''Friedenskantate'' (Peace Cantata) for soli, choir, organ and orchestra is a work by German composer

Jörg Widmann Jörg Widmann (; born 19 June 1973) is a German composer, conductor and clarinetist. In 2023, Widmann was the third most performed living contemporary composer in the world. Formerly a clarinet and composition professor at the University of ...

. It was composed in 2023, on the occasion of the 300th anniversary of

Johann Sebastian Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (German: Help:IPA/Standard German, �joːhan zeˈbasti̯an baχ ( – 28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque music, Baroque period. He is known for his prolific output across a variety ...

taking office as

Thomaskantor (Cantor at St. Thomas) is the common name for the musical director of the , now an internationally known boys' choir founded in Leipzig in 1212. The official historic title of the Thomaskantor in Latin, ', describes the two functions of Cantor ( ...

in Leipzig. It was premiered on 8 June 2023 by Thomaskantor

Andreas Reize Andreas Reize (born 19 May 1975) is a Swiss organist and conductor, with a focus on opera and choral conducting. He was appointed Thomaskantor on 11 September 2021, becoming the 18th director of music to take charge of the world famous Thomanerch ...

conducting

Gewandhausorchester Leipzig The Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra (Gewandhausorchester; also previously known in German as the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig) is a German symphony orchestra based in Leipzig, Germany. The orchestra is named after the concert hall in which it is bas ...

and

Thomanerchor The Thomanerchor (English: St. Thomas Choir of Leipzig) is a boys' choir in Leipzig, Germany. The choir was founded in 1212. The choir comprises about 90 boys from 9 to 18 years of age. The members, called ''Thomaner'', reside in a boarding scho ...

Thomaskirche The St. Thomas Church () is a Lutheran church in Leipzig, Germany, located at the western part of the inner city ring road in Leipzig's central district. Martin Luther preached in the church in 1539. It is associated with several well-known ...

History

In 1723, Johann Sebastian Bach was appointed Thomaskantor in Leipzig. His inaugural cantata was '' Die Elenden sollen essen'', BWV 75. The cantatas theme is grave poverty, a serious problem of that time. Widmann took Bach's cantata and the Baroque form as starting point for his composition. The theme of the new composition is war, a contemporary subject. ''Kantate'' was commissioned by the Bach Archive Leipzig financed by the

Ernst von Siemens Ernst Albrecht von Siemens (9 April 1903 in Kingston upon Hull, England – 31 December 1990 in Starnberg) was a German industrialist. Life Siemens was born in England when his father Carl Friedrich von Siemens was director of Siemens Brothers a ...

Music Foundation.

Structure

''Kantate'' is structured in seven parts. # Praeludium (instrumental) # 's ist Krieg! (It is war!) (

Matthias Claudius Matthias Claudius (15 August 1740 – 21 January 1815) was a German poet and journalist, otherwise known by the pen name of "Asmus". Life Claudius was born at Reinfeld, near Lübeck, and studied at Jena. He spent the greater part of his life i ...

) # Ist kein Gott? (Is no god?) (

Jean Paul Jean Paul (; born Johann Paul Friedrich Richter, 21 March 1763 – 14 November 1825) was a German Romanticism, German Romantic writer, best known for his humorous novels and stories. Life and work Jean Paul was born at Wunsiedel, in the Ficht ...

) # Choral: Lasst euch nicht verführen! (Don't be seduced!) (

Bertold Brecht Eugen Berthold Friedrich Brecht (10 February 1898 – 14 August 1956), known as Bertolt Brecht and Bert Brecht, was a German theatre practitioner, playwright, and poet. Coming of age during the Weimar Republic, he had his first successes as a ...

) # Glaube, Hoffnung, Liebe (Faith, Hope, Love) (Bible) # Von guten Mächten (Of good powers) (

Dietrich Bonhoeffer Dietrich Bonhoeffer (; 4 February 1906 – 9 April 1945) was a German Lutheran pastor, neo-orthodox theologian and anti-Nazi dissident who was a key founding member of the Confessing Church. His writings on Christianity's role in the s ...

) # Halleluja (

Paul Gerhardt wikisource:The New International Encyclopædia/Gerhardt, Paulus, Paulus or Paul Gerhardt (12 March 1607 – 27 May 1676) was a German theologian, Lutheranism, Lutheran minister and hymnodist. Biography Gerhardt was born into a middle-class fam ...

)

Praeludium

A silent

meditation Meditation is a practice in which an individual uses a technique to train attention and awareness and detach from reflexive, "discursive thinking", achieving a mentally clear and emotionally calm and stable state, while not judging the meditat ...

for solo

bass clarinet The bass clarinet is a musical instrument of the clarinet family. Like the more common Soprano clarinet, soprano B clarinet, it is usually pitched in B (meaning it is a transposing instrument on which a written C sounds as B), but it plays no ...

, the

cantus A cantus (Latin for "singing", derived from ''cantare'') is an activity organised by Belgian, Dutch, German, French, and Baltic fraternities. A cantus mainly involves singing traditional songs and drinking beer. It is governed by strict trad ...

is accompanied with

tubular bells Tubular bells (also known as chimes) are musical instruments in the Percussion instrument, percussion family. Their sound resembles that of church bells, carillons, or a bell tower; the original tubular bells were made to duplicate the soun ...

. The instruction for the bass-clarinetist as homage to Bach is: Walk from

sacristy A sacristy, also known as a vestry or preparation room, is a room in Christianity, Christian churches for the keeping of vestments (such as the alb and chasuble) and other church furnishings, sacred vessels, and parish records. The sacristy is us ...

to Bach's grave and then to the position in the orchestra while playing.

Matthias Claudius s ist Krieg''

Its war! Torn style interspersed with drum attacks and shrill dissonance.

Lyrics

Taken from: :'s ist Krieg! 's ist Krieg! O Gottes Engel wehre, :Und rede Du darein! :'s ist leider Krieg – und ich begehre, :Nicht schuld daran zu sein! :Was sollt ich machen, wenn im Schlaf mit Grämen :Und blutig, bleich und blaß, :Die Geister der Erschlagnen zu mir kämen, :Und vor mir weinten, was? :Wenn wackre Männer, die sich Ehre suchten, :Verstümmelt und halb tot :Im Staub sich vor mir wälzten und mir fluchten :In ihrer Todesnot? :Wenn tausend tausend Väter, Mütter, Bräute, :So glücklich vor dem Krieg, :Nun alle elend, alle arme Leute, :Wehklagten über mich? :Wenn Hunger, böse Seuch und ihre Nöten :Freund, Freund und Feind ins Grab :Versammelten, und mir zu Ehren krähten :Von einer Leich' herab? :Was hülf mir Kron' und Land und Gold und Ehre? :Die könnten mich nicht freun! :'s ist leider Krieg – und ich begehre, :Nicht schuld daran zu sein! inal stanza of the first edition::Doch Friede schaffen, Fried' im Land' und Meere: :Das wäre Freude nun! :Ihr Fürsten, ach! wenn's irgend möglich wäre!! :Was könnt Ihr Größers thun?

Jean Paul ''Ist kein Gott?''

Highly expressive setting.

Bertolt Brecht ''Gegen Verführung''

A cappella Music performed a cappella ( , , ; ), less commonly spelled acapella in English, is music performed by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differentiate between Rena ...

chorale A chorale is the name of several related musical forms originating in the music genre of the Lutheran chorale: * Hymn tune of a Lutheran hymn (e.g. the melody of " Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme"), or a tune in a similar format (e.g. one o ...

Lyrics

Source: 1. Laßt euch nicht verführen! Es gibt keine Wiederkehr. Der Tag steht in den Türen; Ihr könnt schon Nachtwind spüren: Es kommt kein Morgen mehr. 2. Laßt euch nicht betrügen! Das Leben wenig ist. Schlürft es in schnellen Zügen! Es wird euch nicht genügen Wenn ihr es lassen müßt! 3. Laßt euch nicht vertrösten! Ihr habt nicht zu viel Zeit! Laßt Moder den Erlösten! Das Leben ist am größten: Es steht nicht mehr bereit. 4. Laßt euch nicht verführen Zu Fron und Ausgezehr! Was kann euch Angst noch rühren? Ihr sterbt mit allen Tieren Und es kommt nichts nachher.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer ''Von guten Mächten''

The emotional core of the cantata. The text was written shortly before his execution by the

Nazis Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

Lyrics

Source: 1. Von guten Mächten treu und still umgeben, behütet und getröstet wunderbar, so will ich diese Tage mit euch leben und mit euch gehen in ein neues Jahr. 2. Noch will das alte unsre Herzen quälen, noch drückt uns böser Tage schwere Last. Ach Herr, gib unsern aufgeschreckten Seelen das Heil, für das du uns geschaffen hast. 3. Und reichst du uns den schweren Kelch, den bittern des Leids, gefüllt bis an den höchsten Rand, so nehmen wir ihn dankbar ohne Zittern aus deiner guten und geliebten Hand. 4. Doch willst du uns noch einmal Freude schenken an dieser Welt und ihrer Sonne Glanz, dann wolln wir des Vergangenen gedenken, und dann gehört dir unser Leben ganz. 5. Laß warm und hell die Kerzen heute flammen, die du in unsre Dunkelheit gebracht, führ, wenn es sein kann, wieder uns zusammen. Wir wissen es, dein Licht scheint in der Nacht. 6. Wenn sich die Stille nun tief um uns breitet, so laß uns hören jenen vollen Klang der Welt, die unsichtbar sich um uns weitet, all deiner Kinder hohen Lobgesang. 7. Von guten Mächten wunderbar geborgen, erwarten wir getrost, was kommen mag. Gott ist bei uns am Abend und am Morgen und ganz gewiß an jedem neuen Tag.

Halleluja

At the end bright

D major D major is a major scale based on D (musical note), D, consisting of the pitches D, E (musical note), E, F♯ (musical note), F, G (musical note), G, A (musical note), A, B (musical note), B, and C♯ (musical note), C. Its key signature has two S ...

, in Baroque music regarded as the "key of glory", with trumpet-horn cheering and a big peal.

Instrumentation

Source score: * ''Woodwinds'': 2 flutes (2nd doubling piccolo), 2 oboes (2nd doubling cor anglais), 2 clarinets (2nd doubling bass clarinet and ad lib. contra bass clarinet), 2 bassoons (2nd doubling contra bassoon) * ''Brass'': 2 horns in F, 3 trumpets in C (1st doubling high B), 1 tenor trombone (doubling bass trombone) * ''Strings'': 6 violins I, 6 violins II, 4 violas, 3 cellos, 2 double basses (all with 5 strings with B as lowest string) * ''Percussion'': 2 players * Organ

Premiere

8 June 2023, Leipzig, Thomaskirche * Pia Davila, soprano * Geneviève Tschumi, alto * Raphael Höhn, tenor * Tobias Berndt, bass * Johannes Lang, organ * Volker Hemken, bass clarinet * Andreas Reize, Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, Thomanerchor

Reception

Anastassia Boutsko wrote at

Deutsche Welle (; "German Wave"), commonly shortened to DW (), is a German state-funded television network, state-owned international broadcaster funded by the Federal Government of Germany. The service is available in 32 languages. DW's satellite tele ...

: "peace cantata" (""). Michael Stallknecht from criticized the final Halleluja of the "demanding" work as "dull" (""), but catchpenny. An anonymous reviewer wrote about the premiere: "lush, exuberant musical universe" ("") and "impressive interpretation" (""). Some in the audience could not stand the disturbing and agitative character of the work and fled the Thomaskirche.

References

{{italic title Compositions by Jörg Widmann 21st-century classical music 2023 cantatas Composer tributes (classical music)