We caught up with Oxford Bach Soloists’ director Tom Hammond-Davies to discuss the musical attributes of Bach’s two settings of Sie werden euch in den Bann tun ‘They will cast you out of the Synagogues’. Find out more about our Exaudi concert on Sunday 8 May here.
Tell us a bit about the significance of the the Sunday after Ascension Day in the church calendar
The Sunday after Christ’s ascension is also called Exaudi which can mean ‘Listen’ or ‘Hear’ – a very appropriate metaphor for this special day poised between the horrific persecution of Christ and the Joy which is to follow. This was a great opportunity for Bach to create some stirring music to tell that narrative – and in true Bachian style he did it twice – and in two very different ways!
So tell us what makes these two cantatas setting exactly the same text so different from each other?
Well although they both open with settings of the same text and as John Eliot Gardiner says they ‘both depict an earthly voyage from the prophecy of imminent persecution to the surrender to the Holy Spirit’, that’s where the similarity ends. BWV 44 was written in 1724 just six weeks after the first performance of the St John Passion which had received its first performance. There are some striking similarities here, particularly in the choral writing containing some punchy and rather shocking depictions of the persecution scene.
By contrast BWV 183, a year later and to a text by Christiane Mariane von Ziegler, is noticeably shorter at around 15 minutes and seems to give a more positive gloss to the Gospel reading. In this cantata there is also a fascinating tenor aria in which we can imagine the believer struggling to overcome his fear of persecution yet sustained by Jesus’ protective arm – referred to as the ‘Scuhtzarm’ in the text. This has rather interestingly been compared to the relationship Philip Pullman describes in His Dark Materials between individuals and their ‘daemons’.
Tell us something about the unusual instrumentation Bach used in BWV 183
It certainly is unusual – if not quite unique. The accompaniment of the dramatic opening recitative is assigned to four oboes – two oboe d’amore (“oboe of love”), and two oboe da caccia (literally “hunting oboe”). The only other time Bach did this was in his Christmas Oratorio. The oboe da caccia is rarely used and produces a deep sepulchral quality which is quite haunting. I rather like Julian Mincham’s imaginary description of the Leipzig congregation suddenly sitting up and paying attention at an opening they would not have expected – very much in the spirit of ‘Exaudi!’
Now I gather there has been some controversy about the text in these two cantatas which led to the works falling out of favour. What is that all about?
Indeed, the works have been neglected in the 20th and 21st century. This is apparently because the translation of the title ‘Sie werden euch in den Bann tun’ as ‘They will cast you out of the Synagogues’ has been considered by some to be anti-semitic. Whilst it may be reminiscent of the story of Jesus casting out the money lenders from the Synagogue, and also casting out demons from people who were possessed, what’s actually going on is as follows: the expression “the Jews” appears frequently in John’s gospel with varying connotations ranging from negative to extremely positive. One of the most uncomfortable phrases from the gospel’s narrative is set in Bach’s John Passion (written only 6 weeks before, as we have already touched on), and it appears near the end where Joseph of Aramathea, himself surely Jewish, is identified as “a disciple of Jesus, but secretly, for fear of the Jews”. There is no way to interpret “the Jews” here in this context other than negatively. But we need to take into account a better interpretation of the Greek used in transmitting John’s gospel around. The way that Bach Calov Bible, complete with annotations, interprets “the Jews” is perhaps the most helpful in understanding the context. John 9:22 sheds some light for us:
Jesus Rebukes the Unclean Spirit in the Synagogue by James Tissot
The superb chapel at New College Oxford is like a second home to me. I am very privileged to sing in this amazing building with the multiple Gramophone Award-winning Choir of New College Oxford as a countertenor Lay Clerk. The college itself was founded in 1379 by William of Wykeham and the chapel is a delight to the senses with works by Sir Joshua Reynolds, Sir Jacob Epstein, Sir Gilbert Scott, and El Greco.
Find out more about our Exaudi concert on Sunday 8 May here.
