The Great Awakening: From the Cross to the Wedding Feast (Bach Cantata BWV 140) | [MuseLAB]

Описание: J.S. Bach: “Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme”, BWV 140 Cantata for the 27th Sunday after Trinity
00:00 IV. Chorus (Tenor/Chorale): “Zion hört die Wächter singen” (Zion hears the watchmen singing)
04:06 I. Chorus: “Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme” (Awake! A voice calls us)
12:07 II. Recitative (Tenor): “Er kommt, der Bräut’gam kommt!” (He comes, the Bridegroom comes!)
13:26 III. Duet (Soprano and Bass): “Wann kommst du, mein Heil?” (When are You coming, my Salvation?)
19:00 IV. Chorus (Tenor/Chorale): “Zion hört die Wächter singen” (Zion hears the watchmen singing)
23:05 V. Recitative (Bass): “So geh’ herein zu mir” (Then come in to Me)
24:54 VI. Duet (Soprano and Bass): “Mein Freund ist mein!” (My Friend is mine!)
32:23 VII. Chorale: “Gloria sei dir gesungen” (Let Gloria be sung to Thee)


Our 'Sacred Music' series began in the shadows with Vivaldi. We stood with the "Daughters of Jerusalem," weeping at the foot of the cross, witnessing the sun lose its light as Christ faced his earthly death. Today, however, the command has changed. We move from the silence of the tomb to the radiant light of the Resurrection. With Johann Sebastian Bach’s Cantata No. 140, "Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme" (Awake, calls the voice to us), the daughters who once mourned the death of Jesus are now commanded to awake and welcome Him as the risen Bridegroom.

Composed for the 27th Sunday after Trinity, this work is based on the parable of the Ten Virgins. The opening chorus is one of the grandest portals in all of music. Bach uses a dotted rhythm in the orchestra—a French Overture style symbolizing royalty—to announce not a tragedy, but a victory. The "Voice" calling us is not one of fear, but of supreme anticipation. It signals that the long night of death is over; the Bridegroom (the Risen Christ) is coming, and the Soul (the Bride) must trim her lamp to prepare for the eternal wedding feast.

The emotional core of this cantata lies in the famous fourth movement, the chorale "Zion hört die Wächter singen" (Zion hears the watchmen sing). Here, Bach achieves a miracle of texture. While the tenors sing the sturdy, ancient melody representing the watchmen on the tower, the violins and violas weave a warm, flowing counter-melody around them. This "motive of felicity" depicts the pure joy of the soul realizing that the sorrow of the cross has been conquered by the joy of the return.

To capture the profound spiritual weight of this work, we present the historic recording conducted by Hermann Scherchen. Recorded in the early 1950s with the Vienna State Opera Orchestra, Scherchen’s interpretation is uncompromising. He does not rush; he allows the architecture of Bach’s counterpoint to unfold with a "monumental gravity." The duets between the Soprano and Bass are treated not merely as vocal exercises, but as an intimate dialogue between the Soul and the Savior, capturing the "sensuous quality" of a divine union.

This cantata completes the great arc of our series. If Vivaldi’s Stabat Mater was a meditation on the cold, "terrible humanity" of death, Bach’s Wachet auf is the golden affirmation of life eternal. The "Daughters of Jerusalem" are no longer mourners in the dark; they have become the "Wise Virgins" holding their lamps high in the dawn of the Resurrection. As the final chorale erupts in triumph, remember: this is the sound of a spirit that has remained awake through the night to witness the ultimate victory of light.


[Performance Information]
Magda Laszlo, soprano
Alfred Poell, bass
Waldemar Kmentt, tenor
William Huebner, solo violin
Hans Kamesch, solo oboe
Vienna Akademie Kammerchor
Orchestra of the Vienna State Opera
Hermann Scherchen, conduct


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This video uses Public Domain / CC0 materials from:
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Video narration and composition are original works of Muse·LAB.


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