J.S. Bach / Ich will den Kreuzstab gerne tragen, BWV 56 (Herreweghe)

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
Cantata BWV 56: Ich will den Kreuzstab gerne tragen (27 October 1726)
1. Ich will den Kreuzstab gerne tragen (Aria: B)
2. Mein Wandel auf der Welt (Recitative :B) 06:55
3. Endlich, endlich wird mein Joch (Aria: B) 08:47
4. Ich stehe fertig und bereit (Recitative, Arioso: B) 15:31
5. Komm, o Tod, du Schlafes Bruder (Chorale) 16:57
Bass Soloist: Peter Kooy
Performed by Philippe Herreweghe and La Chapelle Royale. Recorded by Harmonia Mundi in 1991.
"'Ich will den Kreuzstab gerne tragen', BWV 56, was written for the nineteenth Sunday after Trinity 1726, i.e. 27 October. In the autograph manuscript this cantata is qualified as 'cantata a voce sola e stromenti' and, besides the strings and the continuo, calls for two oboes, an oboe da caccia and a four-part chorus. The first verse of the libretto recalls the opening of a poem published by Erdmann Neumeister in 1700 in his first collection of cantatas. We do not know who was responsible for the adaptation of the original text, but it is supposed to have been Christian Friedrich Henrici, known under the pseudonym of Picander. The episode of the healing of the man sick of the palsy (Matthew 9, 1-8) furnishes the point of departure for a meditation on suffering. In this respect it may be noted that the work could be listened to as a theatrical scene interpreted by a character who always speaks in the first person (which explains the recourse to a solo voice), but also as an invocation to death, whose kindly arms welcome the faithful at the moment that he attains Christ and redemption. The opening aria is a genuine lamentation, with the unusual tripartite form of A A' B. It has the character of a lullaby, which is further accentuated in the last section ('Da leg' ich den Kummer'), which will be repeated in a surprising and innovative manner as the conclusion of No. 4. The next piece (No. 2) is a recitative in which the accompanying figure imitates the rocking of a boat (the words speak of a sea voyage) which breaks off the moment it reaches the celestial city. A da capo aria (No. 3), in dance rhythm, is in the form of a dialogue between the solo voice and a solo oboe. The work ends with the sixth stanza of Johann Franck's chorale, Du, o schönes Weltgebäude, dating from 1653." - Alberto Basso
Painting: The Pilgrim of the World at the End of his Journey, Thomas Cole

[@schieteensklop]

Bach bringt Ruhe und Friede.

[@jsnauwaert]

Opening area proves - again - that nobody can match Bach's tremendous genious and expressive, emotional power, combined with flawless intellectual capacities.

[@professionalmusician1172]

This is probably my favourite recording of a very beloved composition. Herreweghe's reading finds a beautiful balance of sumptuousness and transparence which seems hard to achieve: Most newer interpretations on period instruments are rather dry and unsensuous, while the older and more traditional ones tend to be thick and mushy. I find Peter Kooy/Kooij's rendition equally ideal: A beautifully rich and rounded bass-baritone voice (which at the time of the recording had an almost belcantesque quality), able to sing dense legato lines - unlike the note-by-note-spelling of many singers specialized in early music -, but also impeccably neat and clean. I especially like his perfect controll of vibrato and his beautiful straight notes: never tense, but perfectly relaxed and 'on the breath'. Thank you for posting this!

[@rayff7740]

Essa cantata é algo tão pacifico e calmo excelente Js Bach

[@flemmingranch8777]

"Jeg vil gerne bære dit kors" det passer jo fint her i Påsken med dens sørgelige historie, og musikken passer fint til......

[@gerardbegni2806]

THis is one of the most known cantatas of JS Bach, under the inspired baton of Herreweghe. This record is a gem.

[@odettefrancois6566]

Bach es el padre de la música, sus obras sublimes llegan al alma, saludos desde Chile, 🎼🎶❤

[@redbrian3655]

A favorite Cantata matched with a favorite painting!--- well done and well thought-out. BRIAN

[@tsanchezts]

Bach and Hereweghe, the perfection

[@MrPaevo]

I would rather have an incomplete set of Bach cantatas by Herreweghe than any of the complete sets available.

[@claudiozuniga913]

Yes I agreed 100% The voice the instruments just is what I want to hear the REAL BACH. THANK YOU.

[@willybaumann2149]

1 00:00 Ich will den Kreuzstab gerne tragen (Arie, Bass) 2 06:54 Mein Wandel auf der Welt (Rezitativ, Bass) 3 08:47 Endlich, endlich wird mein Joch (Arie, Bass) 4 15:31 Ich stehe fertig und bereit (Rezitativ und Arioso, Bass) 5 16:56 Komm, o Tod, du Schlafes Bruder (Choral)

[@smartalek180]

A gorgeous performance of a superlative work -- and one that I hadn't heard before being introduced to it (here at YoutBue, yay) by its use as an intro theme on what looks like a teevee broadcast of a series of Bach Cantatas. Thank you so much for promoting it here -- and especially for doing so in true hifi bitrates! And appreciation, too, for mating it with the apt Cole painting.

[@enzodibujos1091]

La wea bacan wn.

[@TheWiscats]

Beautifully done, but one expects that from Herreweghe. Fine bass voice. Is that Marcel Ponseele on the oboe da caccia?

[@MitchBoucherComposer]

It's most likely him, yes.

[@real1213]

Sick shit Yo! Bach's ma nigga!

[@armandogonella2770]

I M M E N S O B A C H

[@filipadamzielinski1812]

6:55

[@jsnauwaert]

Oops! Geious -> genius

[@andrewmargrave7518]

The baritone is quite good. This recording and the Ton Koopman recording both take the cantata a half-step down. By contrast, the Harrell, Prey, Fischer-Dieskau, and Souzay recordings are all at or very near standard pitch. Since the solo writing is mainstream baritone, not at all for a bass, a baritone can do this cantata a half-step lower without critical loss of projection and downrange resonance.

[@MitchBoucherComposer]

The recording isn't taken a half-step down; they are using period instruments. In the Baroque era, all instruments were turned down a half-step (A=415). The work is in g minor, which sounds like our modern F# minor.

[@nawfalsalman3074]

The singer is Peter Kooy, he is bass not baritone.