Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott
BWV 80 performed by the Netherlands Bach Society
conducted by Shunske Sato
PHIL, Haarlem
Behind the music
Story
Story
Texts
Texts
Credits
Credits
Forward – march!
A combative cantata full of military references
In the seventeenth century, there were closer links between music and warfare than nowadays. A soldier with a flute was a cliché in the sixteenth century. This connection was due in part to metaphors about belief and battle that were set to music; metaphors that had only recently become merely metaphorical. In Bach’s day the thirty-year war had only just ended – in 1648 – and this war trauma was still fresh in everyone’s memory.
This militancy is seen primarily in the words of the cantata Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott: in the chorale of the same title, written by Luther. The war metaphors with which the text begins, based on psalm 46, soon turned the chorale into the battle song of the Reformation. So no wonder it was sung on 31 October: Reformation Day, which was a festival in Saxony, in Bach’s day. The definitive version of the cantata was built up by Bach over the years. The first version for Leipzig, performed in 1730, was based on music he had already composed in Weimar. The big opening chorus was still missing, but he did add the fifth movement. It was only for a new performance in 1735 that Bach started the cantata with a large-scale opening chorus.
Military references are found not just in the words, but in the music as well. In the seventeenth century, the oboe was still strongly associated with the army, and Bach used no fewer than three in this cantata. The sound of three oboes playing exactly the same, as in the opening chorus, was a typical ‘marching noise’. The concordant chorus in unison is reminiscent of the uniformity and order of a well trained army. In the midst of instrumental tumult – as in the fifth movement of the cantata – the chorus sounds like a disciplined military unit that marches in perfect synchrony across the battlefield.
- BWV
- 80
- Title
- 80
- Instrument
- alto, bass, soprano, tenor
- Genre
- cantatas
- Year
- 1739?
- City
- Leipzig
- Lyricist
- Salomo Franck
- Occasion
- Reform Day
With support from
Extra videos
Vocal texts
Original
1. Chor
Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott,
ein gute Wehr und Waffen;
er hilft uns frei aus aller Not,
die uns itzt hat betroffen.
Der alte böse Feind,
mit Ernst ers itzt meint,
groß Macht und viel List
sein grausam Rüstung ist,
auf Erd ist nicht seinsgleichen.
2. Arie (Bass) & Choral (Sopran)
Alles, was von Gott geboren,
ist zum Siegen auserkoren.
Mit unser Macht ist nichts getan,
wir sind gar bald verloren.
Es streit' vor uns der rechte Mann,
den Gott selbst hat erkoren.
Wer bei Christi Blutpanier
in der Taufe Treu geschworen,
siegt im Geiste für und für.
Fragst du, wer er ist?
Er heißt Jesus Christ,
der Herre Zebaoth,
und ist kein andrer Gott,
das Feld muß er behalten.
Alles, was von Gott geboren,
ist zum Siegen auserkoren.
3. Rezitativ (Bass)
Erwäge doch,
Kind Gottes, die so große Liebe,
da Jesus sich
mit seinem Blute dir verschriebe,
wormit er dich
zum Kriege wider Satans Heer
und wider Welt und Sünde
geworben hat!
Gib nicht in deiner Seele
dem Satan und den Lastern statt!
Laß nicht dein Herz,
den Himmel Gottes auf der Erden,
zur Wüste werden!
Bereue deine Schuld mit Schmerz,
daß Christi Geist
mit dir sich fest verbinde!
4. Arie (Sopran)
Komm in mein Herzenshaus,
Herr Jesu, mein Verlangen!
Treib Welt und Satan aus
und laß dein Bild in mir erneuert prangen!
Weg, schnöder Sündengraus!
5. Chor
Und wenn die Welt voll Teufel wär
und wollten uns verschlingen,
so fürchten wir uns nicht so sehr,
es soll uns doch gelingen.
Der Fürst dieser Welt,
wie saur er sich stellt,
tut er uns doch nicht,
das macht, er ist gericht',
ein Wörtlein kann ihn fällen.
6. Rezitativ (Tenor)
So stehe dann bei Christi blutgefärbten Fahne,
o Seele, fest
und glaube, daß dein Haupt dich nicht verläßt,
ja, daß sein Sieg
auch dir den Weg zu deiner Krone bahne!
Tritt freudig an den Krieg!
Wirst du nur Gottes Wort
so hören als bewahren,
so wird der Feind gezwungen auszufahren,
dein Heiland bleibt dein Hort!
7. Arie (Alt, Tenor)
Wie selig sind doch die,
die Gott im Munde tragen,
doch selger ist das Herz,
das ihn im Glauben trägt!
Es bleibet unbesiegt
und kann die Feinde schlagen
und wird zuletzt gekrönt,
wenn es den Tod erlegt.
8. Choral
Das Wort sie sollen lassen stahn
und kein' Dank dazu haben.
Er ist bei uns wohl auf dem Plan
mit seinem Geist und Gaben.
Nehmen sie uns den Leib,
Gut, Ehr, Kind und Weib,
laß fahren dahin,
sie habens kein Gewinn;
Das Reich muß uns doch bleiben.
Translation
1. Chorus
A mighty fortress is our God,
a sure defence and sword;
He helps us free from every harm
that has befallen us.
The ancient wicked enemy
truly now besets us.
He is cruelly equipped
with great strength and deceit,
on earth he has no equal.
2. Aria (Bass) and Chorale (Soprano)
Every creature born of God
is destined for victory.
We can do nothing with our own might,
all too soon we are lost.
It is the righteous man,
chosen by God, who fights for us.
He who at baptism swore loyalty
on Christ’s bleeding banner,
his spirit conquers evermore.
Do you ask who He is?
He is called Jesus Christ,
the Lord of Sabaoth,
there is no other God,
He must hold the field.
Every creature born of God
is destined for victory.
3. Recitative (Bass)
Consider
this immense love, child of God,
with which Jesus
dedicated Himself to you with His blood,
through which
He enlisted you
to fight against Satan’s army,
the world and sin!
Let not Satan and his vices
enter your soul!
Let not your heart,
God’s kingdom on earth,
become a desert!
Repent your guilt with grief,
that Christ’s spirit
be firmly bound to you!
4. Aria (Soprano)
Come into my heart’s abode,
Lord Jesus, my desiring!
Drive out Satan and the world
and let you image gleam in me anew!
Hence, vile and dreadful sin!
5. Chorus
And if the world were filled with devils
about to devour us,
that would scarcely frighten us
for we shall conquer.
The prince of this world,
however grim he be,
yet cannot harm us,
for he has been judged,
a single word can destroy him.
6. Recitative (Tenor)
Stand, then, beside Christ’s bloodstained banner,
O soul, stand firm
and believe that your leader will not desert you,
believe that His victory
shall lead you also to your crown!
March gladly on to war!
If you will only hear and keep
the Word of God,
the enemy shall be forced to flee,
thy Saviour remains thy shield.
7. Aria (Alt, Tenor)
How blessed are they
who have God’s Word on their lips,
but more blessed the heart
that holds Him strong in faith!
It remains unconquered
and can defeat the foe,
and shall at last be crowned,
when it defeats death.
8. Chorale
Man should not touch God’s Word
nor interpret it,
He is surely with us
with His gifts and spirit.
If the foe take our body,
goods, honour, children and wife,
let them do so,
it will bring them no profit;
for His kingdom shall remain ours.
Credits
-
- Release date
- 2 March 2023
-
- Recording date
- 21 June 2022
-
- Location
- Philarmonie Haarlem
-
- Violin and direction
- Shunske Sato
-
- Soprano
- Isabel Schicketanz
-
- Alto
- Franz Vitzthum
-
- Tenor
- Thomas Hobbs
-
- Bass
- Wolf Matthias Friedrich
-
- Ripieno soprano
- Lauren Armishaw, Marta Paklar
-
- Ripieno alto
- Sofia Gvirts, Bernadett Nagy
-
- Ripieno tenor
- Adriaan de Koster
-
- Ripieno bass
- Matthew Baker, Pierre Guy Le Gall White, Jaap van der Wel
-
- Violin 1
- Sayuri Yamagata, Femke Huizinga, Kano Imada
-
- Violin 2
- Lucia Giraudo, Annelies van der Vegt, Pieter Affourtit
-
- Viola
- Deirdre Dowling, Staas Swierstra
-
- Cello
- Barbara Kernig, Lucia Swarts
-
- Double bass
- Robert Franenberg
-
- Traverso
- Marten Root, Doretthe Janssens
-
- Oboe
- Rodrigo Lopez Paz, Ivan Podyomov, Katharina Verhaar
-
- Bassoon
- Benny Aghassi
-
- Organ
- Leo van Doeselaar
-
- Harpsichord
- Siebe Henstra
-
- Director and camera
- Bas Wielenga
-
- Music recording
- Guido Tichelman, Pim van der Lee, Lilita Dunska
-
- Music edit and mix
- Guido Tichelman
-
- Camera
- Martijn Struijf, Jesper Blok, Rob van der Gragt, Matthijs Notten, Lisa Xiu Kok
-
- Lights
- Dirk Zijlstra, Nick Fadieiev
-
- Set technique
- Justin Mutsaers
-
- Grip
- Rinco Ederveen
-
- Gaffer
- Zen Bloot
-
- Producer concert
- Marco Meijdam
-
- Assistent director
- Ferenc Soeteman
-
- Assistant music recording
- Marloes Biermans
-
- Stylist
- Ellen Julianus
-
- Producer film
- Marieke de Blaay
-
- With support from
- MWH4impact
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