BWV 194 - Höchsterwünschtes Freudenfest
The first performance of Höchsterwünschtes Freudenfest, BWV194, took place on the 2nd of November 1723 at the inauguration of anew organ in Störmthal, a village some eight miles south-east of Leipzig. The church had been extensively renovated and equipped with a newly built organ. Bach was called upon to test out the new organ, perform a public concert, and compose and perform a celebratory cantata for the occasion.
The origins of BWV 194, however, stem from a now lost secular cantata – most likely for the birthday of Prince Leopold of Anhalt-Cöthen composed sometime between 1717-1723. Of the few instrumental parts that have been preserved, scholars conclude that apart from the introductory chorus, all of the arias have been re-used with only minor alterations. This may be true of the recitatives as well, particularly the dialogue recitative between bass and soprano. After the first performance in Störmthal, the cantata was revived the following summer for Trinity Sunday as the culmination of Bach’s first Leipzig cycle; and was revived again for two further Trinity Sundays in 1726 and 1731. The cantata was even performed after Bach’s death in Halle, conducted by the composer’s eldest son Wilhelm Friedemann Bach.
For the text, the biblical starting point is Solomon's dedication prayer (2 Chronicles:6-7). One of the central ideas of the cantata text is that the church is the house of God, and that God may enter and take up residence within it to ignite, strengthen and preserve faith against the weakness of the flesh and worldly opposition. Because the text is unusually rich in biblical allusions – not a single line is without a biblical reference – the assumption is that the unknown librettist was a theologian.
Given its secular origins, it is not surprising that Bach begins the cantata with a courtly French overture, followed by all the aria movements composed in a dance character. Bach essentially creates a vocal dance suite connected by recitatives and chorale tunes. In the opening chorus Bach delays the entry of the chorus until the quick triple-time middle section. Then, instead of an exact repeat of the festive opening - reeds first (three oboes and bassoon), strings next – he reverses the process, yielding the descending 16th notes to the oboe band before bringing the chorus back for a concluding statement.
The first aria for bass, a spacious pastorale in 12/8 for oboe and strings gently conveys the reassurance of God’s protective care. The spirited gavotte for soprano and strings celebrates the purifying effects of Pentecostal fire. A chorale setting of “Treuer Gott, ich muß dir klagen” by J. Heermann (1630) ends Part I.
Part II commences with an urgent directive to rejoice followed by a rollicking gigue for tenor and continuo alone. The dialogue recitative for soprano and bass that ensues foreshadows the great dialogue between Hope and Fear for alto and tenor in O Ewigkeit du Donnerwort, BWV 60, that would have been only 5 days later on the 7th of November 1723. In Cantata BWV 194, it is the soprano comforting the bass. This opens up to a sunny minuet for soprano and bass with two oboes. The tender parallel thirds and sixths express so well the well-being communicate in the text. After a brief, summarizing bass recitative, the cantata closes with a chorale setting of the hymn “Wach auf, mein Herz, und singe” by P. Gerhardt (1647). The final verse earnestly captures the core message of the cantata and our plight on earth: “Cover me with blessing, may my heart be your tabernacle, your word be my food, until I journey to heaven!”
*A note about pitch: The pitch for the new organ in Störmthal was tuned to ‘tiefer Cammerton’ (A= 390), considerably lower than that of the Leipzig organs (A=415) and even lower than the modern pitch used at Emmanuel(A=440). This issue of pitch renders our performance a whole step higher than it was likely performed, explaining the high G’s in the bass solos and top C’s in the soprano choral parts (very unusual in Bach choral writing) which would have been unsingable by boy choristers!
©Ryan Turner