For this paper you will be studying and interpreting one of Johann Sebastian Bach’s church
cantatas, Schmücke dich, o liebe Seele, BWV 180, a cantata based on a chorale about
Communion—the bread and wine that Christians share in commemoration of Christ.
Assignment materials:
1. The score (from the Neue Bach-Ausgabe) follows in this PDF, after a page with the German
text and a translation (from Alfred Dürr, The Cantatas of J.S. Bach).
2. A recording of the cantata:
3. In addition to the relevant assigned reading in Burkholder, read Christoph Wolff’s Johann
Sebastian Bach: The Learned Musician, pp. 253-288 (sent in the email with this assignment).
4. The Gospel reading used in Leipzig on the day in the church calendar for which this cantata
was written (see Wolff on the relationship between Gospel readings and Bach’s cantatas);
this text is included below.
5. The Lutheran chorale tune Schmücke dich, o liebe Seele:
Listening and analysis: After a preliminary listening and completing the reading, study the
score (with the recording for backup), taking notes on each movement’s instrumentation,
voice(s) used, singing style, form (if identifiable or easily described), use of the chorale tune (if
present), how the words and music relate to the Gospel reading, and other ways in which the
music is expressive of the text.
Outlining and writing the paper: Your paper should have two main sections, the first
discussing the texts of the chorale and the cantata, and how they relate to the Gospel reading.
This part of the paper should draw on ideas from the Wolff reading as well (cite ideas and
quotations taken from Wolff with a properly formatted footnote). In the second part of the paper,
discuss the form and style of each of the movements, and describe how Bach uses the chorale
tune Schmücke dich, o liebe Seele. Note that some (not all) of the movements use formal
structures studied previously in this class; you are expected to be able to identify and describe
these using appropriate terminology. If you wish, you may include simple diagrams of some of
the movements showing sections, tonal relationships, and measure numbers (like the ones given
in NAWM).
Editing and revising your paper: You must not turn in a “rough” or minimally edited paper.
Revise your writing carefully to make sure your sentences are fluent and informative. Most
importantly, your writing should be interesting: not flashy or ostentatiously written, but full of
telling observation and imaginative ideas, and expressed in appropriate terminology. Your paper
should be typed, double line-spaced with 12-point type, and printed with 1-inch or 1.25-inch
margins on white paper in black ink. Include page numbers on every page after the first, and
place one staple in the upper-left corner. Do not include a cover page or use a folder or report
cover. You will likely need 4-5 pages to convey the required information, but if you are an
especially efficient writer the paper may be shorter.
Tip #1: On the German language: Be careful in rendering German text. In German all nouns
are capitalized, so be sure to follow your source carefully. Also, many words include umlauts
over some vowels (ä, ü, ö) or the esszet (ß), which is pronounced like “ss.” Learn how to produce
these characters in your word processor; do not attempt to substitute other characters or handwrite
them in after printing.
Tip #2: On Bach’s cantatas: As a guide to understanding this piece, you can compare it to the
cantata Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland (BWV 62), which is in your anthology.
Tip #3: The chorale text and this Gospel reading are not necessarily talking about the same
thing, but the juxtaposition of the two suggests a symbolic connection.
READING: The gospel reading associated with Bach’s Schmücke dich, o liebe Seele
This reading comes from the Book of Matthew, Chapter 22, verses 1-14. Jesus has been speaking
to his followers in parables, stories that convey spiritual teaching through symbolism or allegory.
The translation here is from the New Standard Revised Version.
Jesus spoke to them again in parables, saying: “The kingdom of heaven is like a king who
prepared a wedding banquet for his son. He sent his servants to those who had been invited to
the banquet to tell them to come, but they refused to come.
“Then he sent some more servants and said, ‘Tell those who have been invited that I have
prepared my dinner: My oxen and fattened cattle have been butchered, and everything is ready.
Come to the wedding banquet.’
“But they paid no attention and went off—one to his field, another to his business. The rest
seized his servants, mistreated them and killed them. The king was enraged. He sent his army
and destroyed those murderers and burned their city.
“Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding banquet is ready, but those I invited did not
deserve to come. Go to the street corners and invite to the banquet anyone you find.’ So the
servants went out into the streets and gathered all the people they could find, both good and bad,
and the wedding hall was filled with guests.
“But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing
wedding clothes. ‘Friend,’ he asked, ‘how did you get in here without wedding clothes?’ The
man was speechless.
“Then the king told the attendants, ‘Tie him hand and foot, and throw him outside, into the
darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
“For many are invited, but few are chosen.”
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