Bach — motets all

Motets, or polyphonic vocal works traditionally devoid of independent instrumental voices, constitute only a small part of Johann Sebastian Bach's rich output. Conducted by Lionel Sow, the NFM Choir will present six works by the Baroque composer, maintained in this genre. The artist wrote them for special occasions, often taking advantage of the fact that in Leipzig in such situations he had at his disposal more performers than during an ordinary church liturgy. According to the Baroque practice at the NFM, the singers will be accompanied by a small ensemble. It will consist of Bartosz Kokosza, Janusz Musiał and Marta Niedźwiecka.

The first of the motets, the joyful Singet dem Herrn ein neues Lied for double chorus, dates from 1726 and 1727. It is an elaboration of the words of Psalms 149 and 150 and a fragment of the Lutheran hymn by Johann Gramann. The exact circumstances of the formation of the composition remain unknown. It aroused the enthusiasm of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart himself when he heard it in Leipzig in 1789. Another work, Der Geist hilft unser Schwachheit auf from 1729, is known to have been written for the funeral of Johann Heinrich Ernesti — philosopher, Lutheran theologian, poet and rector of the school of St. Thomas, with which Bach was associated for many years. The work for two choirs uses an exception from St. Paul's Letter to the Romans (“The Spirit comes to the aid of our weakness...”). This text was chosen by Ernesti himself before his death, so he must have wanted his commemoration to express optimism based on faith. Bach's cheerful music, which at times takes on a dance character, perfectly fulfilled this wish. On the writings of St. Paul of Tarsus, supplemented by the hymn of Johann Franck, the German artist also based his most elaborate motet — Jesu, meine Freude. This is a masterful, multi-part work with a variable arrangement of voices. It was commissioned — according to the most popular hypothesis — for the funeral of Johanna Maria Kees, wife of the head of the post office in Leipzig, and was first performed on 18 July 1723 in the church of St. Nicholas there.

The Fürchte dich nicht motet was intended for a double choir, probably for a memorial service held in Leipzig on 4 February 1726, although it cannot be ruled out that it is older and Bach composed it while still in Weimar. Operating with a variety of textures, he combined text from the Book of Isaiah with fragments of the Lutheran poet Paul Gerhardt's hymn, making the biblical words of comfort a recurring motto: “Do not be afraid.” Two stanzas by Paul Thymic, present in Komm, Jesu, komm, the baroque genius took from the Wagnersches Gesangbuch of 1697 (earlier the same passage from the songbook was reached by one of his predecessors as cantor of the Church of St. Thomas, Johann Schelle). The composition of the work is based on the contrast between two parts: the first is developed extremely expressively, the second - much more modestly. At the end of the program, with the serene and energetic Lobet den Herrn, alle Heiden, the Psalms will sound again. We will hear the shortest in the whole Book, numbered 117 and of commendable character. Due to the way the Bible verses are treated here in the German translation, it is assumed that the original form of the composition may have had a Latin text. Although Bach's authorship is disputed in this case, in the absence of conclusive evidence, the work is still performed as part of the master's work from Eisenach.