{{Short description|Church cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach}} {{Infobox Bach composition | name = {{lang|de|Ich geh und suche mit Verlangen}} | bwv = 49 | type = Church cantata | image = Thomaskirche-1885.png | caption = Thomaskirche, Leipzig | occasion = 20th Sunday after Trinity | performed = {{Timeline-event|date={{Start date|1726|11|03|df=y}}|location=Leipzig}} | movements = 6 | text_poet = Christoph Birkmann | chorale = Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern | vocal = soprano and bass soloists | instrumental = {{hlist | oboe d'amore | 2 violins | viola | violoncello piccolo | organ | continuo }} }} Johann Sebastian Bach composed the church cantata '''{{lang|de|Ich geh und suche mit Verlangen}}''' (I go forth and seek with longing),<ref name="Dellal" /> '''{{abbr|BWV|Bach-Werke-Verzeichnis (catalogue of Bach's works)}}{{nbsp}}49''', in Leipzig for the twentieth Sunday after Trinity Sunday and first performed it on 3 November 1726. It is a solo cantata, a dialogue of soprano and bass.
== History and words == Bach composed the cantata in his fourth year in Leipzig for the 20th Sunday after Trinity. It is counted as part of his third cantata cycle. The prescribed readings for the Sunday were from the Epistle to the Ephesians, "walk circumspectly ... filled with the Spirit" ({{Sourcetext|source=Bible|version=King James|book=Ephesians|chapter=5|verse=15|range=–21}}), and from the Gospel of Matthew, the parable of the great banquet ({{Sourcetext|source=Bible|version=King James|book=Matthew|chapter=22|verse=1|range=–14}}). The German term used in Luther's Bible translation is {{lang|de|Hochzeitsmahl}} (wedding meal).<ref name="Dürr" /> The cantata is termed a {{lang|la|Dialogus}}, being a dialogue between the Soul and Jesus, her bridegroom.<ref name="Wolff" /> The source for the dialogue is, here as in many works of the 17th century, the Song of Songs.<ref name="Hofmann" /> Poet Christoph Birkmann<ref name="Blanken"/> derived from the wedding feast of the Gospel the Soul as the bride whom Jesus invited to their wedding, while the other characters of the story are not mentioned in the cantata.<ref name="Hofmann" /> The poet alludes to the Bible several times, comparing the bride to a dove as in {{Sourcetext|source=Bible|version=King James|book=Song of Songs|chapter=5|verse=2}} and {{Sourcetext|source=Bible|version=King James|book=Song of Songs|chapter=6|verse=9}}, referring to the Lord's feast ({{Sourcetext|source=Bible|version=King James|book=Isaiah|chapter=25|verse=6}}), to the bond between the Lord and Israel ({{Sourcetext|source=Bible|version=King James|book=Hosea|chapter=2|verse=21}}), to faithfulness until death ({{Sourcetext|source=Bible|version=King James|book=Revelation|chapter=3|verse=20}}), and in the final movement to "Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with loving kindness have I drawn thee." ({{Sourcetext|source=Bible|version=King James|book=Jeremiah|chapter=31|verse=3}}). Instead of a closing chorale, Bach combines this idea, sung by the bass, with the seventh stanza of Philipp Nicolai's mystical wedding song "{{lang|de|Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern|italic=no}}", given to the soprano.<ref name="Dürr" />
Bach first performed the cantata on 3 November 1726.<ref name="Dürr" />
== Scoring and structure == Bach structured the cantata six movements and scored it for soprano and bass soloists, and a Baroque instrumental ensemble of oboe d'amore, two violins, viola, violoncello piccolo, organ and basso continuo.<ref name="Dürr" /> Klaus Hofmann summarizes: "Bach has clothed his music in the 'wedding garments' of exquisite scoring".<ref name="Hofmann" />
# Sinfonia # Aria (bass): {{lang|de|Ich geh und suche mit Verlangen|italic=no}} # Recitative (soprano, bass): {{lang|de|Mein Mahl ist zubereit'|italic=no}} # Aria (soprano): {{lang|de|Ich bin herrlich, ich bin schön|italic=no}} # Recitative (soprano, bass): {{lang|de|Mein Glaube hat mich selbst so angezogen|italic=no}} # Aria (bass) + Chorale (soprano): {{lang|de|Dich hab ich je und je geliebet|italic=no}} – {{lang|de|Wie bin ich doch so herzlich froh|italic=no}}
== Music == The cantata is opened by a sinfonia for concertante organ and orchestra,<ref name="Wolff" /> probably the final movement of a lost concerto composed in Köthen, the model for the Concerto II in E major, BWV 1053, for harpsichord. Two weeks before, Bach had used the two other movements of that concerto in his cantata {{lang|de|''Gott soll allein mein Herze haben'', BWV 169 |italic=unset}}.<ref name="Dürr" /> The bass as the {{lang|la|vox Christi}} sings the words of Jesus. In the soprano aria "{{lang|de|Ich bin herrlich, ich bin schön|italic=no}}" (I am glorious, I am beautiful) the bride reflects her beauty as dressed in "{{lang|de|seines Heils Gerechtigkeit|italic=no}}" (The justice of His salvation),<ref name="Dellal" /> accompanied by oboe d'amore and violoncello piccolo.<ref name="Hofmann" /> The cantata ends not with the usual four-part chorale, but with a love duet of the Soul (soprano) and Jesus (bass). It incorporates a chorale, stanza 7 of Nicolai's hymn, ending with the line "{{lang|de|Deiner wart ich mit Verlangen|italic=no}}" (I wait for Thee with longing),<ref name="Dellal" /> while the bass responds: "I have always loved you, and so I draw you to me. I'm coming soon. I stand before the door: open up, my abode!"<ref name="Dellal" /> John Eliot Gardiner describes the mood of the music, accompanied by the obbligato organ, as "religious-erotic".<ref name="Gardiner" /> Hofmann notes that the figuration of the organ expresses in sound what the cantus firmus words: "{{lang|de|Wie bin ich doch so herzlich froh!|italic=no}}" (How sincerely happy I am!)<ref name="Dellal" /><ref name="Hofmann" /> Musicologist Julian Mincham suggests that this cantata "exudes a greater degree of personal intensity" than the previous two for this day, BWV 162 and 180.<ref name="Mincham" />
== Recordings == * Westfälische Kantorei, Wilhelm Ehmann. ''J. S. Bach: Cantatas BWV 49 & BWV 84''. Nonesuch, 1961. * Bach-Collegium Stuttgart, Helmuth Rilling. ''Die Bach Kantate''. Hänssler, 1982. * Ensemble Baroque de Limoges, Christophe Coin. ''J. S. Bach: Cantatas with Violoncelle Piccolo''. Auvidis Astrée, 1993. * La Petite Bande, Sigiswald Kuijken. ''J. S. Bach: Cantatas BWV 82 · 49 · 58''. Accent, 1993. * Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir, Ton Koopman, ''J. S. Bach: Complete Cantatas Vol. 16'', Antoine Marchand 2004. * Bach Collegium Japan, Masaaki Suzuki, ''J. S. Bach Cantatas BWV 149, 145, 174, 49'', BIS.
== References == <references> <ref name="Blanken">{{cite web | last = Blanken | first = Christine | url = https://bachnetwork.co.uk/ub10/ub10-blanken.pdf | title = A Cantata-Text Cycle of 1728 from Nuremberg: A preliminary report on a discovery relating to J. S. Bach's so-called "Third Annual Cycle" | publisher = Bach Network UK | access-date = 1 March 2016 }}</ref>
<ref name="Dellal">{{cite web | last = Dellal | first = Pamela | author-link = Pamela Dellal | url = https://www.emmanuelmusic.org/bach-translations/bwv-49 | title = BWV 49 – Ich geh und suche mit Verlangen | publisher = Emmanuel Music | access-date = 20 August 2022 }}</ref>
<ref name="Dürr">{{cite book | last = Dürr | first = Alfred | author-link = Alfred Dürr | title = Die Kantaten von Johann Sebastian Bach | year = 1981 | publisher = Deutscher Taschenbuchverlag | isbn = 3-423-04080-7 | volume = 1 | edition = 4 | pages = [https://archive.org/details/diekantatenvonjo0002durr/page/487 487–490] | language = de | url = https://archive.org/details/diekantatenvonjo0002durr/page/487 }}</ref>
<ref name="Gardiner">{{Cite AV media notes | last = Gardiner | first = John Eliot | author-link = John Eliot Gardiner | url = https://www.hyperion-records.co.uk/dc.asp?dc=D_SDG168 | title = Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) / Cantatas Nos 38, 49, 98, 109, 162, 180 & 188 | publisher = Soli Deo Gloria (at Hyperion Records website) | year = 2006 | access-date = 13 October 2018 }}</ref>
<ref name="Hofmann">{{cite web | last = Hofmann | first = Klaus | author-link = Klaus Hofmann | url = https://www.bach-cantatas.com/Pic-Rec-BIG/Suzuki-C50c%5BBIS-SACD1941%5D.pdf | title = Ich geh und suche mit Verlangen / I go and seek you longingly, BWV 49 | publisher = Bach Cantatas Website | page = 8 | year = 2011 | access-date = 20 October 2012 }}</ref>
<ref name="Mincham">{{cite web | last = Mincham | first = Julian | url = https://www.jsbachcantatas.com/documents/chapter-30-bwv-49/ | title = Chapter 30 BWV 49 Ich geh und suche mit Verlangen / I go, desirously, in search of you | publisher = jsbachcantatas.com | year = 2010 }}</ref>
<ref name="Wolff">{{cite book | last = Wolff | first = Christoph | author-link = Christoph Wolff | url = https://www.bach-cantatas.com/Pic-Rec-BIG/Koopman-C16c%5BAM-3CD%5D.pdf | title = Bach's Third Yearly Cycle of Cantatas (1725–1727) – I | publisher = Bach Cantatas Website | page = 7 | year = 2001 | access-date = 20 October 2012 }}</ref> </references>
== Sources == * {{IMSLP|work=Ich geh' und suche mit Verlangen, BWV 49 (Bach, Johann Sebastian)}} * [https://www.bach-digital.de/receive/BachDigitalWork_work_00000064?lang=en Ich geh und suche mit Verlangen BWV 49; BC A 150 / Sacred cantata (20th Sunday after Trinity)] Bach Digital * [https://www.bach-cantatas.com/BWV49.htm Cantata BWV 49 Ich geh und suche mit Verlangen]: history, scoring, sources for text and music, translations to various languages, discography, discussion, Bach Cantatas Website * [http://www.uvm.edu/~classics/faculty/bach/BWV49.html BWV 49 Ich geh und suche mit Verlangen]: English translation, University of Vermont * [https://webdocs.cs.ualberta.ca/~wfb/cantatas/49.html BWV 49 Ich geh und suche mit Verlangen]: text, scoring, University of Alberta
== External links == * [https://www.bachvereniging.nl/en/bwv/bwv-49/ Ich geh und suche mit Verlangen, BWV 49]: performance by the Netherlands Bach Society (video and background information)
{{Bach's third cantata cycle and later}} {{Bach cantatas}}
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{{DISPLAYTITLE:''Ich geh und suche mit Verlangen'', BWV 49}}
Category:Church cantatas by Johann Sebastian Bach Category:1726 compositions