Bach Cantata: Herr wie du willt, so schicks mit mir | Philippe Herreweghe, Collegium Musicale Gent

What does this cantata by Johann Sebastian Bachs have to do with Beethoven? Belgian conductor and specialist in historical performance practice Philippe Herreweghe sees parallels between Bach’s cantata 'Herr wie du willt, so schicks mit mir' (Lord, as you will, so let it be done with me), BWV 73 and Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony. Philippe Herreweghe and his Collegium Musicale Gent performed the cantata on 11 June 2023 at the St. Thomas Church in Leipzig during the Bachfest Leipzig.

00:00 Coming on stage
00:10 Chorale e recitativo (Tenor, Bass, Soprano): Herr, wie du willt, so schicks mit mir
04:44 Aria (Tenor, Oboe): Ach senke doch den Geist der Freuden
08:42 Recitativo (Bass): Ach, unser Wille bleibt verkehrt,
09:15 Aria (Bass): Herr, so du willt
12:51 Chorale: Das ist des Vaters Wille

Aisling Kenny | SOPRANO
Benedict Hymas | TENOR
Peter Kooij | BASS

COLLEGIUM VOCALE GENT
Annelies Brants, Anna-Sophie Brosig, Magdalena Podkościelna | SOPRANO
Daniel Folqué, Cécile Pilorger, Bart Uvyn | ALTUS
Graham Cooper, Peter Di-Toro, Patrik Hornak | TENOR
Philipp Kaven, Robert van der Vinne, Bart Vandewege | BASS

Philippe Herreweghe | DIRECTOR

The chorale of Bach’s cantata 'Herr wie du willt, so schicks mit mir' (Lord, as you will, so let it be done with me), BWV 73 was composed long before Bach’s time – namely in 1582, penned down by poet and theologian Caspar Bienemann. The cantata focuses on how God’s will determines everything and Christians should trust in his will.

Bach musically expressed the Lord’s will in his cantata through a foreboding fate motif, played by horn. In his first year holding the position of Musical Director of the St. Thomas Choir of Leipzig (1723/24), in terms of form, Bach began working with what he would later make an overarching theme of his second year: the chorale cantata. That is to say, he connected chorales with other musical forms, like recitatives and arias consisting of bass, tenor, and alto. It is unknown which author wrote the texts for the solo voices for this cantata. The soloists narrate what the choir sings in the chorale. The result is a multi-layered text; but also, the melodies are multilayered and – especially – emotional. Like in the bass aria number five. The emotions of a dying person fluctuate between fear of death and self-assuredness.

It is one of Belgian conductor and choirmaster Philippe Herreweghe’s favorite cantatas. Particularly this aria, in which the bass sings precisely the verse of the cantata, 'Lord, as you will, so let it be done with me.' In this deep music, including in the chorale, all the suffering of humanity opens up for him. He links the four-note motif with ominous fate and it even reminds him of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony, with its famous four opening tones, which Beethoven is said to have deemed to be fate knocking on the door. The cantata shows how beautiful fate can sound in Bach’s music.

The internationally renowned conductor and Bach expert Philippe Herreweghe founded the Collegium Vocale Gent in 1970. Together, they perform early music as a kind of historical performance practice. In 1989, the vocal ensemble was expanded to include an orchestra made up of first-class international performers of Baroque music. With the Collegium Vocale Gent choir and orchestra, Herreweghe has since produced landmark early-music recordings, including the cantatas of Johann Sebastian Bach.

© 2023 Deutsche Welle/Bachfest Leipzig

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