Cantata 181 was composed during Bach’s first year in Leipzig, for Sexagesima Sunday (February 13) in 1724. Like often in this period, we are in the dark regarding who the author of the libretto was, and we also see Bach continuing to push the envelope in terms of format – in this case taking some of his experiments to extremes we haven’t seen before. The piece was performed a second time in the mid-1740’s, with some changes in instrumentation.
Sexagesima Sunday is the Sunday that falls approximately 60 days from Easter. The Gospel for this Sunday is Luke 8: 4-15, which narrates the Parable of the Sower. A farmer sows seed which falls on different terrains – on the path with no soil, on rocks, on thorny bushes, and on fertile land. The result for each seed is different, as expected. The one on fertile land thrives, while that on the path is eaten by birds, the one on rocks dies due to lack of nutrients, and the thorny bushes choke the plants that grow around them. At the request of his disciples, Jesus explains that the seed represents the Word of God, and that the fates of the unsuccessful seeds are metaphors for the devil taking the Word out of one’s ears, or people falling for temptation, or being distracted by worldly concerns, riches and pleasures.
The libretto is entirely made of original poetry – no hymn stanzas or direct Bible quotations, although there are a couple of references to biblical elements toward the end of movement 2. The different movements reference aspects of the parable or elaborate on consequences or results of the various scenarios. The last movement is set up as a prayer to God to make our heart into fruitful land.
From a musical perspective, the cantata presents a structural oddity: it has no chorale. This could be explained by the fact that, according to surviving records, Cantata 18 (originally composed in Weimar) was also played on February 13, 1724. If both cantatas were performed in the same service, they could have been arranged before and after the sermon, with BWV 18 going last and providing the customary closing chorale. This is however all conjecture, since the two cantatas could also very well have been used in different services or different churches.
The cantata’s original orchestration is simple – strings, four solo voices, four-part choir and continuo, plus a trumpet needed for the last movement. In its later revival, Bach added a flute and an oboe to the first and last movements (presumably for additional volume, since all they do is to double the violins).
The opening aria, for the bass, strings (plus woodwinds in the later version), and continuo, deals with the concept of the devil taking the Word out of one’s ears. It illustrates the idea of the “frivolous, fluttering spirits” with a motif made of staccato notes, wide leaps and trills, introduced in the opening ritornello and restated in the vocal line. Right after this image is established, the “power of the Word” is underlined by a contrasting long, high note on “Kraft” (“power”). Additional word-painting is used for the next utterance of “Flattergeister” in the form of a long melisma of sixteenth notes. The mentions of “Belial” (the devil), with three repetitions each time, are underlined by harmonic twists and rendered very audible by a clearing of the instrumental texture as they are sung.
The next movement is for the alto, and it has three distinct sections. The first few lines, continuing to deal with “Satan’s deceit” and also introducing the notion of the seed that falls on the path, are set as a secco recitative. A middle section, mentioning the “hearts of stone”, is an arioso marked “andante”. To close, the text introduces Biblical references outside of the parable itself but connected through the idea of stone: the angels rolling the boulder that seals Jesus’ grave (illustrated with vigorous, descending arpeggios in dotted rhythms on the bass line) and Moses striking the rock with his staff, drawing water (which the voice depicts with an ascending, and then descending motif).
The aria that follows, for the tenor, presents the hurdle of a missing obbligato part. Scholars have tried reconstructions assuming that the instrument was a violin. There isn’t really much to go off of in terms of motivic material. An indication of “Piano e staccato per tutto” on the bass line suggests that the part could have had busy rhythmic patterns. In addition, we have the basso continuo figures written by Bach himself which provide the harmony. The text of the aria continues to advance through the parable, now covering the concept of the thorny bushes (equated to worldly concerns) that choke the seeds that fall among them.
A secco recitative is next for the soprano, which wraps up the discussion of thorns and, somewhat convolutedly, introduces the concept of the believer’s heart as fertile land. This brings the story arc to a positive conclusion, which is further reinforced in the text of the closing movement.
There are many cantatas in which Bach simply underlines the happy culmination of a libretto’s narrative with a chorale – however, in this case, possibly as an extreme example of formal experimentation, he chooses to close with an elaborate choral piece for the full orchestra, complete with the shimmer of a solo trumpet part. Its middle section is a sparser duet for sopranos and altos with continuo, followed by a “da capo” reiteration of the opening segment. The triumphal and celebratory character of the music is highly suggestive of a secular origin, possibly a work from Bach’s Cöthen period.
Whether the entire cantata is a parody, or just its closing movement, can’t be established for certain. What we can reasonably presume is that our esteemed Cantor was, at this time, quite busy preparing one of his masterpieces, the St. John Passion, to be premiered in just a few short weeks, so he probably appreciated any time savings he could realize from reusing pre-existing music.
