Was Gott tut das ist wohlgetan - Johann Pachelbel
You may be getting the impression that 'Was Gott tut das ist wohlgetan' is one of my favorite chorales. You would be correct. I just love the balance of the tune, its perfect shape, and its joyful character. It also helps that I first became familiar with it through Bach's eponymous Cantata 99, of which I sent out a link to this wonderful performance a few weeks ago: One of the most sublime of all his cantatas (and that's saying a lot).
Take another look and a listen to refamiliarize yourself with the tune, as it's coming at you today in a very different version, this one by Johann Pachelbel, he of the famous Canon. (Must be both a blessing and a curse to have written a piece which is so famous that virtually everyone is familiar with it [some perhaps overfamiliar, even perhaps unhealthily fixated--check out this rant], to the point where virtually everything else you've written [much of it fantastic] falls into utter obscurity.)
Yet in said obscurity lie many wonderful works well worth seeking out and bringing to the light. Pachebel's cantata on 'Was Gott tut das ist wohlgetan' is a great example. It is a per omnes versus setting, which is to say that it includes all six verses of the chorale text. These are presented in a kaleidoscopic array of settings which will make your head spin and perhaps provide a much-needed frisson of delight and even of wonder.
Pachelbel opens with a little sinfonia in the strings. The soprano then presents the first verse with instrumental accompaniment. The second verse is soloistic, featuring first an alto-tenor duet and then a bass solo on the B-section of the chorale. The third verse begins with a homophonic section in the choir; the soloists take up the tale, and the verse closes with a tutti passage for choir and orchestra.
The fourth verse again features the bass soloist, this time with the chorale melody played by unison violins. After a return of the opening sinfonia, the fifth verse receives a setting much like that in the opening movement of Bach's cantata on 'Ein feste Burg': In each phrase, the lower voices fugue around on themes related to the melody, and then the soprano comes in an authorative statement of the exact melody in long notes.
In the sixth verse, the composer basically throws in the kitchen sink to create a celebratory apotheosis to this most triumphant cantata.
What a ride!
As usual, I am attaching a score and a very nice recording. For your convenience, here's a link to the same recording on YouTube. The text-translation can be found in the link above. And as a special bonus, here is a good recording of Pachelbel's organ partita on the same chorale.
Warning: Listening to this music may result in a melodic ear-worm which could last for days!
You may be getting the impression that 'Was Gott tut das ist wohlgetan' is one of my favorite chorales. You would be correct. I just love the balance of the tune, its perfect shape, and its joyful character. It also helps that I first became familiar with it through Bach's eponymous Cantata 99, of which I sent out a link to this wonderful performance a few weeks ago: One of the most sublime of all his cantatas (and that's saying a lot).
Take another look and a listen to refamiliarize yourself with the tune, as it's coming at you today in a very different version, this one by Johann Pachelbel, he of the famous Canon. (Must be both a blessing and a curse to have written a piece which is so famous that virtually everyone is familiar with it [some perhaps overfamiliar, even perhaps unhealthily fixated--check out this rant], to the point where virtually everything else you've written [much of it fantastic] falls into utter obscurity.)
Yet in said obscurity lie many wonderful works well worth seeking out and bringing to the light. Pachebel's cantata on 'Was Gott tut das ist wohlgetan' is a great example. It is a per omnes versus setting, which is to say that it includes all six verses of the chorale text. These are presented in a kaleidoscopic array of settings which will make your head spin and perhaps provide a much-needed frisson of delight and even of wonder.
Pachelbel opens with a little sinfonia in the strings. The soprano then presents the first verse with instrumental accompaniment. The second verse is soloistic, featuring first an alto-tenor duet and then a bass solo on the B-section of the chorale. The third verse begins with a homophonic section in the choir; the soloists take up the tale, and the verse closes with a tutti passage for choir and orchestra.
The fourth verse again features the bass soloist, this time with the chorale melody played by unison violins. After a return of the opening sinfonia, the fifth verse receives a setting much like that in the opening movement of Bach's cantata on 'Ein feste Burg': In each phrase, the lower voices fugue around on themes related to the melody, and then the soprano comes in an authorative statement of the exact melody in long notes.
In the sixth verse, the composer basically throws in the kitchen sink to create a celebratory apotheosis to this most triumphant cantata.
What a ride!
As usual, I am attaching a score and a very nice recording. For your convenience, here's a link to the same recording on YouTube. The text-translation can be found in the link above. And as a special bonus, here is a good recording of Pachelbel's organ partita on the same chorale.
Warning: Listening to this music may result in a melodic ear-worm which could last for days!