Darzu ist erschienen der Sohn Gottes (For this the Son of God appeared), BWV 40,[a] is a church cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach. He composed it in 1723, his first year in Leipzig, for the Second Day of Christmas, and first performed it on 26 December that year in both main churches, Thomaskirche and Nikolaikirche. It was the first Christmas cantata Bach composed for Leipzig. The title of the cantata also appears in more modern German as Dazu ist erschienen der Sohn Gottes.

The theme of the work is Jesus as the conqueror of the works of the devil, who is frequently mentioned as the serpent. The music is festively scored, using two horns, similar to Part IV of Bach's later Christmas Oratorio. The text by an unknown poet is organised in eight movements, beginning with a choral movement on the biblical text, followed by a sequence of recitatives and arias which is structured as three stanzas from three different hymns. Only two of these hymns are Christmas carols.

The frightfully successful collection of balances in this 40th cantata, Darzu ist erschienen der Sohn Gottes ("For this purpose the Son of God was made visible') was premiered 26 December, 1723 in Leipzig. It features a unique distribution of movements that strike a compelling balance: chorus, recitative, chorale (chorus), aria, recitative, chorale (chorus), aria, and chorale. This sort of inverted palindrome breaks from a more conventional style of two recitative and aria pairs, each begun with a chorus, with the work concluded by a final chorale. Part of the reason Bach's legacy is so enduring is his ability to make music simple more interesting, the form more compelling, such as is heard here. The instrumentation continually varies, as does the range of the singer taking on the next solo section. Everything keeps changing, yet affirming the basic material of this single, cohesive work. The opening chorus draws text from I John 3: 8, but it is not known who wrote the poetry. In tone and in musical treatment, this cantata is an aggressive denunciation of the devil. In the first chorus horn, oboes, strings and continuo perform a ritornello that accompanies the chorus' announcement that the destruction of Satan and his works is at hand. This is a martial statement, and there is an implicit challenge in the general atmosphere of the cantata. Later in the bass' aria, the downfall of Satan is further elaborated on with text drawn from Genesis 3: 15, wherein the dark angel is portrayed as a snake. Other references to the bible then go on to compare Jesus to hen protecting her chicks (Matt. 23: 34-9) and other, comparatively pleasant metaphors. Some work painting exists as well, as is heard in the tenor aria with the word erschrecken (‘terrible'), which is heard as an extended melisma to suggest the breathlessness of fear. In all, there is an incredible wealth of musical beauty to comment on in the 40th cantata. Readers would do well to make a first hand investigation.

For the festive occasion, the cantata is scored for three vocal soloists—alto, tenor and bass—a four-part choir, two horns (corno da caccia), two oboes, two violins, viola and basso continuo. Bach later used a similar scoring in Part IV of his Christmas Oratorio, to be performed on New Year's Day.

Source: Wikipedia ([ Ссылка ]).

I created this arrangement of the second Recitative: "Die Schlange, so im Paradies" (The serpent in Paradise) for Oboe & Strings (2 Violins, Viola & Cello).

Download the sheet music here: [ Ссылка ]

свернуть