"Sheep may safely graze" (german: Schafe können sicher weiden, link=no) is a

soprano A soprano () is a type of classical female singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hz to "high A" (A5) = 880& ...

aria In music, an aria ( Italian: ; plural: ''arie'' , or ''arias'' in common usage, diminutive form arietta , plural ariette, or in English simply air) is a self-contained piece for one voice, with or without instrumental or orchestral accompa ...

Johann Sebastian Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the '' Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard wo ...

to words by Salomon Franck. The piece was written in 1713 and is part of the

cantata A cantata (; ; literally "sung", past participle feminine singular of the Italian verb ''cantare'', "to sing") is a vocal composition with an instrumental accompaniment, typically in several movements, often involving a choir. The meaning o ...

BWV The (BWV; ; ) is a catalogue of compositions by Johann Sebastian Bach. It was first published in 1950, edited by Wolfgang Schmieder. The catalogue's second edition appeared in 1990. An abbreviated version of that second edition, known as BWV2 ...

208 (''Only the lively hunt pleases me''), also known as the ''Hunting Cantata''. Like the Bach's "

Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring" (or simply "Joy"; German: ''Jesus bleibet meine Freude'') is the most common English title of a piece of music derived from a chorale setting from the cantata ''Herz und Mund und Tat und Leben'', BWV 147 ("Heart and ...

", "Sheep may safely graze" is frequently played at weddings. However, the cantata BWV 208 was originally written for a birthday celebration of

Christian, Duke of Saxe-Weissenfels Christian, Duke of Saxe-Weissenfels (23 February 1682 in Weissenfels – 28 June 1736 in Sangerhausen), was a duke of Saxe-Weissenfels-Querfurt and member of the House of Wettin. He was the sixth (but second surviving) son of Johann Adolf I, Du ...

. Bach was based at the nearby court of

Weimar Weimar is a city in the state of Thuringia, Germany. It is located in Central Germany between Erfurt in the west and Jena in the east, approximately southwest of Leipzig, north of Nuremberg and west of Dresden. Together with the neighbouri ...

, and musicians from both courts appear to have joined in the first performance in

Weißenfels Weißenfels (; often written in English as Weissenfels) is the largest town of the Burgenlandkreis district, in southern Saxony-Anhalt, central Germany. It is situated on the river Saale, approximately south of Halle. History Perhaps the fir ...

. Bach is known to have used the music again for other celebrations, but it remained unpublished until after his death.

Instrumentation

For this number ( movement 9 of the complete work), the singer is not accompanied by the full Baroque instrumental ensemble used elsewhere in the cantata, but by two

recorder Recorder or The Recorder may refer to: Newspapers * ''Indianapolis Recorder'', a weekly newspaper * ''The Recorder'' (Massachusetts newspaper), a daily newspaper published in Greenfield, Massachusetts, US * ''The Recorder'' (Port Pirie), a news ...

s and continuo. The use of flute-like instruments is typical of pastoral music. Since the revival of Bach's music in the 19th century, "Sheep may safely graze" has been arranged for other instruments.

Text

The piece's title evokes a pastoral scene and has been referenced in discussions of how European culture depicts domestic animals and sheep in particular. In the cantata, the

recitative Recitative (, also known by its Italian name "''recitativo''" ()) is a style of delivery (much used in operas, oratorios, and cantatas) in which a singer is allowed to adopt the rhythms and delivery of ordinary speech. Recitative does not repeat ...

and aria are sung by the role of the ancient Roman god of shepherds, flocks, and livestock,

Pales In ancient Roman religion, Pales was a deity of shepherds, flocks and livestock. Regarded as male by some sources and female by others, ''Pales'' can be either singular or plural in Latin, and refers at least once to a pair of deities. Pales' fes ...

. Pales compares the peaceful life of sheep under a watchful shepherd to the inhabitants of a state with a wise ruler. If not performed within the cantata, the recitative is omitted. Schafe können sicher weiden Wo ein guter Hirte wacht. Wo Regenten wohl regieren Kann man Ruh' und Friede spüren Und was Länder glücklich macht. Sheep may safely graze and pasture In a watchful shepherd's sight. Those who rule with wisdom guiding Bring to hearts a peace abiding Bless a land with joy made bright.

Recordings

The work has been often recorded. It can be found in: * recordings of the complete cantata, for example: ** Bach: Secular Cantatas Vol. 2 (''Hunting Cantata'' plus ''Die Zeit, die Tag und Jahre macht'').

Bach Collegium Japan Bach Collegium Japan (BCJ) is composed of an orchestra and a chorus specializing in Baroque music, playing on period instruments. It was founded in 1990 by Masaaki Suzuki with the purpose of introducing Japanese audiences to European Baroque music ...

Joanne Lunn Joanne Lunn is an English classical soprano in opera and concert. Career Joanne Lunn studied at Royal College of Music, where she graduated and received the Tagore Gold Medal. Lunn performed in Monteverdi's '' L'incoronazione di Poppea'', Gl ...

(soprano),

Masaaki Suzuki is a Japanese organist, harpsichordist and conductor, and the founder and music director of the Bach Collegium Japan. With this ensemble he is recording the complete choral works of Johann Sebastian Bach for the Swedish label BIS Records, for wh ...

(conductor). * compilation albums, for example albums featuring the following soloists: ** Emma Kirkby (soprano), (''Emma Kirkby Collection'') **

Magdalena Kožená Magdalena Kožená (also Lady Rattle; ; born 26 May 1973) is a Czech mezzo-soprano. Early life Kožená was born in Brno in Czechoslovakia. Both her parents had come originally from Bohemia, to the west. She was born one of the two daughters o ...

(

mezzo-soprano A mezzo-soprano or mezzo (; ; meaning "half soprano") is a type of classical female singing voice whose vocal range lies between the soprano and the contralto voice types. The mezzo-soprano's vocal range usually extends from the A below middl ...

), (''J. S. Bach: Arias'' with

Musica Florea Musica Florea is a Czech Baroque music ensemble in Prague, founded in 1992 by conductor and cellist Marek Štryncl. Profile The group of young professionals with a common interest in the study and authentic performance of Baroque music engag ...

) **

Nuria Rial Núria Rial (born 1975 in Manresa, Catalonia, Spain) is a Spanish soprano. In recent years, Rial has specialized in the music of the renaissance and baroque eras, such as the works of Handel and Monteverdi. Her repertoire also includes Johann S ...

(soprano), (''Bach Arias'' with the

Kammerorchester Basel The chamber orchestra Kammerorchester Basel (also: Kammerorchesterbasel) was founded in Basel, Switzerland, in 1984. In the tradition of Paul Sacher's ''Basler Kammerorchester'', its focus is on both early music and contemporary classical music. ...

directed by Julia Schröder).

Arrangements

: \relative c'' : \relative c''

Keyboard

Piano

"Sheep may safely graze" was

arranged In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orchest ...

for piano by the American composer

Mary Howe Mary Howe (April 4, 1882 – September 14, 1964) was an American composer and pianist. Biography She was born Mary Carlisle in Richmond, Virginia, at the home of her maternal grandparents, and would live most of her life in the Washington, D.C ...

. Another notable piano transcription was made by Dutch pianist

Egon Petri Egon Petri (23 March 188127 May 1962) was a Dutch pianist. Life and career Petri's family was Dutch. He was born a Dutch citizen but in Hanover, Germany, and grew up in Dresden, where he attended the Kreuzschule. His father, a professional vio ...

, published in 1944. Sometimes the piece is played as a duet (piano-four-hands); there are versions by Duo Petrof, and

Lang Lang Lang Lang (; born 14 June 1982) is a Chinese pianist who has performed with leading orchestras in China, North America, Europe, and elsewhere. Active since the 1990s, he was the first Chinese pianist to be engaged by the Berlin Philharmonic, ...

and (released as a bonus track with Lang Lang's recording of the ''

Goldberg Variations The ''Goldberg Variations'', BWV 988, is a musical composition for keyboard by Johann Sebastian Bach, consisting of an aria and a set of 30 variations. First published in 1741, it is named after Johann Gottlieb Goldberg, who may also hav ...

'').

Moog synthesiser

American composer and electronic musician

Wendy Carlos Wendy Carlos (born Walter Carlos, November 14, 1939) is an American musician and composer best known for her electronic music and film scores. Born and raised in Rhode Island, Carlos studied physics and music at Brown University before moving ...

arranged and recorded "Sheep may safely graze" on a

Moog synthesizer The Moog synthesizer is a modular synthesizer developed by the American engineer Robert Moog. Moog debuted it in 1964, and Moog's company R. A. Moog Co. (later known as Moog Music) produced numerous models from 1965 to 1981, and again from 20 ...

for her 1973 album '' Switched-On Bach II''.

Band and orchestra

Australian-born composer

Percy Grainger Percy Aldridge Grainger (born George Percy Grainger; 8 July 188220 February 1961) was an Australian-born composer, arranger and pianist who lived in the United States from 1914 and became an American citizen in 1918. In the course of a long an ...

wrote "Blithe Bells" for

elastic scoring Elastic scoring is a style of orchestration or music arrangement that was first used by the Australian composer Percy Grainger. Purpose This technique of orchestration is used to provide composers with the option of allowing a diverse group of voi ...

in 1931 on Bach's "Sheep may safely graze". In March 1931, he scored a

wind band A concert band, also called a wind band, wind ensemble, wind symphony, wind orchestra, symphonic band, the symphonic winds, or symphonic wind ensemble, is a performing ensemble consisting of members of the woodwind, brass, and percussion famil ...

version. The piece was arranged for string orchestra by British composer

Granville Bantock Sir Granville Ransome Bantock (7 August 186816 October 1946) was a British composer of classical music. Biography Granville Ransome Bantock was born in London. His father was an eminent Scottish surgeon.Hadden, J. Cuthbert, 1913, ''Modern Music ...

. There is also an orchestral arrangement by British composer Sir

William Walton Sir William Turner Walton (29 March 19028 March 1983) was an English composer. During a sixty-year career, he wrote music in several classical genres and styles, from film scores to opera. His best-known works include ''Façade'', the cantat ...

, part of the ballet score ''

The Wise Virgins ''The Wise Virgins'' is a one-act ballet based on the biblical Parable of the Ten Virgins.Vaughan D. ''Frederick Ashton and his Ballets.'' A & C Black Ltd, London, 1977. It was created in 1940 with choreography by Frederick Ashton, to a score of mu ...

''.

References

External links

* *, Kirsten Flagstad {{Chamber music, Orchestral works and Transcriptions by Johann Sebastian Bach Compositions in B-flat major 1713 songs Songs about sheep Songs by Johann Sebastian Bach Wedding music by Johann Sebastian Bach