Analysis of Bach Cantata 78 - movement 1

1. Bach Cantata 78:Analysis of Movement 1

2. The text of Movement 1 Text: Jesus through your death you have saved my soul from hell…in you word I find refuge Bach uses word painting to convey what’s happening in the text: Examples: When the text talks about death at the start of the music the music is in a minor key (episode 1) When the text says “mightily away Thou bore me” there is great upward movement in the new theme introduced by the tenor (episode 3). This and the fact that the movement moves into a major key here reflects the hope expressed in the text, as Jesus saves the sinner from hell. When the text talks about a safe haven in episode 4 the same note is repeated a lot.

3. Ritornello Form This movement is in ritornello form which means that it is based on a recurring idea In vocal music, the ritornello or returning section is played by the instruments The intervening vocal sections are called episodes. The ritornello theme is also called the grief theme and its features include syncopation and a dotted rhythm. Eg. Bars 1-8

4. Chaconne This movement is a chaconne This is where a bass figure is used repeatedly as the foundation of the movement The bass figure used is a descending chromatic line that represents the suffering of Christ This theme is mainly played by the continuo but it also appears in the upper instruments and alto, tenor and bass parts

5. Chorale melody This movement uses the chorale melody from movement 7 The soprano sings the melody but this time in ¾ time The rhythm and length of each phrase has changed in order to fit the melody The chorale melody in 4/4 becomes…

6. …this in ¾!!!

7. RitornelloReturning instrumental section

8. Episode 1 Text talks about the cross endured by Christ Alto, tenor and bass enter imitatively with the chromatic chaconne theme They also sing the chaconne theme in inversion – moving upwards instead of downwards The soprano sings phrases 1 and 2 from the Chorale In G minor

9. RitornelloReturning instrumental section-trio section

10. Episode 2 Text talks about hell and suffering Alto, tenor and bass enter imitatively with the chromatic chaconne theme They also sing the chaconne theme in inversion – moving upwards instead of downwards The soprano sings phrases 3 and 4 from the Chorale In G minor

11. RitornelloReturning instrumental section-dominant pedal

12. Episode 3 Text says: “mightily away thou bore me” The tenor enters first with a new theme, followed imitatively by the alto and bass New theme and the move to a major key reflects the hope expressed in the text The soprano sings phrase 5 from the Chorale Moves from D minor to F major

13. RitornelloReturning instrumental section

14. Episode 4 Text talks about a safe haven The alto enters first with a new theme, followed imitatively by the tenor and bass The new theme has lots of repeated notes to reflect the “safety” mentioned in the text The soprano sings phrase 6 from the Chorale Moves from F major to B flat major

15. RitornelloReturning instrumental section

16. Episode 5 Text talks about how people get contentment from God’s word The tenor enters first with the chaconne theme, followed imitatively by the alto and bass There is a distance of 2 bars rather than 1 between entries The soprano sings phrase 7 from the Chorale Moves from B flat major to G minor

17. RitornelloReturning instrumental section- dominant pedal prepares us for the final episode

18. Episode 6 Text says: “Thou art still my sure retreat” The tenor enters first with a new tune, followed imitatively by the alto and bass There is a distance of 2 bars between entries The soprano sings phrase 8 from the Chorale In G minor

19. RitornelloReturning instrumental section- shortened version-ends with a Picardy 3rd