in 1829, after it had slumbered an entire century. His most famous instrumental work is the "Well-tempered Clavichord,"--a collection of forty-eight fugues and preludes, which was written for his second wife, Anna Magdalena Bach, to whom he also dedicated a large number of piano pieces and songs. His first wife was his cousin, Maria Barbara Bach, the youngest daughter of Johann Michael Bach, a composer of no common ability. By these two wives he had twenty-one children, of whom the most celebrated were Carl Phillipp Emanuel, born in 1714, known as the "Berlin Bach;" Johann Christoph Friedrich, born in 1732, the "Bücheburger Bach;" and Johann Christian, born in 1735, who became famous as the "London Bach." Large as the family was, it is now extinct. Bach was industrious, simple, honest, and God-fearing, like all his family. He was an incessant and laborious writer from necessity, as his compensation was hardly sufficient to maintain his large family, and nearly all his music was prepared for the service of the church by contract. The prominent characteristics of his work are profound knowledge, the clearest statements of form, strength of logical sequences, imposing breadth, and deep religious sentiment. The latter quality was the outcome of his intense religious nature. Upon everyone of his principal compositions he inscribed "S. D. G.," "to the glory of God alone." He died July 28, 1750, and was buried at Leipsic; but no cross or stone marks the spot where he lies. His last composition was the beautiful chorale, "Wenn wir in höchsten Nöthen sein," freely translated, "When my last hour is close at hand," as it was written in his last illness. The only record of his death is contained in the official register: "A man, aged sixty-seven, M. Johann Sebastian Bach, musical director and singing-master at the St. Thomas School, was carried to his grave in the hearse, July 30, 1750."
Ich hatte viel Bekümmerniss.
The cantata with the above title, best known in English as "My Heart was full of Heaviness," was the first sacred piece in this form which Bach wrote. Its date is 1714, in which year he was living at Weimar, and its composition grew out of a difficulty which he had with the elders of the Liebfrauenkirche at Halle, touching his application for the position of organist. It occasioned him great sorrow, and it was while in this sad plight that he wrote the cantata. It was composed for the third Sunday after Trinity, June 17, and consists of eleven numbers,--an instrumental prelude, four choruses, three arias, a duet, and two recitatives.
The prelude, which is brief and quiet in character, introduces the opening chorus ("Deep within my Heart was Sorrowing and great Affliction"), which in turn leads to the first aria ("Sighing, Mourning, Sorrow, Tears waste away my troubled Heart"), a tender and beautiful number for soprano, with oboe and string accompaniment. It is followed by the tenor recitative and aria, "Why hast Thou, O my God, in my sore Need so turned Thy Face from me?" in which the feeling of sorrow is intensified in utterance. The chorus, "Why, my Soul, art thou vexed?" a very pathetic number, closes the mournful but beautiful first part of the cantata.
The second part is more tranquil and hopeful. It opens with a duet for soprano and bass, the two parts representing the soul and Christ, and sustaining a most expressive dialogue, leading up to a richly harmonized chorus ("O my Soul, be content and be thou peaceful") in which a chorale is introduced with consummate skill. A graceful tenor aria with a delightful and smoothly flowing accompaniment ("Rejoice, O my Soul, change Weeping to Smiling") follows and leads to the final number, which is based on the same subject as that of the "Hallelujah" in Handel's "Messiah." All the voices give out the words, "The Lamb that for us is slain, to Him will we render Power and Glory," with majestic effect; after which the solo bass utters the theme, "Power and Glory and Praise be unto Him forevermore," introducing the "Hallelujah," which closes the work in a burst of tremendous power, by voices and instruments.
Gottes Zeit.
During the first half of the period in which Bach resided at Weimar, occupying the position of court and chamber musician to Duke Wilhelm Ernst, he wrote three cantatas in the old church form which are notable as being the last he composed before adopting the newer style, and as the most perfect of that kind extant. The first of these, "Nach dir, Herr, verlanget mich," is based upon the first two verses of the Twenty-fifth Psalm. The second, "Aus der Tiefe rufe ich," includes the whole of the One hundred and thirtieth Psalm and two verses of the hymn "Herr Jesu Christ, du höchstes Gut." The third and most famous of the trio, "Gottes Zeit ist die allerbeste Zeit" ("God's time is the best of all"), is generally known as the "Actus Tragicus," and sometimes as the "Mourning Cantata." Of its origin Spitta says:--
"Judging by its contents it was designed for the mourning for some man, probably of advanced age, to whom the song of Simeon could be suitably applied. No such death took place in the ducal house at this time, for Prince Johann Ernst died when a youth, and also when Bach's style of composition had reached a different stage. Possibly the cantata has reference to Magister Philipp Grossgebauer, the rector of the Weimar school before its reorganization, who died in 1711; at least, I can find no other suitable occasion. The contrast between the spirit of the Old and New Testaments,--between the wrath of an avenging God and the atoning love of Christ,--which had already appeared in the One hundred and thirtieth Psalm, is the germ and root of this cantata to such a degree that it is evident that Bach had fully realized by this time how fertile a subject for treatment it was. It contains no chorus of such depth and force as those of the One hundred and thirtieth Psalm. Its character is much more entirely individual and personal, and so it has a depth and intensity of expression which reach the extreme limits of possibility of representation by music. The arrangement of the poetic material is most excellent; it does not wholly consist of Scripture texts and verses of hymns; and in several fit and expressive thoughts, which are freely interspersed, we can almost recognize Bach's own hand. If such be the case, the whole arrangement of the poetry may with reason be ascribed to him."
The introduction to the work is a quiet, tender movement in sonata form, written for two flutes, two viol-da-gambas and figured bass, which gives out some of the themes in the middle of the cantata. The opening chorus ("God's own Time is the best, ever best of all. In Him we live, move, and have our Being, as long as He wills. And in Him we die at His good Time") is very descriptive in character, opening with a slow and solemn movement, then passing to a quick fugue, and closing with phrases of mournful beauty to suit the last sentence of the text. A tenor solo follows, set to the words, "O Lord, incline us to consider that our Days are numbered; make us apply our Hearts unto Wisdom," and accompanied by the flutes, leading into a mournful aria for the bass, which forms the second part of the tenor solo ("Set in order thine House, for thou shalt die and not live"). The choir resumes with a new theme ("It is the old Decree, Man, thou art mortal"), in which the lower voices carry a double fugue, the soprano sings alone ("Yea, come, Lord Jesus"), and the instruments have the melody of the old hymn:--
"I have cast all my care on God, E'en let Him do what seems Him good; Whether I die, or whether live, No more I'll strive. But all my will to Him will give."
Of this effective movement and its successor Spitta says:--
"The design is clear. The curse of death has been changed into blessing by the coming of Christ, and that which mankind dreaded before, they now stretch out entreating hands to; the bliss of the new condition of things shines out in supernatural glory against the dark background of a dispensation that has been done away. This is the idea of the concerted vocal parts; and the fact that thousands upon thousands have agreed in the joy of this faith is shown by the chorale tune now introduced; for to the understanding listener its worldless sounds convey the whole import of the hymn which speaks so sweetly of comfort in the hour of death, sounds which must recall to every pious heart all the feelings they had stirred when, among the chances and changes of life, this hymn had been heard,--feelings of sympathy with another's grief or of balm to the heart's own anxiety."
The alto voice follows with the words spoken on the cross ("Into Thy Hands my Spirit I commend"), to which the bass replies in an arioso ("Thou shalt be with Me to-day in Paradise"). The next number is a chorale ("In Joy and Peace I pass away whenever God willeth") sung by the alto, the bass continuing its solo at the same time through a portion of the chorale. The final chorus is the so-called fifth Gloria:--
"All glory, praise, and majesty To Father, Son, and Spirit be, The holy, blessed Trinity; Whose power to us Gives victory Through Jesus Christ. Amen."
The "Actus Tragicus" was one of the youthful compositions of Bach, but it has always attracted the notice of the best musical critics. It was a great favorite with Mendelssohn. Spitta says:--
"It is a work of art well rounded off and firm in its formation, and warmed by the deepest intensity of feeling even in the smallest details."
Hauptmann writes to Jahn:--
"Yesterday, at the Euterpe concert, Bach's 'Gottes Zeit' was given. What a marvellous intensity pervades it, without a bar of conventionality! Of the cantatas known to me, I know none in which such design and regard are had to the musical import and its expression."
Festa Ascensionis Christi.
The cantata beginning with the words, "Wer da glaubet und getauft wird" ("Whoso believeth and is baptized"), commonly known as the Ascension cantata, was written for four voices, with accompaniment of two oboes, two violins, viola, and "continuo,"--the latter word implying a bass part, the harmonies indicated by figures from which the organist built up his own accompaniment. The original score has been lost; but it has been reconstructed from the parts, which are preserved in the Royal Library at Berlin.
The cantata is in five numbers. A short prelude of a quiet and cheerful character introduces the stately opening chorus ("Who believeth and obeyeth will be blest forever"). Another brief prelude prepares the way for the brilliant tenor aria ("Of Love, Faith is the Pledge and Token"), which leads up to the chorale, "Lord God, my Father, holy One," based upon the old chorale, "Wie schön leucht uns der Morgenstern" ("How brightly shines the Morning Star"), which has always been a favorite in the church service, and which more than one composer has chosen for the embellishment of his themes. The chorale is not employed in its original form, but is elaborated with all the contrapuntal skill for which Bach was so famous. The next number is a short recitative for the bass voice ("Ye Mortals, hear, all ye who would behold the Face of God"), and leads to a stately bass aria ("Through Faith the Soul has Eagle's Pinions"). The cantata closes, after the customary manner of Bach, with a strong, earnest chorale ("Oh, give me Faith, my Father!"), in plain, solid harmony, for the use of the congregation, thus forming an effective devotional climax to the work.
Ein' Feste Burg.
"A safe stronghold our God is still, A trusty shield and weapon; He'll help us clear from all the ill That hath us now o'ertaken. The ancient Prince of Hell Hath risen with purpose fell; Strong mail of craft and power He weareth in this hour. On Earth is not his fellow.
* * * * *
"And were this world all devils o'er, And watching to devour us, We lay it not to heart so sore, Not they can overpower us. And let the Prince of Ill Look grim as e'er he will, He harms us not a whit; For why? His doom is writ, A word shall quickly slay him."
There is now but little question that Martin Luther not only wrote the words but the music of the grand old hymn, the first and third stanzas of which, taken from Carlyle's free and rugged translation, are given above. Sleidan, a contemporary historian, indeed says that "Luther made a tune for it singularly suited to the words and adapted to stir the heart." The date of its composition is a matter of controversy; but it is clear that it must have been either in 1529 or 1530, and most writers agree that it was just before the Diet at Augsburg, where it was sung. Niederer, in a work published at Nuremberg, 1759, fixes the date as 1530, and finds it in Preussen's psalm-book, printed in 1537. Winterfeld observes it for the first time in the "Gesangbuch" of the composer Walther, a friend of Luther. Its usual title is, "Der XLVI. Psalm: Deus noster Refugium et virtus, pp. D., Martin Luther." It matters little, however, the exact year in which the sturdy old Reformer wrote the hymn which has stirred the human heart more than any other. It is indissolubly connected with his name, and every line of it is a reflex of his indomitable and God-fearing nature. Heine and Carlyle have paid it noble tributes. The German poet says:--
"The hymn which he composed on his way to Worms,[8] and which he and his companions chanted as they entered that city, is a regular war-song. The old cathedral trembled when it heard these novel sounds. The very rooks flew from their nests in the towers. That hymn, the Marseillaise of the Reformation, has preserved to this day its potent spell over German hearts."
Carlyle still more forcibly says:--