Cantata 12: Weinen, Klagen, Sorgen, Zagen

Bach’s legacy to all genres of musical composition, excepting opera, are profound. And depending on who you ask, opinions differ about whether the 224 extant cantatas or 48 Preludes and Fugues or the numerous suites for solo violin and cello might not be his greatest gift to posterity. Did I forget to mention the B-minor Mass and the Passions? Well, you can see how difficult it would be to find a consensus. One thing that is certain is that Bach was known during his lifetime primarily for his church music, both organ and vocal, and that he spent more waking hours writing cantatas than anything else. He was charged to write cantatas weekly during his period in Leipzig, but examples also exist from as far back as his time in Arnstadt (1703-07).
BWV 12, “Weinen, Klagen, Sorgen, Zagen” was written in 1714. It is one of Bach’s earliest Weimar-period cantatas and reveals the extent of his skill and ambition; he likely used BWV 12 as an unofficial “audition” work in his attempt to succeed the ailing Kapellmeister. The opening Sinfonia abounds in half step intervals, as one might expect from the main text “Weeping, wailing, grieving, fearing,/Dread and need are the Christians’ tearful bread.” The affect is one often heard in concerto slow movements, involving long fluid melismas for the solo oboe above a steady harmonic accompaniment. The third movement recitative is pained and somber throughout, leading directly into the da capo aria “Kreuz und Krone sind verbunden” (Cross and Crown are joined together).

(c) Jason Stell