Bleib bei uns, denn es will Abend werden, BWV 6

{{Short description|Church cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach}} {{good article}} {{Infobox Bach composition | name = {{lang|de|Bleib bei uns, denn es will Abend werden}} | bwv = 6 | type = Church cantata | composer = J. S. Bach | image = Rembrandt Christ with two disciples.jpg | image_upright = 1.2 | alt = | caption = ''Christ with Two Disciples'', by Rembrandt | occasion = Easter Monday | performed = {{nowrap|{{Timeline-event|date={{Start date|1725|04|02|df=y}}|location=Leipzig}}}} | chorale = {{plainlist| * {{based on|"{{lang|de|Ach bleib bei uns, Herr Jesu Christ|italic=no}}"|Philipp Melanchthon, Nikolaus Selnecker}} * {{based on|"{{langr|de|Erhalt uns, Herr, bei deinem Wort}}"|Martin Luther}} }} | vocal = {{abbr|SATB|soprano, alto, tenor and bass}} choir and solo | instrumental = {{hlist| 2 oboes | oboe da caccia | 2 violins | viola | violoncello piccolo | continuo }} }} '''{{lang|de|Bleib bei uns, denn es will Abend werden}}''' (Stay with us, for evening falls),<ref name="Dellal" /> '''{{abbr|BWV|Bach-Werke-Verzeichnis (catalogue of Bach's works)}}{{nbsp}}6''', is a cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach for use in a Lutheran service. He composed it in Leipzig in 1725 for Easter Monday and first performed it on 2 April 1725.

The prescribed readings for the feast day were Peter's sermon from the Acts of the Apostles, and the Road to Emmaus narration from the Gospel of Luke. The text by an anonymous librettist begins with a line from the gospel, and includes as the third movement two stanzas from Philipp Melanchthon's hymn "{{langr|de|Ach bleib bei uns, Herr Jesu Christ}}", one stanza written by Nikolaus Selnecker. The text ends with the second stanza of Martin Luther's hymn "{{langr|de|Erhalt uns, Herr, bei deinem Wort}}". Derived from the gospel scene, the topic is pleading for light in a situation of threatening darkness.

Bach structured the cantata in six movements and scored it for four vocal soloists, a four-part choir and a Baroque instrumental ensemble of oboes, strings and continuo. The extended opening chorus is formed like a French overture and has been compared to ''Ruht wohl, ihr heiligen Gebeine'', the last chorus of Bach's ''St John Passion''. {{TOC limit|3}}

== History and text == In 1723, Bach was appointed as Thomaskantor (director of church music) in Leipzig, where he was responsible for the music at four churches and for the training and education of boys singing in the Thomanerchor. He took office in the middle of the liturgical year, on the first Sunday after Trinity. In his first twelve months in office, Bach decided to compose new works for almost all liturgical events, known as his first cantata cycle. The year after, he continued that effort, composing chorale cantatas based on Lutheran hymns. He kept the format of the chorale cantata cycle until Palm Sunday of 1725, but performed on Easter Sunday both the new ''Kommt, gehet und eilet'', BWV 249,<ref name="Bach Digital 249" /> and the early chorale cantata ''Christ lag in Todes Banden'', BWV 4. He wrote ''Bleib bei uns, denn es will Abend werden'' for Second Day of Easter as the first cantata in his second cantata cycle<ref name="BD" /> that was not a chorale cantata.<ref name="Dürr/Jones" /> The change was possibly due to the loss of a librettist.<ref name="Hofmann" />

The prescribed readings for the feast day were from the Acts of the Apostles, the sermon of Peter ({{Sourcetext|source=Bible|version=King James|book=Acts|chapter=10|verse=34|range=–43}}), and from the Gospel of Luke, the Road to Emmaus ({{Sourcetext|source=Bible|version=King James|book=Luke|chapter=24|verse=13|range=–35}}).<ref name="BD" /><ref name="Dürr/Jones" /> Bach used a text by an anonymous poet who had already supplied librettos for his first cycle.<ref name="Dürr/Jones" /> The poet took verse 29 from the Gospel of Luke as a starting point:<ref name="BD" /> the two disciples ask the stranger whom they met on their way to stay with them, as darkness is about to fall. The situation represents the position of the Christian in general.<ref name="Dürr/Jones" /> The librettist chose two stanzas from "{{langr|de|Ach bleib bei uns, Herr Jesu Christ}}" for the third movement, one written by Philipp Melanchthon as a German version of "{{langr|la|Vespera iam venit}}", and of similar content as the first movement, and the other the hymn's second stanza which was added by Nikolaus Selnecker. The closing chorale is the second stanza of Martin Luther's hymn "{{langr|de|Erhalt uns, Herr, bei deinem Wort}}" (Maintain us, Lord, within thy word).<ref name="Hofmann" /> The libretto, of rather dry and didactic quality, is focused on the contrast between light and dark, viewing Jesus as the light of a sinful world. The author was possibly a theologian, who alluded to the Book of Revelation in the last aria.<ref name="Dürr/Jones" />

Bach first performed the cantata on 2 April 1725.<ref name="BD" /> A subsequent performance is known for 13 April 1727, and later changes to instrumental parts are extant.<ref name="BD" />

== Music == === Scoring and structure === Bach structured the cantata in six movements. The first and last are set for choir, while the inner movements are set for soloists, in a sequence of aria – chorale – recitative – aria. Bach scored the work for four vocal soloists (soprano (S), alto (A), tenor (T) and bass (B)), a four-part choir, and a Baroque instrumental ensemble: two oboes (Ob), oboe da caccia (Oc), two violins (Vl), viola (Va), violoncello piccolo (Vp) and basso continuo (Bc).<ref name="BD" /><ref name="Dürr/Jones" /> The duration of the piece was stated as 26 minutes by Bach scholar Alfred Dürr<ref name="Dürr/Jones" /> but some currently available recordings last about 20 minutes.

In the following table of the movements, the scoring follows the Neue Bach-Ausgabe. The keys and time signatures are taken from Dürr's book about the cantatas, using the symbol for common time (4/4).<ref name="Dürr/Jones" /> The instruments are shown separately for winds and strings, while the continuo, playing throughout, is not shown.

{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" |+ Movements of ''Bleib bei uns, denn es will Abend werden'' |- ! scope="col" | No. ! scope="col" | Title ! scope="col" | Text ! scope="col" | Type ! scope="col" | Vocal ! scope="col" | Winds ! scope="col" | Strings ! scope="col" | Key ! scope="col" | Time |- {{Classical movement row | id = m1 | number = 1 | title = {{langr|de|Bleib bei uns, denn es will Abend werden}} | text_source = {{Sourcetext|source=Bible|version=King James|book=Luke|chapter=24|verse=29}} | type = Chorus | vocal = SATB | instruments1 = {{nowrap|2Ob Oc}} | instruments2 = 2Vl Va | key = C minor | time = {{hlist| 3/4 | {{music|alla-breve}} | 3/4 }} }} {{Classical movement row | id = m2 | number = 2 | title = {{langr|de|Hochgelobter Gottessohn}} | text_source = anon. | type = Aria | vocal = A | instruments1 = Oc | instruments2 = (or Va) | key = {{nowrap|E-flat major}} | time = 3/8 }} {{Classical movement row | id = m3 | number = 3 | title = {{plainlist| * {{nowrap|{{langr|de|Ach bleib bei uns, Herr Jesu Christ}}}} * {{langr|de|In dieser letzt'n betrübten Zeit}} }} | text_source = {{plainlist| * Melanchthon * Selnecker }} | type = Chorale | vocal = S | instruments1 = | instruments2 = Vp | key = B-flat major | time = {{music|common-time}} }} {{Classical movement row | id = m4 | number = 4 | title = {{langr|de|Es hat die Dunkelheit an vielen Orten}} | text_source = anon. | type = Recitative | vocal = B | instruments1 = | instruments2 = | key = | time = {{music|common-time}} }} {{Classical movement row | id = m5 | number = 5 | title = {{langr|de|Jesu, laß uns auf dich sehen}} | text_source = anon. | type = Aria | vocal = T | instruments1 = | instruments2 = 2Vl Va | key = G minor | time = {{music|alla-breve}} }} {{Classical movement row | id = m6 | number = 6 | title = {{langr|de|Beweis dein Macht, Herr Jesu Christ}} | text_source = Luther | type = Chorale | vocal = SATB | instruments1 = 2Ob Oc | instruments2 = 2Vl Va | key = G minor | time = {{music|common-time}} }} |}

=== Movements === ==== 1 ==== The cantata opens with "{{langr|de|Bleib bei uns, denn es will Abend werden}}" (Abide with us; for it is toward evening),<ref name="Hofmann" /> a large-scale tripartite chorus,<ref name="Dürr/Jones" /> reminiscent of a slow sarabande or of the closing ''Ruht wohl, ihr heiligen Gebeine'' of the ''St John Passion''.<ref name="Gardiner" /> The instruments, a choir of three oboes and strings, present a theme which Dürr describes as "of speech-like gestures".<ref name="Dürr/Jones" /> It is picked up by the voices, first in homophony. The vocal lines in this movement descend on "{{langr|de|denn es will Abend werden}}" (for evening is nigh) "as if the gloom of night were weighing upon them".<ref name="Schweitzer" /> While the beginning of the movement has no tempo marking, the middle section is marked ''Andante'' and in Alla-breve time, suggesting a faster pace.<ref name="Dürr/Jones" /> The voices, accompanied first only by the continuo, perform a fugue on two subjects at the same time: "{{langr|de|denn es will Abend werden}}" (for it is toward evening) and "{{langr|de|und der Tag hat sich geneiget}}" (and the day is far spent). A third motif, long notes on the same pitch, illustrates the "abiding" or staying.<ref name="Hofmann" /> The movement is closed by a shortened reprise of the beginning.<ref name="Dürr/Jones" /> The Bach scholar Klaus Hofmann compares the slow-fast-slow structure of the movement to the French overture and notes that it opens a new series of cantatas.<ref name="Hofmann" />

[[File:1602-3 Caravaggio,Supper at Emmaus National Gallery, London.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|''Supper at Emmaus'' by Caravaggio]] John Eliot Gardiner, who conducted the Bach Cantata Pilgrimage in 2000, also noted the similarity to the last chorus, ''Ruht wohl'', from the St John Passion, describing the cantata's "tender pleadings which become ever more gestural and urgent for enlightenment in a darkening world from which Jesus' presence has been removed."<ref name="Gardiner" /> He notes that while descending motifs and modulations illustrate the emotions of insecurity when left alone in the dark, Bach "introduces a counter-balance" of remaining steadfast, "by threading 25 Gs then 35 B-flats played in unison by violins and violas through the surrounding dissonance" and by repeated pleas to Jesus to remain sung on one note during the fugue.<ref name="Gardiner" /> Gardiner was reminded of a similar stark contrast of light and darkness in the painting ''Supper at Emmaus'' by Caravaggio.<ref name="Gardiner" />

==== 2 ==== The second movement, "{{langr|de|Hochgelobter Gottessohn}}" (Highly praised Son of God),<ref name="Dellal" /> is a da capo aria for the alto, accompanied by an obbligato oboe da caccia, which was replaced by viola in later performances. Dürr describes the choice of voice and obbligato in the same range as unusual and "of special charme".<ref name="Dürr/Jones" /> The opening phrase is illustrated by an upward line, while the mention of falling darkness is interpreted by downward whole-tone steps.<ref name="Dürr/Jones" />

==== 3 ==== The third movement, "{{langr|de|Ach bleib bei uns, Herr Jesu Christ}}" (Ah remain with us, Lord Jesus Christ),<ref name="Dellal" /> is a setting of the chorale with a virtuoso part for violincello piccolo, while the two stanzas are sung by the soprano only.<ref name="Dürr/Jones" /><ref name="Mincham" /> This movement was later adapted as one of the Schübler Chorales, BWV 649.<ref name="BD" /><ref name="Dürr/Jones" />

==== 4 ==== The only recitative is for bass, "{{langr|de|Es hat die Dunkelheit an vielen Orten überhand genommen}}" (The darkness has taken over in many places).<ref name="Dellal" /> Its "threatening chromatic bass line" reminds the listeners of "the gravity of the situation".<ref name="Mincham" />

==== 5 ==== The last aria, "{{langr|de|Jesu, laß uns auf dich sehen}}" (Jesus, let us look upon You),<ref name="Dellal" /> is for tenor with string accompaniment. The four notes for the name Jesu are a cross motif.<ref name="Dürr/Jones" /> The movement is characterised by a persistent walking rhythm, somewhat mitigated by the flowing triplets in the violin line.<ref name="Mincham" /> Hofmann notes that the lively violin figures illustrate from the start the text about the "light of the Word of God shining more brightly", which appears only in the second part.<ref name="Hofmann" />

==== 6 ==== The four-part closing chorale, "{{langr|de|Beweis dein Macht, Herr Jesu Christ}}" (Reveal Your strength, Lord Jesus Christ,),<ref name="Dellal" /> chorale is "quarried very little for musical building blocks", according to Julian Mincham, ending the work on a sombre tone.<ref name="Mincham" />

== Recordings == The selection is taken from the listing on the Bach Cantatas Website.<ref name="Oron" /> Instrumental groups playing period instruments in historically informed performances are marked green.

{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" |- |+ Recordings of ''Bleib bei uns, denn es will Abend werden'' |- ! scope="col" | Title ! scope="col" class="unsortable" | Conductor / Choir / Orchestra ! scope="col" class="unsortable" | Soloists ! scope="col" | Label ! scope="col" | Year ! scope="col" | Instr. |-

{{Cantata discography row | id = Grischkat | title = ''J. S. Bach: Cantatas BWV 6 & BWV 19'' | conductor = {{sortname|Hans|Grischkat}} | choir = Stuttgart Choral Society | orchestra = Bach-Orchester Stuttgart | soloists = {{plainlist| * Agnes Giebel * {{nowrap|Hetty Plümacher}} * Werner Hohmann * Bruno Müller }} | label = Renaissance | year = {{Start date|1951}} | orchestra_type = }} {{Cantata discography row | id = Werner | title = ''{{lang|fr|Les Grandes Cantates de J. S. Bach Vol. 7}}'' | conductor = {{sortname|Fritz|Werner}} | choir = Heinrich-Schütz-Chor Heilbronn | orchestra = Pforzheim Chamber Orchestra | soloists = {{plainlist| * Ingeborg Reichelt * Hertha Töpper * Helmut Krebs * Franz Kelch }} | label = Erato | year = {{Start date|1959}} (reissued) | orchestra_type = }} {{Cantata discography row | id = Harnoncourt | title = ''J. S. Bach: Das Kantatenwerk • Complete Cantatas • Les Cantates, Folge / Vol. 2'' | conductor = {{sortname|Nikolaus|Harnoncourt}} | choir = {{plainlist| * Wiener Sängerknaben * Chorus Viennensis }} | orchestra = Concentus Musicus Wien | soloists = {{plainlist| * boy soloist * Paul Esswood * Kurt Equiluz * Max van Egmond }} | label = Teldec | year = {{Start date|1971}} | orchestra_type = Period }} {{Cantata discography row | id = Richter | title = ''Bach Cantatas Vol. 2 – Easter'' | conductor = {{sortname|Karl|Richter|dab=conductor}} | choir = Münchener Bach-Chor | orchestra = Münchener Bach-Orchester | soloists = {{plainlist| * soloist of the choir * Anna Reynolds * Peter Schreier * Theo Adam }} | label = Archiv Produktion | year = {{Start date|1974}} | orchestra_type = }} {{Cantata discography row | id = Rilling | title = {{lang|de|Die Bach Kantate}} Vol. 11 | conductor = {{sortname|Helmuth|Rilling}} | choir = Gächinger Kantorei | orchestra = Bach-Collegium Stuttgart | soloists = {{plainlist| * Edith Wiens * Carolyn Watkinson * Adalbert Kraus * {{nowrap|{{ill|Walter Heldwein|de}}}} }} | label = Hänssler | year = {{Start date|1980}} | orchestra_type = }} {{Cantata discography row | id = Gardiner | title = ''J. S. Bach: Easter Cantatas'' | conductor = {{sortname|John Eliot|Gardiner}} | choir = Monteverdi Choir | orchestra = English Baroque Soloists | soloists = {{plainlist| * soloist of the choir * Bernarda Fink * Steve Davisilim * Julian Clarkson }} | label = Archiv Produktion | year = {{Start date|1999}} | orchestra_type = Period }} {{Cantata discography row | id = Leusink | title = ''Bach Edition Vol. 11 – Cantatas Vol. 5'' | conductor = {{sortname|Pieter Jan|Leusink}} | choir = Holland Boys Choir | orchestra = Netherlands Bach Collegium | soloists = {{plainlist| * Ruth Holton * Sytse Buwalda * Nico van der Meel * Bas Ramselaar }} | label = Brilliant Classics | year = {{Start date|1999}} | orchestra_type = Period }} {{Cantata discography row | id = Koopman | title = ''J. S. Bach: Complete Cantatas Vol. 14'' | conductor = {{sortname|Ton|Koopman}} | orchestra = Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir | soloists = {{plainlist| * soloist of the choir * Bogna Bartosz * Jörg Dürmüller * Klaus Mertens }} | label = Antoine Marchand | year = {{Start date|2001}} | orchestra_type = Period }} {{Cantata discography row | id = Suzuki | title = ''J. S. Bach: Cantatas Vol. 36 – Cantatas from Leipzig 1725'' | conductor = {{sortname|Masaaki|Suzuki}} | orchestra = Bach Collegium Japan | soloists = {{plainlist| * {{nowrap|Yukari Nonoshita}} * Robin Blaze * James Gilchrist * Dominik Wörner }} | label = BIS | year = {{Start date|2006}} | orchestra_type = Period }} {{Cantata discography row | id = Herreweghe | title = ''Bach: Ascension oratorio & Easter cantatas, BWV 43 & 6'' | conductor = {{sortname|Philippe|Herreweghe}} | choir = Collegium Vocale Gent | orchestra = | soloists = {{plainlist| * Dorothee Mields * Damien Guillon * Thomas Hobbs * Peter Kooy }} | label = YouTube | year = {{Start date|2014}} | orchestra_type = Period }} |}

== References == <references> <ref name="BD">{{cite web | url = https://www.bach-digital.de/receive/BachDigitalWork_work_00000007?lang=en | title = Bleib bei uns, denn es will Abend werden BWV 6; BC A 57 | work = Bach Digital | date = 2017 | access-date = 21 March 2017 }}</ref>

<ref name="Bach Digital 249">{{cite web | url = https://www.bach-digital.de/receive/BachDigitalWork_work_00000317?lang=en | title = Kommt, fliehet [gehet] und eilet, ihr flüchtigen Füße BWV 249.3; BWV 249; BC D 8a | work = Bach Digital | date = 2025 | access-date = 22 April 2025 }}</ref>

<ref name="Dellal">{{cite web | last = Dellal | first = Pamela | author-link = Pamela Dellal | url = https://www.emmanuelmusic.org/bach-translations/bwv-6 | title = BWV 6 – Bleib bei uns, denn es will Abend werden | date = 2012 | publisher = Emmanuel Music | access-date = 20 August 2022 }}</ref>

<ref name="Dürr/Jones">{{cite book | last1 = Dürr | first1 = Alfred | author-link1 = Alfred Dürr | last2 = Jones | first2 = Richard D. P. | author2-link = Richard D. P. Jones | chapter-url = https://books.google.com/books?id=m9JuwslMcq4C&pg=PA278 | chapter = Bleib bei uns, denn es will Abend werden, BWV 6 | title = The Cantatas of J. S. Bach: With Their Librettos in German-English Parallel Text | publisher = Oxford University Press | date = 2006 | isbn = 978-0-19-929776-4 | pages = 33, 278–280 }}</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_SDG128 | title = Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) / Cantatas Nos 4, 6, 31, 66, 134 & 145 | publisher = Soli Deo Gloria (at Hyperion Records website) | date = 2007 | access-date = 22 April 2019 }}</ref>

<ref name="Hofmann">{{cite web | last = Hofmann | first = Klaus | author-link = Klaus Hofmann | url = http://www.bach-cantatas.com/Pic-Rec-BIG/Suzuki-C36c%5BBIS-SACD1611%5D.pdf | title = Bleib bei uns, denn es will Abend werden / Abide with us; for it is toward evening, BWV 6 | publisher = Bach Cantatas Website | date = 2007 | pages = 8–10 | access-date = 21 March 2017 }}</ref>

<ref name="Mincham">{{cite web | last = Mincham | first = Julian | url = https://www.jsbachcantatas.com/documents/chapter-43-bwv-6/ | title = Chapter 43 Bwv 6 – The Cantatas of Johann Sebastian Bach | publisher = jsbachcantatas.com | date = 2010 | access-date = 16 August 2022 }}</ref>

<ref name="Oron">{{cite web | last = Oron | first = Aryeh | url = http://www.bach-cantatas.com/BWV6.htm | title = Cantata BWV 6 Bleib bei uns, denn es will Abend werden | publisher = Bach Cantatas Website | date = 2016 | access-date = 21 March 2017 }}</ref>

<ref name="Schweitzer">{{cite book | last = Schweitzer | first = Albert | title = J. S. Bach: Le Musicien-Poète | publisher = Oxford University Press | volume = 2 | date = 1905 | pages = 338–339 | language = fr }}</ref> </references>

== External links == * {{IMSLP|work=Bleib bei uns, denn es will Abend werden, BWV 6 (Bach, Johann Sebastian)}} * [http://www.uvm.edu/~classics/faculty/bach/BWV6.html BWV 6 Bleib bei uns, denn es will Abend werden]: English translation, University of Vermont * Luke Dahn: [http://www.bach-chorales.com/BWV0006_6.htm BWV 6.6] bach-chorales.com * {{cite web | last = Bischof | first = Walter F. | url = http://webdocs.cs.ualberta.ca/~wfb/cantatas/6.html | title = BWV 6 Bleib bei uns, denn es will Abend werden | date = 2010 | publisher = University of Alberta | access-date = 4 January 2016 }} * [http://allofbach.com/en/bwv/bwv-6/ Bleib bei uns, denn es will Abend werden, BWV 6]: performance by the Netherlands Bach Society (video and background information)

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Category:Church cantatas by Johann Sebastian Bach Category:1725 compositions Category:Music for Easter Category:Road to Emmaus appearance