"Ach Gott, wie manches Herzeleid"
Hymn
Anon melody, Lochamer-Liederbuch (c. 1455)
EnglishOh God, how much heartache
CatalogueZahn 533, 547–549
Textby Martin Moller
LanguageGerman
Published1587 (1587)

"Ach Gott, wie manches Herzeleid" (Oh God, how much heartache) is a hymn in German in 18 stanzas attributed to Martin Moller (1587).[1] It is often catalogued as a paraphrase of the Latin "Jesu dulcis memoria", a medieval hymn attributed to Bernard of Clairvaux,[2] but only a few lines refer directly to this song. Hymn tunes were composed for the hymn (Zahn Nos. 547–549),[3]: 154  and it is also often sung to a tune composed for "Herr Jesu Christ, meins Lebens Licht" (Zahn No. 533).[3]: 150  The anonymous hymn tune of "Herr Jesu Christ, meins Lebens Licht" first appeared in Wolflein Lochamer's Lochamer-Liederbuch, printed in Nürnberg around 1455.[4][5][6] In Leipzig in the 1720s, Johann Sebastian Bach composed settings of Lochamer's hymn based on four of his church cantatas and a sacred motet.[7][8]

Musical settings and harmonization

Johann Sebastian Bach used the final three stanzas of Ach Gott, wie manches Herzeleid to conclude Schau, lieber Gott, wie meine Feind, BWV 153, a church cantata composed for the Sunday after New Year's Day, 2 January 1724,[9] and the first stanza of the hymn as movement 4 of Sie werden euch in den Bann tun, BWV 44, for Exaudi, the Sunday after Ascension, 21 May 1724.[1][10]

The entire hymn is also the base for Bach's Ach Gott, wie manches Herzeleid, BWV 3, a chorale cantata composed in Leipzig for the second Sunday after Epiphany, 14 January 1725.[11][12] Bach also used the melody in two movements of Ach Gott, wie manches Herzeleid, BWV 58, a cantata for the Sunday after New Year's Day, 5 January 1727,[13] and he used the melody with the hymn text "O Jesu Christ, meins Lebens Licht" for the eponymous motet (BWV 118).[14]

{ \new PianoStaff << \new Staff << \new Voice \relative c'' { \set Staff.midiInstrument = "church organ" \set Score.tempoHideNote = ##t \tempo 8 = 100 \voiceOne \clef treble \key a \major \time 4/4 \partial 4 a4 a a fis8 gis a4 b8 a gis4 fis\fermata fis gis a b e,8 fis gis a fis4 e\fermata b' cis cis a8 b cis4 d cis b\fermata a b cis b a a gis a\fermata \bar "|." } \addlyrics { \set stanza = "1. " Ach Gott, wie man - ches Her - ze -- leid be -- geg -- net mir zu - die - ser Zeit! Der schma -- le Weg _ ist trüb -- sal -- voll, den ich zum Him -- mel wan -- dern soll. } \addlyrics { \set stanza = "18. " Er -- halt mein Herz _ im Glau - ben rein, so leb' und sterb' ich _ dir _ al -- lein. Je -- su, mein Trost _ hör' mein' Be -- gier: o mein Hei -- land, wär' ich bei dir! } \new Voice \relative c' { \voiceTwo cis8 d e4 a, d cis b e dis dis e fis fis8 dis e4 e8 fis dis4 b gis' a cis, fis8 gis ais4 b e,8 fis gis4 fis e8[ d] cis dis e d cis4 fis e e } >> \new Staff << \new Voice \relative c' { \set Staff.midiInstrument = "church organ" \clef bass \key a \major \time 4/4 \voiceOne a8 b cis d e4 a, a8 gis fis4 gis8 a b4\fermata b b dis gis,8[ a] b cis b4 b8 a gis4\fermata e' e8 fis gis4 cis,8 d e4 fis8 gis a4 e\fermata cis b e,8 fis gis4 a b8 cis d4 cis\fermata } \new Voice \relative c' { \voiceTwo a4 a,8 b cis4 d8[ e] fis e dis4 e b b'8 a gis[ a] gis fis e[ fis] gis a b4 b, e e a8[ gis] fis eis fis[ e] d cis b4 cis8 d e4 fis gis a e fis8 e dis4 e a, } >> >> }

References

  1. ^ a b "Ach Gott, wie manches Herzeleid / Text and Translation of Chorale". bach-cantatas.com. 2006. Retrieved 14 January 2013.
  2. ^ Hofmann, Klaus (2005). "Ach Gott, wie manches Herzeleid, BWV 3 / Oh God, how many a heartfelt woe" (PDF). Bach Cantatas Website. p. 9. Retrieved 17 January 2013.
  3. ^ a b Zahn, Johannes (1889). Die Melodien der deutschen evangelischen Kirchenlieder (in German). Vol. I. Gütersloh: Bertelsmann.
  4. ^ "Chorale Melodies used in Bach's Vocal Works / Herr (or O) Jesu Christ, meins Lebens Licht". Bach Cantatas Website. 2006. Retrieved 14 January 2013.
  5. ^ Spriewald, Ingeborg, ed. (1982), All mein Gedanken, die ich hab: deutsche Lieder des 15. und 16. Jahrhunderts, Union Verlag
  6. ^ Fix, Ulla (2007), Barz, Irmhild (ed.), Stil—ein sprachliches und soziales Phänomen: Beiträge zur Stilistik, Sprachwissenschaft, vol. 3, Frank & Timme, p. 367, ISBN 9783865961389
  7. ^ Dürr, Alfred; Jones, Richard D. P. (2006). The Cantatas of J. S. Bach: With Their Librettos in German-English Parallel Text. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-929776-4.
  8. ^ Melamed, Daniel R. (1995), J. S. Bach and the German Motet, Cambridge University Press, ISBN 9780521418645
  9. ^ Dürr & Jones 2006, pp. 162–166
  10. ^ Dürr & Jones 2006, pp. 340–343
  11. ^ Dürr & Jones 2006, pp. 194–197
  12. ^ BWV 3.6 at Luke Dahn's www.bach-chorales.com (2019)
  13. ^ Dürr & Jones 2006, pp. 166–169
  14. ^ Melamed 1995, pp. 22–27
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