Schmücket das Fest mit Maien
Cantata for Pentecost – Urtext
[solos,mix ch,orch] duration: 25' solos: STB – choir: SATB – 2.2.0.1 – 0.0.0.0 – str – bc
Description
The cantata Schmücket das Fest mit Maien has survived without any information about the time of its composition, its purpose, or its scoring. The librettist is also unknown, although there is a comparatively similar text in the work of the Silesian poet Hans Aßmann Freiherr von Abschatz (1646–1699), printed in Leipzig in 1704. Since the copy of the score that serves as the source for this edition was probably written after 1708, and the work is closely related to the cantata Daran erkennen wir (PB 32090), it could have been written during Kuhnau’s first years as Thomaskantor from 1701 on.
The text set to music provides information about the purpose of the cantata. In the course of the work, the image of the bridegroom and his bride from the Song of Songs is reinterpreted as the sending of the Holy Spirit upon the congregation of Christians. In the first part, passages from the Song of Songs predominate while the second part quotes their symbolic interpretations or treats them in free poetry. In the concluding chorale, a stanza from Philipp Nicolai’s “Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern” (“How beautifully the morning star shines”), the outpouring and the flames are also mentioned, so the purpose to the feast of Pentecost is clear.
Another special feature of the cantata is the varied and colorful instrumentation with the scoring of two flutes, two oboes and bassoon in individual movements, in addition to the usual, sometimes divided strings.
PB 32117
score
EAN: 9790004215845
52 pages / 25 x 32 cm / 244 g / stapled
PB 32117D
score
EAN: 9790004822364
54 pages / 25 x 32 cm / digital edition
EB 32117
piano vocal score
EAN: 9790004187258
32 pages / 19 x 27 cm / 108 g / stapled
OB 32117-11
organ
EAN: 9790004350829
20 pages / 25 x 32 cm / 101 g / stapled
OB 32117-15
violin 1
EAN: 9790004350836
8 pages / 25 x 32 cm / 53 g / stapled
OB 32117-16
violin 2
EAN: 9790004350843
8 pages / 25 x 32 cm / 53 g / stapled
OB 32117-19
viola
EAN: 9790004350850
4 pages / 25 x 32 cm / 37 g / stapled
OB 32117-26
basso (cello/double bass)
EAN: 9790004350867
12 pages / 25 x 32 cm / 64 g / stapled
OB 32117-30
wind parts
EAN: 9790004350874
28 pages / 25 x 32 cm / 139 g / folder
Description
Description
The cantata Schmücket das Fest mit Maien has survived without any information about the time of its composition, its purpose, or its scoring. The librettist is also unknown, although there is a comparatively similar text in the work of the Silesian poet Hans Aßmann Freiherr von Abschatz (1646–1699), printed in Leipzig in 1704. Since the copy of the score that serves as the source for this edition was probably written after 1708, and the work is closely related to the cantata Daran erkennen wir (PB 32090), it could have been written during Kuhnau’s first years as Thomaskantor from 1701 on.
The text set to music provides information about the purpose of the cantata. In the course of the work, the image of the bridegroom and his bride from the Song of Songs is reinterpreted as the sending of the Holy Spirit upon the congregation of Christians. In the first part, passages from the Song of Songs predominate while the second part quotes their symbolic interpretations or treats them in free poetry. In the concluding chorale, a stanza from Philipp Nicolai’s “Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern” (“How beautifully the morning star shines”), the outpouring and the flames are also mentioned, so the purpose to the feast of Pentecost is clear.
Another special feature of the cantata is the varied and colorful instrumentation with the scoring of two flutes, two oboes and bassoon in individual movements, in addition to the usual, sometimes divided strings.
Table of contents
| 1. | Schmücket das Fest mit Maien |
| 2. | Schmückt das Fest mit frischen Maien |
| 3. | Mein Freund komme in seinen Garten |
| 4. | Aria: Gelinder West, komm, komm zu mir |
| 5. | Stehe auf, meine Freundin |
| 6. | Kehre wieder, Sulamith |
| 7. | Das ist die Stimme meines Freundes |
| 8. | Aria: Edler Tröster, geh herein |
| 9. | Gott hat einen hellen Schein in unsere Herzen gegeben |
| 10. | Getrost, ich weiß auf Erden schon mein Paradeis |
| 11. | Tutti: Daran erkennen wir, dass wir in Ihm bleiben |
| 12. | Gott wohnt allhier, den Himmel hab ich schon in mir |
| 13. | Choral Tutti: Geuß sehr tief in mein Herz hinein |
Discography
Audio samples: Opella Musica, camerata lipsiensis, cond. Gregor Meyer (cpo, 2015)