Bach: Cantata “Jesus schläft, was soll ich hoffen | Philippe Herreweghe, Collegium Vocale Gent

A sea voyage full of fear, agony and hopelessness: all this is contained in Bach's cantata “Jesus schläft, was soll ich hoffen“ (Jesus sleeps, what shall I hope for?), BWV 81, in which not only Jesus but also Johann Sebastian Bach performs true musical miracles. Philippe Herreweghe conducts his Collegium Vocale Gent in a live recording from the Leipzig Bach Festival on June 10, 2023 in the Leipzig’s St. Thomas Church.

00:00 Intro
00:09 I. Aria (Altus): Jesus schläft, was soll ich hoffen?
04:22 II. Recitativo (Tenor): Herr! warum trittest du so ferne?
05:40 III. Aria (Tenor): Die schäumenden Wellen von Belials Bächen
08:45 IV. Arioso (Bass): Ihr Kleingläubigen, warum seid ihr so furchtsam?
09:44 V. Aria (Bass): Schweig, aufgetürmtes Meer!
14:41 VI. Recitativo (Altus): Wohl mir, mein Jesus spricht ein Wort
15:08 VII. Chorale: Unter deinen Schirmen

ALEX POTTER | Altus
BENEDICT HYMAS | Tenor
PETER KOOIJ | Bass
COLLEGIUM VOCALE GENT
PHILIPPE HERREWEGHE | Conductor

It’s a dramatic scene. Jesus and his disciples are crossing the Sea of Galilee in a boat when they are caught in a storm. The disciples fear for their lives, while Jesus sleeps peacefully and deeply. The frightened disciples wake Jesus, who calms the storm. “Schweig, aufgetürmtes Meer“ (Silence, towering sea), sings the bass, Bach’s usual vocal register for Jesus.

The rough sea, the fearful souls and the pitching boats are clearly depicted in both music and words. The libretto of the cantata depicts the exact course of events from the Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 8 in the Bible, which is why this cantata can also be described as a “mini-oratorio.”

In the third aria, for example, when the tenor sings of “schäumenden Wellen von Belials Bächen” (the foaming waves of Belial's streams), of winds and stormy tides, things also become musically dramatic. The strings imitate the waves and the tenor positively ignites a thunderstorm with his coloratura. This is gripping music that Bach wrote in 1724 for the fourth Sunday after Epiphany.

In the bass arioso (No. 4), Jesus calls his fearful friends “ye of little faith,” who should trust in God in the face of the storm. The climax of the cantata is immediately followed by the great bass aria (No. 5), in which Jesus conquers the storm with the simple words “Schweig, aufgetürmtes Meer, Verstumme Meer und Sturm” (Silence, towering sea, hush sea and storm). It is the longest aria in this cantata and is especially virtuosic.

In the “Sturmchoral” (storm chorale, No. 7) at the end, faith and trust in Jesus to help his followers are restored. In this chorale, “Unter deinen Schirmen” (Under your shield), Bach symbolically uses the melody from the well-known hymn “Jesu, meine Freude” (Jesus, my joy),

The internationally renowned conductor and Bach expert Philippe Herreweghe founded the Collegium Vocale Gent in 1970. Together, they perform early music as a kind of historical performance practice. In 1989, the vocal ensemble was expanded to include an orchestra made up of first-class international performers of Baroque music. With the Collegium Vocale Gent choir and orchestra, Herreweghe has since produced landmark early-music recordings, including the cantatas of Johann Sebastian Bach.

© 2023 Deutsche Welle/Bachfest Leipzig

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