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  • Deep Dives
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Herr Jesu Christ, meins Lebens Licht
J.S. Bach wrote a number of pieces entitled Motet (or Motetto). Most of these share two features: They are scored to be sung essentially a cappella, or with at most an accompaniment of basso continuo; and they include a Lutheran chorale, often as the final movement.

There are exceptions, including indications that some of the pieces were performed with colla parte instrumental doubling. But the main idea is that the motets, pretty much all written for funerals, needed to be able to be performed during services, possibly including at the graveside, which would make instrumental accompaniment difficult. (Especially in those Leipzig winters--brrrr.)

The general pattern is an opening section which sets to music biblical passages, and a closing section which presents a complementary chorale. 'Jesu meine Freude' is unusual in that it presents all six verses of the eponymous chorale, with settings upon passages from St. Paul interspersed between. 'Singet dem Herrn', the one of the great double-choir motets, has a chorale section in which one choir sings a harmonized version of the melody--'Nun lob mein Seel den Herren' while the other comments. This meditative piece is followed by a return to the triumphant mood of the opening. 'Lobet den Herrn' has no chorale at all.

Today's chorale is entitled 'Herr Jesu Christ, meins Lebens Licht', and we'll be looking especially at the chorale's appearance in BWV 118. Now the BWV numbers from 1-200 or so are pretty much all cantatas--so what the heck is this motet doing in there? It seems that the people who devised the Bach Werke Verzeichnis (List of Bach's Works) thought it was a cantata because it has a full instrumentation--like a cantata. 


In fact, it has not one but two orchestrations. Both versions are contained in this Dropbox folder, so you can see for yourself: The earlier version is entirely for brass: Two litui (apparently the lituo was a horn-like instrument); cornetto; and three trombones. There is no indication that a keyboard instrument participated. This would seem to support the suggestion that the motet may have been performed at the graveside--no organ or harpsichord to move, no tetchy string instruments to protect from the elements and keep in tune. 


The later version looks more conventional: The two litui are still there, but there are strings in place of the cornetto and trombones, and indications that three oboes and a bassoon may double the voices.

The piece for which these two orchestrations were devised is simple in outline. After a most expressive instrumental sinfonia, the soprano enters with the first chorale phrase in long notes. The lower three voices join in with lines which are clearly derived from the chorale. At the end of each phrase, an instrumental interlude follows and leads into the ensuing phrase. After the final fourth phrase, a repeat of the opening sinfonia is indicated (version 1) or written out (version 2).

This tight structure, along with the spare and elegant shape of the chorale itself, results in a quite powerful musical statement, a perfect complement to the chorale text, which is a petition to grant that the singer be truly redeemed by Christ's suffering. Presumably more than one verse of the chorale would have been sung, though it is not known how many nor which verses would have been selected.


Along with the scores, that Dropbox folder contains two recordings of the piece. Listen to them both and see what you think. To me, they are each beautiful and powerful; but the first version, for brass, has a special character of its own. Unfortunately, this version--Bach's original conception--is rarely performed, due to its call for a sui generis instrumentation. But now that we have a regular working relationship with the wonderful early brass ensemble The Whole Noyse, we're gonna make it happen one day!


Special thanks to Dan Solter, who first brought this piece to my attention (as he has done with other pieces so many times over the years).
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