#Salomo Franck

[empressofherownimaginaryplanet]

I leave all things to God's direction; He loves me both in wealth and woe. His will is good, sure his affection; His tender love is true, I know. My fortress and my rock is he: What pleases God, that pleases me.

God knows what must be done to save me; His love for me will never cease. Upon his hands he did engrave me With purest gold of loving grace. His will supreme must ever be: What pleases God, that pleases me.

My God desires the soul's salvation; My soul he, too, desires to save. Therefore with Christian resignation All earthly troubles I will brave. His will be done eternally: What pleases God, that pleases me.

My God has all things in his keeping; He is my ever-faithful friend. He gives me laughter after weeping, And all his ways in blessings end. His love endures eternally: What pleases God, that pleases me.

[emilymaddison1112]

Online Conversation Concert:  (Prepare the Highway of the Lord)

In December 1715 Johann Sebastian Bach (1685 – 1750) was serving the court of Weimar as Concertmaster and Court Organist. The position involved not only leading the orchestra in rehearsals and performances from both the 1st violin desk and the keyboard, but composing and performing cantatas for the church services of the palace chapel, the Himmelsburg.

It is this second duty that led to the creation of “Bereitet die Wege, bereitet die Bahn!” Written for and performed on the 4th Sunday of Advent, 1715, the cantata is notable due to the absence of a chorus. One possible explanation (though this is sheer speculation) is that the small ensemble Bach led was, no doubt, busy preparing for the court’s Christmas celebrations and liturgies, and would have preferred not to have any more musical assignments on its plate than they already had.

Another possible explanation for Bach’s decision to set the text for individual singers may be traced to the libretto. Bach received the text in the form of a new book of cantata librettos by Salomo Franck, an official in the Weimar court and author of several Bach cantata texts. Frank took the Gospel reading of the day’s worship service, John 1:19 – 28 (the witness of John the Baptizer) and created a text filled with scriptural references from both the Old and New Testaments, a libretto of deep personal introspection and confession.

Perhaps this perspective is what inspired Bach to set the texts for soloists, assigning the traditional, German oratorio (biblical music) roles to each voice part. In order of their appearance:

The soprano – appears as the announcing angel with a clear reference (through paraphrase) to Isaiah 40:3 – 4 in the opening aria.

The tenor – appears in the role of evangelist, references both the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:9) and the Resurrection (Isaiah 40:3 and Mark 16:4) with its call to “roll the heavy stones of sin away.”

The bass – appears in its traditional role as prophet; takes the Priest’s and Levite’s interrogation of John the Baptizer from the Gospel reading for the day (John 1:19 ff), and makes it into a direct questioning of the individual believer.

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