Befiehl dem Engel, daß er komm' - Dieterich Buxtehude
Well, I'm back on duty after a sort of absence: Directly after our Organ Recital on June 8, Margaret and I embarked upon a week's peregrinations from California out to New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts and (for Margaret) Toronto. Then upon returning last Tuesday, I've been engaged as a part-time participant in the ninth Chanticleer Choral Workshop held at SSU, which wrapped up yesterday with a fine (outdoor) concert which featured a number of familiar and beloved Sonoma Bach characters.
Now it feels as though summer has actually arrived--and according to the weather report, it will do so with a vengeance over the next few days (though I understand that you all were already scorching during a large part of our absence from the area).
I did manage to get a piece/project out while on the road, and though I am a bit tardy, I enthusiastically offer last week's piece today. It's called 'Befiehl dem Engel, daß er komm', and it's by the redoubtable Dieterich Buxtehude (1637-1707), the swan of Lübeck, revered by the young Bach and visited by him on the storied journey-by-foot during Bach's salad days in Arnstadt(Where Bach Is Hot).
It's a small-scale piece, scored for a trio sonata of instruments (two violins and continuo) plus four singers (or possibly a four-part choir). This instrumental texture has been on my mind since our Organ Recital, for which the peerless Annie Laver adapted for organ a number of vocal accompaniments originally scored for trio sonata. A peculiarity of the format is that it generally requires not three instruments (as suggested by the nomenclature) but four: Two violins or other treble instruments; a bass instrument such as cello or viola da gamba; and harpsichord or organ or perhaps a plucked string instrument to double the bass line and provide a harmonic context. Annie somehow managed to do all this herself, a balancing act akin to juggling three balls while simultaneously dancing a jig (or a gigue, if you prefer) and reciting the Pledge of Allegiance backwards.
Our recording of today's piece (available at this link) required no such extreme gymnastics, since the parts are rendered in the customary manner, accompanying four solo voices. As you'll hear (and see if you download the attached score), the violins mainly provide the melodic material between vocal statements. Occasionally they enter while the voices are singing.
As he often did in these pieces, Buxtehude mixes things up by changing meter (into triple-time) midway through the piece, and then by providing a tempo marking of 'Allegro' for the final 'Amen'. This form meshes with and reinforces the text of the piece (also attached, with an English translation), which first implores God to send his angels to protect us earthlings and then offers anticipatory thanks and praise for the gift of such protection.
It is an absolutely charming and moving piece which you will have a chance to hear live in November in our 'The Old Bach Archive' concert, part of our upcoming 2022-2023 concert season, 'Bach's World'.
More on that presently. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy today's piece and the excellent recording.
Well, I'm back on duty after a sort of absence: Directly after our Organ Recital on June 8, Margaret and I embarked upon a week's peregrinations from California out to New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts and (for Margaret) Toronto. Then upon returning last Tuesday, I've been engaged as a part-time participant in the ninth Chanticleer Choral Workshop held at SSU, which wrapped up yesterday with a fine (outdoor) concert which featured a number of familiar and beloved Sonoma Bach characters.
Now it feels as though summer has actually arrived--and according to the weather report, it will do so with a vengeance over the next few days (though I understand that you all were already scorching during a large part of our absence from the area).
I did manage to get a piece/project out while on the road, and though I am a bit tardy, I enthusiastically offer last week's piece today. It's called 'Befiehl dem Engel, daß er komm', and it's by the redoubtable Dieterich Buxtehude (1637-1707), the swan of Lübeck, revered by the young Bach and visited by him on the storied journey-by-foot during Bach's salad days in Arnstadt(Where Bach Is Hot).
It's a small-scale piece, scored for a trio sonata of instruments (two violins and continuo) plus four singers (or possibly a four-part choir). This instrumental texture has been on my mind since our Organ Recital, for which the peerless Annie Laver adapted for organ a number of vocal accompaniments originally scored for trio sonata. A peculiarity of the format is that it generally requires not three instruments (as suggested by the nomenclature) but four: Two violins or other treble instruments; a bass instrument such as cello or viola da gamba; and harpsichord or organ or perhaps a plucked string instrument to double the bass line and provide a harmonic context. Annie somehow managed to do all this herself, a balancing act akin to juggling three balls while simultaneously dancing a jig (or a gigue, if you prefer) and reciting the Pledge of Allegiance backwards.
Our recording of today's piece (available at this link) required no such extreme gymnastics, since the parts are rendered in the customary manner, accompanying four solo voices. As you'll hear (and see if you download the attached score), the violins mainly provide the melodic material between vocal statements. Occasionally they enter while the voices are singing.
As he often did in these pieces, Buxtehude mixes things up by changing meter (into triple-time) midway through the piece, and then by providing a tempo marking of 'Allegro' for the final 'Amen'. This form meshes with and reinforces the text of the piece (also attached, with an English translation), which first implores God to send his angels to protect us earthlings and then offers anticipatory thanks and praise for the gift of such protection.
It is an absolutely charming and moving piece which you will have a chance to hear live in November in our 'The Old Bach Archive' concert, part of our upcoming 2022-2023 concert season, 'Bach's World'.
More on that presently. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy today's piece and the excellent recording.