Бах: Новогодняя кантата «Воспойте Господу новую песнь» | Филипп Херревеге, Collegium Vocale Gent

Bach's New Year's Cantata BWV 190.1 will delight fans of Baroque music with its joyful and festive mood. ‘Sing a new song to the lord’ (Singet dem Herrn ein neues Lied) rings out with timpani and trumpets. It is performed by the choir and orchestra of the Collegium Vocale Gent under the direction of its founder Philippe Herreweghe. The concert took place on 10 June 2023 in the St. Thomas Church (Thomaskirche) in Leipzig.

00:00 I. Coro: Sing a New Song to the Lord
04:59 II. Chorale e recitativo (altus, tenor, bass): God, we praise you
06:38 III. Aria (alto, strings): Praise, Zion, your God
09:19 IV. Recitativo (bass): May the world wish
10:38 V. Aria (tenor, bass, oboe d'amore): Jesus shall be my all
13:17 VI. Recitativo (tenor, strings): Let now, Jesus give
14:45 VII. Chorale: Let us fulfil the year

ALEX POTTER | Altus
BENEDICT HYMAS | Tenor
PETER KOOIJ | Bass
COLLEGIUM VOCALE GENT
PHILIPPE HERREWEGHE | Conductor

It was intended to be a festive cantata for the New Year. Johann Sebastian Bach composed his first New Year's cantata, ‘Sing a new song to the lord’ (Singet dem Herrn ein neues Lied), for the 1st of January 1724. He composed it in his first year as Thomaskantor (choirmaster at St Thomas Church) in Leipzig, a position he held from 1723 until his death in 1750.

Much of the cantata is a hymn of praise to God. The New Year is welcomed with an expression of thanks for the past year and a request for blessings for the year to come. At the same time, the cantata is a celebration of the circumcision and naming of Christ, which is commemorated in church tradition on January 1.

Bach composed the New Year's Cantata for four-part choir, 3 trumpets, timpani, 3 oboes, violin, strings and basso continuo. We can only guess what it sounded like in the first two movements because the cantata is incomplete. Only the vocal and violin parts survive from the beginning; the brass and woodwind parts, as well as the timpani and basso continuo, are missing. It is not until the third movement that all the parts are present.

Reconstructing the missing instrumental parts is a challenge. The parts of the other movements, as well as the vocal text, provide clues. When the opening chorale uses timpani and trumpets to praise the Lord, it is reasonable to assume that Bach used these instruments at this point.

For this recording, the Japanese conductor, organist and harpsichordist Masaaki Suzuki and his son, the composer Masato Suzuki, added the woodwind, brass, viola, basso continuo and timpani parts in 2023. Masaaki Suzuki has been artistic director of the Bach Collegium Japan since 1990, which regularly performs at the Leipzig Bach Festival.

In 1730 Bach revised his cantata 'Sing a new song to the lord'. He also composed a well-known double-choir motet of the same name (BWV 225).

Cantata BWV 190.1 is one of the four favorite cantatas that Philippe Herreweghe performed with his choir and orchestra 'Collegium Vocale Gent' at the Leipzig Bach Festival on 10 June 2023. 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 top international performers of Baroque music. With the Collegium Vocale Gent choir and orchestra, Herreweghe has since produced groundbreaking recordings of early music, including the cantatas of Johann Sebastian Bach.

© 2023 Deutsche Welle/Bachfest Leipzig

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