Cantata 131: Aus der Tiefe

When J. S. Bach composed Aus der Tiefe (BWV 131) he was likely employed at the court in Mühlhausen (ca. 1707), but much more than that cannot be said with certainty. Bach did not include Aus der Tiefe in his Leipzig repertory. The cantata sets Psalm 130 and was probably suggested to the composer by the Mühlhausen pastor; curiously it also includes two verses from a contemporary sacred song, “Herr Jesu Christ, du höchstes Gut.” The five parts of this symmetrical cantata feature three choral adagios (nos. 1, 3, 5) separated by duets for soprano and bass (no. 2) and alto and tenor (no. 4). Bach avails himself of the text painting opportunity inherent in the opening text “Aus der Tiefe” (out of the depths) by introducing the voices in their lower register. Close 2-3 suspensions help draw the music inexorably forward to a new section, marked Vivace and freely polyphonic. The final cadence doubles seamlessly as the opening chord of the following duet. One might call no. 2 a bass solo with obbligato soprano, the latter voice floating in longer rhythms on the chorale tune Erbarme dich… (Have pity on me), except for the fact that Bach adds a florid oboe part as the true obbligato. The middle movement reprises the plaintive suspension figures to highlight the text’s key concepts of “waiting” and “hoping”. Such future-directed actions are set vibrating by the dissonant suspension chains, which continually find resolution and then seek it again. Bach uses the solo-plus-chorale texture from no. 2 again in no. 4, yet the expressive mood is more subdued without the high obbligato line. He compensates by setting it all in a graceful triple meter. And where later cantatas would typically close with a brief four-part chorale, BWV 131 culminates in a brilliant choral Adagio and fugue. Recall that Bach’s positions at this time were mainly to play organ; and though its authenticity is doubtful, the fugue from this Adagio exists in a version for solo organ. Which came first remains an open question.

(c) Jason Stell