Ach Gott, wie manches Herzeleid
"Ach Gott, wie manches Herzeleid" (Oh God, how much heartache) is a hymn in German in 18 stanzas attributed to Martin Moller (1587).[1] It is often catalogued as a paraphrase of the Latin "Jesu dulcis memoria", a medieval hymn attributed to Bernard of Clairvaux,[2] but only a few lines refer directly to this song. Hymn tunes were composed for the hymn (Zahn Nos. 547–549),[3]: 154 and it is also often sung to a tune composed for "Herr Jesu Christ, meins Lebens Licht" (Zahn No. 533).[3]: 150 The anonymous hymn tune of "Herr Jesu Christ, meins Lebens Licht" first appeared in Wolflein Lochamer's Lochamer-Liederbuch, printed in Nürnberg around 1455.[4][5][6] In Leipzig in the 1720s, Johann Sebastian Bach composed settings of Lochamer's hymn based on four of his church cantatas and a sacred motet.[7][8]
"Ach Gott, wie manches Herzeleid" | |
---|---|
Hymn | |
English | Oh God, how much heartache |
Catalogue | Zahn 533, 547–549 |
Text | by Martin Moller |
Language | German |
Published | 1587 |
Musical settings and harmonization
editJohann Sebastian Bach used the final three stanzas of Ach Gott, wie manches Herzeleid to conclude Schau, lieber Gott, wie meine Feind, BWV 153, a church cantata composed for the Sunday after New Year's Day, 2 January 1724,[9] and the first stanza of the hymn as movement 4 of Sie werden euch in den Bann tun, BWV 44, for Exaudi, the Sunday after Ascension, 21 May 1724.[1][10]
The entire hymn is also the base for Bach's Ach Gott, wie manches Herzeleid, BWV 3, a chorale cantata composed in Leipzig for the second Sunday after Epiphany, 14 January 1725.[11][12] Bach also used the melody in two movements of Ach Gott, wie manches Herzeleid, BWV 58, a cantata for the Sunday after New Year's Day, 5 January 1727,[13] and he used the melody with the hymn text "O Jesu Christ, meins Lebens Licht" for the eponymous motet (BWV 118).[14]
References
edit- ^ a b "Ach Gott, wie manches Herzeleid / Text and Translation of Chorale". bach-cantatas.com. 2006. Retrieved 14 January 2013.
- ^ Hofmann, Klaus (2005). "Ach Gott, wie manches Herzeleid, BWV 3 / Oh God, how many a heartfelt woe" (PDF). Bach Cantatas Website. p. 9. Retrieved 17 January 2013.
- ^ a b Zahn, Johannes (1889). Die Melodien der deutschen evangelischen Kirchenlieder (in German). Vol. I. Gütersloh: Bertelsmann.
- Die Melodien der deutschen evangelischen Kirchenlieder at International Music Score Library Project
- ^ "Chorale Melodies used in Bach's Vocal Works / Herr (or O) Jesu Christ, meins Lebens Licht". Bach Cantatas Website. 2006. Retrieved 14 January 2013.
- ^ Spriewald, Ingeborg, ed. (1982), All mein Gedanken, die ich hab: deutsche Lieder des 15. und 16. Jahrhunderts, Union Verlag
- ^ Fix, Ulla (2007), Barz, Irmhild (ed.), Stil—ein sprachliches und soziales Phänomen: Beiträge zur Stilistik, Sprachwissenschaft, vol. 3, Frank & Timme, p. 367, ISBN 9783865961389
- ^ Dürr, Alfred; Jones, Richard D. P. (2006). The Cantatas of J. S. Bach: With Their Librettos in German-English Parallel Text. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-929776-4.
- ^ Melamed, Daniel R. (1995), J. S. Bach and the German Motet, Cambridge University Press, ISBN 9780521418645
- ^ Dürr & Jones 2006, pp. 162–166
- ^ Dürr & Jones 2006, pp. 340–343
- ^ Dürr & Jones 2006, pp. 194–197
- ^ BWV 3.6 at Luke Dahn's www
.bach-chorales (2019).com - ^ Dürr & Jones 2006, pp. 166–169
- ^ Melamed 1995, pp. 22–27