Cantata BWV 144 – Nimm, was dein ist, und gehe hin
It’s been busy in the bunker this week, and so I am late with the latest cantata (something Herr Bach couldn’t say and get away with, I suspect!).
The gospel for today back in 1724 would have been Matthew 20 v. 1 – 16. That’s the parable of the workers in the vineyard, the essential gist of which is that a vineyard owner hires people at the start of the day and promises to pay them a penny; then he hires more at lunchtime and in the mid-afternoon. Finally, he hires some extra workers just one hour before works stops. Then he proceeds to pay everyone the contracted penny wages. Naturally, those who worked since early morning for the same pay as those hired just an hour before complain at their treatment. To which the vineyard owner retorts, ‘Were you not hired at a penny? And haven’t I paid you a penny? So what harm has befallen you? And why, therefore, do you complain? It’s my money and I can pay it as I like, so if I choose to pay these who came last the same as I pay you who came first, it’s not for you to question. Take what is yours and go away.’ In German, those last words translate to Nimm, was dein ist, und gehe hin -and thus gives this cantata its title.
In other words, this cantata seeks to deal with a central conundrum of religious belief: how come the bad guys always seem to get all the luck and the good ones get the shaft? The libretto for the cantata doesn’t really have much profound to say on the matter, other than ‘God knows what’s best for you’, so chin up and trust in Him. Sentiments which don’t really work for me, I’m afraid! The music is also curiously bland, with really nothing particular to commend it. There’s a weird ending to the last movement: just when you think it’s all about to resolve conventionally, the last cadence goes very peculiar. Other than that, it’s a workmanlike affair and not much else, so it rates a mere 1 out of 5 on my personal satisfaction meter!
Possibly more interesting than the music this week is the fact that today marked Septuagesima in 1724: approximately seventy days before Easter (though this observance was dropped from the Roman Catholic liturgy after Vatican 2, and the Anglicans followed soon after. Lutherans still observe it). Benjamin Britten wrote an operetta (Paul Bunyan) in 1941 to a libretto by W.H. Auden, one part of which contains the perhaps memorable line, Septuagesima …ate less and less-imer. Had them rolling in the aisles, I expect, but at least it sticks in my mind! Septuagesima fell rather earlier than that this year, because Easter is a moveable feast and falls this year on 4th April. Count seventy days back from that and you find out that, this year, Septuagesima Sunday was actually last weekend. No matter: it has traditionally marked the beginning of the ‘pre_lenten period’, and thus a time for carnival and other such festivities.
| 1. Chorale | ||
| Nimm, was dein ist, und gehe hin. | Take what is yours and go away. | |
| 2. Aria (Alto) | ||
| Murre nicht, Lieber Christ, Wenn was nicht nach Wunsch geschicht; Sondern sei mit dem zufrieden, Was dir dein Gott hat beschieden, Er weiß, was dir nützlich ist. |
Don’t grumble, Dear Christian, If things don’t go according to plan; Be satisified, instead, With what God has chosen for you, Because he knows what will be useful to you. |
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| 3. Chorale | ||
| Was Gott tut, das ist wohlgetan, Es bleibt gerecht sein Wille; Wie er fängt meine Sachen an, Will ich ihm halten stille. Er ist mein Gott, Der in der Not Mich wohl weiß zu erhalten: Drum lass ich ihn nur walten. |
What God does, he does well, And what he wills is always right; However he handles my affairs, I will quietly stick by him. He is my God, Who knows how to look after me In my troubled times: Therefore, I let him alone take charge. |
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| 4. Recitative (Tenor) | ||
| Wo die Genügsamkeit regiert Und überall das Ruder führt, Da ist der Mensch vergnügt Mit dem, wie es Gott fügt. Dagegen, wo die Ungenügsamkeit das Urteil spricht, Da stellt sich Gram und Kummer ein, Das Herz will nicht Zufrieden sein, Und man gedenket nicht daran: Was Gott tut, das ist wohlgetan. |
Where moderation rules And controls the rudder, There will people be content With what God has decided for them. On the other hand, where immoderation rules the roost, There will be trouble and Unsatisfied hearts; And people then won’t be thinking ‘What God wills is always right’ |
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| 5. Aria (Soprano) | ||
| Genügsamkeit Ist ein Schatz in diesem Leben, Welcher kann Vergnügung geben In der größten Traurigkeit, Genügsamkeit. Denn es lässet sich in allen Gottes Fügung wohl gefallen Genügsamkeit. |
Being happy with the way things are Is a quality to be treasured in this life. It can bring pleasure In the worst of situations. Contentedness! It finds pleasure in Whatever God has decided. Contentedness. |
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| 6. Chorale | ||
| Was mein Gott will, das g’scheh’ allzeit, Sein Will, der ist der beste. Zu helfen den’n er ist bereit, Die an ihn glauben feste. Er hilft aus Not, der fromme Gott, Und züchtiget mit Maßen. Wer Gott vertraut, fest auf ihn baut, Den will er nicht verlassen. |
What my God wills, may it always so be: What he wills is always for the best. He is always ready to help those Who are faithful to him. He helps us in our hour of need, dear Holy God, And punishes us but moderately. Whoever trusts in God and bases their life on him, He will not let down. |