- Source: Angenehmes Wiederau, BWV 30a
Angenehmes Wiederau, freue dich in deinen Auen (Pleasant Wiederau, rejoice in thy meadows), BWV 30.1 (formerly BWV 30a), is a 1737 secular cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach, on a libretto by Christian Friedrich Henrici (Picander). Bach reused some of its music in later works, including Freue dich, erlöste Schar, BWV 30.2, one of his church cantatas, which was nearly entirely modelled after the secular composition.
History and text
Angenehmes Wiederau was composed in Leipzig in 1737 by which time most of Bach's cantatas had already been completed. It was an homage to Johann Christian von Hennicke, who had acquired an estate at Wiederau in Pegau near Leipzig. The work was performed on 28 September at Hennicke's Wiederau manor.
The libretto of the cantata was written by Christian Friedrich Henrici (Picander), a frequent collaborator of the composer.
Scoring and structure
The piece is scored for basso continuo, along with four vocal soloists (soprano as Zeit (Time), alto as Glück (Good Fortune), tenor as Elster (River Elster), bass as Schicksal (Fate)) and four-part choir.
The cantata has thirteen movements:
Chorus: Angenehmes Wiederau
Recitative (bass, soprano, alto, tenor): So ziehen wir
Aria (bass): Willkommen im Heil, willkommen in Freuden
Recitative (alto): Da heute dir, gepriesner Hennicke
Aria (alto): Was die Seele kann ergötzen
Recitative (bass): Und wie ich jederzeit bedacht
Aria (bass): Ich will dich halten
Recitative (soprano): Und obwohl sonst der Unbestand
Aria (soprano): Eilt, ihr Stunden, wie ihr wollt
Recitative (tenor): So recht! ihr seid mir werte Gäste
Aria (tenor): So, wie ich die Tropfen zolle
Recitative (soprano, bass, alto): Drum, angenehmes Wiederau
Chorus: Angenehmes Wiederau
Music
The eleventh movement, a tenor aria, is a reworking of a soprano aria from BWV 210. The other major movements were later reused in BWV 30.2, while the recitatives were newly composed.
Recordings
Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir; Ton Koopman. J.S. Bach: Complete Cantatas Vol. 22. Antoine Marchand
Gächinger Kantorei, Bach-Collegium Stuttgart; Helmuth Rilling. Edition Bachakademie Vol. 139 – Congratulatory and Hommage Cantatas. Hänssler
Leipziger Universitätschor, Neues Bachisches Collegium Musicum; Max Pommer. Kantate "Angenehmes Wiederau" BWV 30a. Eterna/Berlin Classic
Les Chantres du Centre de Musique Baroque de Versailles/Café Zimmermann; Gustav Leonhardt. J.S. Bach: Weltliche Kantaten BWV 30a & 207 (Integrale delle Cantate profane Vol. 5). Alpha 118
Bach Collegium Japan, Masaaki Suzuki. J. S. Bach: Secular Cantatas, Vol. 10. BIS, 2018.
References
Sources
Alfred Dürr: Johann Sebastian Bach: Die Kantaten. Bärenreiter, Kassel 1999, ISBN 3-7618-1476-3
Alfred Dürr: The Cantatas of J.S. Bach, Oxford University Press, 2006. ISBN 0-19-929776-2
Werner Neumann: Handbuch der Kantaten J.S.Bachs, 1947, 5th Ed. 1984, ISBN 3-7651-0054-4
Hans-Joachim Schulze: Die Bach-Kantaten: Einführungen zu sämtlichen Kantaten Johann Sebastian Bachs. Leipzig: Evangelische Verlags-Anstalt; Stuttgart: Carus-Verlag 2006 (Edition Bach-Archiv Leipzig) ISBN 3-374-02390-8 (Evang. Verl.-Anst.), ISBN 3-89948-073-2 (Carus-Verlag)
Christoph Wolff/Ton Koopman: Die Welt der Bach-Kantaten Verlag J.B. Metzler, Stuttgart, Weimar 2006 ISBN 978-3-476-02127-4
External links
Angenehmes Wiederau, BWV 30a: Scores at the International Music Score Library Project
Z. Philip Ambrose. BWV 30a: Angenehmes Wiederau, freue dich in deinen Auen! – English translation of the libretto at University of Vermont website.
Schloss Wiederau: Gerettet vor den Braunkohle-Baggern at www.burgerbe.de (in German) – history of Wiederau manor