Herr, wenn die stolzen Feinde schnauben, BWV 248 VI

*Herr, wenn die stolzen Feinde schnauben*
Herr, wenn die stolzen Feinde schnauben
Part VI of Christmas Oratorio
Christmas cantata by J. S. Bach
Catalogue	BWV 248 VI
Text	Matthew 2:7–12; "Ich steh an deiner Krippen hier"; "Nun seid ihr wohl gerochen";
Performed	6 January 1735: Leipzig
Movements	9
Vocal	SATB choir and soloists
Instrumental	3 trumpets; timpani; 2 oboes; 2 oboes d'amore; 2 violins; viola; cello; violone; continuo;

Herr, wenn die stolzen Feinde schnauben (Lord, when our insolent enemies snort),^[1] BWV 248^VI (also written as BWV 248 VI), is a church cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach, composed for Epiphany as the sixth part of his Christmas Oratorio for the Christmas season of 1734–35 in Leipzig. The cantata was first performed in two major churches there on 6 January 1735.

The topic of Part VI follows the Gospel of Matthew, telling of the Adoration of the Magi. Bach scored it for a festive orchestra, with all instruments from Part I except the flutes. Its exceptional closing chorale, with the voices embedded in an orchestral concerto dominated by the first trumpet, closes not only the cantata but also the oratorio.

History

Bach was Thomaskantor, responsible for church music at four churches in Leipzig, a position he had assumed in 1723. Bach had presented church cantatas for the Christmas season in the Thomaskirche and Nikolaikirche, including two cantatas for Epiphany:^[2]^[3]^[4]

As part of his first cantata cycle: Sie werden aus Saba alle kommen, BWV 65, first performed in 1724.^[5]
As part of his second cantata cycle: Liebster Immanuel, Herzog der Frommen, BWV 123, first performed in 1725.^[6]

For the oratorio, the libretto by an unknown author followed the nativity of Jesus from the Gospel of Matthew, interspersed with reflecting texts for recitatives and arias, and stanzas from two Lutheran hymns.^[7]^[8]

Bach led the first performances with the Thomanerchor at the two main churches of Leipzig on 6 January 1735.^[1]^[7]

Cantata fragment BWV 248 VI a

BWV 248 VI a, also indicated as BWV 248a, is a fragment of a cantata, transmitted without text, the opening chorus of which Bach likely borrowed from So kämpfet nur, ihr muntern Töne, BWV 1160, one of his secular cantatas. Picander wrote the libretto of the BWV 1160 cantata (also known as BWV Anh. 10), which otherwise, that is, apart from the likely borrowed opening chorus, survived without music. It was first performed on 25 August 1731, for the birthday of Joachim Friedrich von Flemming [de].^[9]^[10]^[11]

The cantata transmitted in the BWV 248a fragment, consisting of four revised performance parts in the bundle of contemporary performance material for BWV 248 VI, is a sacred cantata for Michaelmas (29 September), likely first performed in 1734. While nothing more survives of the Michaelmas cantata as such, the four revised performance parts show that most of its music, including the music of its opening chorus and recitatives, was parodied in Part VI of the Christmas Oratorio.^[9]^[10]^[11]

Music

Structure and scoring

The cantata is structured in 11 movements.^[12] An extended choral introduction is followed by two scenes. Both scenes are composed of a quotation from the Gospel of Matthew, a recitative reflecting the narration, an aria-like prayer or meditation, and a chorale setting a stanza from a Lutheran hymn. Bach scored the cantata for three vocal soloists, a four-part choir and a festive Baroque orchestra with trumpets, timpani, oboes and strings. A tenor soloist narrates the Biblical story in secco recitative, as the Evangelist. There are two chorales: a four-part setting of Paul Gerhardt's "Ich steh an deiner Krippen hier" and a closing chorale with an independent orchestra, "Nun seid ihr wohl gerochen".^[12]

BWV 248 VI is scored for three trumpets (Tr), timpani (Ti), two oboes (Ob), two oboes d'amore (Oa), two violin parts (Vl), a viola part (Va) and continuo.^[7] In the following table, the continuo, playing throughout, is not shown.

Movements of *Herr, wenn die stolzen Feinde schnauben*
No.	Title	Text	Type	Vocal	Brass	Winds	Strings	Key	Time
54	Herr, wenn die stolzen Feinde schnauben	anon.	Chorus	SATB	3Tr Ti	2Ob	2Vl Va	D major	3/8
55	Da berief Herodes die Weisen heimlich / Ziehet hin und forschet fleißig	Matthew 2:7-8	Recitative	Ev. Herod
56	Du Falscher, suche nur den Herrn zu fällen	anon.	Recitative	S			2Vl Va
57	Nur ein Wink von seinen Händen	anon.	Aria	S		Oa	2Vl Va	A major	³ ₄
58	Als sie nun den König gehöret hatten	Matthew 2:9-11	Recitative	Ev.
59	Ich steh an deiner Krippen hier	Gerhardt	Chorale	SATB		2Ob	Vl Va	G major
60	Und Gott befahl ihnen im Traum	Matthew 2:12	Recitative	Ev.
61	So geht! Genug, mein Schatz geht nicht von hier	anon.	Recitative	T		2Oa
62	Nun mögt ihr stolzen Feinde schrecken	anon.	Aria	T		2Oa		B minor	² ₄
63	Ach mein herzliebes Jesulein	anon.	Recitative	S A T B				D major
64	Nun seid ihr wohl gerochen	Werner	Chorale	SATB	3Tr Ti	2Ob	2Vl Va	D major

References

^ ^a ^b Dürr & Jones 2006, p. 179.
^ Wolff 2002, pp. 237–257.
^ Dürr & Jones 2006, pp. 22–35.
^ Buelow 2016, p. 272.
^ Bach Digital Work 00081
^ Bach Digital Work 00150
^ ^a ^b ^c Bach Digital Work 11390
^ Dellal 2024.
^ ^a ^b Glöckner 2000.
^ ^a ^b Bossuyt 2004, p. 35.
^ ^a ^b Bach Digital Works 00315 and 01318
^ ^a ^b Dürr & Jones 2006, pp. 179–181.

Cited sources

Bossuyt, Ignace [in French] (2004). Johann Sebastian Bach, Christmas Oratorio (BWV 248). Translated by Bull, Stratton. Philippe Herreweghe (foreword). Leuven: Leuven University Press. ISBN 978-9-05-867421-0.
Buelow, George J. (2016). "The Late Baroque Era". The Late Baroque Era: Vol 4. From The 1680s To 1740. Springer. ISBN 978-1-34-911303-3.
Dellal, Pamela (2024). "BWV 248-VI – Herr, wenn die stolzen Feinde schnauben". Emmanuel Music. Retrieved 27 December 2024.
Dürr, Alfred; Jones, Richard D. P. (2006). "Herr, wenn die stolzen Feinde schnauben". The Cantatas of J. S. Bach: With Their Librettos in German-English Parallel Text. Oxford University Press. pp. 179–182. ISBN 978-0-19-929776-4.
Glöckner, Andreas (2000). "Eine Michaeliskantate als Parodievorlage für den sechsten Teil des Bachschen Weihnachts-Oratoriums?" [A Michaelmas cantata as model for Part VI of Bach's Christmas Oratorio?]. In Schulze, Hans-Joachim; Wolff, Christoph (eds.). Bach-Jahrbuch 2000 [Bach Yearbook 2000]. Bach-Jahrbuch (in German). Vol. 86. Neue Bachgesellschaft. Leipzig: Evangelische Verlagsanstalt. pp. 317–326. doi:10.13141/bjb.v2000. ISBN 3-374-01828-9. ISSN 0084-7682.
Wolff, Christoph (2002). Johann Sebastian Bach: The Learned Musician. W. W. Norton & Company. ISBN 978-0-393-32256-9.