Cantata BWV 74 "Wer mich liebet"

Cantata 74 is one of four cantatas intended for Pentecost Sunday (Cantata 34, 59, and 172 are the others). Interestingly enough, this cantata actually borrows from Cantata 59 (it even has the same title!), an earlier Pentecost cantata, though one intended for solo voice. This one (BWV 74) sets a text by Christiane Mariane von Ziegler. The cantata was first performed on Pentecost Sunday (May 20) 1725. Like Cantata 34, discussed above, this one employs a bright scoring, including 3 trumpets, timpani, 2 oboes plus oboe da caccia, strings and continuo. Only the first movement, however, includes the trumpets and timpani, and even in this setting the effect is more subdued than in Cantata 34. This may be a direct reflection of the different focus of this text compared to other Pentecost texts: von Ziegler’s "is more concerned with personal, individual responses to faith" instead of the shouts of the masses of believers (Day, 40-42, cited in Oxford Composer Companions, J.S. Bach, 520).

This is one of those interesting pieces in which we know Bach employed his number-alphabet. In this system, Bach converts letters (German had only 24 in those days) to numbers, beginning with A=1 and ending with Z=24. In this way, he assigns numerical values to individual words as follows:

• wer=43
• mich=32
• liebet=51
• der=26
• wird=51
• mein=39
• Wort=71
• halten=57

…for a total of 244. This is exactly the number of measures in the first movement, which sets the text "Wer mich liebet, der wird mein Wort halten." Taking "mein Wort" alone, we see that this totals 110, and Bach writes in this cantata three sections of 110 measures. (Movements 1-3 total 110 measures; the da capo portion of the 7^th movement, which is heard twice, is 110 measures.) Three of course is significant in Bach as a reference to the Trinity, perhaps this time reflecting that the third person in the Trinity is the Holy Spirit, whom Christians celebrate in particular on Pentecost. By using the 110 reference three times, Bach also indicates the importance of "mein Wort"¾ my Word, that is, the Word of God.

Below is a summary of the movements comprising Cantata 74:

This 8-movement work is really all about the soloists, perhaps because of its focus on the individuals rather than the collective. The SATB chorus is used only in the first and last movements, with the final movement being a simple 4-part chorale. But let's start by looking at the one big choral movement, the opening movement. This has relatively few passages for the full choir, reflecting the ideas of the individuals, rather than the collective Christian community. Instead, short individual statements or overlapping statements by two voice parts is more common. And the sound is not a continuous vocal sound, either, as many phrases are unusually short, compared to other cantatas we've heard, and separated by melodic statements by the violins or oboes. The trumpets and drums definitely add some fanfare -- so to speak -- at the opening and closing of the movement, but their participation in the interior portion is mostly incidental. Of note is the typical Baroque "walking bass line" throughout this movement, a continuous, fluid passage of eighth notes which constantly propels the music forward.

The second movement is a lovely, rhythmically-complex interplay between three parts, the gentle oboe da caccia, the continuo line, and the soprano soloist. This is one of the movements Bach borrowed from an earlier work, though there the obbligato soloist had been the violin. The oboe da caccia of this setting is softer and more intimate. (The original was also in C major; the choice of F major in this cantata contributes to the gentler feel.) Here, the continuo part is again very active, but the eighth-note movement is ornamented at least once per measure (sometimes twice) with sixteenth-note lower neighbors or passing tones. The interplay between the oboe da caccia and soprano is intriguing. The two parts are absolutely essential in creating this texture, and while there are occasional moments of imitation or brief duets of parallel sixths between the two, they are mostly independent of each other: