Barmherziges Herze der ewigen Liebe, BWV 185

Barmherziges Herze der ewigen Liebe
BWV 185
Church cantata by J. S. Bach
The Schlosskirche in Weimar
Occasion	Fourth Sunday after Trinity
Performed	14 July 1715 (1715-07-14): Weimar
Movements	6
Cantata text	Salomon Franck
Chorale	by Johannes Agricola
Vocal	SATB soloists and choir
Instrumental	oboe 2 violins viola continuo with basoon

Barmherziges Herze der ewigen Liebe (Merciful heart of eternal love),^[1] BWV 185,^{[lower-alpha 1]} is a church cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach. He composed it in Weimar for the fourth Sunday after Trinity and first performed it on 14 July 1715.

Bach composed the cantata as concertmaster in Weimar, responsible for one church cantata per month. The text was written by the court poet Salomon Franck for the occasion and published in 1715. He included as the closing choral the first stanza of Johannes Agricola's hymn "Ich ruf zu dir, Herr Jesus Christ". The cantata is structured in six movements begins with a duet, followed by a sequence of alternating arias and recitatives and closed by a four-part chorale. It is scored for a small ensemble of four vocal parts, oboe, strings and continuo.

Bach led the first performance in the court chapel of Schloss Weimar on 14 July 1715. He performed the cantata again, with small instrumental revisions, at the beginning of his tenure as Thomaskantor in Leipzig, coupled with the new cantata Ein ungefärbt Gemüte, BWV 24.

History and words

For details on Bach's promotion, see Erschallet, ihr Lieder, erklinget, ihr Saiten! BWV 172 § Background.

On 2 March 1714 Bach was appointed concertmaster of the Weimar court capelle of the co-reigning dukes Wilhelm Ernst and Ernst August of Saxe-Weimar. As concertmaster, he assumed the principal responsibility for composing new works, specifically cantatas for the Schlosskirche^[2] (palace church), on a monthly schedule.^[3] He wrote this cantata for the Fourth Sunday after Trinity.^[4]

The prescribed readings for the Sunday were from the Epistle to the Romans, "For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God" (Romans 8:18–23), and from the Sermon on the Mount in the Gospel of Luke: the injunctions to "be merciful", "judge not" (Luke 6:36–42). The cantata text was written by the court poet Salomon Franck for the occasion and published in 1715 in Evangelisches Andachts-Opffer.^[5] Franck stayed close to the theme of the gospel, recalling the injunctions and the parables of the mote and the beam and the blind leading the blind.^[4] The last aria summarizes the admonitions as "Das ist der Christen Kunst" (This is the Christians' art).^[1] The cantata is closed by the first stanza of Johannes Agricola's hymn "Ich ruf zu dir, Herr Jesus Christ" (1531).^[4] Albert Schweitzer criticized the libretto as "bland, lesson-like".^[6]

Bach first performed the cantata on 14 July 1715. He dated it himself "1715".^[4] When Bach performed the cantata again in Leipzig on 20 June 1723, he transposed it from F-sharp minor to G minor and made changes to the instrumentation.^[7] In that service, his fourth in Leipzig, he performed it together with a new cantata Ein ungefärbt Gemüte, BWV 24, after he had started his tenure as cantor with cantatas in two parts, Die Elenden sollen essen, BWV 75, and Die Himmel erzählen die Ehre Gottes, BWV 76.^[8] He treated the same chorale in the chorale cantata Ich ruf zu dir, Herr Jesu Christ, BWV 177, for the same occasion in 1724. Bach revived the cantata once more in 1746 or 1747.^[7]

Scoring and structure

The cantata in structured in six movements, beginning with a duet, followed by a series of alternating recitatives and arias and concluded by a chorale.^[9] Similar to several other cantatas on words by Franck, it is scored for a small ensemble: four vocal soloists (soprano (S), alto (A), tenor (T) and bass (B)), oboe (Ob), two violins (Vl), viola (Va), and basso continuo (Bc) including bassoon (Fg).^[10] A choir is only needed for the chorale, if at all. The score, partly an autograph, is titled "Concerto. / Dominica post Trinit: / Brmhertziges Hertze der ewigen Liebe. ect. / â 5 Strom. 4 Voci / Tromba / 1 Hautb 2 Violini. 1 Viola. / Violoncello / è Fagotto. S. A. T. è Baßo con Cont. / di JSbach. / 1715", while "tromba" (trumpet) is struck in the cover of the set of parts.^[11]

In Leipzig the oboe was replaced by a clarino (trumpet) for the instrumental cantus firmus of the chorale in movement 1. The duration is given as 16 minutes.^[4]

In the following table of the movements, the scoring and keys are given for the version performed in Weimar in 1714. The keys and time signatures are taken from Alfred Dürr, using the symbol for common time (4/4).^[4]^[10] The instruments are shown separately for winds and strings, while the continuo, playing throughout, is not shown.

Movements of *Barmherziges Herze der ewigen Liebe*, BWV 185
No.	Title	Text	Type	Vocal	Winds	Strings	Key	Time
1	Barmherziges Herze der ewigen Liebe	Franck	Duet	S T	Ob		F-sharp minor	6/4
2	Ihr Herzen, die ihr euch in Stein und Fels verkehret	Franck	Recitative	A	Fg	2Vl Va
3	Sei bemüht in dieser Zeit	Franck	Aria	A	Ob Fg	2Vl Va	A major
4	Die Eigenliebe schmeichelt sich	Franck	Recitative	B	Fg
5	Das ist der Christen Kunst	Franck	Aria	B	Fg	(2Vl Va)	B-flat minor
6	Ich ruf zu dir, Herr Jesus Christ	Agricola	Chorale	SATB	Ob Fg	2Vl Va	F-sharp minor

Music

1

John Eliot Gardiner in 2007

The opening movement is a duet of soprano and tenor, "Barmherziges Herze der ewigen Liebe" (Compassionate heart of eternal love).^[4] It is in two ways connected to the chorale which closes the work.^[4] The melody is played line by line as a cantus firmus by the oboe, embellished and in a dancing 6/4 time instead of 4/4.^[8] The first interval in the voices and the continuo is the same as in the chorale. The countersubject is the inversion of the theme, in German "Spiegelung" (reflection in a mirror). iIt reflects the theme as human mercy should reflect divine mercy.^[4] John Eliot Gardiner, who conducted the Bach Cantata Pilgrimage with the Monteverdi Choir in 2000, comments in his diary of the project: "Cast as a siciliano for soprano and tenor with cello continuo, there is a warm glow to this opening duet, with trills on each of the main beats to signify the flickering flame of love, and a plea to 'come melt my heart'. Agricola's chorale tune [...] is meanwhile intoned by a clarino hovering above the two amorous vocal lines.^[6]

2

The alto recitative, "Ihr Herzen, die ihr euch in Stein und Fels verkehret" (You hearts, which have changed yourselves into rocks and stones),^[1] is first accompanied by the strings, but ends as an arioso with continuo.^[8]

3

The alto aria, "Sei bemüht in dieser Zeit" (Be inspired at the present time)^[1] shows the richest instrumentation, with figurative oboe solos.^[8]

4

The bass recitative "Die Eigenliebe schmeichelt sich!" (Self-love flatters itself!)^[1] is accompanied only by the continuo.^[4]

5

The text of the bass aria with continuo, "Das ist der Christen Kunst" (This is the Christian's art),^[1] summarizes all injunctions in one long sentence, but Bach splits it in parts, all introduced by the keywords "Das ist der Christen Kunst". The bass as the vox Christi (voice of Christ) delivers the "sermon".^[4] In Leipzig, the continuo of cello and bass in octaves was doubled by the strings, another octave higher.^[8] Gardiner admires Bach's treatment as a "gentle, parodistic way he portrays the rhetorical displays of a pompous preacher".^[6]

6

The closing chorale, "Ich ruf zu dir, Herr Jesu Christ" (I call to You, Lord Jesus Christ),^[1] summarizes the topic of the cantata to love and serve the neighbour.

Ich ruf zu dir, Herr Jesu Christ,
ich bitt, erhör mein Klagen,
verleih mir Gnad zu dieser Frist,
laß mich doch nicht verzagen
den rechten Weg, o Herr, ich mein,
den wollest du mir geben,
dir zu leben,
mein'n Nächsten nütz zu sein,
dein Wort zu halten eben.

I call to You, Lord Jesus Christ,
I beg You, hear my cries,
grant me mercy at this time,
do not let me despair;
the true faith, Lord, I mean
that You would give me,
to live for You,
to be of use to my neighbor,
to keep Your word faithfully.^[1]

^ Cite error: The named reference Dellal was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

It is illuminated by a "soaring" violin as a fifth part,^[8] similar to the treatment in the cantata for Pentecost the previous year, Erschallet, ihr Lieder, BWV 172.

Reception

The musicologist Isoyama summarizes: "... we are bound to admire the emotional wealth with which Bach's music infuses the poetry. In that it gives living reality to a potentially dry text, this work may be numbered among Bach's masterpieces".^[7]

Recordings

The sortable listing is taken from the selection provided by Aryeh Oron on the Bach-Cantatas website.^[12] The type of choir and orchestra is roughly shown as a large group by red background, and as an ensemble with period instruments in historically informed performance by green background.

Recordings of *Barmherziges Herze der ewigen Liebe*, BWV 185
Title	Conductor / Choir / Orchestra	Soloists	Label	Year	Choir type	Orch. type
Die Bach Kantate Vol. 42	Rilling, HelmuthHelmuth Rilling Frankfurter Kantorei Bach-Collegium Stuttgart	Arleen Augér Hildegard Laurich Aldo Baldin Philippe Huttenlocher	Hänssler	1976 (1976)		Chamber
J. S. Bach: Das Kantatenwerk • Complete Cantatas • Les Cantates, Folge / Vol. 10	Leonhardt, GustavGustav Leonhardt Tölzer Knabenchor Collegium Vocale Gent Leonhardt-Consort	boy soloist of the Tölzer Knabenchor Paul Esswood Kurt Equiluz Thomas Hampson	Teldec	1989 (1989)		Period
J. S. Bach: Complete Cantatas Vol. 1	Koopman, TonTon Koopman Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir	Barbara Schlick Kai Wessel Guy de Mey Klaus Mertens	Antoine Marchand	1994 (1994)		Period
J. S. Bach: Cantatas Vol. 4	Suzuki, MasaakiMasaaki Suzuki Bach Collegium Japan	Midori Suzuki Akira Tachikawa Makoto Sakurada Stephan Schreckenberger	BIS	1999 (1999)		Period
Bach Edition Vol. 2 – Cantatas Vol. 6	Leusink, Pieter JanPieter Jan Leusink Holland Boys Choir Netherlands Bach Collegium	Ruth Holton Sytse Buwalda Knut Schoch Bas Ramselaar	Brilliant Classics	1999 (1999)	Boys	Period
Bach Cantatas Vol. 3: Tewkesbury/Mühlhausen / For the 4th Sunday after Trinity / For the 5th Sunday after Trinity	Gardiner, John EliotJohn Eliot Gardiner Monteverdi Choir English Baroque Soloists	Magdalena Kožená Nathalie Stutzmann Paul Agnew Nicolas Testé	Soli Deo Gloria	2000 (2000)		Period

Notes

↑ "BWV" is Bach-Werke-Verzeichnis, a thematic catalogue of Bach's works.

References

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Dellal, Pamela. "BWV 185 – Barmherziges Herze der ewigen Liebe". Emmanuel Music. Retrieved 15 July 2014.
↑ Dürr, Alfred (1981). Die Kantaten von Johann Sebastian Bach (in German). 1 (4 ed.). Deutscher Taschenbuchverlag. pp. 350–352. ISBN 3-423-04080-7.
↑ Koster, Jan. "Weimar 1708–1717". let.rug.nl. Retrieved 16 December 2011.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Dürr, Alfred; Jones, Richard D. P. (2006). The Cantatas of J. S. Bach: With Their Librettos in German-English Parallel Text. Oxford University Press. pp. 415–418.
↑ Koopman, Tom (1994). [http://www.bach-cantatas.com/Pic-Rec-BIG/Koopman-C01-2c[AM-3CD].pdf "J.S Bach Cantatas Vol. 1"] (PDF). Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra and Choir. Retrieved 30 June 2015.
1 2 3 Gardiner, John Eliot (2008). "Cantatas for the Fourth Sunday after Trinity / Tewkesbury Abbey" (PDF). bach-cantatas.com. pp. 1–3. Retrieved 27 June 2015.
1 2 3 Isoyama, Tadashi (1998). "BWV 185: Barmherziges Herze der ewigen Liebe (Merciful heart of eternal love)" (PDF). bach-cantatas.com. Retrieved 27 June 2015.
1 2 3 4 5 6 Mincham, Julian (2010). "Chapter 6 BWV 185 Barmherziges Herze der ewigen Liebe". jsbachcantatas.com. Retrieved 11 June 2011.
↑ Ambrose, Z. Philip. "BWV 185 Barmherziges Herze der ewigen Liebe". University of Vermont. Retrieved 28 June 2015.
1 2 Bischof, Walter F. "BWV 185 Barmherziges Herze der ewigen Liebe". University of Alberta. Retrieved 28 June 2015.
↑ Grob, Jochen (2014). "BWV 185 / BC A 101" (in German). s-line.de. Retrieved 20 February 2015.
↑ Oron, Aryeh (2015). "Cantata BWV 185 Barmherziges Herze der ewigen Liebe". bach-cantatas.com. Retrieved 23 June 2015.

Sources

External links

Barmherziges Herze der ewigen Liebe, BWV 185: performance by the Netherlands Bach Society (video and background information)

Church cantatas by Johann Sebastian Bach

Before Leipzig	Early: BWV 4 131 71 106 196 150 143 Weimar: BWV 61 70a 186a 132 174a 63 152 155 18 54 80a 182 31 12 172 165 21 185 199 161 162 163 Köthen: BWV Anh. 5

First cycle (1723–24)	Between Trinity and Advent: BWV 75 76 24 167 147 186 136 105 46 179 69a 77 25 138 95 148 48 109 89 60 90 70 From Advent to Trinity: BWV 40 64 190 153 65 154 73 81 83 144 181 22 23 66 134 67 104 166 86 37 44 59 184

Second cycle (& chorale cantatas)	Chorale cantatas between Trinity and Easter: BWV 20 2 7 135 10 93 107 178 94 101 113 33 78 99 8 130 114 96 5 180 38 115 139 26 116 62 91 121 133 122 41 123 124 3 111 92 125 126 127 1 Continuation of the second cycle: BWV 6 42 85 103 108 87 128 183 74 68 175 176 Later additions to the chorale cantata cycle: BWV 80 137 129 58 112 140 177 9 14 Other late chorale cantatas: BWV 117 192 100 97

Third cycle	After Trinity 1725: BWV 168 164 79 Liturgical year 1725–26: BWV 110 57 151 28 16 32 13 72 146 43 39 88 170 187 45 102 35 17 19 27 47 169 56 49 98 55 52 1727: BWV 82 84 34 173

Later and other	Picander cycle: BWV 149 188 197a 171 156 159 145 174 Late parodies: BWV 36 30 191 200 1083 Council election: BWV 119 193 Anh. 3 29 120 69 Wedding: BWV 34a 195 120a 197 Funeral: 157 244a Other: 194 190a 120b 51 158 50 248/VIa Doubtful: 53 142 189 217 220 221 223 224

Bach cantata List of Bach cantatas Discography: Monteverdi Choir/Koopman/Teldec

Cantatas by Johann Sebastian Bach by BWV number

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 (oratorio) 12 13 14 15^** 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 30a 31 32 33 34 34a 35 36 36a 36b 36c 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 (53)^* 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 66a 67 68 69 69a 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 80a 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 (motet) 119 120 120a 120b 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 (131a)^* 132 133 134 134a 135 136 137 138 139 140 ~~141~~^** (142)^* 143 144 145 146 147 147a 148 149 150 151 152 153 154 155 156 157 158 159 ~~160~~^** 161 162 163 164 165 166 167 168 169 170 171 172 173 173a 174 175 176 177 178 179 180 181 182 183 184 185 186 187 188 (189)^* 190 190a 191 192 193 193a 194 195 196 197 197a 198 199 200 201 202 203 204 205 205a 206 207 207a 208 208a 209 210 210a 211 212 213 214 215 216 216a (217)^* ~~218~~^ ~~219~~^ (220)^* (221)^* ~~222~~^** 223 224 244a 248a 249a 249b 1040 1045 1083 1127 Anh. 3 Anh. 5 Anh. 9 Anh. 11 Anh. 18 — ^(Doubtful) ^*~~Spurious~~

Lists: Compositions Cantatas ; Church cantatas: Chorale cantatas Early Weimar 1st cycle 2nd cycle 3rd cycle Picander cycle Late ; Secular cantatas

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