In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:

Sein Segen fliesst daher wie ein Strom, BWV Anh. I 14 A Source for Parodied Arias in the B-Minor Mass? William H. Scheide B ased on the latest diplomatic source studies, all but perhaps two of the twentyseven movements in Bach’s B-Minor Mass can now be considered to be parodies ,1 and virtually all of the nine arias fall into this category. So far, however, a concrete model has been pinpointed for only one of the arias: the “Agnus Dei,” an aria for alto, violins, and continuo that shares its music with the aria “Ach, bleibe doch, mein liebstes Leben” from the Ascension Oratorio, BWV 11. Both appear to be derived from the aria “Entfernet euch, ihr kalten Herzen” from the lost wedding cantata Auf! Süss entzückende Gewalt, BWV Anh. I 196.2 In this chapter, I focus on another of Bach’s wedding cantatas, Sein Segen fliesst daher wie ein Strom, BWV Anh. I 14,3 as a possible source of parodies for some of the remaining eight arias in the B-Minor Mass for which no model has yet been found. Although the music of Sein Segen fliesst is lost, its text, by an unknown librettist, has survived.4 The arias of the cantata (Table 1) all contain allusions to flowing water, which seems to be explained by the fact that the groom at the ceremony is referred to in the libretto as “FloßVerwalter ,” or Director of Barge Traffic on the rivers of Saxony. I would like to begin by pointing to the extremely inappropriate setting of the word “sedes” in mm. 75–78 of the “Qui sedes” of the B-Minor Mass as a continuous stream of forty-eight sixteenth notes. Clearly, some other text originally inspired this music. The text of “Laudamus te” is also of interest in this context. It presents four verbs, and all four occur in each of the three sections of this modified (ABA') da capo aria. In my opinion, so unusual and curious a feature confirms that the Latin text of the Mass has been adapted to a preexistent model. However, there is an important distinction between the recognition that a chorus or aria is an arrangement modeled on a lost original and the reconstruction of that lost original. I do not believe that such a reconstruction would necessarily be fruitful, since it would very likely be highly speculative and, in many details, open to question. Instead, it may be sufficient, at least occasionally, to discover a particular musical feature in the parody movement 69 scheide 70 Table 1. Text of the Arias in Sein Segen fliesst daher wie ein Strom, BWV Anh. I 14 VOR DER TRAUUNG (Before the wedding rite) 1. ARIA Sein Segen fliesst daher wie ein Strom His blessing flows hither like a torrent und tränket die Erde wie eine Sündflut. and drowns the earth like a great flood.a 3. ARIA Wohl dir, da zur erwünschten Stunde, Happy are you when at the wished hour, Von des Altars geweihten Grunde, From the altar’s consecrated base, Ein unergründlich Wasser schiesst. An unfathomable water shoots forth So lass dein Halleluja schallen, So let your halleluja resound, Wenn diese Ströme zu dir wallen, When these streams surge up to you, Durch die der Segen reichlich fliesst. Through which the blessing richly flows.b Da Capo NACH DER TRAUUNG (After the wedding rite) 4. ARIOSO Ein Mara weicht von dir, A Marac withdraws from you mit allen Bitterkeiten with all its bitternesses, Dir ist der Anmut Milch For you is destined the milk und Honig zugedacht, and honey of sweetness, Denn Mosis Segens-Wort For Moses’s word of blessing kann einen Strom bereiten, can prepare a stream, Denn selbst der Lebens-Baum Which the tree of life itself dir heute lieblich macht. makes lovely for you today.d 6. ARIA So tritt in dieses Paradies, So step into this paradise, Du sollt die güldnen Schätze spüren, You shall discover the golden treasures, So Pisons Wellen in sich führen. For Pison’se waves lead to them.f Sie werden durch gesegnet Steigen, They will through blessed uprising, Den Űberfluss des Segens zeigen. Manifest the superabundance of blessing. Da Capo a. Ecclesiasticus 39:27 (39:22 in some English Bibles). “Sündflut” in the German text is a reference from the story of Noah to the flood in which the world was drowned because...

Share