Ich glaube, lieber Herr, hilf meinem Unglauben
BWV 109 performed by the Netherlands Bach Society
conducted by Shunske Sato
Walloon Church, Amsterdam
Behind the music
Story
Story
Texts
Texts
Credits
Credits
Heartening
Doubts are heard at first, but the ending radiates unshakeable faith
The father of a boy who suffers from epileptic fits asks Jesus for help. Jesus answers that everything is possible for those who believe. To which the father of the sick boy replies: “I believe, dear Lord, help my unbelief!”
These words form the opening of Bach’s cantata from October 1723. They resound with ambiguity and doubt, as do the subsequent recitative by the tenor and particularly the aria, with its indecisive rhythms and uncertain harmonies.
Religious doubts became increasingly common in Bach’s day, and atheism was a growing concern for many theologians. In Bach’s own library, there was a copy of Johannes Müller’s Atheismus devictus (“Atheism Conquered”); a “detailed report of atheists, God spurners, Bible desecrators and religion scorners”, from 1672.
In the year Bach wrote this cantata, a notorious issue arose, near to Leipzig. At the university in Halle, in 1721, a mathematics professor with an interest in philosophy held a lecture for 1000 people on Chinese philosophy. This professor, Christian Wolff, argued that through their Confucianism the Chinese could equal the high moral and ethical standing of Christians. The implicit message was that it was not necessary to believe in a god to be a good person. And the result? A riot and many years of debate that produced almost three hundred polemic writings. Opponents accused of Wolff of secretly being an atheist.
In the cantata, the alto gives heart to the doubter: God will stand by his side in the battle, so that faith will win in the end. And just where you expect a simple chorale at the end of the cantata, suddenly you hear a grand arrangement with rousing orchestral accompaniment. It is one of the oldest Lutheran hymns, with words that testify to an unshakeable faith in God.
In November 1723, shortly after the first performance of this cantata, Christian Wolff was dismissed from his job and banished from the Prussian region. But in 1740, at the request of Frederick the Great, he returned to Halle in triumph and with an extremely generous salary.
- BWV
- 109
- Title
- Ich glaube, lieber Herr, hilf meinem Unglauben
- Genre
- cantatas
- Year
- 1723
- City
- Leipzig
- Lyricist
- unknown, chorale by Lazarus Spengler
- Occasion
- Twenty-first Sunday after Trinity
- First performance
- 17 October 1723
With support from
Extra videos
Vocal texts
Original
1. Chor
Ich glaube, lieber Herr, hilf meinem Unglauben!
2. Rezitativ (Tenor)
Des Herren Hand
ist ja noch nicht verkürzt,
mir kann geholfen werden.
Ach nein! Ich sinke schon zur Erden
vor Sorge, daß sie mich zu Boden stürzt.
Der Höchste will, sein Vaterherze bricht.
Ach nein! Er hört die Sünder nicht.
Er wird, er muß dir bald zu helfen eilen,
um deine Not zu heilen.
Ach nein! Es bleibet mir
um Trost sehr bange,
ach Herr, wie lange?
3. Arie (Tenor)
Wie zweifelhaftig ist mein Hoffen,
wie wanket mein geängstigt Herz!
Des Glaubens Docht
glimmt kaum hervor,
es bricht dies fast zerstoßne Rohr,
die Furcht macht stetig neuen Schmerz.
4. Rezitativ (Alt)
O fasse dich, du zweifelhafter Mut,
weil Jesus itzt noch Wunder tut!
Die Glaubensaugen werden schauen
das Heil des Herrn;
scheint die Erfüllung allzufern,
so kannst du doch auf die Verheißung bauen.
5. Arie (Alt)
Der Heiland kennet ja die Seinen,
wenn ihre Hoffnung hülflos liegt.
Wenn Fleisch und Geist in ihnen streiten,
so steht er ihnen selbst zur Seiten,
damit zuletzt der Glaube siegt.
6. Choral
Wer hofft in Gott und dem vertraut,
der wird nimmer zu Schanden;
denn wer auf diesen Felsen baut,
ob ihm gleich geht zu Handen viel Unfalls hie,
hab ich doch nie den Menschen sehen fallen,
der sich verläßt auf Gottes Trost;
er hilft sein' Gläubgen allen.
Translation
1. Chorus
Lord, I believe, help Thou mine unbelief!
2. Recitative (Tenor)
The hand of the Lord
is not yet waxed short,
I can be helped.
Ah no, already I sink to earth,
for fear that He casts me down.
This is the Lord’s will, His father’s heart breaks.
Ah no! He does not hear the sinners.
He will, He must soon hasten to help you,
to heal your distress.
Ah no, I am fearful
of Thy consolation;
ah Lord, how long?
3. Aria (Tenor)
How uncertain is my hope,
how my anxious heart wavers!
The wick of faith
hardly burns,
the almost broken reed now snaps,
fear constantly creates fresh pain.
4. Recitative (Alto)
Compose yourself, doubting heart,
for Jesus still works wonders!
The eyes of faith shall witness
the healing power of the Lord;
though fulfilment seems so distant
you can rely on his promise.
5. Aria (Alto)
For the Saviour knows his people,
when their hope is destitute.
When the flesh and the spirit war within them,
He Himself shall stand by their side,
that faith may finally triumph.
6. Chorale
Who hopes in God and trusts in Him
shall never be confounded;
for he who builds on this rock,
though he suffer great misfortune here on earth,
I have never seen that man fall
if he trust in God’s consolation;
He helps His faithful always.
Credits
-
- Release date
- 21 July 2022
-
- Recording date
- 28 May 2021
-
- Location
- Walloon Church, Amsterdam
-
- Violin and direction
- Shunske Sato
-
- Alto
- Alex Potter
-
- Tenor
- Daniel Johannsen
-
- Ripieno soprano
- Lauren Armishaw, Marta Paklar, Amelia Berridge
-
- Ripieno alto
- Sofia Gvirts, Bernadett Nagy, Adriaan de Koster
-
- Ripieno tenor
- Adriaan de Koster, Immo Schröder
-
- Ripieno bass
- Matthew Baker, Pierre-Guy Le Gall White, Michiel Meijer
-
- Violin 1
- Sayuri Yamagata, Annelies van der Vegt, Andrew Wong
-
- Violin 2
- Pieter Affourtit, Anneke van Haaften, Manja Kruidhof-Okkerse
-
- Viola
- Staas Swierstra, Deirdre Dowling
-
- Cello
- Lucia Swarts, Barbara Kernig
-
- Double bass
- Robert Franenberg
-
- Oboe
- Rodrigo Lopez Paz, Katharina Verhaar
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- Bassoon
- Benny Aghassi
-
- Trumpet
- Robert Vanryne
-
- Harpsichord
- Siebe Henstra
-
- Organ
- Leo van Doeselaar
-
- Director and camera
- João MB Costa
-
- Music recording
- Guido Tichelman, Bastiaan Kuijt, Pim van der Lee
-
- Music edit and mix
- Guido Tichelman
-
- Camera
- Santiago Rodriguez, Milo McCafferty, Oscar Widl, Enzo Dumettier
-
- Lights
- Zen Bloot
-
- Grip
- Patrick Galvin, Harm Bredero, Sven Deen
-
- Assistant director
- Santiago Rodriguez
-
- Video editing
- Rob Gradisen, Robin van Erven Dorens
-
- Assistant music recording
- Marloes Biermans
-
- Producer concert
- Imke Deters
-
- Producer film
- Jessie Verbrugh
-
- With support from
- MWH4impact
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