Bach: Jesu, meine Freude, BWV 227 (Mvt. I, II, III)

Johann Sebastian Bach

Jesu, meine Freude, BWV 227
(Motet No. 3 in E minor)


(From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

"Jesu, meine Freude" is a motet composed by Johann Sebastian Bach. The full title of the
work is Motet No. 3 in E minor, BWV 227.

The Work

There are six authenticated funeral motets (BWV 225-230) written for St Thomas's Church, Leipzig between 1723-1727. A seventh has only recently been subjected to some scholarly doubt as to its authorship. This third is the earliest, longest, most musically complex and justifiably the most popular of the six, and was written in Leipzig in 1723 for the funeral (on 18 July 1723) of Johanna Maria Käsin, the wife of that city's postmaster. The 5th voice of the chorus is a second soprano part of harmonic richness, adding considerably to the tonal palette of the work as a whole.

The chorale melody on which it is based, was by Johann Crüger (1653), and first appeared in his Praxis pietatis melica. The German text is by Johann Franck, and dates from c. 1650. The words of the movement nos. 2, 4, 6, 8, and 10 are based on the Epistle to the Romans 8:1-2, 9-11. The scriptures here speak of Jesus Christ freeing man from sin and death. The chorale text is from the believer's point of view and praises the gifts of Jesus Christ as well as longing for his comforting spirit. It also abounds with stark contrasts between images of heaven and hell, often within a single section. Bach's vivid setting of the words heightens these dramatic contrasts resulting in a motet with an uncommonly wide dramatic range.


German Text:

Jesu, meine Freude,
Meines Herzens Weide,
Jesu, meine Zier,
Ach wie lang, ach lange
Ist dem Herzen bange
Und verlangt nach dir!
Gottes Lamm, mein Bräutigam,
Außer dir soll mir auf Erden
Nichts sonst Liebers werden.

Es ist nun nichts
Verdammliches an denen,
die in Christo Jesu sind,
die nicht nach dem Fleische wandeln,
sondern nach dem Geist.
(Romans 8, V. 1)


Unter deinem Schirmen
Bin ich vor den Stürmen
Aller Feinde frei.
Laß den Satan wittern,
Laß den Feind erbittern,
Mir steht Jesus bei.
Ob es itzt gleich kracht und blitzt,
Ob gleich Sünd und Hölle schrecken:
Jesus will mich decken.

English Translation:

Jesus, my joy,
pasture of my heart,
Jesus, my adornment
ah how long, how long
is my heart filled with anxiety
and longing for you!
Lamb of God, my bridegroom,
apart from you on the earth
there is nothing dearer to me.

There is therefore now no
condemnation to them
who are in Christ Jesus,
who wander not after the flesh,
but after the Spirit.
(Romans 8, V. 1)

Beneath your protection
I am free from the attacks
of all my enemies.
Let Satan track me down,
let my enemy be exasperated --
Jesus stands by me.
Even if there is thunder and lightning,
even if sin and hell spread terror
Jesus will protect me .

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Johann
• Sebastian
• Bach
• Jesu
• Meine
• Freude
• BWV
• 227
• Motet
• Ton
• Koopman
• Netherlands
• Chamber
• Choir
• Baroque
• Chorale
• Chorus

[civileso]

Can't you people chill out about God and Bach? Stop imposing your feelings, beliefs, opinions and revelations to others. I may remove my Bach videos just not to see fights about God and Bach equations and/or comparisons. People believe what they believe regardless of what you believe. Who cares about your disagreement about whether you need God or not? Either way, it is obvious that people like you just can't enjoy this music without bickering.

[thethikboy]

@civileso the fact is that an artist is influenced by his beliefs and view of the world. Bach was a man of profound faith whether the anti-religious atheists like it or not.

[civileso]

@thethikboy This is not the place to talk about that. Whether Bach was a believer or not is his own investment; it won't allow me in God's heaven. My problem is with both sides of these discussions... well, calling these lowly fights discussions dignifies them to a degree they don't deserve. I don't like people -whether they are atheists or believers- to push each other to believe or think what they believe or think by insults and condescending attitude. That's all.

[thethikboy]

@civileso I agree. It's music - not theology - but the subject matter is Jesus - it's hard to edit out any reference to God.

[civileso]

@thethikboy Nobody says we should. What baffles me is that these fights only happen in Bach pieces, as if he's the only one who wrote religious music. This leads me to believe that superficial, self-righteous pseudo-intellectuals who only use Bach to show off like his music. So they end up fighting. I don't for one second believe that, for example, Buxtehude or Schutz were less religious or less inspired than Bach was. But no one fights in the videos featuring their music. Go figure!

[freeerteee]

Jesus, my joy,

The food of my heart,

Jesus my Honor,

Ah, how long,

How long will my heart be anxious

And longing for Thee!

Lamb of God, my bridegroom,

Outside of Thee,

Could nothing on earth

be dear for me

[jls850807]

Simply amazing. This has been the best piece of music which I have ever sung.

"Music expresses that which cannot be said and on which it is impossible to be silent."

[sebtemple]

long live JSB

[timsleierbag]

Jesu meine Freude - AMEN!

[ericspectra]

This sounds in Eb minor, not in E minor.

[BlackmoreProductions]

This is a fantastic learning tool for me as I learn this piece for the choir I am in. Any chance that you would post up the other movements as well?

[GodNameInVain]

This is in baroque pitch, right?