Easter Tuesday

Easter Tuesday

2 April 2024 – For Easter Tuesday, the third day of the Easter celebrations, Bach left us three cantatas, all from the Leipzig period, but based on material dating back to Weimar and Köthen.

Ein Herz, das seinen Jesum lebend weiß, BWV 134 is a parody on a worldly cantata, Die Zeit, die Tag und Jahre macht, BWV 134a, composed in Köthen for New Year's Day. The cantata yesterday, Erfreut euch, ihr Herzen, BWV 66, was also a parody. The reason is simple: both BWV 66 and BWV 134 date from 1724, and on that preceding Good Friday Bach performed the Johannes Passion for the first time. He managed to balance all this work by performing older work from Weimar and Köthen on Easter, and for Monday and Tuesday he used these parodies. Understandable!

Ich lebe, mein Herze, zu deinem Ergötzen, BWV 145, is one of the ten surviving Picander cantatas, which was probably performed on Easter Tuesday 1729. There is no original manuscript, and it seems very likely that Carl Philip Emmanuel Bach altered the score somewhat, possibly reusing other material.

You already heard Der Friede sei mit dir, BWV 158, on Candlemas, because it is uncertain if it was written for the one or the other. It is presumed to be from 1730, but a Weimar date and a date as late as 1735 have also been proposed, as well that this cantata are actually pieces from two other cantata projects.

Music for today

• Ein Herz, das seinen Jesum lebend weiß, BWV 134
  (first performance 11 April 1724, Leipzig period)
• Ich lebe, mein Herze, zu deinem Ergötzen, BWV 145
  (first performance 19 april 1729?, Leipzig period)
• Der Friede sei mit dir, BWV 158
  (first performance 1730? - mostly lost, Leipzig period)

Extra information