Text No. 1–5
Salomo Franck, 1715
(Evangelisches Andachts–Opffer)

Text No. 6
Elisabeth Cruciger, 1524
(5th verse from “Herr Christ, der
einig Gottes Sohn”)

First performance
22 December 1715, Weimar

Written in 1715, Bach’s Weimar cantata for the Fourth Sunday in Advent “Bereitet die Wege, bereitet die Bahn” (Make ready the pathways, make ready the road!) BWV 132 is scored primarily for four voices, strings and continuo. An oboe is also featured, particularly in the opening aria, where it provides a counterpart to the first violin and adopts a concertante role alongside the soprano voice. As the organ and strings in Weimar were still tuned to the higher choir pitch, the oboe, set to chamber pitch, required a part transposed a minor third higher. Bach also added a bassoon part to the continuo, which nonetheless sets its own rhythmic accents. These differences, however, are only notated in the opening bars – the wellversed musician was expected to continue this for the entire movement. The joyful anticipation of the Messiah’s coming inspired Bach to compose a lively movement in which the soprano is called upon to sing virtually endless coloraturas. It is obvious that this is no ordinary road being prepared, but rather a path of faith stretching into eternity which the soprano and oboe can only follow with extraordinary effort. It is a testimony to the outstanding skill of the adult descant vocalists of the Weimar court that Bach even conceived of this composition. At the St Thomas school in Leipzig, Bach’s young pupils would scarcely have been able to master this soprano part.
The following tenor recitative is initially much more song-like, but soon melds into an arioso that echoes the coloraturas of the opening aria. The text explores the consequences Christ’s coming had for the lives of his followers and refers almost literally to Martin Luther’s theses which state that we cannot attain righteousness by works, but that our entire lives must be a testimony of faith and repentance.
The somewhat grim bass aria continues in a similar vein. Its thudding continuo prelude, reminiscent of organ pedal exercises, is punctuated by brief cadence figures whose pitch and weight perfectly mirror the speech pattern of the text “who art thou?” This probing question posed to John the Baptist in the gospel is heaved here at every single believer. This harsh interrogation is followed promptly by a confession, accompanied by the strings, of not having served God earnestly enough and even of having broken “Baptism’s bond”. In this movement, the libretto and music aim to transcend the ritualised text and reach out to the hearts of the listeners, a tone that also pervades the following alto aria “Christ’s own members, ah, consider”. Over a sparing bass line, a gentle and flowing violin melody unfolds that demands as much skill and virtuosity in its apparent effortlessness as does the alto solo. This aria, set in an elegiac B minor, is the last movement in Bach’s score – a highly unexpected end for a work beginning in A major. A surviving copy of the “Evangelischen Andachts-Opffer” by Salomo Franck, however, confirms that the verse “Us mortify through thy kindness” from Elisabeth Cruciger’s hymn “Herr Christ der einzig Gottes Sohn” should follow. It remains unknown whether this should have been performed as a simple congregational hymn, or whether Bach slipped the chorale movement from his cantata 164 (which closes with the same hymn) into the performance parts. The latter assumption is favoured among Bach scholars and is thus the version presented in this recording.