Cantata 86 was composed in 1724 for the fifth Sunday after Easter, also called Rogate or Rogation Sunday, which fell on May 14th that year. The Gospel for this Sunday is John 16: 23-30, a fragment of Jesus’ “Farewell Discourse” after the Last Supper.
The unknown librettist adopts a quote from the beginning of this Gospel section to open the work (a promise by Jesus), and then crafts an optimistic text that explores the concept of God’s promises and how they relate to the human experience. The dictum is set as an arioso for the bass, followed by an aria for alto to original text. We find two chorales in this libretto, the first one as movement 3 (a verse from a hymn by Georg Grünwald of 1530), and the second one to close the work (Paul Speratus, 1524). Movements 4 and 5 are a recitative and aria for the tenor.
The cantata does not require a choir (except possibly for the closing chorale), but it does use all four voices as soloists. The orchestra calls for two oboes d’amore, strings and continuo.
As customary, Bach gives the opening arioso to the bass, as vox Christi. This movement is imbued with solemnity due to being set as an “old fashioned” polyphonic motet, in five imitative parts. The top three lines (violins 1 & 2 doubled by the oboes, and viola) act as accompaniment to the voice, and the whole structure is supported by a bass line.
The contrast in character couldn’t be stronger with the next movement, an agile and energetic alto aria reflecting on current hardships (prickling of thorns) in the context of the certainty that one’s prayers will be answered (the roses), based on Jesus’ promise. The alto is accompanied by a highly virtuosic violin solo part, full of broken chords that could be heard as standing for the broken stems of the picked roses. It’s interesting that Bach uses shorthand notation to write the chords, a practice to which he didn’t resort very often.
Next is the first chorale of the piece, which receives a very interesting treatment. Instead of the usual four-part harmonization, Bach takes the hymn tune, gives it to the solo soprano in long notes, and weaves it into an instrumental texture provided by the two oboes d’amore and the basso continuo. The instruments move mostly in sixteenths in a 6/8 meter, creating a dynamic and forward-moving vessel for the chorale text, which celebrates how God keeps his promises.
It’s the tenor’s turn now with his recitative and aria. The recitative introduces the contrast between God, who keeps his promises, and the world, who often doesn’t – this assertion marked by some harsh harmonic twists. The aria continues to reinforce the positive message delivered so far, now adding the element of temporality: God’s help may be delayed but he gives us his word that it will come (“at the right time”, as the chorale states next). Musically, Bach sets the text to a vigorous bourrée accompanied by the strings. The tenor gets the main idea of the text (“Gott hilft gewiss”, “God certainly helps”) set to the opening cell of the introductory orchestral motif.
As mentioned, the closing chorale conveys the message that God knows when the right time is to provide the promised help. It’s set to traditional four-part harmony, in the bright key of E major, with the instruments doubling the voices.
