Weichet nur betrübte Schatten, BWV 202
Cantata for a wedding
First performance: Probably before 1717
For soprano solo, oboe, strings, and continuo.
***
Aria: Adagio/Andante
Recitative
Aria: Allegro assai
Recitative
Aria: Allegro
Recitative
Aria
Recitative
Gavotte
Program Notes by Martin Pearlman
This beautiful work, one of Bach's most popular secular cantatas, is written for a small ensemble: a soprano soloist with oboe, strings and continuo. Very little is known about the origins of Weichet nur betrübte Schatten (Depart, gloomy shadows) other than the fact that, as the text itself makes clear, it was written for a wedding. It has long been assumed on stylistic grounds to date from Bach's time in Cöthen (1717-23), but more recent scholarship tends to place it earlier, to the years before 1717, when Bach was employed at Weimar.
The cantata opens amidst "gloomy shadows, frost, and winds," as gently rising arpeggios in the strings create a misty atmosphere and the solo oboe and soprano weave a tortuous, harmonically shifting counterpoint. As the atmosphere clears and the world is reborn, the cantata turns to thoughts of spring and love, and the music becomes simpler and more dance-like. The work ends with an actual dance, a joyous gavotte, in which the soprano sings only in the middle section, where she ornaments the dance tune: "In contentment may you see a thousand bright days of happiness."
Boston Baroque Performances
Weichet nur betrübte Schatten, BWV 202
December 31, 2007 & January 1, 2008
Sanders Theater, Cambridge, MA
Martin Pearlman, conductor
Soloist:
Amanda Forsythe, soprano
December 31, 1997 & January 1, 1998
Sanders Theater, Cambridge, MA
Martin Pearlman, conductor
Soloist:
Dominique Labelle, soprano
January 1, 1992
Sanders Theater, Cambridge, MA
Martin Pearlman, conductor
Soloist:
Patrice Michaels Bedi, soprano
February 3, 1985
Essex Junction Auditorium, Essex Junction, VT
Martin Pearlman, conductor
Soloist:
Sharon Baker, soprano
February 6, 1981
NEC’s Jordan Hall, Boston, MA
Martin Pearlman, conductor
Soloist:
Nancy Armstrong, soprano
November 15, 1980
Harvard Unitarian Church, Harvard, MA
Martin Pearlman, conductor
Soloist:
Nancy Armstrong, soprano