| Saint Michael & All Angels Church, 4 p.m.
Festival Finale
Jennifer Foster, soprano
Daniel Roihl, countertenor
Jonathan Mack, tenor
Christopher Lindbloom, baritone
Festival Chorus & Orchestra
Burton Karson, conductor
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
Wir danken dir, Gott, wir
danken dir, BWV 29
Cantata for the Inauguration of the Town Council,
1731
Sinfonia
Chorus: Wir danken dir, Gott, wir danken dir
We thank you, God, and proclaim your wonders.
Aria (ten.): Halleluja, Stärk und Macht sei des
Allerhöchsten Namen
Hallelujah to God’s exalted Name! Zion is his city where
he dwells, and with our descendants keeps our father’s
covenant.
Recit. (bar.): Gottlob! es geht uns wohl
Praise God! God is our confidence, refuge, trust and light,
Protector of town, walls and homes. He blesses us. Truth, righteousness
and peace must meet together. Where is another people to whom
God is so gracious?
Aria (sop.): Gedenk’ an uns mit deiner Liebe
Remember us with affection, embrace us in mercy! Bless those
who govern, those who lead, guard and guide, and bless the obedient.
Recit. (alto): Vergiss es ferner nicht
Forget us not; with your hand give us prosperity. So shall
our town and land honor you with thanks, And all the citizens
shall say: Amen!
Aria (alto): Halleluja, Stärk und Macht
Hallelujah, strength and might to your
exalted Name!
Chorale: Sei Lob und Preis mit Ehren
Laud and praise and honor to Father, Son and Holy Spirit! May
our welfare increase, as he promised, that our heart, mind and
will hold fast, trust and rely on him. Amen! We shall achieve
it, we believe from the bottom of our heart.
Dietrich Buxtehude (1637-1707)
Jesu, Joy and Treasure, BuxWV
60
| Sonata: |
Allegro non troppo – Grave – Allegro |
| Chorus: |
Jesu, Joy and Treasure |
| Solo (sop.): |
While thine arms are round me |
| Solo (bar.): |
Hence thou noisome serpent! |
| Chorus: |
Naught on earth is lasting |
| Solo (ten.): |
Fare thee well all that’s mortal |
| Chorale: |
Banish fear and sadness |
George Frideric Handel (1685-1759)
Zadok the Priest (Coronation
Anthem I)
Zadok the Priest and Nathan the Prophet anointed Solomon King.
And all the people rejoiced, and said:
God save the King, long live the King, God save the King! May
the King live for ever, Alleluia, Amen!
Intermission
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
Orchestral Suite IV in D,
BWV 1069
Ouverture
Bourrée I
Bourrée II (Bourrée I da capo)
Gavotte
Menuet I
Menuet II (Menuet I da capo)
Réjouissance
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
Herr Gott, dich loben Alle
wir, BWV 130
Cantata for Saint Michael’s Feast, 1724
Chorus: Herr Gott, dich loben Alle wir
Lord God, we praise you every one, and shall give you thanks
for your beautiful angelic creation at your throne.
Recit. (alto): Ihr heller Glanz und hohe Weisheit zeigt
Their radiance and lofty wisdom show how God bends to us mortals,
giving us such a legion for our protection. They take no rest,
diligent for our protection, that they, Lord Christ, stay around
you and your faithful company. We need them to guard against
Satan’s might.
Aria (bar.): Der alte Drache brennt vor Neid
The old serpent burns with envy, ever plotting new suffering,
to separate our little band. He happily crushes what is God’s,
and plies deceit, for he knows no rest.
Recit. (sop. & ten.): Wohl aber uns, dass Tag und Nacht
Well for us that day and night the host of angels watches to
protect us from Satan’s onslaught. Daniel who sat in the lions’
den learned of the guardian angels, and the embers of Babel’s
furnace did no harm. So let the faithful hear a song of thanks
for the continuing angelic help.
Aria (ten.): Lass, o Fürst der Cherubinen
Let, O Prince of holy Cherubs, this lofty throng evermore tend
your faithful flock, that they on Elijah’s chariot may be carried
to heaven.
Chorale: Darum wir billig loben dich
For this we give you willing praise, and thank you, God, for
ever. Like your angel host, we laud and praise you evermore.
We pray you to command them to guard our tiny flock, which keeps
your sacred word intact.
Reception
 e
close our twenty-seventh annual Festival with a final acknowledgement
of the beautiful music of Dietrich Buxtehude, who died three hundred
years ago — his influence perhaps reflected in these major
works of J. S. Bach, the first a cantata that also concludes our
tribute to the one-hundredth anniversary of the City of Newport
Beach.
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 ach’s
Cantata 29 was written specifically for the inauguration of
a new Leipzig town council on 27 August 1731. The composer was in
a big hurry to produce this cantata, so he borrowed music heavily
from some of his earlier compositions – the Sinfonia from the first
movement of the sixth violin solo sonata in E, and the rest assumed
from lost works. The text of praise to the Almighty refers constantly
to the occasion: Protector of town, walls and homes and Where
is another people to whom God is so gracious? in the baritone
recitative; Bless those who govern, those who lead, guard and
guide, and bless the obedient in the soprano aria; Forget
us not; with your hand give us prosperity. So shall our town and
land honor you with thanks, And all the citizens shall say: Amen!,
which is the text of the alto recitative; and May our welfare
increase in the closing chorale.
The entire text with its celebratory music certainly would work
appropriately for the inauguration of a city council in Newport
Beach! BACK
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uxtehude’s
Jesu, Joy and Treasure is a chorale cantata based on
the lovely hymn tune by Johannes Crüger (1598-1662) with text by
Johann Franck (1618-1677), Jesu, meine Freude, which Bach
used in his motet of the same name. The downward theme that begins
the introductory Sonata and is fleshed out in the motive
of its Allegro presages the opening notes of the chorale
that follows, and the instrumental ritornelli that close
the first two chorales and the soprano and baritone arias both end
with the concluding notes of the chorale melody. The arias also
contain subtle references to the chorale tune while they boldly
dramatize their texts with “word painting.” Note, for
instance, the melodic figure for the word “round” of
the soprano aria’s first phrase, “While thine arms are
round me,” and the baritone’s angrily rising notes on
his word “rage” and his melodic leaps on “wild
leaping!”
Our singing of this cantata in an English translation should help
to illustrate the spiritual dedication and musical skills of this
great composer. BACK
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 andel
was called on to write four choral/instrumental anthems to be performed
in Westminster Abbey on 11 October 1727 for the coronation of George
II. It must be recalled that Handel was visiting in England when
his employer, the Elector Georg of Hanover, was elected King George I
by the British Parliament on the death of Queen Anne in 1714, thus
making Handel’s return to Germany unnecessary.
It was for George I that Handel wrote his famous Water
Music, after which the king doubled his pension — which,
when raised again a few years later by Queen Caroline, gave him
a generous income that he enjoyed for life. The anthem Zadok
the Priest, with its biblical text about the anointing of David’s
son Solomon as King of Israel and its full orchestration with trumpets
and timpani, has been performed at coronations of British monarchs
ever since. BACK
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ach
wrote four orchestral suites, often called Overtures because they
begin with movements with that title. They, like his English and
French Suites and partitas for harpsichord and his unaccompanied
suites for violoncello, consist of dance movements such as minuets,
gavottes and polonaises that he titled in French. Here the Bourrée
II and Menuet II must be followed by a repetition of Bourrée I and
Menuet I, creating three-part (ABA) forms. These stylized dance
forms, like the waltzes and polonaises for piano solo by Chopin,
are not intended for dancing, but simply reflect their origins.
No. 4 is for an orchestra that includes three trumpets, timpani,
three oboes and bassoon in addition to the normal strings. BACK
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 antata
130 was composed for Saint Michael’s Feast Day, 29 September
1724. The scoring for full orchestra is the same as for Suite No.
4, with four soloists and chorus. The text, from Revelation XII,
tells of John’s fantastic vision of a war in heaven during
which the Archangel Michael and his angels put down the Dragon (the
Evil One, the Devil). Drama abounds in the solo recitatives and
arias and in the opening chorus which, like the closing chorale,
is based on the famous melody known as the Old 100th or commonly,
the Doxology, a sixteenth-century tune by Louis Bourgeois. Bach’s
congregation in Leipzig’s Thomaskirche undoubtedly would have
joined the choir in singing the final chorale in such cantatas,
probably from memory. BACK
Notes by Burton Karson
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