Incomprehensible Light: About the Program
Assuming Jesus was born on December 25, the family would have waited 40 days to perform the ritual of purification after childbirth and the consecration of her child, bringing us to February 2, commemorated in the liturgical calendar as the Feast of the Purification of Mary. As told in the Gospel of Luke, when the Holy Family arrives at the temple, they meet Simeon, who has understood through the Holy Spirit that he would not die until he sees the Messiah. He takes hold of Jesus and begins his prayer by saying the Lord can now dismiss him (let him die) because he has seen the Messiah, “a light that will be a revelation to the heathen” (Luke 2:32), which gives the feast its other name—Candlemas.
J. S. Bach’s cantata “Ich habe genug” (“I have enough”, BWV 82) for oboe, strings, continuo, and Bass soloist, was first performed in Leipzig on February 2, 1727. The opening aria in C minor, presents Simeon’s perspective with repeating motive featuring a large ascending leap, symbolic of Simeon’s desire to leave this world and be with God. In the following secco recitative, the modern believer picks up Simeon’s refrain to say that the world has little to offer. The central movement in E-flat major, with strings and continuo only, is a gentle slumber aria to express the Lutheran belief that in death, the faithful will lie in state similar to sleep until the resurrection on the Last Day. It is in an ABACA form with orchestral ritornelli. A brief recitative in C minor asks when we will depart this world, and the cantata concludes with the anticipation of this escape; the oboe returns for a festive aria in the style of a passepied—a fast minuet with a pickup and constant forward motion. The believer’s joy in their union with God is expressed through lengthy melismatic passages. The leaping motive from the first aria returns in the start of the B section at the words “Da entkomm ich” (“Then I will escape”), although it passes quickly. The escape to joy is completed by the sudden ending of the work in C major.
In his role as director of Leipzig’s Collegium musicum starting in 1729, Bach often revised concertos he had already written to suit his new situation—part of which was being the father of several sons who were excellent keyboardists. Although many of the original concertos are now lost, musicologists can make a fair guess about which instruments could have been used to make the new works for multiple keyboards by matching the range of the melodies.
J. S. Bach’s Concerto for Violin and Oboe in C minor (BWV 1060R) is derived from a double harpsichord concerto from the 1730s and has also been edited for two violins as the soloists. The outer movements are ritornello forms in C minor which develop the opening themes throughout the movements, rather than continually presenting new material for the soloists, with brief returns of the full orchestra. Only the last restatement of the orchestra presents the entire ritornello. The middle Adagio movement presents the soloists in lyrical lines over a walking bass accompaniment. The movement begins in E-flat major, and a short coda ends on a G major chord to transition into the final Allegro in C minor.
Bach’s cantata “Mit Fried und Freud ich fahr dahin” (“With peace and joy do I depart”, BWV 125) is for a large orchestra of horn, flute traverso, oboe/oboe d’amore, strings, continuo, and chorus, with solos for Alto, Tenor, and Bass; it was first performed on February 2, 1725. As is typical of his choral cantatas, the work begins with an elaborate Allegro setting of the chorale with melismatic lines for the winds and strings in E minor. Listeners who know the chorale (as Bach’s did) can discern its melody outlined in these moving lines. The text is taken from Martin Luther’s German translation of Simeon’s prayer in the temple, known in Latin as the “Nunc dimittis” or the Canticle of Simeon. Like a concerto, the voices serve as the episodes alternating with the orchestral ritornelli. In these sections, the sopranos holds the chorale in long notes while the other voices copy the melismatic counterpoint of the orchestral opening. Bach simplifies the choral setting in the final section to the text “Der Tod ist mein Schlaf worden” (“Death has become my sleep”). The following Alto aria in B minor is set to flute traverso, oboe d’amore, and continuo, in an ABA form. It is sung from the perspective of Simeon, who is holding the Christ child and is ready to pass on. The predominately falling lines and frequent suspensions portray the somber mood. The third movement is an accompanied recitative for Bass, who sings of the joy God gives believers through salvation to brisk ornamental figures in the orchestra, representing the believer’s happiness. Bach weaves phrases of the chorale throughout the movement. The second half of the cantata begins with a duet for Tenor and Bass, two violins, and continuo in G major; the text is commentary on Simeon’s prayer and proclaims Christ to be “Ein unbegreiflich Licht” (“An incomprehensible light”) to the whole world. The virtuoso, da capo aria features imitative, melismatic runs for both the instrumentalists and voices to depict the expanding, self-propagating light of the Lord throughout the world. The fifth movement is a secco recitative for the Alto that returns the work to E minor. The text reminds the listeners to turn away from the world and accept the invitation of God to His kingdom. The work concludes with a simple presentation of the chorale. In the Lutheran service of Bach’s day, the sermon would have followed singing of the cantata.
