What is the meaning of sleepers awake?
The full title of the chorale prelude “Sleepers, Awake” is “Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme,” which is translated “Awake, the Voice is Calling.” The reference is to a biblical passage about the importance of being prepared – spiritually. In the cantata, it’s the orchestra that plays Bach’s prelude.
What is the theme of Sleepers Wake?
It’s a joyous hymn, focused on Jesus Christ’s return to his faithful followers. Still sung by Christians today, it was written by an otherwise obscure 16th century Lutheran pastor named Philipp Nicolai.
For which church service did Bach write the cantata Wachet auf ruft uns die Stimme awake a voice is calling )?
Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme (Awake, calls the voice to us), BWV 140, also known asSleepers Wake, is a church cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach. He composed the chorale cantatain Leipzig for the 27th Sunday after Trinity and first performed it on 25 November 1731.
Who composed Wachet auf Sleepers Awake cantata 40?
Bach
Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme
| “Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme” | |
|---|---|
| Other name | Sleepers Awake |
| Catalogue | Zahn 8405a |
| Related | Chorale cantata by Bach |
| Text | by Philipp Nicolai |
When was Sleepers Wake by Bach written?
1731
“Sleepers awake”, English name for the chorale cantata Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme, BWV 140 (1731), by Johann Sebastian Bach, based on Nicolai’s hymn. The Sleeper Awakes (1910), dystopian novel by H. G. Wells about a man who sleeps for two hundred and three years.
What is the musical style of Johann Sebastian Bach?
Baroque era
Johann Sebastian Bach (March 21, 1685 – July 28, 1750) was a prolific and versatile German composer and organist of the Baroque era, whose sacred and secular works for choir, orchestra and keyboard drew together almost all of the strands of the Baroque style and brought this musical form to its ultimate maturity.
Are cantatas longer than operas?
Like the oratorio and opera, the cantata will have multiple short contrasting sections, or movements, like arias (solo singer), duets, and choruses. Then comes the oratorio – Opera’s little brother. They tend to be shorter, don’t have sets and staging, etc. Smaller than the oratorio is the cantata.
How does Bach’s cantata Wachet auf portray the biblical story of the Wise and Foolish Virgins?
In Bach’s annotated bible, this story from the Gospel of Matthew is explained as an allegory. The wise virgins symbolise burning faith and vigilance. This moment comes at the precise middle of the cantata, in the famous chorale sung by the tenors, which Bach later transcribed for organ.
Why is Bach so great?
An extremely important reason that Bach is so good is his intense study of music itself. He referenced so many composers, both older and contemporary. Listen to the use of melody and phrasing in his organ works to see how Bach developed his own take in due course.
Did Johann Sebastian Bach go blind?
After surgery, Bach was totally blind and unable to play an organ, compose or direct choirs and orchestras. He was confined to bed and suffering from immense pain of the eyes and the body. He died <4 months after surgery.
Which King stood up for the Hallelujah Chorus?
King George II
This brings us to the business of standing during that famous chorus, a tradition said to have begun in 1743, when King George II rose from his seat, enthralled by the beauty of the music. Not wanting to offend the king, the audience also stood – or so the story goes.
What is the first movement of Bach’s Wachet auf ruft uns die Stimme?
The first movement, ” Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme ” (“Awake”, we are called by the voice [of the watchmen]), is a chorale fantasia based on the first verse of the chorale, a common feature of Bach’s earlier chorale cantatas. The cantus firmus is sung by the soprano.
How many movements does Bach have in his cantata?
Bach structured the cantata in seven movements, setting the first stanza as a chorale fantasia, the second stanza in the central movement in the style of a chorale prelude, and the third stanza as a four-part chorale. He set the new texts as dramatic recitatives and love-duets, similar to contemporary opera.
Who was the conductor of the Bach pilgrimage?
John Eliot Gardiner, who conducted the Bach Cantata Pilgrimage in 2000, notes two instrumental choirs, the strings and the double-reeds (two oboes, taille and bassoon), playing in the style of a French overture double-dotted motifs in triple rhythm. He writes:
When did Bach write the first schubler chorale?
Bach used the central movement of the cantata as the basis for the first of his Schübler Chorales, BWV 645.