Motet Notes

BWV 229

The words for today's motet Komm, Jesu, Komm, BWV 229, are taken from an eleven verse sacred song my Johann Shelle, former Thomascantor, with text by Paul Thymich. A striking biblical reference ends the first stanza, John 14:6 'I am the way, the truth and the life' - affirming Jesus as the gateway to God. By far, the largest portion of the motet is devoted to these two lines of text. The listener is cradled by a seemingly endless string of gorgeous suspensions underpinned by lilting eighth notes in six-eight time. The effect is hypnotic, all the more surprising given the brevity with which the earlier text is dispatched - one doesn't want it to end. The mo tet opens with a pleading, almost stuttering, 'Come, come, come', gaining in confidence as the two choirs trade the phrases. 'Der saure Weg' [the sour path] is musically depicted by a half step followed by a plummeting diminished seventh - introduced in the basses of the second choir as the bases for some thorny counterpoint. The second stanza is set simply as a chorale. Even so, there is some beautiful text painting: the sustained chord on 'bleibt'  [remains] and the two-bar melisma on 'Weg' [path] - Bach's way, perhaps, of reminding us of the thematic importance of these last two line of text. Craig Smith felt that this was “a melancholy, rather than a sad work.” A few of the motets have inward-looking moments, but taken as a whole, Komm, Jesu, Komm, is surely the most personal. 

Michael Beattie

Some of the motets, like Komm, Jesu, komm, BWV 229, are more obviously funereal - at least by modern standards. The words are taken from an eleven-verse sacred song by Johann Shelle, former Thomaskantor, with text by Paul Thymich. A striking biblical reference ends the first stanza, John 14:6  – 'I am the way, the truth and the life' – affirming Jesus as the gateway to God. By far, the largest portion of the motet is devoted to these two lines of text: The listener is cradled in a seemingly endless string of gorgeous suspensions underpinned by lilting eighth notes in six-eight time. The effect is hypnotic, all the more surprising given the brevity with which the earlier text is dispatched – one doesn't want it to end. The motet opens with a pleading, almost stuttering, 'Come, come, come', gaining in confidence as the two choirs trade the phrases. 'Der saure Weg' [the sour path] is musically depicted by a half step followed by a plummeting diminished seventh - introduced contrapuntally beginning with the basses of the second choir. The second stanza is set in simple chorale style. Even so, there is some beautiful text painting: the sustained chord on 'bleibt' [remains] and the two-bar melisma on 'Weg' [path] - Bach's way, perhaps, of reminding us of the thematic importance of these last two lines of text. Craig Smith felt that this was “a melancholy, rather than a sad work.” While the motets have their inward-looking moments, taken as a whole, Komm, Jesu, komm is surely the most personal. 

The two A major settings of “Liebster Jesu, wir sind hier” are found in the Orgelbüchlein, a collection which contains chorale preludes for many seasons of the liturgical year.  Bach shows himself to be a master at his craft, for the melody lines in both are composed as canons at the fifth, not an easy accomplishment. Both works are ornamented melody settings in five voices (two for the melody in the right hand, and three as the accompaniment in the left hand and pedal). The first setting is somewhat more ornate than the second, but both have a restful and soothing aura, and go well together.  Craig Smith counted these two gems among his favorites in the organ repertoire.

From Program Notes April 25, 2009