Cantata BWV 51: “Aria” (arr. Ruiz)

Composer: BACH, Johann Sebastian
  • This aria is from Bach’s solo soprano cantata BWV 51 Jauchzet Gott in allen Landen (“Rejoice in God in all lands”) (composed in Leipzig, 1730)1
  • This movement is a transcription of the aria “Höchster, mache deine Güte” (“Lord, renew your blessings every day”)2
  • Theme of aria: trust and gratitude.3
  • The entire cantata is written for (very virtuosic) soprano solo, but Bach had no women in his church choir. That means the original soloist in this piece was either a talented boy soprano with a high C, or a castrato.
    • Scholars have speculated the original soloist might have been Bach’s contemporary Giovanni Bindi, who performed in nearby Dresden.4

Sources

  1. Christoph Wolff and Walter Emery, “Bach, Johann Sebastian,” Grove Music Online (2001), accessed July 15, 2019,https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-6002278195.
  2. Gonzalo X. Ruiz, liner notes to J.S. Bach: Concertos for Oboe and Oboe d’amore, Gonzalo R. Ruiz, Portland Baroque Orchestra, Monica Huggett, Avie 2324, CD, 2014.
  3. Francis Browne, “Cantata BWV 51 Jauchzet Gott in allen Landen! English Translation in Interlinear Format,” Bach Cantatas Website (2008), accessed July 17, 2019, https://www.bach-cantatas.com/Texts/BWV51-Eng3.htm.
  4. “Cantata no. 51: Jauchzet Gott,” The Bach Choir of Bethlehem, accessed July 17, 2019, https://bach.org/education/cantata-bwv-51/.

Cut IDs

20135