Cantata BWV 165
2010, October 15
JS Bach Cantata BWV 165: O heilges Geist und Wasserbad
(Oh Holy Spirit and waterbath or Oh holy fountain, sanctified)
Trinity Sunday June 16 1715
Weimar Cantatas
Scoring: Violin I,II, Viola, Bassoon, Violincello, Continuo
Soprano, Alto, Tenor, Bass
Bärenreiter vol 6; p 29-42
Reading: Epistle: Romans 11:33-36
Reading: Gospel: John 3:1-15
Words: Salomo Franck
Bach Bibliography
Recordings
Discussion
Literature
Dürr p 371-374
Whittaker vol 1 p 411-415
Green p 353-355
Terry vol 2 p 441
Boyd p 331
1 O heilges Geist- und Wasserbad: soprano aria
Complex fugal form
2 Die sündige Geburt verdammter Adamserben: bass recitative
3 Jesu, der aus großer Liebe: alto aria
4 Ich habe ja, mein Seelenbräutigam: bass recitative
Boyd finds this the most "striking movement in the work." After the bass has sung 'when all strength fails' the upper strings cannot find the energy to play the expected final chord, leaving only the bass instruments (without continuo harmony) to play a low G. Dürr states that the instruments' held notes are so often broken up into melody that the threshold between free recitation and metrically regular delivery is constantly transgressed.
5 Jesu, meines Todes Tod: tenor aria
An upbeat melody for the tenor, accompanied by the violins and viola in unison.
6 Sein Wort, sein Tauf, sein Nachtmahl: Chorale
The chorale melody on Bach-cantatas.com
The chorale melody in a PDF excerpt by C.S. Terry
Straight four part chorale with instruments accompanying each part.
This cantata, written in 1715 and renewed in 1716, then again in Leipzig, is a comment on baptism.
The music
A PDF of the cantata in old clefsLeonhardt Aria 1; Recitative 1; Aria 2
Leonhardt Recitative 2; Aria 3; Chorale
Instruments and voices for each part
| Section | Instruments, voices |
|---|---|
| 1 | Soprano aria, violin I,II, viola, bassoon, continuo (NBA: violoncello and keyboard) |
| 2 | Bass recitative, continuo (NBA: keyboard) |
| 3 | Alto aria, continuo (NBA: keyboard) |
| 4 | Bass recitative, violin I,II, viola, continuo (NBA: bassoon and keyboard) |
| 5 | Tenor aria, violin I,II in unison, continuo (NBA: keyboard) |
| 6 | Chorale SATB, violin I,II, viola, bassoon, continuo (NBA: keyboard) |
Biblical references for each part
References for the text: Luther's German Bible King James Bible
| Scripture | Text | |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | John 3:6 | That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit |
| Was vom Fleisch geboren wird, das ist Fleisch, und was vom Geist geboren wird, das ist Geist | ||
| 4 | John 3:14-15 | And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: |
| Und wie Mose in der Wüste eine Schlange erhöhet hat, also muß des Menschen Sohn erhöhet werden |
References
Emmanuel Translation BWV 165.
Emmanuel Notes BWV 165.
Discussion from Bach Cantatas Website.
Recordingsfrom Bach Cantatas Website.
John Eliot Gardiner Cantatas Recording.
Classical.net discussion, Simon Crouch.
London Bach Society Database entry BWV 165
