Cantata 64, composed for the third day of Christmas in 1723, shares several characteristics with BWV 40 presented the day before. Its libretto, based on a text by Johann Oswald Knauer, doesn’t include immediate relationships with readings of the day. Rather, it centers on the idea of rejecting worldly possessions and riches to focus on afterlife. Scholars are not clear on how Bach became in contact with the librettos by Knauer, which he used (abbreviated) in cantatas 77, 64 and 69a, all in 1723.
Knauer’s text for this cantata opens with a dictum from the First Epistle of John, chapter 3, verse 1. Like cantata 40, BWV 64 also includes three chorales. These are positioned as movements 2, 4 and 8. The rest of the movements are original poetry. The original Knauer libretto included additional movements which were removed, presumably by Bach.
In addition to the customary oboes (d’amore in this case), strings and continuo, Bach calls for an instrumental group formed by cornetto and three trombones, whose main role is to double the voices of the four-part choir (cornettos with the sopranos, and trombones I-III with altos, tenors and basses respectively). The cantata also requires three vocal soloists (soprano, alto and bass).
The opening dictum is set as a four-part fugue, with no instrumental introduction. The instruments double the voices (cornetto and trombones as mentioned above, violin I with sopranos, violin II with altos and viola with tenors), and the basso continuo gets a somewhat independent line. This design gives the movement an archaic mood, reminiscent of an old-fashioned motet. The fugal theme opens with a downward fifth (or fourth) in half notes, which is initially harmonized and stated by the full choir homophonically. This underscores the demonstrative tone of the movement and creates an atmosphere of urgency.
Movement 2, the first chorale, is a 1524 hymn by Luther, harmonized in four parts with the instruments doubling the voices in the same arrangement as the opening movement, except that the third trombone joins the basso continuo to provide additional depth of sound. The text is a song of praise and joy, closed by the invocation “kyrieleis”, Greek for “God, have mercy”.
Next is a curious recitative for the alto, in which the bass line bridges the vocal phrases with insistent scales, mostly upward. The text gets to the center topic of the libretto as it states how the believer rejects this world’s riches. It flows straight into the next chorale, a hymn by Georg Michael Pfefferkorn of 1667, which questions the value of earthly possessions given that Jesus came for us. The bass line moves continuously in eighth notes as the upper voices deliver the text homophonically.
Following is a soprano da-capo aria, accompanied by strings and continuo. Knauer’s poetry utilizes vivid imagery based on biblical references, such as “vanishing like smoke”, which comes from Psalm 37 verse 20. The movement is a gavotte, a slow dance in quadruple meter which imparts a stately, reassured mood. The first violin gets lively runs of sixteenths, illustrating the smoke. Section B of the aria uses the “bassetto” technique (shifting the bass line up to a higher instrument of the ensemble, in this case the viola). Bach uses this resource to highlight the text usually when the topic is Jesus’ love for humankind.
A bass recitative next reiterates how the believer is assured of Heaven and their only regret is to have to “still linger longer in this world”. This leads to another da-capo aria, now for the alto. In flowing 6/8 meter and the only movement in major mode in the entire cantata, it projects a confident tone as it states the believer’s confidence in afterlife in Heaven. “Nichts” (“nothing”) is repeated for emphasis. The oboe d’amore obbligato lends a darker color to the movement, maybe a reminder that death, even if welcome, is still difficult.
The cantata ends with a third chorale, verse 5 of the famous “Jesu, meine Freude” by Johann Franck (1650), that wishes “good night” to the world and its associated sins. The assertive text is underlined by the constant rhythm of two eighths and quarter on the bass line.
