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Motet BWV 230 "Lobet den Herrn, alle Heiden"
Bach wrote six surviving complete
motets.
Bach’s first biographer, Forkel, refers to "many single- and
double-choir motets," implying that there were many others, though
only 6 complete ones and a few scattered movements survive today.
Among these, there is some doubt for Bach scholars as to whether or
not "Lobet den Herrn, alle Heiden" is actually by Bach. This work
was first published by Breitkopf & Härtel in 1821, rather early
as publication of Bach’s works go, too early to have been part of
the Mendelssohn revival; the publisher claimed that the manuscript
was in Bach’s hand. Still, it could have been a copy made by Bach of
another unknown work. The fact that the vocal writing is unusually
virtuosic for the choral parts, even as Bach goes, has lead Bach
scholars to claim that the work is really more instrumental in
character, and thus not really Bach-like. This is particularly true
of the many leaping passages–even when the voice leaps through a
triad, this is not as
idiomatic
for a voice as it is for any instrument; the voice prefers stepwise
writing. Lacking any indisputable evidence either way, the work will
continue to be published, recorded, and performed as a work of J.S.
Bach.
"Lobet den Herrn" is one of only two motets by Bach in which
the entire text comes from the Bible, in this case, Psalm 117.
Despite the more than 6 minutes of music, only the first two verses
of the Psalm are set.
The work is scored for SATB choir and continuo. The norm for
Bach’s motets is for a continuo group to perform as support for the
choral parts, even where continuo is not explicitly indicated in the
score. In the case of "Lobet den Herrn," however, the continuo part
is written separately in the score, and often independent of the
other parts. This has led some scholars to believe that "Lobet den
Herrn" may actually be a part of a larger Bach work, perhaps a
cantata. While there are only two clear divisions to the motet in
the score, there are other subdivisions indicated by changes in
text, texture and character.
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Part I
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"Lobet den
Herrn, alle Heiden" |
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Fugue,
with subject entering voices in SATB order; subject based on
an arpeggiated figure. |
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Continuo
is independent until the bass voices enter, though thereafter
it usually doubles the basses of the choir. |
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4/4 meter
(actually 4/2) |
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C major
primarily (F, G, am, em tonicized) |
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Part 2
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"und
preiset ihn, alle Völker" |
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New fugue,
with new subject, an undulating descending scale passage;
order in which the subject enters is again SATB
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No change
in meter or tempo |
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C major
(G, F, e minor, a minor also tonicized) |
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Texture
initially lightens, because when the new fugue starts, the
texture is reduced to a single voice, then gradually builds
again |
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Continuo
is entirely independent until the bass voices enter, then it
is mostly similar to the bass vocal line |
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Fugue
contains some very close stretto |
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Part 3
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"Denn
seine Gnade und Wahrheit waltet über uns" |
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Clear
cadence delineates this section from the preceding one
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Begins
with chordal section, after so much fugal and polyphonic
writing. Develops into women vs. men texture, with the women
singing more sustained music over moving parallel lines in the
tenors and basses. Later, more independence of parts develops
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Tempo
feels slower, even if the beat does not actually change,
because there is far less activity than in the 3 preceding
sections |
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Clear
phrases, delineated by obvious cadences, rather than the
numerous phrase elisions in the fugal sections
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Tonality
not immediately established, but goes through G, am,
dm–overall minor feel |
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Numerous
suspensions contribute to making this section distinct from
the others |
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Part 4
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"seine
Gnade und Wahrheit waltet über uns in Ewigkeit"
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Really
building to a climax, and the end of the Psalm text
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Long held
notes in reference to "Ewigkeit" (forever) are the main
feature here |
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Imitative
texture, though strictly speaking, not a fugue
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Continuo
part again begins independently, until the bass voice joins;
later similar to bass voices, though often rhythmically
simpler, sometimes an octave lower |
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Part 5
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"Alleluja"
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_
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New fugue,
because of the meter and text, but similar to the second fugue
because of the undulating eighth-note figure |
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C major,
with G, em |
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Continuo
part mostly supports and reinforces the voices
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Compared to the other motets, there is little written about
"Lobet den Herrn" in the Bach literature. This is likely because of
the somewhat doubtful authorship of the work. As a result, scholars
are unable to provide a likely date of composition or a performance
history during Bach’s lifetime.
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