Jesus sleeps, is hope now fading
Cantata for the 4th Sunday after Epiphany BWV 81, 1724
Bach composed the cantata "Jesus schläft, was soll ich hoffen" [Jesus sleeps, what hope have I] BWV 81 for the fourth Epiphany Sunday, 1724. The cantata is structured as a little drama: In the beginning, fear prevails. The seas rage and Jesus is asleep. The threateningly foaming waves are vividly depicted in the soughing string accompaniment of the tenor aria. Jesus’s words “Ihr Kleingläubigen, warum seid ihr so furchtsam?” [You of little faith, why are you so fearful?] are set as a bass arioso at the center of the cantata; they provide the turning point. In the subsequent bass aria, the “towering seas” are silenced. A recitative – “Wohl mir” [Well for me] – leads into the closing chorale with its certainty “Unter deinen Schirmen bin ich vor den Stürmen aller Feinde frei” [Under Your protection I am spared the tempests of my enemies].
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Digital text (without sheet music) incl. printing licence, html file, singing text, english translationhtml file, singing text, english translation (Sample)1 Aria (Alto)Jesus sleeps, is hope now fading?
2 Recitativo (Tenore)
Do I here see with trembling and with fear
death’s abyss so dark and gaping?Lord! Why do you stay so far from me?
3 Aria (Tenore)
Why do you hide at times of bitter need,
when ev’rything is fading in defeat?
O, will your eye not be then moved by all my anguish,
your eye that does not rest or languish?
You guided with a star the wisemen
to come from far away to find you,
and praising, they adored you.
Grant guidance, Lord, the light that your eyes shed
shows me the danger of this path ahead.Most turbulent billows from Belial’s waters
do multiply wrath.
A Christian should be strong as waves,
so that in trouble he is brave;...
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Digital text (without sheet music) incl. printing licence, html file, singing text, originalhtml file, singing text, original (Sample)1 Aria (Alto)
Jesus schläft, was soll ich hoffen?
2 Recitativo (Tenore)
Seh ich nicht
mit erblasstem Angesicht
schon des Todes Abgrund offen?Herr! Warum trittest du so ferne?
3 Aria (Tenore)
Warum verbirgst du dich zur Zeit der Not,
da alles mir ein kläglich Ende droht?
Ach, wird dein Auge nicht durch meine Not beweget,
so sonsten nie zu schlummern pfleget?
Du wiesest ja mit einem Sterne
vordem die neu bekehrten Weisen,
den rechten Weg zu reisen.
Ach leite mich durch deiner Augen Licht,
weil dieser Weg nichts als Gefahr verspricht.Die schäumenden Wellen von Belials Bächen
verdoppeln die Wut.
Ein Christ soll zwar wie Wellen stehn,...
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Composer
Johann Sebastian Bach
| 1685-1750Johann Sebastian Bach is one of the most important composers of Western music history. He came from a widely ramified musical dynasty, which produced numerous musicians and organists in the Thuringian-Saxon area.
Bach vocal
Ever since Carus-Verlag was founded in 1972, publishing the music of Johann Sebastian Bach has been a special focus for us. In the 2017 Reformation anniversary year we completed the Bach vocal project. Bach's complete sacred vocal works are now available in modern Urtext editions, together with performance material. A complete edition of all the full scores is also available in a high quality box set. Personal details
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Editor
Reinhold Kubik
| 1942-2024
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Continuo realization
Paul Horn
| 1922-2016Paul Horn war ein deutscher Kirchenmusiker, Organist, Komponist und Musikwissenschaftler. Er studierte Kirchenmusik und Orgel an der Evangelischen Kirchenmusikschule Esslingen am Neckar bei Hans-Arnold Metzger und Musikwissenschaft, Theologie und Geschichte an der Universität Tübingen. Seine berufliche Laufbahn begann als Kantor an der Evangelischen Michaelskirche in Stuttgart-Degerloch. 1954 wurde er Kantor an der Evangelischen Stadtkirche Ravensburg, eine Position, die er bis zu seiner Pensionierung innehatte. Als Musikwissenschaftler arbeitete Horn bis ins hohe Alter eng mit Carus zusammen. So stammen zahlreiche Carus-Klavierauszüge aus seiner Feder. Personal details
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Preface writer
Karin Wollschläger
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Translator
Vernon Wicker
| 1934-2024
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