Bach Cantata Notes

BWV 39

Very much tied into the same concepts is Bach cantata BWV 39. Here the plea for generosity in feeding the hungry is emphasized rather than the search for personal salvation, which is perhaps the dominant motive of the parable of Dives and Lazarus. Like many of the cantatas from Bach's third Leipzig cycle, the huge opening chorus dominates the work. The short notes from the recorders, oboes and strings can either be read to represent the breaking of the bread or, more compellingly, the teardrops of the hungry. In any case the orchestra is a stunning brackdrop for what is at the beginning a deeply felt and emotional fugue and later on an energetic call to arms. The lovely alto aria with violin and oboe obbligati is an inward and stunningly pure vision of the touching words. The stern, preachy bass aria is a splash of cold water - Bach at his most severe and Lutheran. The sweet soprano aria with recorder breaks that mood and ends the work with a touching child-like sweetness.

©Craig Smith