Bach: Motet Jesus, my joy (Jesu, meine Freude) | RIAS Kammerchor, Akademie für Alte Musik & Rademann

A favorite piece sung by the best choir! 'Jesu, meine Freude' (Jesus, my joy) is considered by many to be the most beautiful motet composed by Johann Sebastian Bach. Here it was performed by the RIAS Chamber Choir, one of the most renowned in its field. The choir was accompanied by the Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin, with Hans-Christoph Rademann as lead conductor. The concert in the Gethsemanekirche Berlin in 2008 took place on the occasion of the RIAS Chamber Choir’s 60th anniversary.

(00:00) Intro
(00:20) 1. Jesu, meine Freude (Jesus, my joy) (chorale)
(01:24) 2. Es ist nun nichts Verdammliches (There is therefore now no condemnation) (Röm 8,1) (Spruchmotette: fugato)
(04:14) 3. Unter deinem Schirmen (Beneath your protection) (chorale)
(05:17) 4. Denn das Gesetz des Geistes (For the law of the Spirit) (Röm 8,2) (trio)
(06:09) 5. Trotz dem alten Drachen (I defy the old dragon) (free chorale variation)
(08:23) 6. Ihr aber seid nicht fleischlich (But ye are not in the flesh) (Röm 8,9) (fugue)
(10:56) 7. Weg mit allen Schätzen (Away with all treasures) (chorale)
(12:04) 8. So aber Christus in euch ist (And if Christ be in you) (Röm 8,10) (trio)
(13:51) 9. Gute Nacht, o Wesen (Good night, existence) (chorale fantasy)
(17:04) 10. So nun der Geist (But if the Spirit) (Röm 8,11) (chant motet: fugato)
(18:30) 11. Weicht, ihr Trauergeister (Go away, mournful spirits) (chorale)

Stephanie Petitlaurent | SOPRANO
Waltraud Heinrich | ALTO
Susanne Langner | ALTO
Volker Arndt | TENOR
Christian Mücke | TENOR
Ingolf Horenburg | BASS

RIAS Kammerchor
Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin (Akamus)
Hans-Christoph Rademann | CONDUCTOR

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685 - 1750) composed 'Jesu, meine Freude' (BWV 227) as a five-part chorale motet, based on the 1653 hymn of the same name with text by Johann Franck (1618 - 1677) and melody by Johann Crüger (1598 - 1662). The eleven-part structure of the Bach motet is determined by a multifaceted play with variations and is at the same time strictly symmetrical. The six strophes of the hymn form the textual framework, between which choral pieces with verse lines from the 8th chapter of the Letter to the Romans are inserted. The middle choral piece (No. 6) is a fugue and contains the core statement "But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit" (Romans 8:9). Movements 1 and 11 form the framework of the motet and are musically identical chorale movements on the melody of the original hymn. Movements 2 and 10 are freely composed motets that correspond with each other, while movements 3 and 7 take up the chorale again in a slightly embellished form. Movements 5 and 9 are free variations of the chorale, and movements 4 and 8 are tercets.

While for a long time after his death Bach's cantatas were forgotten, his motets continued to be performed by the St. Thomas Boys Choir and were thus handed down to posterity – probably initially as practice pieces for the choir. However, it is not known what occasions Bach actually composed the motets for. Music historians have long assumed that they were meant as funeral music. In the case of 'Jesu, meine Freude', recent research by Meinolf Brüser suggests that the motet was written on the occasion of the death of the Thomaner Johann Gottfried Grosse, who died on October 24, 1724 (Meinolf Brüser: Wenn Bach trauert. Die Motetten Johann Sebastian Bachs neu verstanden, Kassel & Berlin 2023 ).

The performance of 'Jesu, meine Freude' in this video is 'historically informed'. This means that the RIAS Chamber Choir does not sing a capella, but rather performs using a method that was common during Bach's lifetime, according to which the lines of the singing voices are supported by the basso continuo and other instruments. This harmonic doubling of the singing voices is also called 'colla parte'.

The RIAS Chamber Choir was founded in Berlin in 1948. Shortly after World War II, when the American sector’s radio service 'Rundfunk im Amerikanischen Sektor Berlins' (RIAS) wanted to found a choir, they only found enough singers to make up a chamber choir. But this "small" choir made it big and soon gained national and international importance. Famous for its precise sound, today it is one of the leading professional choirs in the world. Its repertoire includes historically informed Renaissance and Baroque interpretations, new interpretations of works from the Classical and Romantic periods, and regular premieres of works by contemporary composers.

A production of Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg & EuroArts Music International
In cooperation with ARTE

© RBB & EuroArts 2008

Watch more concerts in your personal concert hall:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL_SdnzPd3eBV5A14dyRWy1KSkwcG8LEey

and in our Bach playlist:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL_SdnzPd3eBUIGIm71zRFbYPJMQ-ETiMT

Subscribe to DW Classical Music:
https://www.youtube.com/dwclassicalmusic

#bach #chorale #motet

Видео Bach: Motet Jesus, my joy (Jesu, meine Freude) | RIAS Kammerchor, Akademie für Alte Musik & Rademann канала DW Classical Music