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Wo gehest du hin?
BWV 166
Church cantata by J. S. Bach
Thomaskirche, Leipzig, 1885
OccasionCantate Sunday
Bible textJohn 16:5
Chorale
Performed7 May 1724 (1724-05-07): Leipzig
Movements6
VocalSATB soloists and choir
Instrumental
  • oboe
  • 2 violins
  • viola
  • continuo

Wo gehest du hin? ("Where are you heading?",[1] literally: "Where do you go?"), BWV 166, is a church cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach for Cantate Sunday, the fourth Sunday after Easter. Bach composed the work as part of his first cantata cycle for Leipzig and first performed it on 7 May 1724. The topic of the cantata is based on the Farewell Discourse from the Gospel of John, when Jesus announces a Comforter. Based on his question quoted from the narration, "Where do you go?", the cantata explores the direction in which life should go.

Bach structured the work in six movements. The first movement is not the usual extended chorus, but an arioso for a bass setting a question from the gospel. It is followed by an aria for tenor, a hymn stanza for soprano, a recitative for bass and an aria for alto. The closing chorale is a four-part setting of the first stanza of the 1688 hymn "Wer weiß, wie nahe mir mein Ende". The text of the recitative and the arias was written by an unknown librettist. Bach scored the cantata for four voices and a Baroque instrumental ensemble of oboe, strings and continuo.

History and words

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Bach had assumed his position as Thomaskantor in Leipzig in May 1723. He composed Wo gehest du hin? as part of his first cantata cycle there for the fourth Sunday after Easter, called Cantate.[2] The prescribed readings for the Sunday were from the Epistle of James, "Every good gift comes from the Father of lights" (James 1:17–21), and from the Gospel of John, Jesus announcing the Comforter in his Farewell Discourse (John 16:5–15).[2]

The identity of the person who was writing Bach's librettos during his first year in Leipzig is not known. The poet began by posing a question, a quotation from the gospel. The answer to the question is the theme of the cantata, which explores the direction in which life should go.[3] The poet inserted as movement 3 the third stanza of Bartholomäus Ringwaldt's hymn "Herr Jesu Christ, ich weiß gar wohl" (1582).[2] As the closing chorale the first stanza of Ämilie Juliane von Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt's "Wer weiß, wie nahe mir mein Ende" (1688).[2][3]

Bach first performed the cantata on 7 May 1724.[2][3][4] There is no information about later performances by Bach.[3]

Music

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Scoring and structure

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Bach structured the cantata in six movements, scored for soprano (S), alto (A), tenor (T) and bass (B) soloists, a four-part choir SATB, and a Baroque instrumental ensemble of oboe (Ob), two violins (Vl), viola (Va) and basso continuo.[2][5]

In the following table of the movements, the scoring follows the Neue Bach-Ausgabe. The keys and time signatures are taken from Alfred Dürrs's standard book The Cantatas of J. S. Bach, using the symbol for common time (4/4).[5] He gives the duration as 17 minutes.[5] The cantus firmus of movement 3 is typically sung by the soprano of the choir.[5]

Movements of Wo gehest du hin?
No. Title Text Type Vocal Winds Strings Key Time
1 Wo gehest du hin Bible Arioso B Ob 2Vl Va B-flat major 3/8
2 Ich will an den Himmel denken anon. Aria T Ob Vl solo G minor common time
3 Ich bitte dich, Herr Jesu Christ Chorale S 2Vl Va C minor common time
4 Gleichwie die Regenwasser bald verfließen anon. Recitative B common time
5 Man nehme sich in acht anon. Aria A Ob 2Vl Va B-flat major 3/4
6 Wer weiß, wie nahe mir mein Ende Chorale SATB Ob 2Vl Va G minor common time

Movements

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1

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The first movement, an arioso for the bass as the voice of Christ, takes the text "Wo gehest du hin?" from the gospel, part of "But now I am going to him who sent me. None of you asks me, 'Where are you going?'". This simple question is one of the shortest lyrics for a movement in a Bach cantata. It is given it a broader meaning, as if Jesus asked each individual about the destination of life. Its form is between arioso and aria.[6] John Eliot Gardiner, who conducted the Bach Cantata Pilgrimage in 2000, noted that the movement, with shifting stresses in a triple metre, is "an understated yet deeply affecting prelude to the cantata".[4]

2

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In the second movement, an aria for tenor, "Ich will an den Himmel denken", the answer to the broader question is given, in a serene meditation, according to Gardiner.[4] Bach illustrated the contrast of "going" versus "staying" in the middle section by rising scales and long notes.[6]

3

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The third movement is a hymn stanza, "Ich bitte dich, Herr Jesu Christ", with the cantus firmus, the melody of "Herr Jesu Christ, du höchstes Gut" sung unadorned by the soprano as a prayer for the right faith.[7][3] The melody is accompanied by the violins and viola in unison, for an impression "of great vigour and determination, urged on by steady continuo quavers",[8] described by Gardiner as "a strong collective and committed response". The music is a precursor of Christe eleison duet in the Mass in B minor.[4]

4

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In the fourth movement, a recitative for bass, the singer reflects "Gleichwie die Regenwasser bald verfließen", warning to live alone for earthly pleasures.[7] The bass is now the "counsel of wisdom".[4]

5

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The fifth movement is an aria for alto, "Man nehme sich in acht" that reinforces the thought.[7] The oboe reinforces the first violin.[3] The musical illustration is mostly devoted to the word "lacht" (laughs), although the text warns that a fall may come "wenn das Glück lacht" (when fortune winks).[1] The laughter is pictured in "the various oscillating semi-quaver figures in the strings" and in melismas on the word "lacht".[7] The orchestra plays a minuet, interrupted by "frivolous cascades of paired semiquavers" supporting the melismas of the soloist. As Gardiner noted, the "giggling is infectious: voice, oboe and the complete string band at one point erupt in gales of unison laughter".[4]

6

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The cantata is concluded by a four-part setting of the first stanza of the hymn "Wer weiß, wie nahe mir mein Ende", a prayer for support in the hour of death.[7] It is sung to the melody of "Wer nur den lieben Gott läßt walten".[5][9]

Manuscripts and publication

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While the autograph score of Wo gehest du hin? is lost, manuscripts of parts survived, handed down by C. P. E. Bach.[2][3]

The cantata was published by the Bach-Gesellschaft in the Bach-Gesellschaft Ausgabe (BGA), the first attempt at a complete edition of Bach's works a century after the composer's death, in vol. 33 in 1887. It was edited by Franz Wüllner.[2][3]

The New Bach Edition (Neue Bach-Ausgabe, NBA) published the work in 1960, edited by Dürr, with critical commentary added the following year.[2][3] This edition tried to "complete" the tenor by a reconstruction, based on the assumption that a part had been lost. Carus-Verlag published a critical edition in German and English as part of its Stuttgarter Bach-Ausgaben in 2014, edited by Ute Poetzsch.[3] It restored the tenor aria to a three-part accompaniment.[3]

Recordings

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The Bach Cantatas Website lists 27 recordings of the cantata as of 2024, including:[10][11]

Recordings of Wo gehest du hin?
Title Conductor / Choir / Orchestra Soloists Label Year
Die Bach Kantate Vol. 32 Helmuth Rilling
Gächinger Kantorei
Bach-Collegium Stuttgart
Hänssler 1978 (1978)
J. S. Bach: Das Kantatenwerk • Complete Cantatas • Les Cantates, Folge / Vol. 96 Gustav Leonhardt
Leonhardt-Consort
Teldec 1987 (1987)
J. S. Bach: Complete Cantatas Vol. 9 Ton Koopman
Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir
Antoine Marchand 1998 (1998)
Bach Cantatas Vol. 24: Altenburg/Warwick John Eliot Gardiner
Monteverdi Choir
English Baroque Soloists
Soli Deo Gloria 2000 (2000)
J. S. Bach: Cantatas Vol. 19 (Cantatas from Leipzig 1724) Masaaki Suzuki
Bach Collegium Japan
BIS 2001 (2001)
J. S. Bach: Kantate BWV 166 "Wo gehest du hin?" Rudolf Lutz
Chor der J. S. Bach-Stiftung
Orchester der J. S. Bach-Stiftung
Gallus Media 2008 (2008)

References

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  1. ^ a b Dellal 2024.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Bach Digital 2024.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Poetzsch 2014.
  4. ^ a b c d e f Gardiner 2005.
  5. ^ a b c d e Dürr & Jones 2006.
  6. ^ a b Dürr & Jones 2006, pp. 316–317.
  7. ^ a b c d e Dürr & Jones 2006, p. 317.
  8. ^ Leonard 2024.
  9. ^ Dahn 2024.
  10. ^ Oron 2023.
  11. ^ muziekweb 2024.

Cited sources

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  • "Wo gehest du hin? BWV 166; BC A 71". Bach Digital. 2024.
  • "Cantata for soloists [3], choir and orchestra BWV.166, "Wo gehest du hin?"". muziekweb.nl. 2024. Retrieved 26 April 2024.
  • Dahn, Luke (2024). "166.6". bach-chorales.com. Retrieved 26 April 2024.
  • Dellal, Pamela (2024). "BWV 166 – Wo gehest du hin?". Emmanuel Music. Retrieved 26 April 2024.
  • Dürr, Alfred; Jones, Richard D. P. (2006). "1.27 Fourth Sunday after Easter (Cantate)". The Cantatas of J. S. Bach: With Their Librettos in German-English Parallel Text. Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. 315–317. ISBN 978-0-19-969628-4.
  • Gardiner, John Eliot (2005). Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) / Cantatas Nos Nos 12, 103, 108, 117, 146 & 166 (Media notes). Soli Deo Gloria (at Hyperion Records website). Retrieved 26 April 2024.
  • Leonard, James (2024). "Cantata No. 166, "Wo gehest du hin?", BWV 166". AllMusic. Retrieved 26 April 2024.
  • Oron, Aryeh (2023). "Cantata BWV 166 Wo gehest du hin?". Bach Cantatas Website. Retrieved 27 April 2024.
  • Poetzsch, Ute (April 2014). "Foreword" (PDF). Wo gehest du hin / Oh, where do you go / BWV 166. Carus-Verlag. p. 4. Retrieved 28 April 2024.
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